Matt Mullenix sends news of some possible pre- Clovis footprints preserved in volcanic rock in Mexico. Most authorities are skeptical, but express openness to seeing the new evidence. Pre- Clovis Americans, if they existed, seem to have left little BUT footprints so far. Maybe Matt has the answer: “Hmmmmm. makes you wonder if the first …
Category: Uncategorized
Update
I have updated my post on the Unocal deal (scroll down). The unlikely coalition of The New Yorker and National Review Online are defending it. I remain skeptical…
The Eastern Wolf
The canid predators of the northeast have increased during my lifetime. When I was young and they were rare everyone called them “coydogs”, assuming that they were dog- coyote hybrids. This was biologically unlikely for several reasons– their uniformity, the difficulty of pups produced from a one- estrus parent (the coyote) and a two- estrus …
Au Contraire on Zebras
In Grayal Farr’s piece on St. Vincent Island he wondered if anyone ever hunted zebras. I knew they were sometimes used as lion bait but hadn’t really thought about the matter much. Reader (and writer you should read) Tom McIntyre writes: “Curiously, I just completed a feature story on this very topic, which will appear …
Soviet Childrens’ Animal Books
Whatever my feelings about the late and monstrous Soviet Union’s government, anyone who knows me also knows of my (sometimes infuriated) love for Russia. And one of the things I love is a certain strain of Russian art that ran beside and under the godawful “Socialist Realist” style, and has survived the Soviet Union (I …
Decline and Fall 2
Second in a continuing series, a watch on the decline and fall of no- longer- Great Britain. In John Derbyshire’s ever- entertaining monthly Diary for July, he tells of how perfectly normal young and middle aged Brits are abandoning the land of overwhelming PC and daunting costs for the Mediterranean, Australia, the US,and in the …
New Post
I have a new post at Nature Blog, where I tend to put my “Southern Rockies” pieces. Chas is always a good read too.
Ill Wind Power
Odious at Odious and Peculiar has a post on why wind is hardly a major energy contributor, and why it most likely won’t be: “Distressingly little of the country is suitable for this type of power generation. “Moreover, you really want to find a place where, to start with, no one lives, no one cares …
Grayal on St. Vincent Island, Florida
Guest poster Grayal Farr on an alien that does no harm (also an occasion for a good Kipling quote. But then again, what isn’t?) “St. Vincent Island NWR is one of the bigger remaining chunks of near-pristine Florida. Visitors are allowed over every day, but no motorized transportation is allowed except for refuge staff and …
NAGPRA alert!
From Grayal Farr, naturalist, archaeologist, and retired Special Forces Major, comes a warning, in the form of a letter to his senator. If you heed it, remember to fax– emails are often discounted, and Grayal says that mail takes three weeks to actaully get to your senator. “I am writing to urge that you vote …