La historia

Habiendo llegado a los 10 años desde que inició sus primeros ollies en la industria del skateboard internacional, la marca de tablas y ropa Habitat esta orgullosa de anunciar que se mete de lleno en el mundo de las zapas iniciando un ambicioso proyecto llamado, Habitat Footwear. Desde su nacimiento, Habitat ha estado muy ligada al skateboard puro, diseños eternos e inspiración en el mundo natural.

Las zapatillas

Diseñado por skaters y para skaters, el Calzado de Hábitat alardea de tener los componentes principales de comodidad, peso y durabilidad para optimizar el funcionamiento del patín. Basándose en 6 modelos, la linea tambien infunde el espíritu de la marca Habitat y los diseños de los cuales siempre se ha enorgullecido. Según palabras de los participantes en el proyecto: “Después de 10 años de una fuerte presencia en el mercado de material duro, empezar a vender una linea de zapatillas es una nueva forma muy creativa de que Habitat llegue a un nuevo nivstatus que llevará la marca a otro nivel.”

El Team

Representando a la nueva generación que siempre han envuelto Habitat, los skaters amateurs Guru Khalsa, Marius Syvanen, Austyn Gillette, y Alex Davis estarán detrás de la linea de zapatillas.

La Colaboración

Habitat esta orgullosa de celebrar el honor de porder colaborar en el lanzamiento de la linea de las zapatillas con el artista Charley Harper que ha creado 3 diseños de tablas y 3 zapatillas las cuales estrán disponibles en la primera temporada.

Aquí tenéis el resto de modelos:

Absolute Natural Resources provides extensive land and habitat GPS mapping services involving the use of complex data collection methods, state of the art GIS and GPS technology and satellite imagery.  Absolute Natural Resources offers a variety of mapping services and products for real estate professionals, private landowners, fishing and hunting clubs, habitat and lake developers, hunting lease managers, timber management firms, and recreational land companies.  Located in Denver, Colorado, Absolute Natural Resources has the experience to handle mapping projects in the steep terrain of the Rocky Mountains to the gentle hills of the Great Plains region.  Common client requests include, but are not limited to, aquatic vegetation beds, wetlands, streams, irrigation canals, inlet and outlet features, dam facilities, habitat structures, boat ramps, fishing piers, duck blinds, waterfowl nests and site-specific channels.

A recent project for a client included creating a detailed Nebraska waterfowl habitat plan to allow the land owner to visualize and study the feasibility of constructing a world-class hunting destination.

More information on Absolute Natural Resources, LLC can be found on their website:  www.anrwildlife.com

GPS Waterfowl Habitat Improvement Map

The Mapping Network:  www.TheMappingNetwork.com

A Nationwide Network of GPS Mapping Professionals

“Fishing in the Fall always brings out the melancholy side of me (okay it doesn’t take much to do that). I can’t help but to think, “Is this the last trip of the year?” We can’t know the span of our days or the number of casts that we have left. As I get older I look back more and more and think of things past. Fall just seems like a natural time to do this. Of course there is always the anticipation of a new year and a new season. The spawning colors on that brookie are a promise of that. Nature has saved some of her most beautiful displays for the autumn, the fish, the leaves, the clear blue skies and golden, slanting sunlight. The best wine is brought out late in the celebration.” Casting Around with Anthony Naples

Have you ever noticed the satisfying pictures of the smaller gems living in streams? We all love to see the bigger fish, but those little fish hiding and surviving in small streams are a blessing to behold. If you don’t get it now…you hopefully will some day.

River Art by Ahmad Nadalian

“Petroglyphs are pictures etched into rock surfaces but are not a form of written language. Hieroglyphs are pictorial symbols carved into stone that are ancient written languages…” (Steve Davidson)

]]> http://ohioskateuniv.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/local-news-3/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:44:58 +0000 ohioskateuniv http://ohioskateuniv.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/local-news-3/

From 1031Skates:
“It looks as though Vin Diesel rides one of our DRI decks. Who would have thought.Photo curtesy of Todd Schwartz @ GardenSK8 in Pine Brook , NJ”Now I need to see a video of Vin Diesel doing an ollie.

Click more for more news.

