Dear Reader: What I post and publish and what you see are sometimes two difference things. I am in despair at understanding and correcting the peculiarities of this weird technology. Please forbear. When I view the website, which is supposedly what I published, I find repeated items, and often lacking the specified fonts or pictures. I think I do what is proper, in which case it is Google's fault. Jake Sigg
I have pasted all recent newsletters onto my blogsite: naturenewssf.blogspot.com, and the site is more or less operable now. By putting your email address in the box in upper right hand corner of the site and clicking Submit you can receive newsletters automatically as they are published. If you do that, please tell me so that I can delete your address from my email list.
If you want to continue receiving via email YOU MUST TELL ME, otherwise I will soon delete you from address book.
I will continue to post this message for a week or so to give time for people to adjust.
Correction: Last newsletter's item on AT&T Utility Boxes gave wrong address for Supervisor Scott Wiener. Correct address: Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org
1. Two McLaren Park meetings: Trails June 21/natural areas, habitat meeting June 25
2. Your letters needed on cruel birthing exhibits at California State Fair
3. Crucial vote on Knowland Park by Oakland City Council June 21
4. A plug for California Invasive Plant Council
5. SF Planning Dept Bird-Safe Buildings update. Meetings on June 23, July 14
6. Rally and Expo at State Capitol to save State Parks June 21
7. Imagine a youth movement, 100 million strong, focused on changing the course of history: Pacha's Pajamas
8. Petition the governor for environmental education in schools
9. Only when we tarry do we touch the holy; Young ones, don't waste your courage
10. A Place for Sustainable Living will hold a daytime Skillshare followed by barnyard dance June 25
11. Hawks: The air they are riding/is the same breath as your own/How could you not remember?
12. Birder sights osprey carrying fish and nesting materials to top of crane - a first for SF
13. "Poetry for the Earth, the Seasons, & Justice" June 26/open mic June 27
14. Park Town Hall at Oceanview Playground June 29
15. Feedback on computer misery
16. Taxonomists have been amusing themselves quietly--but Trombicula...uh, fujigmo? I blush--read it yourself
17. LTEs: climate change: numbers can't be ignored/immigration
18. As push for more visas increases, fewer American students pursue high-tech careers
19. Chronicle story on restoring Hetch Hetchy
20. Encumbered by lean genes--could the cucumber lose its cool?
21. Between XX and XY; Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes
22. Notes & Queries: Why do so many people keep saying "absolootely!" instead of "yes"?
Correction: Last newsletter's item on AT&T Utility Boxes gave wrong address for Supervisor Scott Wiener. Correct address: Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org
1. Two McLaren Park meetings: Trails June 21/natural areas, habitat meeting June 25
2. Your letters needed on cruel birthing exhibits at California State Fair
3. Crucial vote on Knowland Park by Oakland City Council June 21
4. A plug for California Invasive Plant Council
5. SF Planning Dept Bird-Safe Buildings update. Meetings on June 23, July 14
6. Rally and Expo at State Capitol to save State Parks June 21
7. Imagine a youth movement, 100 million strong, focused on changing the course of history: Pacha's Pajamas
8. Petition the governor for environmental education in schools
9. Only when we tarry do we touch the holy; Young ones, don't waste your courage
10. A Place for Sustainable Living will hold a daytime Skillshare followed by barnyard dance June 25
11. Hawks: The air they are riding/is the same breath as your own/How could you not remember?
12. Birder sights osprey carrying fish and nesting materials to top of crane - a first for SF
13. "Poetry for the Earth, the Seasons, & Justice" June 26/open mic June 27
14. Park Town Hall at Oceanview Playground June 29
15. Feedback on computer misery
16. Taxonomists have been amusing themselves quietly--but Trombicula...uh, fujigmo? I blush--read it yourself
17. LTEs: climate change: numbers can't be ignored/immigration
18. As push for more visas increases, fewer American students pursue high-tech careers
19. Chronicle story on restoring Hetch Hetchy
20. Encumbered by lean genes--could the cucumber lose its cool?
21. Between XX and XY; Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes
22. Notes & Queries: Why do so many people keep saying "absolootely!" instead of "yes"?
#####################################################################################
1. McLaren Park Trails Community Meeting
Tuesday, June 21st 6:00-7:30pm
This meeting sponsored by SFRPD's Natural Areas Program and Volunteers Of California (V-O-CAL) will provide information and gather feedback from YOU about upcoming volunteer trail and habitat service projects. Please join us to find out about the exciting upcoming trail projects we are planning and learn how you can get involved!
Meet at Louis Sutter Clubhouse in McLaren Park, near University and Wayland Streets. For comments or questions please call 415-831-6328 or email joe.grey@sfgov.org.
McLaren Park Natural Areas & Habitat Meeting
Saturday, June 25 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Did you know that more than half of McLaren Park is designated as wildlife habitat? This McLaren Park Collaborative group aims to understand, monitor, and improve these natural areas. As this is our first meeting ever of the Natural Areas Committee, we have a lot to talk about! The McLaren Park Collaborative is a new organization associated with the Neighborhood Parks Council that is attempting to bring all the various factions, interest groups, volunteers, neighbors, stewards, and educators together to encourage dialog and positive action for our beloved park.
Gather early at the main picnic area on Shelley Loop for coffee and pastries, then join the meeting from 10-noon. Snacks, sides, and treats provided, bring your own lunch. Rec & Park Natural Areas staff will join us in the afternoon for our meal and a nature hike. For a meeting agenda and more information Contact Ken McGary at 650-516-7657 or ken@savemclarenpark.org
And if you can't make it to the meeting, we encourage you to send us your thoughts and ideas about McLaren via the online survey linked below so that we may include them in our discussions. And if you are coming to the meeting, fill out the online survey anyway so we can get a better tally of opinions and views. We'll present the survey results at the meeting and via email shortly thereafter.
ONLINE SURVEY:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEoxOGM4TU1rVlBCbm9CRW1TeEZFLXc6MQ
#####################################################################################
2, Eric Mills, Action for Animals:
CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR (July 14-31) - BIRTHING EXHIBITS - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR NEEDED
You'll no doubt recall the errant pregnant cow and her unborn calf who were gunned down at last year's California State Fair in Sacramento. She was due to give birth the very next day.
Well, brace yourselves. Despite the fact that CalEXPO received more than 600 letters and emails of complaint, the State Fair will again feature the birthing exhibits, including those horrendous "farrowing" crates, in which pregnant sows are imprisoned in metal bars on metal grates for weeks on end, barely able to move. Do that to a dog, and go to jail.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP: We need a flow of Letters to the Editors of various newspapers around the state. I'm including some points below to include in your letters, along with a few addresses of prominent newspapers. Please do one for your local paper as well.
