2. Lone sharks: persuading the Chinese to give up shark's fin soup
3. Native/sustainable planting day on Potrero Hill's McKinley Park Oct 16
4. An amazing ski and environmental film - October 7
5. LEAP's 28th Annual Sandcastle contest Saturday October 8
6. Cal-IPC-sponsored Habitat Restoration Day October 26 in Presidio
7. Annual Creeks and Watershed Conference Nov 5 in Mountain View
8. Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time Oct 9, SF Public Library
9. How long will we believe we are not free? At the Teahouse, 6 am
10. Save the dates: Learn about recycled water and how we can use recycled water
11. Good article on California pipevine and pipevine swallowtail butterfly
12. Feedback: How to save birds besides keeping cats indoors/vermi-composting
13. Heron's Head Park volunteer workday schedule
14. How to write novels
15. Notes & Queries
1.
You Reading This, Be Ready
Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?
Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?
When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life -
What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?
~ William Stafford ~
(The Way It Is)
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2. Conservation in China
Lone sharks
Persuading the Chinese to give up shark’s fin soup
Oct 1st 2011 | from The Economist print edition
IS THE tide turning against shark’s fin soup? Conservationists certainly hope so. On September 22nd in Shanghai WildAid, a charity, launched a campaign to persuade Chinese people to give up eating the delicacy. Celebrity support for the bid was provided by Yao Ming, a Chinese basketball star, and Sir Richard Branson, a British business star. In California, meanwhile, a ban on the sale, trade and possession of sharks’ fins has been passed by the state senate, and awaits only the governor’s signature to become law.
The booming Chinese appetite for shark’s fin soup is known to be the driving force behind the depletion of shark species worldwide. Matt Rand, director of Global Shark Conservation at the Pew Environment Group, says that more than 30% of shark species are at risk of extinction. Marine ecosystems depend on the presence of high-level predators to keep other species in check, he says. Yet many Chinese accuse the campaigners of double standards. Why should shark’s fin, an important part of certain Chinese feasts, be banned, they ask? Why not ban bluefin tuna, which is also critically endangered, but more widely eaten by Westerners?
Lacking any inherent flavour, shark’s fin is treasured in China for its strandy, gelatinous “mouth feel”, its centuries-old status as a prized dish and its astronomical price. Serving it honours both host and guest. Most Westerners, unschooled in its pleasures, consider it a pointless delicacy. Juliet Eilperin, an American author, sums up the general Western viewpoint in “Demon Fish”, a book about sharks. A frond of fin, she says, is “a translucent, tasteless bit of noodle” and shark’s fin soup “one of the greatest scams of all time”. Eating it, Ms Eilperin suggests, is even more reprehensible than eating other morally objectionable foods such as delicious foie gras, because there is “no gastronomic pay-off”.
Celebrity endorsements and well-meaning Californians aside, the question now is whether wealthy Chinese in Asia can be persuaded to stop eating shark’s fin. Sceptics abound. Being lectured by Westerners on cultural or moral issues gets right up the noses of most Chinese. But if disapproval of the consumption of shark’s fin encourages the Chinese to see it as luo hou (backward), one of the most dreaded of all Chinese epithets, they might want to renounce the stuff anyway.
This has already happened with spitting in the streets, which many Chinese now regard as a backward habit. Eating dogs, too, is increasingly viewed as barbaric (a 600-year old dog-eating festival in eastern China was cancelled in September after public uproar). If the new Chinese elite can be persuaded that deliberately eating endangered species ill befits their aspirations to cosmopolitanism, there might be some hope for the sharks. Other threatened creatures that find their way, legally and illegally, into Chinese cooking pots could also be spared.
Already, farms are springing up outside Chinese cities to cater to more sophisticated Chinese consumers seeking out “green foods” such as free-range meat and poultry, or organically grown vegetables. Ethical and environmental concerns will surely follow. There are precedents for the disappearance of classic Chinese dishes on conservation grounds. Bear’s paw, for example, is no longer eaten openly. Instead, you may be offered imitation bear’s paw made from mutton pushed into a paw-shaped mould. Imitation shark’s fin is already available should anybody want it. And when the social cachet of a fabulously expensive delicacy is required, these days a bottle of Château Lafite might do.