Spotted at JustKillMePlease.
Video premiered yesterday in Cincinnati and featured Taylor Nawrocki, who, I believe, is also from Lazy Sunday fame.

Skatopia and the DC Skate Plaza are on Playboy’s Top Ten Skateparks in America.
P.S. Don’t blame me if you get caught wandering on Playboy’s site. That is your own fault.

Dan Forkin got a Mag Minute feature from The Skateboard Mag so check that out and support Dan.

Kristian Svitak left Innes, the reason? We don’t get one but he does say that now he doesn’t have a clothing sponsor he might just be a nudist.

Spotted at Transworld:
Habitat recently launched its own footwear company with Guru Khalsa, Marius Syvanen, Austyn Gillette and Alex Davis forming the team. Below are pictures of 4 of the 6 new shoes that they will be releasing. Skateshop owners, if you want to add them to your inventory click here.

Quest

Basin

Lark

Ibex

Anthropogenic Biomes of Africa

“Anthropogenic biomes describe globally-significant ecological patterns within the terrestrial  biosphere caused by sustained direct human interaction with ecosystems, including  agriculture, urbanization, forestry and other land uses. Conventional biomes, such as tropical rainforests or grasslands, are based on global vegetation patterns related to climate. Now that humans have fundamentally altered global patterns of ecosystem form, process, and biodiversity, anthropogenic biomes provide a contemporary view of the terrestrial biosphere in its human-altered form. Anthropogenic biomes may also be termed “anthromes” to distinguish them from conventional biome systems, or “human biomes” (a simpler but less precise term).”  -Erle Ellis and Navin Ramankutty

Continuing the dialogue of defining what is urban and its extents, Scientists Erle Ellis and Navin Ramankutty have provided a comparative definition with Anthropogenic Biomes.  That reinforces a systemic definition of urban that entails an unavoidable synthesis of “natural”/self sustaining and human constructed ecologies, similar to the definition of urban as defined in contemprary urban ecology:

“Urban ecosystems comprise suburban areas, exurbs, sparsely settled villages connected by commuting corridors, or by utilities, and hinterlands directly managed or affected by the energy and material from the urban core and suburban lands. -Pickett , S.T.A., et al

Erle Ellis and Navin Ramankutty state:

“Viewing a global map of anthropogenic biomes shows clearly the inextricable intermingling of human and natural systems almost everywhere on Earth’s terrestrial surface, demonstrating that interactions between these systems can no longer be avoided in any significant way…

Europe

…Recent analyses have demonstrated that more than three quarters of Earth’s land surface has been reshaped by human activity. Less than a quarter of Earth’s ice-free land is wild, and only 20% of this is forests; >36% is barren, such that Earth’s remaining wildlands account for only about 10% of global net primary production. More than 80% of all people live in the densely populated urban and village biomes that cover approximately 8% of global ice-free land. Agricultural villages are the most extensive of all densely populated biomes; one in four people lives within them.”

North America

“Though still at an early stage of development, anthropogenic biomes offer a framework for incorporating humans directly into models and investigations of the terrestrial biosphere and its changes, providing an essential foundation for ecological research in the 21st century.”

The maps are relatively course grained but provide a global perspective of how we currently occupy and use the surface of the earth.  Best of all the maps are now viewable in Google Earth and Google Maps for quick viewing here.  A large PDF map of the entire globe and GIS shape files are also available.

The state will be adding 1,500 concrete modules to Keawakapu Beach on Monday in an effort to expand an artificial reef located about a half mile offshore.

The public is asked to stay clear of the area as crews from the Department of Land and Natural Resources work to deploy the “Z” modules beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, November 30, 2009.  The public will not be able to dive or fish on the artificial reef until the deployment is complete.   DLNR Aquatics crews advise the public to say at least 300 yards away from the deployment site.

Image Courtesy DLNR.

Keawakapu Artificial Reef was created in 1962. It is approximately 52 acres in size, and consists of 150 cars, 2,250 tire modules, 35 concrete slabs, and one vessel (the “St. Anthony”) was added in 1997. This is the first addition of concrete modules since 1990 to expand the reef.

