This newsletter is pasted onto my blogsite: http://naturenewssf.blogspot.com/ the same day it is sent via email.
1. Reminders of our nation's founding
2. Job opportunity in Oakland
3. Irrigating native plants - July 6 in Los Altos
4. More Aldo Leopold quotations
5. Don't tell a camel about need and want; it has a clear sense of its place in the world
6. Feedback: aborting female fetuses
7. Taxonomists, botanists, zoologists - spellchecker to your rescue
8. Answering the Call of the Wild - July 9th in Pacifica
9. Prepare for return of the Snowy Plovers at Crissy Field July 9/Audubon's Junior Birders Summer Camp July 18-22
10. Exclusively San Bruno Mtn plant species - SALE July 9 in Brisbane
11. He pencilled out the Sun's prodigious energy production: Hans Bethe, born this day, 1906
12. Unlimited energy by imitating the Sun? A skeptical look at three schemes
13. Why are there stars? Interesting talk at California Academy of Sciences/a little quiz
14. Presidio Open Space Update July 13/Public Walk: draft Mid-Crissy Design Guidelines July 7
15. Julia Child and Mata Hari - spies
1. (NOTE: In observance of the 4th of July, I will send out a special edition of this newsletter, immediately after this one. It consists of Gary Trudeau's [Doonesbury] take on the state of education and our sense of history. Take it to heart.)
Colonists understood politics as a perpetual contest between the forces of power and liberty.
"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt.... If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake."
-Thomas Jefferson, 1798, after the passage of the Alien & Sedition Act
The Economist
James Madison: “Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it compromises and develops the germ of every other.”
(I lost the attribution on this item):
"When things get so balled up that the people of a country got to cut loose from some other country, and go it on their own hook, without asking no permission from nobody, excepting maybe God Almighty, then they ought to let everybody know why they done it, so that everybody can see they are not trying to put nothing over on nobody...."
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2. Job opportunity
The West Oakland Green Initiative is looking for a half-time Exec Director. Big job is getting 250 trees planted in an area of Oakland by the end of November. 20 hours per week, Wages TBD. Contact Tom McCoy at tmccoy@bbiconstruction.com. ARBoone, WOGI Board member.
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3. Irrigating Native Plants - Tips and Tricks
A talk by Lori Palmquist
Wednesday, July 6, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos.
Join us for a discussion on how to irrigate native plants in the landscape. We will explore the unique requirements of these plants due to their adaption to dry California summers. The discussion will include: setting up hydrozones, deciding between drip and spray, determining the water needs of any given plant, and creating watering schedules for different times of the year.
Lori Palmquist is a certified landscape irrigation specialist with over 20 years of experience. Over the past three years, she has been leading irrigation training programs and workshops for both landscape professionals and homeowners in the Bay Area and Sacramento, sponsored by cities and water companies.
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4. More Aldo Leopold
"In those days we had never heard of passing up a chance to kill a wolf. In a second we were pumping lead into the pack, but with more excitement than accuracy; how to aim a downhill shot is always confusing. When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down, and a pup was dragging a leg into impassable slide-rocks.
"We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes--something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view." A Sand County Almanac
(Save the date: July 7 - Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time - San Francisco County Fair Bldg)
"If the land mechanism is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not...Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land. Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left. To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering." Aldo Leopold 1949
"I now suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear of its deer. And perhaps with better cause, for while a buck pulled down by wolves can be replaced in two or three years, a range pulled down by too many deer may fail of a replacement in as many decades."
"Conservation, viewed in its entirety, is the slow and laborious unfolding of a new relationship between people and the land."
"Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them." A Sand County Almanac
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5.
The Camel
Don't tell a camel about need and want.
Look at the big lips
pursed
in perpetual kiss,
the dangerous lashes
of a born coquette.
The camel is an animal
grateful for less.
It keeps to itself
the hidden spring choked with grass,
the sharpest thorn
on the sweetest stalk.
When a voice was heard crying in the wilderness,
when God spoke
from the burning bush,
the camel was the only animal
to answer back.
Dune on stilts,
it leans into the long horizon,
bloodhounding
the secret caches of watermelon
brought forth like manna
from the sand.
It will bear no false gods
before it:
not the trader
who cinches its hump
with rope,
nor the tourist.