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3. There will be a native/sustainable planting day on the McKinley Square hillside on Potrero Hill on October 16th from 10am-12noon. There will be 100s of plants supplied by San Francisco Park & Recreation planted on the McKinley Square Hillside. Everyone is welcome to join local community members in helping put down plants and improve trails. Although some tools will be supplied, people are encouraged to bring gloves, tools, and wear heavy shoes if they have them. Please RSVP so that will help us know how many plants to supply. For more information: info@McKinleySquare.com
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4. From Lisa Lee Benjamin:
Hey Jake-
Can you pass this along!!! this is an amazing ski and environmental film and was made by my great friends in Whistler... the premiere is this friday *pm and my social network is not great as I travel all the time and not here very much!
It is really incredible and worth seeing about all we can do to change and that we are lucky to be on the planet!
would be amazing if you could send out to the list... am always so inspired by your collections.
"A truly unparalleled cinematic experience: All.I.Can is a stunning exploratory essay that compares the challenges of big mountain skiing to the challenges of global climate change. Shot on 6 continents over 2 years, the world’s best skiers deliver inspirational performances while ground-breaking cinematography expands our vision of the natural world. Journey through Morocco’s majestic desert peaks, Greenland’s icy fjords, Chile’s volcanic craters, Alaskan spine walls, and more. Join the revolution and experience one of the most spectacular, captivating, and thought-provoking films ever created in the action sports genre."
VIMEO LINK: http://vimeo.com/29320702
All.I.Can is being dubbed as "the best ski film of the year" and its coming to San Francisco, CA this Friday October 7, 2011. Join The Sherpas, The North Face, Clif Bar and more to see what all the hype is about down at The Victoria Theatre located at 2961 16th St, San Francisco, CA (415.863.7576). Tickets are $12 and available online at http://www.victoriatheatre.org/boxoffice.htm and in-hand at Sports Basement (Bryant and Presidio locations) and at Mountain West. Nothing but sold out All.I.Can shows thus far, get yer tix before its too late!
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5. LEAP'S 28TH ANNUAL SANDCASTLE CONTEST
Join us on Saturday, October 8, 2011, for the largest sandcastle competition in Northern California. This 28th annual event is a fundraiser for Leap, a nonprofit that provides much needed arts education programs to Bay Area elementary and middle schools. This year's event theme is "Sandblast!"
Leap’s Sandcastle Contest—great for the whole family—is free to the public. The sand sculptures—built by teams of architects, construction-industry professionals, local businesses and local elementary school children—are magnificent attempts to reshape Mother Earth and push the limits of creativity. All are welcome to observe, cheer on their favorite team, bring a picnic and have fun!
Besides seeing the amazing castles, there are plenty of other hands-on activities for kids of all ages!
• If you’d like to participate in building a sandcastle, drop by Leap's Community Sandcastle-building area, where bystanders can team up with volunteers and professional architects to try their hand at designing and building a giant castle based on this year's theme. Participants in this activity are encouraged to donate $5 - $10 to support Leap's art programs in schools. No sign-up is required, just drop on by anytime between 10 am and 2 pm.
• Leap will also host an “Imagination Station,” where kids of all ages are welcome to drop in and decorate their own sandcastle statue to take home. Please drop by anytime between 10 am and 2 pm.
• Leap Teaching Artist Becky Bearse will lead a performance followed by an interactive, engaging dance workshop for all ages between 2 pm and 3 pm.
A stellar lineup of judges is in the works for this year’s contest, including: Ian Huebert, renowned San Francisco artist; Michael Osborne, President of award-winning graphic design firm Michael Osborne Designs; Elizabeth Faulkner, Owner/chef of Citizen Cake; Tyra Fennell, Arts Education Program Manager of the San Francisco Arts Commission; Sirron Norris, a renowned San Francisco-based muralist; Sandra Fewer, San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner; and Grant Washburn, cinematographer, film producer and Mavericks surfer.
Leap serves over 6,500 children in schools across the Bay Area each year with residencies in visual art, architecture, dance, music, creative writing and theater. Leap’s Teaching Artists develop hands-on, participatory programs for each classroom and integrate the arts and architecture into the school’s curriculum. For more information, go to www.leaparts.org or contact Leap directly at info@leaparts.org or 415.512.1899.
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What: Leap’s 28th Annual Sandcastle Contest: Sandblast!
When: Saturday, October 8, 2011, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Community Sandcastle Drop-in Building and Imagination Station activities are 10 am - 2 pm).
Where: Ocean Beach, just south of Cliff House (Great Highway and Balboa Ave.) Please note: parking is limited and we encourage you to use public transportation.
Why: A fun, family - friendly event showcasing the biggest sandcastles in Northern California and benefiting arts education programs for local kids!
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6.
Cal-IPC-Sponsored Habitat Restoration Workday
Meet at Presidio Transit Center at 215 Lincoln Boulevard on the Main Post (adjacent to Presidio Fire Station and the bank/post office).