The modules, constructed from concrete by Pioneer Machinery, Inc. will be loaded onto an American Marine barge and will be deployed in 60-120 feet of water.  Each “Z”-shaped form measures eight feet long by four feet wide with 12-inch legs at each end facing in opposite directions, and weighs about 2,200 pounds (1.1 tons).

Prior to and during the deployment of the “Z” forms, the target area will be marked with surface floats to warn fishermen, boaters, and divers to stay clear of the barge and the reef site, for safety reasons.

“New coral and seaweed will grow on the forms, which will provide additional habitat to new communities of reef fish,” said Laura H. Thielen, DLNR chairperson. “Artificial reefs increase potential fishing grounds for fishermen, and the cost to the State is minimal,” she said.

DLNR has four shallow water (50-100′) artificial reefs and one deepwater (300-420′) artificial reef.  Three of the shallow water reefs are located off O‘ahu at Wai‘anae, in Maunalua Bay, and Kualoa.  The fourth is located off Keawakapu on Maui.  The deep water artificial reef is located off ‘Ewa Beach, O‘ahu.

Numerous studies have shown that artificial reefs are effective at enhancing reef habitat, thus increasing fish biomass and species diversity within the reef site.  Artificial reefs are key components in fisheries enhancement, as well as a substrate for the settlement of coral polyps (coral growth).  Artificial reefs are also attractive SCUBA and snorkel dive sites.

(Posted by Wendy Osher; Information provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources)

Nos caminhos que a pesca segue em nosso país, na falta de respeito que nossos políticos – aqueles que aprovam leis – tem com o nosso meio ambiente, nossa fauna e flora. Pensam que tudo e renovável e trocam a incerteza da continuidade de nosso habitat em troca de votos. Não sei mais o que pensar ou fazer, não sei mais se terei a liberdade passada de percorrer rios piscosos com mata ciliar nativa e rica. Não sei se poderei ouvir as causos que ouvia e aprender da vida no mato porque agora o ribeirinho que falar da novela, do mundo de ficção enquanto o mundo real vai desaparecendo. Sempre me lembro de um ditado a qual credito ao amigo Adamo – Quanto mais gente no mundo menos natureza.

lemonde.fr, Hervé Kempf, le 25 novembre 2009

Une mesure écologique : réduire l’inégalité

Et le social ? C’est le troisième “pilier” du développement durable, avec l’environnement et l’économie, mais il semble toujours oublié du tableau. Sociologues et géographes rappellent cependant avec insistance que la question sociale s’articule fortement avec la crise écologique. L’université de Paris-X vient ainsi de tenir un colloque sur la justice environnementale, l’Agence française de sécurité sanitaire organise le 10 avril des débats sur le rapport entre inégalités environnementales et risques sanitaires, l’université de Bruxelles vient de publier un recueil sur Environnement et inégalités sociales…

Comme l’expliquent dans ce livre les sociologues Edwin Zaccaï et Pierre Cornut, l’inégalité environnementale revêt plusieurs aspects : d’une part, “les impacts subis par les populations du fait d’une dégradation de l’environnement, et les inégalités sociales face à ces impacts” et, d’autre part, “les impacts générés sur l’environnement par les comportements humains et les inégalités sociales relatives à ces impacts”.

De longue date, il a été observé que les couches sociales les plus défavorisées sont les plus exposées aux nuisances environnementales, que ce soit par leur habitat, situé dans les zones les plus polluées, ou par leur incapacité à s’en prémunir, faute de moyens. Le phénomène a été le mieux quantifié à propos du bruit : “Un ménage à faible revenu a quatre à cinq fois plus de probabilité d’être exposé à un bruit très gênant qu’un ménage à revenu élevé“, écrit Jacques Theys, chercheur au ministère de l’équipement.

L’impact environnemental des individus diffère par ailleurs selon leur degré de prospérité. Et de nombreuses études convergent pour conclure que les riches polluent plus que les pauvres, ou, pour le dire autrement, que l’ampleur de la nuisance environnementale des individus est liée à leur niveau de revenu. Par exemple, une note publiée en février par la direction des études économiques et de l’évaluation environnementale du ministère de l’écologie montre que 5 % seulement des Français contribuent à 50 % des émissions de gaz à effet de serre dus aux déplacements touristiques.

