Category: Birds & Water Fowl

No comments

Monarchs and Memories

  By , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monarchs and Memories

Monarch Butterfly

Monarchs and Memories

D. S. Mitchell

 

A Public Warning

Across his two terms, President Trump is responsible for removing protections from more than 100 million acres of public lands.  He has abolished safeguards on more than 86 million acres less than two years into his second term. Trump has slashed conservation agencies’ funding while purging land management jobs. Trump is putting beloved public lands and waterways across the country—and America’s conservation legacy—at risk of being permanently altered or destroyed. Do we really want oil rigs springing up around Yellowstone and Yosemite? I don’t think so, and if you agree, it is imperative we get this guy hog tied with congressional oversight. Please vote blue in the mid-terms.

Sharing Something Beautiful

With all that said, you might think today I would stoke up the fires on that story, but instead I’m going to discuss a lovely short essay, by Jennifer S. Kushnier. I originally saw it printed in one of those little books you see at Hallmark card stores. You know, the kind. They are usually really small and are filled with cool art, quotes, short stories or essays. Anyway, this little essay by Ms. Kushnier  reminded me of my childhood. When I was a kid, even in city neighborhoods there were plenty of vacant lots, some were quite big, really open undeveloped fields where beautiful things happened. Thank you Jennifer, your piece was lovely and brought back beautiful memories.

Butterflies by Jennifer S. Kushnier

Jennifer began her essay with the lines, “All kinds of wildflowers prospered there, from ivory Queen Anne’s lace and purple Clover, to yellow Buttercups and Black-eyed Susan’s, to burnt orange Indian Paintbrushes and those light-blue flowers that seem to be so rare these days. To this field came dozens of butterflies.”

Island Life

That little essay takes me to another time, a distant point in my childhood. When I too was very young. At that time my father managed a dairy farm on a picturesque island. Sauvie’s Island is an amazing piece of land caught between the Willamette River and the Columbia River in NW Oregon, about 20 miles west of Portland, Oregon. Most of the island is a designated wildlife refuge with a few farms, even today, in this busy industrialized time.

Protect What We Love

I can remember when the birds would take to the air, a sunny day went black. Today, on this protected island the sky will never again be so full of birds that the sky is black with their bounty. How long before the Monarch’s will be gone forever, and the Wood Duck a mere memory? I think it is imperative that we challenge the Trump Administration at every turn as they push their backward thinking fossil fuel agenda. It is dangerous for the environment. A threat to wildlife, a risk to our water supply. The gutting of the EPA could potentially poison everything we know and love. If you love the sight of a Monarch butterfly in flight, if you love the sound of a woodpecker, if you love the beauty of a Wood Duck floating on a pond, if you love the sight of an Eagle on the wing, you are not alone. Please, stand up, speak out, and stop the threat to all the wild places by the fossil fuel pushing madman.

***Thank you Jennifer S. Kushnier. I have tried to find you but I have not seen anything else you have written, but your little piece was just perfect.

GREENPEACE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM 50 YEARS

  By , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GREENPEACE:

Highlights From 50 Years

GREENPEACE:

Highlights From 50 Years

Greenpeace uses direct action, lobbying, research, and ecotage to achieve its goals.

Founded in 1971

Greenpeace was founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving and Dorothy Stowe transplanted environmental activists from the United States. The organizations stated goal is to “ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity.” Greenpeace focuses its campaigning on worldwide environmental issues such as; climate change, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling, genetic engineering, and anti-nuclear issues.

Global Network

Greenpeace is a global network. The network comprises 26 independent national/regional organizations in over 55 countries. A coordinating body,  Greenpeace International is based in the Netherlands. The network does not accept funding from corporations, political parties, or governments, relying instead on three million plus individual donors and special foundations grants. 

Raising the World Consciousness

Greenpeace is without a double one of the most visible environmental organizations in the world and is critical in raising issues to public  knowledge.

Greenpeace:

50 Years Of Action

February 1972:

After the first Greenpeace action in 1971 the U.S. abandons nuclear testing grounds at Amchitka Island, Alaska.

October 1982:

After at-sea actions against whalers, the International Whaling Commission adopts a whaling moratorium.

December 1989:

UN moratorium on high seas large scale driftnets is passed, responding to public outrage at indiscriminate fishing practices. In 1991 a worldwide ban goes into force.

November 1993:

Due to repeated actions against ocean dumping for over a decade by Greenpeace the London Dumping Convention permanently bans the dumping of radioactive and industrial waste worldwide.

December 1994:

After years of Greenpeace actions against whaling, the Antarctic whale sanctuary is approved by the International Whaling Commission.

December 1997:

Adoption of the Kyoto Protocol by governments of many industrialized countries agreeing to set legally binding reduction targets on greenhouse gases. Europe signed on March 2002 and Russia in 2004.