It has a clear sense of its place in the world:
after water and watermelon,
heat and light,
silence and science,
it is the last great hope.
~ Wislawa Szymborska ~
(Miracle Fair: Selected Poems of Wislawa Szymborska, translated by Joanna Trzeciak)
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6. Feedback
Alice Polesky:
Not to worry, Jake. The major people producers of the world, India and China, are aborting female fetuses. I believe they've outlawed the practice in China, but they can't stop it. In fact, Asian immigrants in the U.S. appear to be doing the same, according to one story I read, based on the U.S. census.
Here's a piece from the NYT about the practice in India:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/world/asia/29india.html
Here's Wikipedia giving an overview:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex-selective_abortion
In India, they also perform sex change operations on little girls to turn them into little boys:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008623/Girls-young-ONE-forced-sex-change-operations-India.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
So you see, the X chromosome needs to fight for its life in this misogynistic, male-dominated world.
Thanks for this, Alice. Although my article was meant for titillation, we know the serious underside to the subject.Only minutes before reading your email, I read a review in Guardian Weekly of the book To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? The book's author includes stories of this sort--such as young seamstresses forced to take contraceptive pills. Even if I had time I wouldn't read the book, as I can take only so much of this dreary, frightening stuff.
I hope to include the review in my newsletter, but I will have to either scan or type it, as I am unable to get it online. If we haven't been thinking of the cotton our inexpensive clothes are made from, we should.
(On further thought, when there is an X and a Y, there is in principle a chance to lose one. But when there's two XXs, it is impossible to lose an X. That's a technical consideration, and doesn't have anything to do with your point. I'm just trying to head off an LTE from a reader.)
I know what you mean, Jake. Maybe I'm getting old and tired, but the bad news seems unrelenting, and coming in like machine-gun rapid fire assault from all angles -- environmental destruction, climate change, murder, rape, mayhem and madness. I've been reading Eckhart Tolle, and I think he nails it: the human ego has become insane.
The bad news seems unrelenting? Nay - 'tis. News is synonymous with bad news today.
Eckhart Tolle (don't know him, but based on your quote) doesn't understand the human ego. If you look close enough--like the Buddha or Freud--you find that the ego (an artificial construct to the Buddha) is the bad guy. That's where it all begins. We all have one--a big one--and we have to watch it carefully; it loves to run things and it appropriates all experience as belonging to itself.I have only in recent years (old age has some compensations to make up for all its ravages) become aware of my ego, and of how it distorts things--and creates mischief for the world. There many lifetimes of work ahead of me, but I don't have that much time left to work on it.
I can't disagree with you about that. If there is good news, it seems pretty inconsequential compared to the magnitude of the miserable stuff; you know, like they rescued the last of the three remaining Sumatran tigers from a poacher or something. It only makes me want to cry even more.
I must have misrepresented Tolle. He pretty much says what you say about the ego, both individually and collectively, since there are collective egos (the "us" in the "us" and "them"). He's a brilliant writer and speaker, with incredible depth and historical information at his fingertips. I use his work to help me catch my own ego out. It's a life's work. I've been watching my ego in action now for years, but can't seem to transform it or even tame it a little.
"To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day." Lao Tzu
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7. Taxonomists, botanists, zoologists - attention
Species spellchecker fixes plant glitches
Online tool should weed out misspellings and duplications.
John Whitfield http://www.nature.com/news/author/John+Whitfield/index.html
The Taxonomic Names Resolution Service http://ohmsford.iplantc.org/tnrs-standalone/index.html (TNRS) aims to find and fix the incorrect plant names that plague scientists' records.
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8. SaveNature's Director, Norm Gershenz "Answers the Call of the Wild":
Norm is speaking on July 9th at 7:30pm at San Pedro Valley Park in Pacifica - "Answering the Call of the Wild"- come get inspired by Norm Gershenz, the Director of SaveNature.Org as he speaks how he and his organization are reaching hundreds of thousands of children, schools and adults around the country to save wildlife and wild places around the world. Norm will share some of his wild stories of his time in the rainforest and share his ideas on how to be successful in accomplishing conservation for the 21st century. To get to San Pedro Valley Park's Visitor Center, follow Linda Mar Boulevard east to where it ends at 600 Oddstad Blvd. The park sign is visible off to the right and one of the gates to the parking lot will be open. Refreshments will be available. The event is free and sponsored by The Friends of San Pedro Valley Park.
