Hotels around the globe are competing for customers in a changing world that is demanding green.

So far, The Green Building Council has certified about 35  U.S. hotels “green” while over 950 office buildings already have its seal of approval. All this, however, is about to change as the race to build energy-efficient hotel buildings has begun in earnest.

A recent survey found that almost 20 percent of travelers choose properties because of hotel environmental practices including housekeeping services that only use non-toxic cleaning agents. 

Going green in the hotel industry is not just in vogue – it’s sound business to consume less energy, less water and create less waste. For instance, the Marriott’s only green-certified hotel in College Park, Md, uses 33 percent less electricity than a comparable property, but that means it can charge the same rates as rivals yet earn a far better profit.

Forward thinking decisions by management teams are taking advantage of innovative technologies and significantly reducing greenhouse gases. Moreover, hotel chains are supporting clean renewable energy industries, creating new jobs. 

IN 2008 Accor North America and its Sofitel Hotels signed an agreement with a wind energy supplier Community Energy Inc. to purchase clean, renewable, wind energy for all of its nine locations in the U.S. This laudable decision prevents two million tons of CO2 a year from being emitted or not driving 2.4 million miles. 

Fairmont has been implementing energy-saving measures for years – all front-desk computers in North America are run on wind power bought from a sustainable energy cooperative. Several of its golf courses are irrigated with recycled water and Audubon certified sanctuaries are protecting the environment by maintaining precious wildlife habitat. 

Fairmont has also partnered with the World Wildlife Fund entering its Climate Saver Program to reduce its global footprint on climate change.

In order to be certified green by the U.S. Green Building Council buildings must adhere to the Leadership Energy and Environmental Design Standards. The criteria includes: recycling construction waste, locating near mass transit, planting water-efficient landscaping, installing windows that open and using solar tubes, choosing lower-energy elevators and laundry machines, using Forest Stewardship certified wood and other recycled materials, and covering rooftops with tiles made from recycled tires or planting sedum as green roof cover.

There are currently about 80 applications for U.S. hotel projects including 7,500 hotel rooms with MGM Mirage’s $7.4 billion City Center in Las Vegas.

The leader for being the most innovative and green in the hotel sector belongs to Marriott International with over 3,000 global properties.

Marriott has partnered with Conservation International and is the first major hotel company to calculate its carbon footprint and launch an aggressive worldwide campaign to lessen its impact. 

Each year it uses 3.2 million tons of CO2 or 66 pounds per available room. To offset this they have undertaken a remarkable initiative. Marriott is protecting 1.5 million acres of endangered rainforest (because forests absorb and store CO2) in the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve in partnership with the state of Amazonas in Brazil.

As a part of Marriott’s long standing commitment to the environment they have implemented the following: Linen Reuse Program which encourages guests to reuse towels and linens and saves an average of 11 to 17 percent on hot water and sewer costs at each hotel; Re-lamp Campaign which in 2006 replaced 450,000 light bulbs with CFLs, saving 65 percent on lighting costs and energy usage in guest rooms; and replacing 400,000 showerheads and toilets with low-flow devices, reducing hot water consumption by at least 10 percent.

By 2017, over 40 Marriott’s will be outfitted with solar panels.

Marriott’s buy 47 million pens each year for their guest rooms and in partnership with BIC the pens are now made of 75 percent recycled plastic.

Over six million gallons of water are saved each year because they buy towels made by Standard Textile that are “room ready” and do not require a launder before first-time use.

Marriott buys over one million gallons of paint low in volatile organic compounds, which are safer to use, less polluting and reduces health risks.

Thirty-four of its managed golf courses throughout North America and the Caribbean are becoming certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries.

In 2008 the Marriott headquarters in Bethesda, Md became waste-neutral by replacing 2.5 million pieces of plastic and Styrofoam utensils with those made of potato – Spudware – sugar cane and cornstarch that biodegrade within 100 days. 

When you travel make a difference; choose a green hotel, place your towels on the racks, skip maid services for a day or two, turn off lights and the television when you leave your room, and unplug cell phone, laptop and MP3 adapters.

SAVE THE HONEYBEES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6w-Z7XlnHI

Dr Reese Halter is a public speaker, conservation biologist and founder of the international conservation institute Global Forest Science, His most recent book is The Incomparable Honeybee and the Economics of Pollination http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Incomparable+HoneyBee+reese+halter&x=0&y=0 Contact him through http://DrReese.com

Steve is friend not food….

(Steve Irwin)

Try telling that to this fella (Via I Can Has Cheezburger)

Picture by: dunno source Caption by: Sanyariez via Our LOL Builder

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Normally when watching TV I ignore the commercials and then go back to paying attention when the show I am watching comes back on.  But I have found myself over and over again watching a set of commercials that is just great.  ESPN does the best job I have ever seen with commercials.  They are Hilarious and engaging and I give them two thumbs up.  As my ode to ESPN I present you with my five favorite ESPN commercials of all time!

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Those five are only a small sampling of the ESPN genius and I dare anyone to find a set of commercials for the same thing that even begin to match the set I have put together!  Dont come at me with the Budweiser commercials either.  After they got rid of the frogs it was all downhill for them!  The only other commercial I love as much as those is this one! I mean ” He once had an awkward moment just to see how it felt.  He lives vicariously through himself”  That might be the greatest two lines in all of TV hats off to that commercial for making me actually think about buying Dos Equis when I go and pick up beer for football Sundays!