Les riches ont un effet négatif d’une autre manière, du fait que “la consommation est tirée par le mode de consommation ostentatoire des plus riches, qui, érigé en modèle, engendre envie et frustration dans le reste de la population“, rappelle Philippe Frémeaux dans L’Etat de l’économie 2008 (hors-série d’Alternatives économiques).

On redécouvre ainsi la pensée de l’économiste Thorstein Veblen qui, à la fin du XIXe siècle, avait analysé l’importance des phénomènes de rivalité ostentatoire et de consommation statutaire. Une leçon en est que réduire la surconsommation matérielle passe par un changement du modèle culturel dominant, donc par la réduction des inégalités.

Dans la foulée du rapport officiel Reconsidérer la richesse, animé par Patrick Viveret en 2002, l’idée d’un revenu maximal admissible (RMA) fait ainsi son chemin. Aux Pays-Bas, une loi va limiter en 2009 les indemnités de départ des grands patrons.

Enfin, un troisième volet de l’inégalité écologique s’intéresse aux rapports Nord-Sud. D’une part, de nombreux auteurs considèrent que les pays riches du Nord ont contracté une importante “dette” écologique à l’égard des pays pauvres, que ce soit par leur prélèvement des ressources de la biosphère ou par leurs rejets de polluants, au premier rang desquels les gaz à effet de serre. D’autre part, les pays pauvres subissent, et vont subir, l’essentiel des impacts du changement climatique alors qu’ils en sont les moins responsables, comme l’a montré Thara Srinivasan dans la revue de l’Académie des sciences américaines (PNAS, 21 janvier). De même, en novembre 2007, le rapport annuel du Programme des Nation unies pour le développement avait conclu que “le changement climatique accentuerait encore les inégalités profondes entre les pays”.

La question écologique ne peut donc se résoudre si l’on oublie sa dimension sociale. L’idée qu’il faut réduire les inégalités à l’intérieur des pays et entre les pays s’impose progressivement. A l’échelle internationale, l’association Eco-Equity et l’Institut d’environnement de Stockholm proposent ainsi de définir un “seuil de développement” d’environ 6 000 euros par an et par individu. Les coûts pour faire face au changement climatique seraient ensuite partagés entre tous, les pays situés au-dessus de ce seuil de développement payant une part plus importante.

RMA, seuil de développement, équité, réduction des inégalités : ce sont les nouveaux gros mots du développement durable.

Isle of Harris by Tristan Campbell

Take what you will, think what you will. I came upon this recollection today and it necessitated a peccavi. Forty seven years ago or so, a group of young boys played hard, outdoors morning into the dark most of the year. We were physical creatures consumed by the outdoors and the expenditure of energy. In our neighborhood, on a side street off E. Burnside St. stood an old house. It is still there, a testament to our ignorance and foolishness.

The house was occupied by a man called ‘Old Man Brockman’. He was old, hard of hearing, and partly blind. He suffered poor hygiene and didn’t know a razor. I recall one of the brave ones amongst us would knock and ask if we all could come in to see the pictures on the walls. Partly true, but truth be told, with shame, it was to make fun of the old man. To giggle and smirk at his voice, his dirty clothing, his frailty.

Dear God. He would show us pictures of himself and his brother, Gus on the side of Mt. Hood around 1915. Pictures of majestic rock formations, pictures of Model T’s moving up a single lane dirt road called Burnside, the center point dividing Portland North and South. Pictures of loggers, maps on the wall, and all this was lost upon us as Ed Brockman made his way to the phonograph…the one you cranked by hand. Ah, this was the capper…the anticipated moment. Old Man Brockman would crank the phonograph and place the needle down upon an old plastic disc. Static and old music emerged. He would stand there in his home and sing to us. A squeaky voice. On the wall nearby was a written song, the lyrics to a song. I cannot remember it all, but I do know it revolved around ‘there is nothing so lovely as a tree’.