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9. Return of the Snowy Plovers
Please join Golden Gate Audubon and the National Park Service on July 9, from 9 a.m. to noon to prepare the Crissy Field Wildlife Protection Area and Ocean Beach in San Francisco for the return of the Snowy Plovers! Participants can meet at Crissy Field in the Presidio or at the Santiago steps on Ocean Beach. We will be picking up trash and improving the habitat for the plovers and other shorebirds.
We recommend that you dress in layers, bring sunscreen and a bottle of water. All other necessary supplies and snacks will be provided. For more information, please contact Noreen Weeden at 510-301-0570 or nweeden@goldengateaudubon.org.
Golden Gate Audubon's Junior Birders Summer Camp July 18-22.
Calling all nature lovers!
Spaces still available for Golden Gate Audubon's Junior Birders Summer Camp July 18-22.
Golden Gate Audubon's award-winning Eco-Education program invites nature lovers ages 9-12 to join us for a fun-filled week of exploring local birds and other wildlife and their habitats. We'll learn how to identify local wildlife, collect and study aquatic organisms, build bird kites, explore local parks, meet live raptors & mammals, play games, sing songs and more! Sites include Arrowhead Marsh at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Shoreline, Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, Lake Merritt, and the Lindsey Wildlife Museum!
Our 11 year old education program strives to foster a love and understanding of science and the natural world through hands-on student-led exploration in the outdoors. Our teachers are experienced environmental educators and student-staff ratio is 7:1. If your child loves to have fun and explore in the outdoors, this is the camp for them!
Program is 9am-4pm; extended morning/evening hours of care available.
$225/week. 10% discount if you sign up with a friend or sibling. Scholarships available. Click the image above for a PDF.
Please contact Anthony DeCicco at adecicco@goldengateaudubon.org or call (510) 508-1388
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10. Mission Blue Nursery Plant Sale and Open House
Hosted by San Bruno Mountain Watch
Saturday, July 9, 2011 - 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Exclusively San Bruno Mountain native plant species
Overstock Sale on Selected Species! - Bring your own carry-out box
The Mission Blue Nursery is located in Brisbane, 1000 feet north of the Brisbane Fire Station on Bayshore Boulevard. Follow the signs.
For Directions: http://www.mountainwatch.org/stewardship-directions/#nursery.
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11. Hans Bethe, born this day 1906
Stephen Hawking, about joys of scientific discovery: I wouldn't compare it to sex, but it lasts longer."
JS: I have become a Sun worshipper. We should all be; all that's required is paying attention to this miraculous thing. The more you think about the Sun and the more you know about it, the more you'll want to know and the more awestruck you'll become.
Why did the Sun rise every morning, century after century, pumping out the energy that provided brilliant light, warmed us, and made the plants grow? It puzzled thoughtful people for thousands of years. Some postulated that it was a huge hunk of burning coal or that gravity was the source, but the invention of science and mathematics put paid to both of those ideas; they wouldn't pencil out--indeed, the sun would have died long before humans were created.
Another source of wonder is that humans were able to erect a science and structure that could figure out how the Sun does it.
The true mystery of the world is not in the invisible, but in the visible. Oscar Wilde
Hans Bethe, born 2 July 1906, died 6 March 2005
How does the sun shine? That is perhaps one of the first questions a curious child asks about the world, and one that, unfortunately, adults now take for granted. What stars are has intrigued mankind for thousands of years. Mostly they were thought eternal, and the universe unchanging. In the scientific age the questions became more refined and specific, and speculations turned to how stars could burn so long without running out of fuel. It was Hans Bethe, one of the greatest innovative theoretical physicists of our time, who in the 1930s unravelled the mysterious nuclear cycles by which stars produce prodigious amounts of energy for billions of years without burning out.