TALKING POINTS -
1 All veterinary studies note the importance of a quiet, darkened place for animals to give birth, away from crowds and noise. Pregnant sows need nesting materials, too. All studies also say that animals should not be moved when they're about to give birth. These exhibits present the exact opposite of what the veterinarians recommend
2. The distraught pregnant cow who was shot last year was pursued by an SUV. There must have been a hundred people nearby: stock handlers, cowboys, farmers, etc. Yet the attending veterinarian (from UC Davis) referred to the cow as a "nutjob," and ordered her shot. And so she was, seven times. It was not a quick or humane death. (Two spent shells remain unaccounted for.) Didn't anyone think to use a rope to lead her back to her corral?
3. The Fair's arguments are (a) that these exhibits are "educational," and that (2) "this is what the public wants." Both arguments are bogus. These exhibits are NOT educational, they are abusive And they are also a lie--we eat some 10 billion animals every year in this country (not including fish), and the overwhelming majority never see the light of day, or set foot to earth. If the Fair truly wishes to be "educational," perhaps they should add a "conception exhibit" and a"slaughter exhibit" to complement the "birthing exhibit"......
4 I think what the public REALLY wants to see is mothers with their young, NOT "birthing" exhibits. And I wonder how many animals abort en route to the Fair. Bottom line, the Fair is not required to "give the public what it wants." I daresay many would like to see a public hanging, too. Should the Fair provide that? Is a boycott in order?
5. More than 80% of the pharmaceuticals produced in this country are fed to farm animals for non-therapeutic reasons. Bad for the animals, and often problematic for people who consume these products.
6. CEO & General Manager of the State Fair is Norbert Bartosik (nbartosik@calexpo.com).
7. Chairman of the Board of CalEXPO is Cornelius Gallagher (calexpoboard@calexpo.com)
8. Mailing address for all: California State Fair, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815.
9. State Fair main telephone number: 916/263-3010.
10. Senator Darrell Steinberg and Assemblymember Roger Dickinson are both ex-officio members of the State Fair Board. Both may be written c/o The State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. ASK THEM AND YOUR OWN LEGISLATORS TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO OUTLAW THESE ABUSIVE EXHIBITS.
SOME SELECT NEWSPAPERS FOR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
1. SACRAMENTO BEE - letters@sacbee.com
2. LOS ANGELES TIMES - letters@latimes.com
3. SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE - letters@uniontrib.com
4. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - letters@sfchroniclecom
5. SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS - letters@mercurynews.com
6. OAKLAND TRIBUNE - letters@bayareanewsgroup.com
7. CONTRA COSTA TIMES - letters@bayareanewsgroup.com
8. MONTEREY HERALD - mheditor@montereyherald.com
9. MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL - opinion@marinij.com
10. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SENTINEL - editorial@santacruzsentinel.com,
Thanks for your help. And please let me know if any of your letters are printed. You might wish to send copies to CalEXPO as well.
NOTE: THERE'S ALSO A DEMO IN THE WORKS, MOST LIKELY JULY 14. Please let me know if you'd like to take part: afa(at)mcn.org
#####################################################################################
3. From Friends of Knowland Park
Friends, this is to remind you that the Oakland City Council will hear our appeal of the Oakland Zoo expansion plan this Tuesday evening. The appeal is the second item on the non-consent agenda, which will begin at 6:30. However, we urge that you arrive earlier as the meeting is likely to be very crowded.
We encourage ALL who support Knowland Park to attend and speak up for our park, and against the legal, fiscal, and environmental foolishness that plan entails.
Those who are interested in speaking must fill out a speaker card; since past meetings have seen those cards in short supply, you are urged to fill out the speaker form on the City Clerk's website, at
http://www.oaklandnet.com/cityclerk/speakerupdate.asp
The Zoo appeal is agenda number 9.2. Don't worry about putting down whether you support or not--it is a bit confusing so just leave that blank.
NOTE: PLEASE fill out a speaker card (or sign up online) even if you would rather not speak personally. We can have you cede your time for someone else to have a bit more to make important points.
Since speakers may be limited in time (possibly to as little as one minute), this may be important for allowing sufficient time for the members of the Knowland Park Coalition who plan to offer expert testimony. We will have more details on this at the meeting. We will also have support stickers for all who wish to wear them--please look for our table outside the meeting.
#####################################################################################
4. From Sue Hubbard: Help Cal-IPC Stop Wildland Weeds
For 20 years the California Invasive Plant Council, through science, education and policy, has supported natural resource managers working in our parks, preserves and watersheds in their efforts to protect our native plant habitats. I have spent over 10 years working to control invasive plants on Fort Ord and so support the work Cal-IPC is doing that I am currently serving on their Board of Directors. I know you care about our wildlands and have seen the harm caused by the uncontrolled spread of invasive species. Please support Cal-IPC’s 20th anniversary fund raising drive by donating at my on-line team member page at www.crowdrise.com/cal-ipc20th/fundraiser/SueHubbard.
Join me in making a donation before August 1 to help stop wildland weeds.
(JS: The work of Cal-IPC is even more important now that the State of California has shut down ALL its weed programs, except for those funded by industry--ie, agriculture. Those of us who worked so hard for so long and were making great progress are in a state of shock. This will cost us dearly down the road.)
#####################################################################################
5. Bird-Safe Buildings Update
You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the San Francisco Planning Department’s Proposed Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings. Since the October 14, 2010 hearing, the Department has received over 2000 comments on the proposal. At the Commission’s request, staff has revised the draft proposal based upon public comment and further research. We are excited to announce the new June 2011 Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings and upcoming public hearings. We hope you will continue your involvement by reviewing the new work and attending the upcoming public hearings.
The Draft proposes a three-pronged approach to the problem:
1. Establishment of requirements for the most hazardous conditions;
2. Use of an educational checklist to educate project sponsors and their future tenants on potential hazards; and
3. Creation and expansion of voluntary programs to encourage more bird-safe practices including acknowledging those who pursue certification through a proposed new program for “bird-safe building” recognition.
Upcoming Public Hearings
There are two hearings scheduled before the San Francisco Planning Commission regarding the revised Bird-Safe Buildings policy document and a proposed ordinance:
1. June 23, 2011 – Initiation of the proposed Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings Ordinance
Set up an email reminder about this Hearing
The purpose of this hearing is solely to announce the Planning Commission’s intention to consider the Planning Code amendments at a later date – initiation does not involve a decision on the substance of the proposed Code amendments.