This gave rise to unrestrained giggles and snickering. How ridiculous he appeared. Everytime he finished, most of the boys had run from the house. Myself and another neighbor boy remained. Ed Brockman would give us handouts about trees, mountain climbing (he and Gus were early proponents of the Mazama Club), rock collecting and gardening. We took the items. Nothing untoward ever happened. We would leave his house and rejoin our friends to make fun of the old man. Too cowed to say anything, we went along. Yet, it is interesting that the one that stayed inside with me went on to be climbing mountains and rock formations within the next five years; shortly after Ed Brockman died. I cannot lay credit to Brockman for my love of the outdoors, that would be too easy.

But today, I don’t know why, I was overcome by shame for my behavior. Can you imagine the stories he would have had if we would have been mature enough to ask an intelligent question or two. Gus, Ed’s younger brother, lived alone nearby. He avoided us, probably sensing our ill intent. But, Ed endured us, spreading the word and showing his pictures to ungrateful kids.

The House Looks Pretty Good Now....The Old Tree Hints at Its' True Age

I can recall spying on him on dark nights. He was visible through an uncurtained back window. Laying in bed in his long johns. A single bare light bulb, emitting that dim, yellow light, dangling from the ceiling. He would have a book open and be reading with one bad eye. Ed died alone in his old home, as we moved on into college. He passed on and we did not notice. What a shame.

Hell no, I am not that smart!

Peccavi pek-ah-vee, n (Latin peccavi I have sinned)

An admission of sin or guilt. Not only is this word’s meaning unique, and its sound very interesting, but it gave rise to the most witty multilingual pun of all time. In 1843, when Sir Charles Napier sent a preliminary dispatch of a single word: “peccavi”. The reason: his military victory and conquest of the province of Sind (now in Pakistan). His message: “I have Sind”. (The Phrontistery)

Dare I say it…without alluding to porn..the imagery of the perfect curve and colors…the imagery of seduction. I am always in awe of that shot..the quarry…the beautiful image captured as if she just stepped from the shower..unaware…(ok, I kind of went there).

“Using a full frame Digital SLR with large capacity cards allows me to take as many as ten thousand high resolution shots in one day. At this sort of pace I will get a keeper one out of every ten days. My goal is not a photo documenting something. It is to create an image that stands as a piece of fine art as well as doing the location and species justice. Marrying the perfection of a red bellied Westslope Cutthroat to the kaleidoscope glacial scree bottom of a gin clear Glacier Park creek takes all the pieces to fall into place. Only when all the stars align do these places give up that image that exists in my mind.” Fish Eye Guy

A Plataforma para a Construção Sustentável estabeleceu um protocolo com o Sistema Lidera para promover um conjunto de acções de colaboração entre as quais a realização de cursos de formação em «Avaliação da Sustentabilidade da Construção». A primeira edição realiza-se na Universidade de Aveiro, nos dias 27 e 28 de Janeiro de 2010. As inscrições estão abertas até 20 de Janeiro.

Este esforço de disseminação de boas práticas é efectuado no quadro da promoção do cluster Habitat Sustentável de que a Plataforma é entidade gestora.

O curso será leccionado pelo Prof. Dr. Manuel Pinheiro (IST) e realiza-se, nesta primeira edição, no campus da Universidade de Aveiro (edifício da reitoria) nos dias 27 e 28 de Janeiro de 2010. Os docentes e alunos da Universidade de Aveiro têm um desconto de 10% no custo da inscrição.

A iniciativa é centrada no sistema de avaliação LIDERA e dedicada a engenheiros, arquitectos promotores e gestores imobiliários e de outros empreendimentos na área do Habitat.

As inscrições estão abertas até 20/01/10.

PDF

Thanksgiving is coming up and there is so much to be thankful for. Life is inspiring.

When one gives thanks, one often wants to give back. I recently had the amazing opportunity to go to New Orleans and work on homes with Habitat for Humanity.

Co-sponsored by Cutco Cutlery and Vector Marketing, the group you’ll see in this video had such a good time doing good work. Not only did we help build four homes, we raised almost $10,000!

I hope you like this special JPB vlog.

Révolution douce dans les transports lyonnais

La ville et l’agglomération essaient d’inverser la logique du “tout-voiture” en misant sur la diversité des modes de déplacement.