October 26, 2011, 1:00pm-4:00pm.
Parking is available at the Transit Center in metered spots. Click here for information about arriving by public transit. Vans will transport participants to the two sites. Please arrive by 12:45 so that we can start work at 1:00pm.
Sumner Grassland is a 1 acre site that contains remnant patches of native plants. Participants will learn how Park staff use tarping as way to control invasive grasses. There will be discussions and demonstrations of using different types of material and proper methods of installation. Restoration staff are initiating a study for testing the efficacy of tarping in controlling purple velvet grass. One objective of the study is to determine if existing native bunchgrasses will survive tarping. Participants will help establish control and test plots, installing markers and tarps.
Site managers in the Presidio have had success using sheets of cardboard covered with mulch (“sheet mulching”) to control weeds in revegetation areas. This has been done on a few revegetation sites in the Presidio, where a canopy of cypress, eucalyptus, and/or pine overarches natives. Weeds are a persistant problem in such areas, resulting in duplication of efforts each year (often multiple times per year) that can be wasteful and demoralizing for staff and volunteers. Sheet mulching is an effective method of controlling weeds in a revegetation area. Participants will tour Wherry Corridor, a site with sheet mulching projects from 2010 and 2011, then participate in installing sheet mulch at a riparian revegetation site at Mountain Lake in the Presidio.
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7.
Annual Creeks and Watershed Conference
This year's conference is titled "Healthy Creeks / Vibrant Bay"
The conference will take place on November the 5th, 2011 and with run from 8:00 AM till 3:30 PM
It will be held in their beautiful conference room near the bay in Mountain View.
We will be presenting the Creek Advocate of the Year award to Florence & Phillip LaRaviere and the Watershed Steward of the Year award to David Lane.
Our keynote speaker will be The honorable Sally Lieber, former State Assembly Member for the 22nd District & Candidate for State Senate.
Talks this year include two panel discussions relating to Creeks and the San Francisco Bay and an update on the status of Steelhead in the South Bay area.
Special guests include: Ron Blatman from KQED's "Special Saving the Bay" & Sam Schuchat, Executive Officer of the State of California Coastal Conservancy.
Advanced Registration is now open for the event which is FREE but we do suggest a donation of $10.00 this year to help us with the cost of lunch.
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8.
October 9, 2 pm at San Francisco Public Library
Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time
The filmmakers Steve & Ann Dunsky presented their film to the California Native Plant Society on July 7, one of many presentations they will do in the Bay Area. The following is what I wrote them the following day:
I was deeply moved by your presentation to our chapter on our icon, Aldo Leopold. More than that, I was choked up and had a lump in my throat the entire presentation. What a great man, speaking truths about profound connections that most of us don't have the understanding to comprehend. (As I get older I use "us" and "them" less and less often, as I become aware of my own profound ignorance.) You did a beautiful job of acquiring and integrating a cornucopia of rich material, and the participation of Leopold's wife and his descendants added immeasurably. They were all chips off the old block, and kept his light-hearted spirit even at the times that were tinged with sadness or tragedy.
Thank you for presenting this. I do hope the film acquires a large audience. The message is too important for it not to.
For information, and nationwide opportunities to see the film:
http://www.greenfiremovie.com/
https://www.aldoleopold.org/greenfire/findshowing.php
"One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise. A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
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9.
At the Teahouse, 6 am
Sunrise at the octagonal hut;
beyond, where two decks meet,
a lizard does pushups in the sun.
I see the green, chattering world
through the window, I see
my image in the window.
Both are present; are both true?
A bee enters the hut, buzzes
insistently against the window,
but the window won't yield
to his wishes. I want to
show him the open door,
say this world through the glass
is only an illusion but I don't.
How long will he hurl himself
against the dusty glass? How long
will we believe we are not free?
~ Holly Hughes ~
(America Zen - A Gathering of Poets)
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10. Save the date
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission invites you to learn about recycled water and how we can use recycled water in neighborhoods in the eastern side of San Francisco. Open Houses will be held in November:
November 15 - Southeast Community Facility - 1800 Oakdale
November 17 - Mission Bay Visitor Center - 255 Channel
Invitations will follow in October.
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11. (JS: This item was inadvertently posted in last newsletter, and was not in the TOC.)