2. July 14, 2011 (tentative) – Public Hearing on the proposed Adoption of Bird-Safe Building Standards
Set up an email reminder about this Hearing
At this hearing, the Commission will hear a staff presentation on the proposal and will listen to public comment. The Commission will then consider adoption of the policy document, the 2011 “Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings” and related amendments to the Planning Code to implement the proposed policy.
A copy of the June 2011 Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings document, along with links to upcoming Planning Commission Hearing materials, are available on the Planning Department web page at: http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=2506#general_info
Do You Have Thoughts?
Comments on the proposed code Amendments or Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings can be sent to Erika Lovejoy before the above-mentioned hearings:
Erika Lovejoy
erika.lovejoy@sfgov.org
#####################################################################################
6. The National Trust for Historic Preservation included California State Parks on our list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Places in 2008. California’s State Parks remain threatened with closure due to state budget cuts. Seventy parks, a majority of these historic, are slated for closure this summer. The National Trust for Historic Preservation as a participant in the Save our State Parks Campaign invites you to attend a rally and expo at the state capital next Tuesday, June 21st - see details below. If you care about cultural and natural resources and the future of California State Parks, please attend and spread the word!
Please join the California State Parks Foundation on June 21 at the State Capitol for a Save Our State Parks Rally and Expo!
Tuesday, June 21, 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m
North Steps of the State Capitol, Sacramento
Expo 10 a.m.-11 a.m.
Press Conference/Rally 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
#####################################################################################
7. Imagine a youth movement, 100 million strong, focused on changing the course of history, reclaiming the future, and creating a world that works for all. Our new eBook, Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature, supports a youth movement for Nature's Rights. We invite you to support this effort by helping get the word out to your social and professional networks.
Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature presents the unheard songs and stories of nature, calling forth empathy for all beings and engaging young people in a conversation about the future. The Pacha's Pajamas eBook debuts on Summer Solstice 2011 (June 21st) in English and Spanish.
Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy, says “This story about a little girl's dream -- where all species unite to support a healthy planet -- will play a catalytic role in building our movements for change. Please invite everyone you know to buy this book!”
Please help us make Pacha's Pajamas a bestselling eBook in its first month! Through grassroots support, Van created a bestseller with his book three years ago and changed history with the green jobs movement.
Pacha's Pajamas is getting RAVE REVIEWS from parents, teachers, students, and celebrities! We invite you to preview our eBook now: SMALL PDF (17MB) or LARGE PDF (119MB). With your help, we can make Pacha’s Pajamas the first ecological children’s eBook bestseller ever!
#####################################################################################
8. Jim LeCuyer:
Subject: Environmental Education
Hi, Jake: Would you include this petition in your newsletter for your readers to sign and perhaps forward to their friends? Thanks, Jim
Environmental education should be taught in every subject at the Secondary level, as a lesson or as research within the context of the subject itself. In this manner, our public school students will become knowledgeable and involved in environmental issues while their minds are still open. Environmental education has been proven to improve student grades and reduce the dropout rate.
So I created a petition to Governor Jerry Brown, which says:
"We, the environmental educators of the state of California, do hereby petition Governor Jerry Brown to direct the State Board of Education to have their schools and administrators make a yearly report to the Board concerning environmental studies in the public schools."
Will you sign this petition? Click here:
http://signon.org/sign/environmental-education?source=c.em.cp&r_by=268779
#################################################################
I have pasted all recent newsletters onto my blogsite: naturenewssf.blogspot.com, and the site is more or less operable now. By putting your email address in the box in upper right hand corner of the site and clicking Submit you can receive newsletters automatically as they are published. If you do that, please tell me so that I can delete your address from my email list.
If you want to continue receiving via email YOU MUST TELL ME, otherwise I will soon delete you from address book.
I will continue to post this message for a week or so to give time for people to adjust.
Correction: Last newsletter's item on AT&T Utility Boxes gave wrong address for Supervisor Scott Wiener. Correct address: Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org
1. Two McLaren Park meetings: Trails June 21/natural areas, habitat meeting June 25
2. Your letters needed on cruel birthing exhibits at California State Fair
3. Crucial vote on Knowland Park by Oakland City Council June 21
4. A plug for California Invasive Plant Council
5. SF Planning Dept Bird-Safe Buildings update. Meetings on June 23, July 14
6. Rally and Expo at State Capitol to save State Parks June 21
7. Imagine a youth movement, 100 million strong, focused on changing the course of history: Pacha's Pajamas
8. Petition the governor for environmental education in schools
9. Only when we tarry do we touch the holy; Young ones, don't waste your courage
10. A Place for Sustainable Living will hold a daytime Skillshare followed by barnyard dance June 25
11. Hawks: The air they are riding/is the same breath as your own/How could you not remember?
12. Birder sights osprey carrying fish and nesting materials to top of crane - a first for SF
13. "Poetry for the Earth, the Seasons, & Justice" June 26/open mic June 27
14. Park Town Hall at Oceanview Playground June 29
15. Feedback on computer misery
16. Taxonomists have been amusing themselves quietly--but Trombicula...uh, fujigmo? I blush--read it yourself
17. LTEs: climate change: numbers can't be ignored/immigration
18. As push for more visas increases, fewer American students pursue high-tech careers
19. Chronicle story on restoring Hetch Hetchy
20. Encumbered by lean genes--could the cucumber lose its cool?
21. Between XX and XY; Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes
22. Notes & Queries: Why do so many people keep saying "absolootely!" instead of "yes"?
Correction: Last newsletter's item on AT&T Utility Boxes gave wrong address for Supervisor Scott Wiener. Correct address: Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org
1. Two McLaren Park meetings: Trails June 21/natural areas, habitat meeting June 25
2. Your letters needed on cruel birthing exhibits at California State Fair
3. Crucial vote on Knowland Park by Oakland City Council June 21
4. A plug for California Invasive Plant Council
5. SF Planning Dept Bird-Safe Buildings update. Meetings on June 23, July 14
6. Rally and Expo at State Capitol to save State Parks June 21
7. Imagine a youth movement, 100 million strong, focused on changing the course of history: Pacha's Pajamas
8. Petition the governor for environmental education in schools
9. Only when we tarry do we touch the holy; Young ones, don't waste your courage
10. A Place for Sustainable Living will hold a daytime Skillshare followed by barnyard dance June 25
11. Hawks: The air they are riding/is the same breath as your own/How could you not remember?
12. Birder sights osprey carrying fish and nesting materials to top of crane - a first for SF
13. "Poetry for the Earth, the Seasons, & Justice" June 26/open mic June 27
14. Park Town Hall at Oceanview Playground June 29
15. Feedback on computer misery
16. Taxonomists have been amusing themselves quietly--but Trombicula...uh, fujigmo? I blush--read it yourself
17. LTEs: climate change: numbers can't be ignored/immigration
18. As push for more visas increases, fewer American students pursue high-tech careers
19. Chronicle story on restoring Hetch Hetchy
20. Encumbered by lean genes--could the cucumber lose its cool?
21. Between XX and XY; Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes
22. Notes & Queries: Why do so many people keep saying "absolootely!" instead of "yes"?
#####################################################################################
1. McLaren Park Trails Community Meeting
Tuesday, June 21st 6:00-7:30pm
This meeting sponsored by SFRPD's Natural Areas Program and Volunteers Of California (V-O-CAL) will provide information and gather feedback from YOU about upcoming volunteer trail and habitat service projects. Please join us to find out about the exciting upcoming trail projects we are planning and learn how you can get involved!