Le Monde.fr

Voir aussi

• Le Monde.fr – L’homme-clé des transports et le défenseur du vélo

by Mary Ellen Ryall

Since 2001 I have longingly listened to bumble bees humming in honeysuckle bushes in my garden each spring. The honeysuckle bushes flower in May. Two years ago I didn’t hear the symphony of bumble bees. In 2009 there was only a slight hum among the yellow and white blossoms. (Bumble bee photo © Cindy Dyer)

I love these bees that delight me with the sight of pollen all over their faces, hairy bodies and legs. The sheer sound of buzzing makes me happy. This behavior happens when bumble bees grab a flower and shake it by vibrating their wing muscles to release pollen. I took for granted that the bumble bee would come and bless my heart and garden each spring.

Something is happening to our native bees. I know that colony collapse disorder is killing European honey bees (Apis mellifera—western honey bee). It is a complicated science to unravel. There are mites, overuse of pesticide and herbicides and loss of native habitat. Scientific American has documented that the agricultural practice of monoculture is also playing havoc on pollinators. Pollinators need biodiversity of natural environments for nectar source nutrition (Cox-Foster and van Engelsdorp 2009).

Recently I met Elaine Evans, author of Befriending Bumble Bees, and learned that some native bumble bee species are in trouble also. After reading the book I realized that I may have seen the Bombus affinis—the rusty patch bumble bee—which is in decline. I contacted The Xerces Foundation at http://www.xerces.org/rusty-patched-bumble-bee/. According to Xerces Foundation, “A major threat to the survival of these wild bees is the spread of diseases from commercially produced bees that are transported throughout the country.” Please view Oregon Public Broadcasting’s video on the rusty patch bumble bee here.

When did things go so terribly wrong? Between 1940 and 1960, large-scale agricultural practices began to emerge and loss of prairie, forest and wetland habitats disappeared. I live in a fairly remote area that to the best of my knowledge does not have beekeepers that are transporting commercially produced bees around the country. Perhaps there is hope here for the survival of Bombus affinis.

In 2010 I am going to be vigilant in recording bumble bee species and their numbers. We will invite citizen scientists to help us record bumble bees at the Monarch Butterfly Habitat in Shell Lake, Wisconsin. I will also record bumble bees at two other locations. Digital photography will be used to record and report our findings to Xerces Foundation. Citizen scientists are needed all over the U.S. to record and photograph the three different species that are in decline. Please visit http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/ to learn more about the species in trouble and how you can assist us.

There are other ways to fight back too. In 2008, for the first time, the U.S. Congress modified its agricultural policy to include pollination protection measures. They are encouraging the setting aside of conservation land where wildflowers can grow and provide nectar. Happy Tonics, Inc. implemented a Monarch Butterfly Habitat, a restored remnant native tall grass prairie, in Shell Lake, Wisconsin, where native bees are flourishing.

Anna Martineau Merritt, photographer and author of Life, Through the Window of My Car, raised an alarming thought. She mentioned that bees need a floral corridor of at least five miles away from genetic engineered crops. The United Kingdom suggests 3.75 miles between GE crops and non GE crop sources. A looming problem may be that a bee can fly as far as it has to in order to gather pollen and bring it back to the nest.

Without native habitat readily available, the bee has to travel farther. The connection here is that the precious bumble bee may unwittingly transport genetically engineered pollen into native habitat and non genetic engineered crop fields. The scary scenario of this might be that precious life giving honey could become contaminated with GE pollen. To counteract this it is best to plant a native plant corridor within a two mile radius of the nest. This is quite possible where native bees don’t need to travel so far. A perfect example of this is northwest Wisconsin, where the Monarch Butterfly Habitat is located and where there is an abundance of native habitat and non GE crops.

It is going to take a native floral corridor across the country to help pollinators including the beloved bumble bee. Each of us can let wildflowers grow where we live. Happy Tonics has an online store at www.happytonics.org, where we sell common milkweed seed for the monarch butterfly. We have found that bumble bees love the sweet intoxicating nectar. Buy our seed and help the pollinating monarch butterfly (a butterfly in crisis) and native bumble bees at the same time.

This spring I plan to leave some soil undisturbed to invite the bumble bee to come and live in the garden and I’m going to tempt them with native wildflower and herb nectar plants.