California pipevine and the pipevine swallowtail butterfly are the subject of an article in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden October 2011 newsletter: http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=01091d83e4aa193c78a888704&id=8b37cec9c0&e=dc1584429c
Lee Rudin:
Hi Jake, I enjoyed the article in the EB Botanical Garden newsletter about CA Pipevine. I had just bought one this weekend at the SBM nursery and hope to attract the butterfly. thanks for recommending it, I learn a lot.
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12. Feedback
Lee Rudin:
If interested, here are tips besides keeping cats indoors to help birds:
We are losing tropical forest habitat - the environment migratory birds depend upon - across all of Latin America at an alarming rate. Over 60 species of birds, the 'coffee birds' that spend their summers with us in North America, increasingly rely on old fashioned, rustic canopy shade coffee farms in Central and South America to make it through the winter. Sadly, because most of the coffee we drink in the US is now is grown on heavily chemical 'sun' farms or on 'fake' shade plantations that are not organic, this sanctuary too is disappearing.
The only way to be certain that the coffee we drink is from 'good' farms is when it is independently certified as 'Bird Friendly®' by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Five steps to take to help make our world a better and more 'Bird Friendly®' place:
Daniel Jacobs, (This conversation started on March 17, so read from the bottom up):
Sorry I've taken so long to respond to your thoughtful note of 3/17. The best historical account of alien worm invasions I've managed to find since then is Adele Conover's article, "Foreign Worm Alert," published in Smithsonian magazine in Aug. 2000: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/phenom_aug00.html?c=y&page=1 Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworm#North_America ) gives a general survey of North American worm taxa, 33% of which were apparently introduced. An informal discussion of the impact of the ice ages on North American earthworms can be found at http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1916/whats-the-story-on-north-american-earthworms .
I ended up biting the bullet and buying a pound of red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) to process my kitchen scraps -- which they're doing quite well. I keep my composting bin indoors, and the wigglers seem content to live within its confines.
On Mar 17, 2011, at 6:52 AM, Jake Sigg wrote:
I don't think I can help you, Daniel, as I know little about the subject, and possibly less than you. I have read a number of digest articles on the subject and what I've read seems to indicate that this is a done deal and there is nothing we can do to reverse the situation, for good or ill. If you find otherwise, let me know.
On Mar 17, 2011, at 6:47 AM, Daniel Jacobs wrote:
Date: March 17, 2011
Subject: Native worms for composting?
I'd like to start worm-composting the kitchen scraps in my Pleasant Hill apartment. In the reading I've done so far on vermicomposting, I've found that the worm species typically used for composting came originally from Europe: Eisenia fetida (red wiggler) and Lumbricus rubellus, another European red worm. L. rubellus worms, when released into natural settings in North America, tend to consume leaf litter so fast that they disrupt local ecosystems -- according to composting author Cathy Cromell.
Instead of propagating an introduced species, I'd much rather deal with a native species of worm. Do you have any suggestions for an appropriate native species? And, if so, do you know where I could buy a starter batch of worms?
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13. Heron's Head Park
This Saturday’s program activities will last from 9am-12pm and may include planting, weeding, and general care of HHP. All tools and safety gear are provided. Please wear layered clothing that can get dirty and don’t forget a refillable canteen for water.
Upcoming workdays:
• November 12
• December 10
• January 14
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14. According to an old joke (perhaps a true story), there's this ad in a magazine:
Learn to write novels.
Easy-to-understand instructions.
Send $20.
You send money to the given address and in return they send you a dictionary with the instructions "Some assembly required."
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15. Notes & Queries, Guardian Weekly
Washing with a smile
Why do dishwashers not have windows?
I do, over the kitchen sink.
Cameron Grant, Adelaide, South Australia
• Clothes tumble and are visually stimulating. Fortunately dishes don't, so they aren't.
E Slack, L'Isle Jourdain, France
• Because they all use Macs.
Nigel Grinter, Chicago, Illinois, US
• It would be more useful to have a window in the fridge; then you could see if the light goes out after you shut the door.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany
That giant sucking sound
Communism sucks, capitalism sucks, economics sucks: what are we left with?
The old cold war joke? "Capitalism is the exploitation of man by man, communism is exactly the reverse."
Henry Godfrey, Scarsdale, New York, US
• Sweets, suck all. (Just desserts?)
Joseph Loudon, Darwin, NT, Australia
• Confusionism.
Andrew Hallifax, Örebro, Sweden
• A world of suckers.
Barry Evans, Victoria, BC, Canada
• Reality, but suckers beware: it bites.
John Grinter, Katoomba, NSW, Australia
• Football.
Doug Bicket, Stittsville, Ontario, Canada
Any answers?
Why do flies never find the way out?
Egbert von Steuber, Lingen, Germany
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