Tamarisk (sometimes known as salt cedar) is an invasive plant species that has wrought great environmental damage in the western United States. This Eurasian native displaces native willows and cottonwoods along streams, uses much more water than they do, and doesn’t provide the habitat for birds and animals that the native plants do. One estimate …
Author: Reid Farmer
Adelie Penguin Diet Change
The NY Times today tells us of research on Adelie penguins in Antarctica by Dr. Steven Emslie of the University of North Carolina – Wilmington. For years Emslie has been studying Adelie penguin mummies (like the one pictured) that are preserved for tens of thousands of years in the cold dry climate of Antarctica. Lately …
Forest Fires and Archaeological Sites
The LA Times has a piece this morning on cooperative efforts between Forest Service and California Department of Forestry archaeologists and local tribes to reduce the damage that firefighting efforts can inflict on archaeological sites. Having knowledgeable people in the field who can direct bulldozers constructing firebreaks away from site locations can make all the …
Indonesian Coelacanth
Most of us have at least a passing familiarity with the story of the coelacanth, often referred to as a “living fossil”, a fish thought to have been extinct for 70 million years until one was caught in the western Indian Ocean in the late 1930s. Apparently many more have been caught there off the …
Another Rainbow
From Monday night. Didn’t quite have the umph to make a double this time.
The Ghost Pepper
The Chile Pepper Institute of New Mexico State University has made it official: the bhut jolokia, or “ghost pepper” from Assam state in India is the world’s hottest chile pepper. The spiciness of a chile pepper is measured by its capsaicin content, expressed in Scoville units. For example, your average jalapeno measures in the range …
Jumbo Squid Invade California
Jumbo squid that can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh more than 110 pounds are invading central California waters and preying on local anchovy, hake and other commercial fish populations. I think we should look on the bright side – calamari anyone?
‘Roos
The result of a lawsuit brought by an animals rights group against athletic shoe maker Adidas, has been the confirmation by the California Supreme Court of a state law that bans the use of kangaroo hide for shoe manufacture. Kangaroo leather is apparently favored by soccer players for their shoes. Australians are puzzled by this. …
Another Significant Cultural Event
A Miraculous Birth
Today’s Denver Post tells us of an unusual event that took place on a ranch near Colbran in western Colorado. Kate, a “molly” or female mule, has given birth to a healthy female foal. Mules are officially sterile hybrids from the mating of a female horse and a male donkey. But very rarely they do …