Meet at Louis Sutter Clubhouse in McLaren Park, near University and Wayland Streets. For comments or questions please call 415-831-6328 or email joe.grey@sfgov.org.
McLaren Park Natural Areas & Habitat Meeting
Saturday, June 25 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Did you know that more than half of McLaren Park is designated as wildlife habitat? This McLaren Park Collaborative group aims to understand, monitor, and improve these natural areas. As this is our first meeting ever of the Natural Areas Committee, we have a lot to talk about! The McLaren Park Collaborative is a new organization associated with the Neighborhood Parks Council that is attempting to bring all the various factions, interest groups, volunteers, neighbors, stewards, and educators together to encourage dialog and positive action for our beloved park.
Gather early at the main picnic area on Shelley Loop for coffee and pastries, then join the meeting from 10-noon. Snacks, sides, and treats provided, bring your own lunch. Rec & Park Natural Areas staff will join us in the afternoon for our meal and a nature hike. For a meeting agenda and more information Contact Ken McGary at 650-516-7657 or ken@savemclarenpark.org
And if you can't make it to the meeting, we encourage you to send us your thoughts and ideas about McLaren via the online survey linked below so that we may include them in our discussions. And if you are coming to the meeting, fill out the online survey anyway so we can get a better tally of opinions and views. We'll present the survey results at the meeting and via email shortly thereafter.
ONLINE SURVEY:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEoxOGM4TU1rVlBCbm9CRW1TeEZFLXc6MQ
#####################################################################################
2, Eric Mills, Action for Animals:
CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR (July 14-31) - BIRTHING EXHIBITS - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR NEEDED
You'll no doubt recall the errant pregnant cow and her unborn calf who were gunned down at last year's California State Fair in Sacramento. She was due to give birth the very next day.
Well, brace yourselves. Despite the fact that CalEXPO received more than 600 letters and emails of complaint, the State Fair will again feature the birthing exhibits, including those horrendous "farrowing" crates, in which pregnant sows are imprisoned in metal bars on metal grates for weeks on end, barely able to move. Do that to a dog, and go to jail.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP: We need a flow of Letters to the Editors of various newspapers around the state. I'm including some points below to include in your letters, along with a few addresses of prominent newspapers. Please do one for your local paper as well.
TALKING POINTS -
1 All veterinary studies note the importance of a quiet, darkened place for animals to give birth, away from crowds and noise. Pregnant sows need nesting materials, too. All studies also say that animals should not be moved when they're about to give birth. These exhibits present the exact opposite of what the veterinarians recommend
2. The distraught pregnant cow who was shot last year was pursued by an SUV. There must have been a hundred people nearby: stock handlers, cowboys, farmers, etc. Yet the attending veterinarian (from UC Davis) referred to the cow as a "nutjob," and ordered her shot. And so she was, seven times. It was not a quick or humane death. (Two spent shells remain unaccounted for.) Didn't anyone think to use a rope to lead her back to her corral?
3. The Fair's arguments are (a) that these exhibits are "educational," and that (2) "this is what the public wants." Both arguments are bogus. These exhibits are NOT educational, they are abusive And they are also a lie--we eat some 10 billion animals every year in this country (not including fish), and the overwhelming majority never see the light of day, or set foot to earth. If the Fair truly wishes to be "educational," perhaps they should add a "conception exhibit" and a"slaughter exhibit" to complement the "birthing exhibit"......
4 I think what the public REALLY wants to see is mothers with their young, NOT "birthing" exhibits. And I wonder how many animals abort en route to the Fair. Bottom line, the Fair is not required to "give the public what it wants." I daresay many would like to see a public hanging, too. Should the Fair provide that? Is a boycott in order?
5. More than 80% of the pharmaceuticals produced in this country are fed to farm animals for non-therapeutic reasons. Bad for the animals, and often problematic for people who consume these products.
6. CEO & General Manager of the State Fair is Norbert Bartosik (nbartosik@calexpo.com).
7. Chairman of the Board of CalEXPO is Cornelius Gallagher (calexpoboard@calexpo.com)
8. Mailing address for all: California State Fair, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815.
9. State Fair main telephone number: 916/263-3010.
10. Senator Darrell Steinberg and Assemblymember Roger Dickinson are both ex-officio members of the State Fair Board. Both may be written c/o The State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. ASK THEM AND YOUR OWN LEGISLATORS TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO OUTLAW THESE ABUSIVE EXHIBITS.
SOME SELECT NEWSPAPERS FOR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
1. SACRAMENTO BEE - letters@sacbee.com
2. LOS ANGELES TIMES - letters@latimes.com
3. SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE - letters@uniontrib.com
4. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - letters@sfchroniclecom
5. SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS - letters@mercurynews.com
6. OAKLAND TRIBUNE - letters@bayareanewsgroup.com
7. CONTRA COSTA TIMES - letters@bayareanewsgroup.com
8. MONTEREY HERALD - mheditor@montereyherald.com
9. MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL - opinion@marinij.com
10. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SENTINEL - editorial@santacruzsentinel.com,
Thanks for your help. And please let me know if any of your letters are printed. You might wish to send copies to CalEXPO as well.
NOTE: THERE'S ALSO A DEMO IN THE WORKS, MOST LIKELY JULY 14. Please let me know if you'd like to take part: afa(at)mcn.org
#####################################################################################
3. From Friends of Knowland Park
Friends, this is to remind you that the Oakland City Council will hear our appeal of the Oakland Zoo expansion plan this Tuesday evening. The appeal is the second item on the non-consent agenda, which will begin at 6:30. However, we urge that you arrive earlier as the meeting is likely to be very crowded.
We encourage ALL who support Knowland Park to attend and speak up for our park, and against the legal, fiscal, and environmental foolishness that plan entails.
Those who are interested in speaking must fill out a speaker card; since past meetings have seen those cards in short supply, you are urged to fill out the speaker form on the City Clerk's website, at
http://www.oaklandnet.com/cityclerk/speakerupdate.asp
The Zoo appeal is agenda number 9.2. Don't worry about putting down whether you support or not--it is a bit confusing so just leave that blank.
