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 …
Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford
Sir Terence Clark, a fellow tazi-saluki fanatic, just sent me a link to an exhibition of photographs by the late explorer Wilfred Thesiger. He wanted me to see this photo of a peregrine in the Emirates before World War II. The whole gallery is worth exploring, offering glimpses into not just one byt many lost …
Invasive”fire steppe” in Arizona?
Re the recent discussions on change, invasives et al, the Alpha Environmentalist sends this link from the Arizona Daily Star on how non- native, fire resistant species have created a dangerous environment for such natives as the green- barked paloverde and the iconic saguaro cactus. Neither can survive burning, while the non- native steppe plants …
China- Russia
Click here for much good discussion on the new alliances betweeen China and Russia. One of the saddest things, mentioned somewhere in the comments, is that Russia will probably suffer for it. China– my Kazakh friends call her “The Dragon”– is a dangerous “ally”, and swamps the countries on its edges, especially Asian Siberia, with …
Waypoints
Matt Mullenix, who talked me into having a website, designed it, and got me going, has a new blog, Waypoints . His last became one of the most original and literate falconry books around– I’ll tell you about it as soon as it is out. The new one is more free- form and he is …
Decadent–or just unclear on the concept?
I have no doubt that eating at El Bulli in Spain could be a fantastic experience, but I’m not sure about the cookbook . A $350 cookbook that is too beautiful to bring into the kitchen? And, to quote Jessica’s Biscuit: “The first book catalogues his work though full-color photos, and you can only find …
Kennewick: free at last!
A team of scientists are finally going to be allowed to study the 9000- plus year old remains of “Kennewick Man”, despite the coalition of tribes that objected under what any rational person must think is (at least) an overly- broad interpretation of NAGPRA. Too bad the government colluded with the tribes to rebury and …
Poison Mammals
A venomous mammal has been found in fossil beds from 60 million years ago in Alberta. The interesting part is that it had fangs like a snake, or rather a Gila monster: “The fossilized remains of two curved canines, found in the Canadian province of Alberta, shows a groove from which the creature, Bisonalveus browni, …