Sources:
Evens, E., Burns, I., and Spivak, M. 2007, Befriending the Bumble Bees, University of Minnesota Extension.
Cox-Foster, D. and vanEngelsdrop, D. April 2009, Saving the Honeybee, Scientific American, 40-47.

Elected on a regional basis and therefore covering the whole of London, it’s not often I get the opportunity to do campaigning in my own ward.  I did manage it today and spent some time at the stall in Goodge Street, just over the road from such central London landmarks as Heals and Habitat, not to mention the flagship Paperchase store.  It was good to spend time giving out leaflets and talking to people with Labour Party members from my own area.  Should really try and do more of it.

Two of the our real  stars were there  – Councillor Penny Abraham who will be standing down at the London borough elections in May after long and sterling service to the people of Bloomsbury and Camden, and Milena Nuti who is a candidate in those very same elections.

Since Bloomsbury is one of the split wards on Camden Council we always work hard, trying to increase the two Labour councillors to three and oust the Conservative.  In addition to Milena, the other two candidates are Dave Horan and Abdul Quadir.  The other sitting Labour councillor, Fazlul Chowdhury, is not standing again in Bloomsbury.

We are, of course, campaigning for the General Election as well as the council.  MP Frank Dobson is highly regarded and very well liked with a safe majority, so I confidently predict Holborn and St Pancras will return a Labour MP again.

Science Fiction (SF) literature, artwork and films are works of imagination, but often contain some elements of plausibility, with the story revolving around some known facts as well as inventions and possibilities that are to all intents and purposes beyond our current technologies. Although Science Fiction is not about predicting the future, several SF authors have taken modern technology and concepts (of their own time) and anticipated with some accuracy how new technologies would change our lives, well before these technologies were actually possible.

Source: ESA.

…who are of course polar bears. Who else is fluffy and snow covered…? Yea, alright, but that’s just one example… OK, two examples… So… why polar bears, then?

Well, many scientists use ‘polar bears!’ as an argument for man made global warming… and why is that a bad thing?

For starters, it is an appeal to pity. An appeal to pity is not an argument in and of itself, and has no bearing on the debate at hand.

Secondly, polar bear populations are actually higher now than they were in the mid 20th century.

Thirdly, even if it were proved that polar bear populations are decreasing due to climate change, there is no way to link that argument to ‘Polar bear population decreases are mankind’s fault’, as there is no way to accurately test whether mankind can affect global temperature or not.(because there are other variables, including, but not limited to other heat sources such as the Sun and the core of the Earth)

Even if there weren’t other variables(an Earth without natural, gradual weather changes, and without rotating around the sun or containing a fluxing molten core), in order for the method of experimentation to be absolutely reliable, we would need to have a second group to compare to, a control group – an exact replica of Earth, only without mankind inhabiting it… but that’s not a very attractive idea, anyway.

Our world is in trouble in a lot of ways and anyone, whether an individual or a government, who denies this is practicing the head in the sand technique. Overfishing has caused the closing of fisheries in numerous countries, caribou herds are threatened, whales are on the endangered list , rhinos and tigers and other large land mammals are in danger of extinction. The list of endangered or near extinct fauna is extensive. Not all are hunted by humans for food or trophyism but the ones that are hunted/farmed/fished for food run into more conflict.

There are the people who make their livelihoods/their jobs from hunting a particular land or marine animal. When they are told they can’t do this anymore they are rightfully upset, scared of a future that is uncertain at best. Then there are native peoples of the lands, whether they’re Native Americans/First Nations, Danes, Laplanders, or Fiji Islanders (to name a few), they all have centuries of traditions and customs.

In many pre-industrial societies, food was a focus of stability. Towns and cities were often built on fertile land near water sources. Herds of animals were domesticated or hunted near villages. Customs, rituals and spiritual rites took place around food and the creatures that sustained the life of a people. These were so ingrained that you cannot separate an animal from the ritual. Initiatory rites as well as rituals for sustenance and good hunting were common.