NOTE: PLEASE fill out a speaker card (or sign up online) even if you would rather not speak personally. We can have you cede your time for someone else to have a bit more to make important points.
Since speakers may be limited in time (possibly to as little as one minute), this may be important for allowing sufficient time for the members of the Knowland Park Coalition who plan to offer expert testimony. We will have more details on this at the meeting. We will also have support stickers for all who wish to wear them--please look for our table outside the meeting.
#####################################################################################
4. From Sue Hubbard: Help Cal-IPC Stop Wildland Weeds
For 20 years the California Invasive Plant Council, through science, education and policy, has supported natural resource managers working in our parks, preserves and watersheds in their efforts to protect our native plant habitats. I have spent over 10 years working to control invasive plants on Fort Ord and so support the work Cal-IPC is doing that I am currently serving on their Board of Directors. I know you care about our wildlands and have seen the harm caused by the uncontrolled spread of invasive species. Please support Cal-IPC’s 20th anniversary fund raising drive by donating at my on-line team member page at www.crowdrise.com/cal-ipc20th/fundraiser/SueHubbard.
Join me in making a donation before August 1 to help stop wildland weeds.
(JS: The work of Cal-IPC is even more important now that the State of California has shut down ALL its weed programs, except for those funded by industry--ie, agriculture. Those of us who worked so hard for so long and were making great progress are in a state of shock. This will cost us dearly down the road.)
#####################################################################################
5. Bird-Safe Buildings Update
You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the San Francisco Planning Department’s Proposed Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings. Since the October 14, 2010 hearing, the Department has received over 2000 comments on the proposal. At the Commission’s request, staff has revised the draft proposal based upon public comment and further research. We are excited to announce the new June 2011 Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings and upcoming public hearings. We hope you will continue your involvement by reviewing the new work and attending the upcoming public hearings.
The Draft proposes a three-pronged approach to the problem:
1. Establishment of requirements for the most hazardous conditions;
2. Use of an educational checklist to educate project sponsors and their future tenants on potential hazards; and
3. Creation and expansion of voluntary programs to encourage more bird-safe practices including acknowledging those who pursue certification through a proposed new program for “bird-safe building” recognition.
Upcoming Public Hearings
There are two hearings scheduled before the San Francisco Planning Commission regarding the revised Bird-Safe Buildings policy document and a proposed ordinance:
1. June 23, 2011 – Initiation of the proposed Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings Ordinance
Set up an email reminder about this Hearing
The purpose of this hearing is solely to announce the Planning Commission’s intention to consider the Planning Code amendments at a later date – initiation does not involve a decision on the substance of the proposed Code amendments.
2. July 14, 2011 (tentative) – Public Hearing on the proposed Adoption of Bird-Safe Building Standards
Set up an email reminder about this Hearing
At this hearing, the Commission will hear a staff presentation on the proposal and will listen to public comment. The Commission will then consider adoption of the policy document, the 2011 “Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings” and related amendments to the Planning Code to implement the proposed policy.
A copy of the June 2011 Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings document, along with links to upcoming Planning Commission Hearing materials, are available on the Planning Department web page at: http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=2506#general_info
Do You Have Thoughts?
Comments on the proposed code Amendments or Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings can be sent to Erika Lovejoy before the above-mentioned hearings:
Erika Lovejoy
erika.lovejoy@sfgov.org
#####################################################################################
6. The National Trust for Historic Preservation included California State Parks on our list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Places in 2008. California’s State Parks remain threatened with closure due to state budget cuts. Seventy parks, a majority of these historic, are slated for closure this summer. The National Trust for Historic Preservation as a participant in the Save our State Parks Campaign invites you to attend a rally and expo at the state capital next Tuesday, June 21st - see details below. If you care about cultural and natural resources and the future of California State Parks, please attend and spread the word!
Please join the California State Parks Foundation on June 21 at the State Capitol for a Save Our State Parks Rally and Expo!
Tuesday, June 21, 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m
North Steps of the State Capitol, Sacramento
Expo 10 a.m.-11 a.m.
Press Conference/Rally 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
#####################################################################################
7. Imagine a youth movement, 100 million strong, focused on changing the course of history, reclaiming the future, and creating a world that works for all. Our new eBook, Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature, supports a youth movement for Nature's Rights. We invite you to support this effort by helping get the word out to your social and professional networks.
Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature presents the unheard songs and stories of nature, calling forth empathy for all beings and engaging young people in a conversation about the future. The Pacha's Pajamas eBook debuts on Summer Solstice 2011 (June 21st) in English and Spanish.
Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy, says “This story about a little girl's dream -- where all species unite to support a healthy planet -- will play a catalytic role in building our movements for change. Please invite everyone you know to buy this book!”
Please help us make Pacha's Pajamas a bestselling eBook in its first month! Through grassroots support, Van created a bestseller with his book three years ago and changed history with the green jobs movement.
Pacha's Pajamas is getting RAVE REVIEWS from parents, teachers, students, and celebrities! We invite you to preview our eBook now: SMALL PDF (17MB) or LARGE PDF (119MB). With your help, we can make Pacha’s Pajamas the first ecological children’s eBook bestseller ever!
#####################################################################################
8. Jim LeCuyer:
Subject: Environmental Education
Hi, Jake: Would you include this petition in your newsletter for your readers to sign and perhaps forward to their friends? Thanks, Jim
Environmental education should be taught in every subject at the Secondary level, as a lesson or as research within the context of the subject itself. In this manner, our public school students will become knowledgeable and involved in environmental issues while their minds are still open. Environmental education has been proven to improve student grades and reduce the dropout rate.
So I created a petition to Governor Jerry Brown, which says:
"We, the environmental educators of the state of California, do hereby petition Governor Jerry Brown to direct the State Board of Education to have their schools and administrators make a yearly report to the Board concerning environmental studies in the public schools."
Will you sign this petition? Click here:
http://signon.org/sign/environmental-education?source=c.em.cp&r_by=268779
#################################################################
9.
Sonnets to Orpheus, Part One, XXII
We set the pace.
But this press of time --
take it as a little thing
next to what endures.
All this hurrying
soon will be over.
Only when we tarry
do we touch the holy.
Young ones, don't waste your courage
racing so fast,
flying so high.
See how all things are at rest --
darkness and morning light,
blossom and book.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~
(In Praise of Mortality, translated and edited by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy)
#####################################################################################
10. Oakland, CA, June 25, 2011 - A PLACE for Sustainable Living will hold a daytime Skillshare followed by an evening barnyard dance on Saturday, June 25th. Our goal during the 11 AM to 5 PM skillshare event is to impart skills and knowledge about sustainable technologies, practices and issues. In the evening join us for a book reading of Rewild or Die by author Urban Scout,
followed by a down-home, urban barnyard dance with the sounds of Sven Diagram!