To decipher energy released from the curve of binding energy, he needed as tools both quantum mechanics and Einstein's Relativity, with its famous E=mc2. (Think about that: the energy released equals the mass of the object in question times the speed of light squared--an astounding insight and a boggler if there ever was one. If you need reminding, the speed of light is 300,000 kilometers a second--then square that!) Bethe discovered that carbon, acting as a catalyst, promotes the fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium, which results in a small loss of mass and hence an enormous release of energy. This carbon cycle explained the great age of very hot stars. He went on to discover the direct fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium, and this is closely related to the mechanism that powered the Hiroshima bomb, and is now being sought as controlled nuclear fusion to supply mankind with limitless energy.* Bethe never regretted working on the atomic bomb. Unlike Edward Teller, however, he did not become bewitched by his inventions. Instead, he laboured to make sure that they would never be used again.
...Like his pupil Feynman, he had a fine sense of humour. In 1948 George Gamow, a fellow pioneer of nuclear physics, added Mr Bethe's name without asking to a paper that explained how chemical elements had been made in the Big Bang. He did this simply so that the paper might be credited to Alpher, Bethe, Gamow, close enough to the first three letters of the Greek alphabet. Mr Bethe not only did not mind, but he gamely proceeded to work on elaborations of the theory. He continued publishing papers, mostly on black holes and supernovae, well into his 90s, relying to the end on an old slide rule to make his calculations. It was, he said, good enough.
Condensed, excerpted, and augmented, from The Economist 19 March 2005
"It seems to me that we all look at Nature too much, and live with her too little." Oscar Wilde
(*I hope we never succeed in that; we have proven that we are incapable of being trusted with that much power. See next item. JS)
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12. FEATURES: Projects in Profusion: A Skeptical Look at 3 Wild Fusion-Energy Schemes
Venture capitalists and funding agencies aim to get some bang for their alternative fusion bucks, but a lot of unknowns remain
http://links.email.scientificamerican.com/ctt?kn=50&ms=MzY2NTcxNzAS1&r=NTM5NzIzNTA1NgS2&b=2&j=MTAyNDY4NTE5S0&mt=1&rt=0
Chlorophyll efficiently absorbs red and blue light; those are the parts of the spectrum where our sun invests most of its photonic energy. SciAm 4/08
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13. California Academy of Sciences
Why Are There Stars?
Astronomers have long struggled to understand the fundamental process of star formation. In this Dean lecture, join Dr. Steven Stahler of UC Berkeley as he describes the great strides we have made in understanding this mystery. Takes place on Monday, July 11 at 7:30 pm. $12 adults, $10 seniors.
Purchase tickets
What in the World?
Pictured is an object from nature that has amazing properties when placed in water. What is it?
a) a colony of bacteria that can survive for millions of years
b) a piece of mold that can "swim"
c) a raft made out of interconnected ants
Click here for the answer.
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14. Presidio Open Space Update
Celebrating a Decade of Open Space Restoration - Wednesday, July 13
The theme of this year’s Presidio Open Space Update is “Celebrating the First Decade of Restoration.” Michael Boland, Chief of Planning, Projects, and Programs, will offer a summary of tri-agency landscape revitalization over the last 10 years. Then, park staff will briefly explain projects taking place through summer 2012. Join us on Wednesday, July 13, from 6 to 8 pm, at the Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop. No RSVP necessary. Questions? Please call Presidio Trust Public Affairs at (415) 561-5418.
Public Walk: Draft Mid-Crissy Design Guidelines
The Presidio Trust is developing draft design guidelines for the Mid-Crissy area of Crissy Field in Area B of the Presidio of San Francisco. Mid-Crissy is east of Building 640 and west of Halleck, north of Doyle Drive and south of the Crissy Marsh. Read more. Join us for a public walk on Thursday, July 7, at 5 pm, to learn more about the guidelines and the process. Meet in front of the Sports Basement, 610 Mason Street. Comments on the Draft Mid-Crissy Design Guidelines are accepted through July 15, 2011.
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15. Julia Child was a U.S. spy in the Middle East. A female spy was beyond comprehension, so that was why the U.S. used her. (Imagined conversation--Golda Meir or Saddam Hussein: "Who would have that the creator of that creme brulee was spying on us?")
Mata Hari was not so lucky. She was an exotic dancer from Holland, an amateur and naive. The French caught her in 1917 and executed her.
(Heard on NPR a few years ago. BTW, the Defense Dept didn't give credit to women. JS)
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