May 2002:

Greenpeace defeats a major drive by Japan to re-introduce commercial whaling.

March 2009: The Great Bear Rainforest protection agreement capped one of Greenpeace’s longest running campaigns. The protected region covers over 25,000 square miles of Canadian wilderness.

September 2015: Shell Oil abandons Arctic drilling.

October 2016: After years of campaigning for a protected area in the Ross Sea, off the coast of Antarctica succeeded. The agreement created the largest marine protected area in the world.

July 2017: Thai Union, the largest tuna company in the world and owner of Chicken of the Sea, agrees to sweeping reforms with expected benefits for sharks, sea turtles and fisherman.

May-July 2018: Foodservice giants Bon Apetit Management and Aramark commit to phase out plastic straws and stirrers, and other single use products.

September 2020: Brazilian government rejects oil drilling applications near the spectacular Amazon Reef right off the Brazilian coast by French oil giant Total.

June 2021: The U.S. Interior Department  suspends oil and gas drilling leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge after a Greenpeace campaign leading to an environmental review.

August 2022: California legislature enacts a 3,200 foot public health and safety setback, or a buffer zone to protect neighborhoods from toxic pollution created by oil and gas drilling.

 

Plastic Waste, A Global Concern

  By , , , , , , , ,

Plastic Waste, A Global Concern

Plastic pollution is a world catastrophe

Plastic Waste, A Global Concern

By William Jones

What is Plastic?

Plastic is a synthetic organic polymer made from petroleum.  Plastic is ideally suited for a wide variety of applications. Packaging, building and construction, household and sports equipment, vehicles, electronics, and agriculture; the uses are endless. It is cheap, lightweight, strong and malleable. Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year. Half of plastic products are designed for single-use; such as shopping bags, cups, and straws. While plastic has many valuable uses, we have become addicted to single-use or disposable plastic — with severe environmental consequences.

Oil, Natural Gas and Coal

More than 99% of plastics are produced from chemicals derived from oil, natural gas, and coal — all of which are dirty, non-renewable resources. If current trends continue, by 2050 the plastic industry could account for 20% of the world’s total oil consumption.

Worrying Trends

We produce about 300 million tonnes (metric tons) of plastic waste each year. That’s nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. We’re seeing  worrying trends. Since the 1950s, the rate of plastic production has grown faster than that of any other material. We’ve also seen a shift away from the production of durable plastic, and towards plastics that are meant to be thrown away after a single use. These single-use plastic products are everywhere. For many of us, they’ve become integral to our daily lives.

Continue reading

Create a Back Yard Sanctuary

  By , , , ,

       

Creating a back yard sanctuary start with a bird feeder. feeder to your back yard.

To create a backyard sanctuary you might want to start by hanging a bird feeder.

                                                             

Create A Backyard Sanctuary

By D. S. Mitchell

Start With Bird Feeders

No matter how small your yard there are things that you can do that will turn your property into a wildlife sanctuary. With COVID-19 having many of us confined to our homes, it might be just the right time to get out in the yard and make a difference for a bevy of creatures. Biologists say habitat loss is the biggest threat to wildlife. Take some of your extra time and pent-up energy to build half a dozen bird feeders. If you are not good with hammer and nail, just order them on-line. One of the easiest things you can do is hang up bird feeders. Remember to place the feeders at different height levels, in different areas of the yard. Offer a variety of seeds in separate feeders. Don’t offer suet in warm weather.

Use Poisons Cautiously

Often people reach for rodenticides at the first signs of  mouse activity, without thinking of the potential danger to wildlife. A California study found rat poison in 90% of mountain lions and 88% of bobcats, and 25 other animal species, including the endangered northern spotted owl and the San Joaquin kit fox. For wildlife friendly alternatives visit www.saferodentcontrol.org.  Consider installing nesting boxes for barn owls. A family of barn owls can eat as many as 3,000 rodents a year. For information on the owl boxes please visit www.hungryowl.org.

Say No To Weedkillers

Stop using dangerous pesticides.

Stop using dangerous pesticides. Some stay in the soil for a decade. Weeds can be beautiful.

People need to expand their world vision. Amazingly, people take extreme measures to eat organic, yet go full-bore on weed killers. It is clearly time to say no to weed killers. Before buying young starter plants, seed packets and saplings, read the fine print, making sure you do not buy chemically pre-treated products. Make sure there are no neonicotinoids on labels. Half of the plants sold in the U.S. and Canada are treated with neonicotinoids before shipment to stores.

Continue reading

Great Blue Heron

  By ,

A Great Blue Heron just hanging out.

I have a friend who lives in a houseboat moored at Sauvie’s Island. Fortunate one. Sauvie’s Island is a beautiful rural island in a channel of the Columbia River.  The rapidly gentrifying little farming enclave is just a few miles outside of Portland, Oregon. Blue Heron’s and other waterfowl can be seen just hanging out enjoying the day.