The daytime skillshare is comprised of a series of intensive hands-on workshops and 1 hour intro classes imparting fundamental skills in sustainable technologies and practices like building greywater systems and constructing greenhouses. Notable Bay Area organizations and instructors like Greywater Action, John Valenzuela, Jared Aldrich, Vertical Clay, Spokeland, The Stitch Kitchen, Richmond Grows, Leslie Jackson, DIG Cooperative and Asa Dodsworth will be hosting. Some of the topics covered include:
Beekeeping;
Urban Rewilding;
Growing Avocados ;
Bicycle Maintenance;
Seed Libraries
Rumford Fireplaces;
Light Straw Clay;
Placemaking;
and much more!
Representatives from Sogorea Te, Save Niles Canyon, West Span Bike Lane Now,
and Delta Restoration will also present. Rewild or Die: revolution and renaissance at the end of civilization is a collection of essays written by Urban Scout (www.urbanscout.org ) exploring the philosophy of the emerging rewilding renaissance, in which civilized humans are thought to be “domesticated” through thousands of years of sedentary, agrarian life. For more info and a complete schedule visit aplaceforsustainableliving.org.
WHAT: Permaculture Skillshare & Evening Book Reading/Barnyard Dance
WHERE: 1121 64th Street, Oakland CA, 94608 (at the corner of Marshall Street)
WHEN: Saturday, June 25th 2011
Skill Share--11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Book Reading & Barnyard Dance-- 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM
HOW MUCH: Sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds
Skill Share--$10-20 donation
Book Reading & Barnyard Dance--$5-20 donation
About a PLACE for Sustainable Living
Centrally located in the Golden Gate District of North Oakland, our mission is to serve as an experiential learning center to showcase and foster sustainable living practices, urban homesteading, community resiliency and preparedness, social justice and artistic
expression.
Questions? Please visit: aplaceforsustainableliving.org or email info@aplaceforsustainableliving.org
Admission is at the gate: Skillshare, $10-20; Barnyard Dance, $5-20--donation, sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds
###########################################################
11,
Hawks
Surely, you too have longed for this --
to pour yourself out
on the rising circles of the air
to ride, unthinking,
on the flesh of emptiness.
Can you claim, in your civilized life,
that you have never leaned toward
the headlong dive, the snap of bones,
the chance to be so terrible,
so free from evil, beyond choice?
The air that they are riding
is the same breath as your own.
How could you not remember?
That same swift stillness binds
your cells in balance, rushes
through the pulsing circles of your blood.
Each breath proclaims it --
the flash of feathers, the chance to rest
on such a muscled quietness,
to be in that fierce presence,
wholly wind, wholly wild.
~ Lynn Ungar ~
#####################################################################################
12. Dominic Mosur: A new birder to the area, Luke Burton, told me this morning about having seen a pair of Ospreys carrying nesting materials and fish to the top of a crane at Pier 96 (this is between Pier 94 and Heron's Head)
I'm at the site now and looking at a pair of Osprey and a nest on the crane. This would be the first ever record for SF I think.
#####################################################################################
13. "Poetry for the Earth, the Seasons, & Justice": a reading on the Sunday after the Summer Solstice by "The Ecology Center Poets": Nakia Dillard, Jahan Khalighi, and Kirk Lumpkin preceded by an open mic on environmental themes.
Free and open to the public
Sunday, June 26, 2011
6:30 - open mic on environmental themes
7:00 - Featured Poets
Ecology Center Bookstore
2530 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley
(San Pablo at Blake St., just south of Dwight Way)
Accessibility: Public transportation-Buses on San Pablo Ave. and Dwight Way,street parking, wheelchair access.
For More Information: (510) 548-2220 ext. 227; www.EcologyCenter.org
KIRK LUMPKIN, plus an open mic
Monday, June 27, 2011, 6:30-9:30PM
Poetry at Caffé Greco
423 Columbus Ave. San Francisco
###########################################################
14. Throughout 2010 - 2011, Neighborhood Parks Council has been hosting a series of Park Town Halls to hear your views about managing our parks, get your creative solutions to challenges, and identify concerns before park decisions are made by officials.
We are organizing our next Park Town Hall meeting and hope you will join us. The town hall will be held in Oceanview, details below:
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
6:30pm - 8pm
Oceanview Playground, Minnie & Lovie Ward Recreation Center
Montana btw Plymouth & Capitol
Refreshments will be provided
We will be inviting City and park officials to ask questions about their service to you, their constituents, and listen to your inquiries about recreation, parks and open space.
We hope that you will join us and encourage your neighbors and friends to attend as well to ask tough questions and offer creative solutions to Rec and Park.
#####################################################################################
15. Feedback
Jo Coffey (re my blogspot):
Congratulations on figuring out how to get all that set up. It's all a mystery to me, and I even made my living working with computers - but that was eons ago!
I take perverse satisfaction out of your telling me this. Last weekend I was talking to a friend who has worked for Microsoft for many years and he says he knows the basic stuff that I do, and the rest is baffling to him. Misery loves company.
But do the geeks and geekesses who make up these instruments of torture do it on purpose, or are they just doing their own trip, unconcerned about the uninitiated? The latter, I'm sure.
###########################################################
16. Callicebus aureipalatii is a Bolivian monkey whose biggest claim to fame is that its name came by way of an internet auction. It was purchased last year by a Canadian online casino for $650,000; and thus the Golden Palace monkey came into the scientific literature and Bolivian conservationists hit the jackpot.
If that all sounds a bit infra dig, the facts of the matter are that millions of animals are in need of names and that taxonomists require all the inspiration they can get…Last year…America’s president, vice president and defence secretary each got a beetle (Agathidium bushi, A. cheneyi, A. rumsfeldi) courtesy of two Republican coleopterists. Admittedly, the beetles in question eat slime mould, which caused a few titters among taxonomists of a Democrat persuasion, but it is clearly an act of gross speciesism to criticize the dining habits of other organisms, so the titters were sotto voce. And it is not only politicians who are benefiting. Sting, a musician, has his own tree frog Hyla stingi), and several spiders also bear the names of entertainers (Calponia harrisonfordi, Pachygnatha zappa) who clearly have taxonomists as fans.
Which is all well and good, but does not really benefit taxonomy as a science. So The Economist would like to suggest that the Bolivians who sold off naming rights to their discovery were on to something…Neglected molluscs could be snapped up by Shell, while moth taxonomy would certainly be boosted by the interest of the construction-equipment firm, Caterpillar.