But time is time, and everything changes through time. The land shifts, erodes and buckles. Species ebb and flow with the changing seasons and shift in climates, and from natural disasters. Although a species can hunt another to extinction, especially if it’s transplanted from its natural habitat, it’s not common. Only homo sapiens have been so resilient, adaptive and creative to live anywhere and hunt what they need. In most ecosystems if the predator overhunts the prey, the predators flourish but then there is not enough prey and the predators die back, maintaining a natural balance.

Only the human species has been able to circumvent this natural balance, bringing technology to bear on the environment to the point of detriment for every living thing including people. And so we have species all over the world that are endangered, protected or becoming extinct and yes, there are many species becoming memories only. Then we have traditional cultures saying, “We have always done this. It’s part of our traditions. It’s you people who disturbed the balance, not us.”

Governments are trying to protect dwindling resources so there will be something to hunt in the future and have placed restrictions and moratoria on different species. Sometimes only a certain quota is allowed to be taken and then there is more conflict. As in the missing salmon this year on the Pacific coast. There was nothing to fish. If anyone, Native or other fisherman wanted to take the fish because it was their right, if would diminish a chance for that species to survive. And now we have Innu hunters shooting caribou in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The thing is, it is their right to do so and have some protection based on ancestral tradition. That’s fine, but conservation officials say that a particular type of caribou, the Red Wine, have moved in amongst the other more prolific herd. There is supposed to be less than 100 of the Red Wine caribou left and they’re protected. The interesting thing is that five years ago Grand Chief Penashue  said about hunters in the protected preserver, “The hunt in the Red Wine caribou range was not just an illegal protest, it was completely inconsistent with Innu values. … Putting a threatened caribou herd at further risk can never be justified on the basis of aboriginal rights.”

Yet today this same chief is supporting the hunting of the caribou because statistically fewer would be hit compared to the George River herd. Seems those ancestral Innu values have changed. So it’s only good to assert traditional rights when it suits you and because the ministry or the government aren’t working with you, it’s now all right to hunt endangered species?

What is not right is asserting traditional and cultural rights over species that are endangered. To do so is pure stupidity because there will be nothing to fight over or use in traditional ways in a very near future. This is the biggest problem when various cultures try to assert their rights because it’s always been done this way. And where do we draw the timeline if someone says, we’ve done it this way for a hundred years, a thousand years, or whatever. Just because one’s ancestors did it doesn’t mean we can continue to do it, whatever it may be. The world has changed and denying that does no good.

I support the right of people to keep their traditions (that’s all those unique cultures all over the world) but not at the expense of losing endangered species or in subjugating other people. Our ancestors did all sorts of things, including using outhouses, killing and beating people and eating foods we wouldn’t touch. They lived without central heating, they sewed everything by hand and only the richest (or the military) might have gone more than a hundred miles from their local village. Life was constant hard work. We cannot always say, because my people once did it I have the right to do it now. We have to be reasonable and holding a species as hostage to get your way is the same as saying well you won’t listen to me so I’ll just beat this kid until I get my way. They’re both innocent (caribou or child) and some healthy reasoning should come in to play as opposed to punishing/speeding the extinction of the species. In this case the Innu should be ashamed of themselves because even killing one more of an endangered herd lessens its chance for viability and recovery.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/labrador-innu-break-hunting-ban-kill-64-caribou/article1370834/

I wanted to share another quail success story with you from the Sweet Springs Focus Area!  Hopefully Neal will have better luck deer hunting this week, but he sure sounds  excited about his quail numbers!

From Neal Bray…

 ”Just thought I’d drop you a note. Sitting in my deer stand opening morning, starting to get light, when quail start whistling all around me. Undoubtedly something had busted them earlier and they decided to regroup right underneath my stand. Groups of four and five start marching in from different directions. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched quail from a deer stand. After they had gotten together and moved off to the south, a second covey flushed from the east and landed in a burn pile 20 yards from me. Both coveys probably had about a dozen birds each and they might have all been together at one time. Then on the way back to the house, I made the circle and flushed another covey of about a dozen birds. All of these birds were in locations that I haven’t seen quail in for a long time. So the CP-33 is working. Opening weekend of deer season sucked, but its exciting to see quail starting to come back. First time ever that our group that hunts out here has gotten skunked opening weekend of deer season.”

If you have a local habitat success story, please send it to me so we can share with others!