Detractors of such horrid commercialization there will no doubt be. But they might consider that taxonomists have been amusing themselves quietly for years, as names such as Colon rectum (a beetle), Ba humbugi (a snail), Oedipus complex (a salamander) and Ytu brutus (a beetle) attest. Besides how much disrepute could commerce really bring to the discipline that brought the world Trombicula fujigmo, a mite who name is an acronym for “fuck you Jack, I got my orders.”
Excerpted from The Economist 11 February 2006
#####################################################################################
17. LTEs Guardian Weekly
Numbers can't be ignored
With the front-page article heading World climate now 'on the brink', Fiona Harvey paints a grim scenario for the future of our planet. The rate of carbon emissions is still growing, it seems, and is close to causing irreversible climate changes such as global warming.
The article points out that one result of this development is likely to be mass migration and the inevitable conflicts that will follow. Such a probability leads me to point out that the glaring omission in her article is that there is no mention of the problem of population growth that the earth is facing as never before. With almost 7 billion people already and predictions of 9 billion before the end of the century, these numbers are surely factors that cannot be ignored in any discussion of human effects on the world's environment.
Even if people in the so-called developed countries accepted the need to reduce their standard of living, this would still be insufficient to prevent the sorts of changes that Harvey warns us of.
Bill Sykes, Christchurch, New Zealand
Sir: Guardian Weekly, 27 May: West urges OPEC to boost oil production; 3 June: World climate now 'on the brink'. An answer in only a week.
Adrian Betham, London UK
(JS: These two letters finger the absurd situation human society faces vis-a-vis the necessity of devising responses to climate warming--it comes down to no response. Why? Politics, fueled by economics. If President Obama and other powerful world leaders were to tell us that we have to tighten our belts, drive less, stop gallivanting around the world, forgo dozens of pleasures, change our lifestyle, &c--you know what what happen to them. The bizarre necessity of exhorting us to "get the economy moving again" to create jobs clashes directly with a realistic response to climate action.
The nightly news is filled with what India, China and others are doing to catch up with the example set by us. Airlines are ordering x-many jumbo airlines, oil companies are drilling in ever more expensive and dangerous places--the ultimate is tar sands and fracking, which takes as much energy to extract as it would yield, go figure--trucks are buzzing around delivery necessities like Hostess Twinkies, bottled water, soft drinks, and, and, and....
In the meantime we change light bulbs and recycle.)
_______________________________________________
LTE, The Economist
SIR: It is true that immigration is good for the economy, but you made the lazy claim that opposition to it is racist. The quality of life is inversely related to population density, and Australia has indeed been the luckiest of countries in this regard. We are allowing our leaders to get away with destroying this priceless and rare quantity in order to make a few extra dollars.
Mark Bresman
Brisbane, Australia
####################################################################
18. As the Push for More Visas Increases, Fewer American Students Pursue High Tech Careers. California U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren is off and running again with another effort to subvert unemployed American workers.
Despite a 9 percent U.S. unemployment rate (12 percent in California), Lofgren plans to introduce a bill during the next several days that would create a new category of green cards which would be automatically issued to STEM graduates from U.S. research universities. Green cards would also automatically be given to so-called high-skilled immigrants that receive venture capital funding and foreign-born entrepreneurs who start companies that create jobs. Among the major supporters of Lofgren’s proposed bill are Oracle, Google and Intel who, coincidentally, are her major campaign funders.
Said Lofgren: “We need to look at immigration as a job-creating engine.”
For political cover, Lofgren suggests that her bill would create protections for American workers by prohibiting their displacement by an H-1B visa holder. But safety provisions for U.S. employees have been in H-1B language since the visa was first introduced nearly twenty years ago. Since then, millions of American engineers have lost their jobs.
Lofgren’s latest push for more employment visas, a concept which President Obama endorsed in his State of the Union address, tries to shift the argument over adding more workers into a depressed job market to the “innovations” immigrants may bring to American enterprise.
Researchers at the Urban Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, however, have found that the notion of there being a shortage of American students receiving degrees in science and technology is a common misconception.
If Lofgren’s proposed legislation passes, a shortage of American-born scientists and mathematicians might develop. As University of California Davis Professor Norm Matloff has repeatedly argued, every time a STEM-related visa is issued to a foreign-born worker, American students become less likely to enter the high tech field.
Professor Matloff refers to this pattern as “internal brain drain.” The H-1B program causes direct and indirect displacement of U.S. citizens, especially of those tech employees over age-35, while at the same time discouraging young people from going into a STEM field of study in the first place.
According to Professor Matloff the federal government, especially the National Science Foundation, a $7 billion agency created to “promote the progress of science,” is one of the leading culprits in creating America’s brain drain. In 1989 the NSF was at the vanguard of those pushing Congress to establish the H-1B program. An internal NSF paper advocated bringing in large numbers of foreign-born scientists and engineers for the explicit goal of holding down Ph.D. wages, a policy that would benefit major U.S. corporations. Moreover, the NSF explicitly predicted that an H-1B program might discourage domestic students because of the stagnant wages that it would create.
Under those circumstance, what would prompt a bright young American student to pursue a STEM degree if he knew that at best his income would be flat and at worst, his application would be passed over in favor of a cheaper, foreign-born worker?
During her 20-year Congressional career, Lofgren has been an outspoken advocate for more non-immigrant visas and unlimited caps on work-related visas like the H-1B.
Even if Lofgren finds a Republican co-sponsor, no certainty, the prospects for her controversial legislation are bleak. Congress, especially the House, is more concerned about protecting the few remaining American jobs rather than importing foreign-born workers.
Californians for Population Stabilization
#####################################################################################
19.
San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, June 10, 2011
Study should include Hetch Hetchy, group says
San Francisco's long-controversial drinking water reservoir in Yosemite National Park should be subject to a new, rigorous environmental study as part of the relicensing of an energy project downstream in Tuolumne County, a conservation group said.
Today, the group Restore Hetch Hetchy plans to file comments with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission arguing that under national environmental laws enacted in the 1970s, the agency must weigh other alternatives to the massive reservoir - including returning the valley to its natural state.
It is the group's latest volley in what many see as an uphill fight to remove the dam at Hetch Hetchy, a battle that famed naturalist John Muir lost nearly 100 years ago when the valley was flooded to supply the growing city with water.
The federal commission, which is responsible for licensing hydropower facilities in the United States, is beginning its five-year review of a new 50-year permit for the Don Pedro Hydroelectric Project. Though the Don Pedro power plant and reservoir are owned and run by the Modesto Irrigation District and Turlock Irrigation District, the conservation group contends that the system is legally - though not physically - linked to the Hetch Hetchy network because San Francisco has a long-standing accounting arrangement to "bank" water there.
Essentially, San Francisco releases more water down the Tuolumne River to Don Pedro Reservoir in wet years in exchange for withholding the equivalent amount of water at Hetch Hetchy during dry years.
"This demonstrates that ... it's an integrated system and that the economic and environmental consequences upstream and downstream have to be considered," said Douglas Wheeler, Restore Hetch Hetchy's attorney.
In addition, Wheeler said, San Francisco in the 1960s paid for just over half of the cost of the New Don Pedro Dam, which enlarged the reservoir to accommodate the water covered in the banking agreement.
Finally, the environmental group points out that Don Pedro was last reauthorized in the 1960s, before the influential National Environmental Policy Act was enacted to safeguard significant ecosystems.
The mission of Restore Hetch Hetchy is to return the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park to its natural splendor while continuing to meet the water and power needs of all communities that depend on the Tuolumne River.
###########################################################
20. Cucumbers: Encumbered by Lean Genes
Could the cucumber lose its cool? According to ARS geneticist Jack Staub, it just might.
He says this salad favorite suffers from an overly narrow genetic base. That means if disease strikes or severe drought settles in, it's possible that not just a few cucumber plants will suffer--they all could.
Staub is working to invigorate cucumbers' dismal DNA base with the help of wild relatives from southern Asia, the veggie's birthplace. "It hasn't been easy though," he says, "since domestic cucumbers don't cross easily with wild ones."
Twelve years ago the researcher got lucky when an unusual wild cucumber species was discovered in China. Excited by its rarity and unlikely Chinese origins (the vegetable originated in India), Staub and a Chinese colleague tried crossing it with a domestic cultivar.
At first, they weren't able to recover any offspring. Then, with the help of a technique called "embryo rescue," some plants survived. And they were fertile, producing valuable seed for additional research.
Staub says that his advanced hybrids now "cross freely with domestic cucumbers." He's evaluating these hybrids for their horticultural potential in hopes of sharing the unique germplasm with breeders all over the world.
Now Staub faces a new obstacle: trying to cross the wild cucumber with its cousin, the melon. Why? Because untamed melons have a lot to offer domestic melons and cucumbers, including resistance to drought and pests. But Staub hasn't been able to achieve a successful cross, even though the plants should be compatible reproductively, since they share the same number of chromosomes.
One of only two public cucumber breeders in the country, Staub will continue trying to solve the mysteries of why the cucurbit cousins won't cross and how such a rare cucumber plant arose in China.
The future of crunchy dill pickles and refreshing cucumber slices could depend on it.
Agricultural Research March 2007
#####################################################################################
21. Between XX and XY; Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes, by Gerald N Callahan, PhD
From Publishers Weekly
Combining passion with current scientific information, Callahan, an immunologist/pathologist at Colorado State University, explains why our conception of two sexes is more a social than a biological construct. He argues that there are no simple, foolproof ways to determine sex. For example chromosomal structure, XX for females and XY for males, is not fully predictive because of various genetic disorders that can play a larger role. Similarly, genitalia can be quite varied and represent a continuum of difference rather than two discrete points. Callahan does a good job of exploring intersex individuals, who are neither male nor female, and argues that they need to be accepted for what they are and not viewed as defective. Further, he provides provocative evidence that surgical gender reconstruction is often unsuccessful. Although Callahan attempts to make the case that some non-Western societies have a less bipolar view of gender, his abbreviated presentation is not very convincing. He is, however, persuasive that better understanding of and respect for sex and gender variability would be far healthier for the 65,000-plus intersex people born each year and society in general.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Callahan does a good job of exploring intersex individuals, who are neither male nor female, and argues that they need to be accepted for what they are and not viewed as defective." —Publishers Weekly
"Immunologist Callahan takes a fascinating look at the biology and human experience of intersexuality, a state in between male and female." —Discover Magazine
"There are lots of interesting nuggets here—for example, Callahan's description of biological sex as a spectrum, not a binary system." —doubleX
"This book takes readers through an alphabet of gender and gender variations. Callahan shows readers that rather than either/or scenarios, there have always been variations; his book shatters our society's take on pink and blue." —Advocate.com
"This is a fascinating, easily understandable journey into why we are born male or female and examines our age-old obsession with sex." —Fort Collins Coloradoan
####################################################
22. Notes & Queries, Guardian Weekly, 14 June 2011
A waiter delivers a cocktail on the beach in the Maldives. Photograph: Dhoni Mighili
Why do small flies dive to their deaths in my sundowner?
Because it tastes so much better than the water in your swimming pool. And they die happy.
Joan Dawson, Halifax, NS, Canada
• Poor taste mixed with bad judgment.
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
• They have an appointment with the ointment.
Roger Morrell, Perth, Western Australia
Abverbially speaking
Why do so many people on radio keep saying "absolootely!" instead of "yes"? Why do women throw the word "actually" (or rather akshly) into every sentence? Why do men preface all their statements with "basically"?
Family genetics. The people you mention in your query are the progeny of the ones who used "cool", "you know" and "dig it" in every sentence.
Helena Fierlinger, Westport,New Zealand
• Because it's cool.
Neville Holmes, Bakery Hill, Victoria, Australia
• To suggest superior knowledge.
Philip Stigger, Burnaby, BC, Canada
Release the hounds!
Why has England always been so class-ridden?
Ask one of those horses ridden by the English who go out in search of the fox.
Doreen Forney, Pownal, Vermont, US
• That's classified information.
Mike Sharp, Kivik, Sweden
• No class.
James Carroll, Geneva, Switzerland
The monkeys know best
Did evil exist before the advent of Homo sapiens?
Perhaps evil predates us as a species and emerges, out of Africa, at that point of evolutionary divergence between the much maligned gorilla and the nearer and much dearer cousin of ours – the chimpanzee.
It is ironic that the much-loved, much-anthropomorphised cheeky chappie cuppa tea chimp, with his unique mirroring of our own endless variety of facial types, is, in reality, cunningly murderous and war-inclined, savagely cannibalistic and, with his disproportionately large genitalia, excessively interested in recreational copulation to the point of mania. No time for tea.
But the gentle giant gorilla belies its Kong reputation, living peacefully in orderly family groups, undismayed by his amazingly tiny organs of generation, munching and farting prodigiously in vegetarian roly-poly heaven. How differently might the culpable, sapient human species have turned out had our biological destiny and DNA been more closely linked to the more ponderous of the great apes, now so at risk in central Africa? The three wise monkeys knew evil all right.
Dave Hughes, Lerala, Botswana
• The evil that men do lives after them, not before.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, BC, Canada
No comments:
Post a Comment