Whats your favorite commercial?

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060905-irwin.html

A team of passionate conservationists work round-the-clock to deliver an animal experience like no other. Cuddle a koala, hand-feed our Asian Elephants, walk with a Sumatran Tiger and watch a crocodile launch from the waters edge. Australia Zoo is the ultimate wildlife adventure delivering conservation through exciting education.

Dan Mathews, vice-president of animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said it was “no shock at all that Steve Irwin should die provoking a Steve Irwin – From Wikipedia the free encyclopediadangerous animal”. He added that “Irwin made his career out of antagonising frightened wild animals, that’s a very dangerous message to send to children.” He also made a comparison with another well known conservationist: “If you compare him with a responsible conservationist like Jacques Cousteau, he looks like a cheap reality TV star.” The son of Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel Cousteau, also a producer of wildlife documentaries, also took issue with Irwin’s hands-on approach to nature television. Cousteau said, “You don’t touch nature, you just look at it.” Although it “goes very well on television”, Irwin’s approach would “interfere with nature, jump on animals, grab them, hold them, and have this very, very spectacular, dramatic way of presenting things” which Cousteau felt is “very misleading”. On the evening after Steve Irwin’s death, Australian radio announcer and journalist Brian Carlton also raised issues concerning Irwin’s treatment of animals, criticising Irwin for regularly harassing and provoking them in his documentaries.

Stephen Robert “Steve” Irwin (1962ko Otsailaren 22 – † 2006ko Irailaren 4), Krokodilo-ehiztaria bezala ezaguna ere, Australiako naturalista eta telebistako aurkezle famatu bat zen. The Crocodile Hunter (Krokodilo-ehiztaria) telebistako dokumentalak ospea eman zion.

2006ko Irailaren 4an, Steve Snorkellean ari zela, Dasyatidae familiako arraia batek bere isatsaren arantza honen bularrean sartu ondoren, bertan zendu zen.

Benetan heriotza tamalgarria izan zen hura. Hemen goran dezute steve-en bideo pare bat ikusteko.

- – The late conservation star Steve Irwin, known as the Crocodile Hunter, has received a tribute from an Australian scientist by having a rare species of snail named after him, “crikey steveirwini.” The snail has a khaki appearance,  much like Irwin’s trademark shirt and shorts.

Irwin, who died in a freak stingray incident in 2006, has already had a wildlife reserve, a road, a turtle, and an anti-whaling ship named after him...

Ew crikey it’s a zombie, be careful with this one folks, it’ll eat your brain.

Only kidding, that should be Cetaceans. As we all know it refers to our marine mammal cousins: dolphins and whales. Last week a small flotilla of sea kayaks arrived at Bondi Beach after a 36 day ocean voyage 700 kms from Byron Bay in northern NSW – members of Surfers for Cetaceans, organised for anti-whaling protest and protection of both species. Their Transparentsea campaign highlights the Rudd government’s failure to take action against Japanese whaling.

Japan’s whaling fleet will soon be in Antarctica to kill this season’s target catch of 900 whales for ’scientific research’ (8728 killed in 10 yrs). Ecology warriors on Sea Shepherd’s ship ’Steve Irwin’ will also set sail soon for Antarctic waters, where they will follow the fleet and intervene, with their Whale Defense Campaign dubbed Operation Waltzing Matilda.

‘The Last Whale’ by Chris Pash is a recent book about Australia’s own whaling past and worth a read. It documents the role of a small group of activists who took a stand at Albany in WA in the 1970s to help close down the remnants of our whaling industry. Some were pioneers of Greenpeace Australia. 

Direct action, documentation, film, speaking out and courage can change the world. KC reported on documentary film ’The Cove”, about one man’s crusade to stop the secretive annual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji Japan, and its effect in changing hardened Japanese official attitudes and reactions.

An einem schönen Oktobertag, habe ich die Irwins im Australia Zoo besucht! Da die Fernsehwerbung mir schon oft versprochen hat: “Dreams come true at Australia Zoo”, war ich sehr gespannt, was mich erwarten wird…das Wetter war perfekt und so begab ich mich früh morgens auf den Weg zur Sunshine Coast, an der der Australia Zoo liegt.

Nach knapp 1 Stunde Fahrt mit Bus und Bahn, war ich gegen kurz nach 10 uhr morgens am Zoo und konnte meinen Rundgang, durch das wirkliche große Gelände, beginnen. Natürlich lag der Schwerpunkt auf australischen Tieren, also auf Koalas, Wombats, alle in Australien vorkommenden Giftschlangen und Vögel, Kängurus und natürlich speziell in diesem Zoo, die weltweit bekannten Crocodile! Steve Irwin, der den Zoo zu dem berühmten und beliebtem Ausflugziel gemacht hat, war der berühmte “Crocodile Hunter”, der durch zig Filme und Fernsehsendungen weltbekannt wurde..!  Steve Irwin ist jedoch bei seinem Beruf, dem Filme drehen, vor einigen Jahren ums Leben gekommen, aber nicht wie vielleicht viele denken, durch ein Crocodil, sondern durch die Schwanzspitze eines Rochens. So liegt der Zoo jetzt weiterhin im Familienbesitz und wird von seiner Ehefrau, der kleinen Tochter, die selbst schon erste Erfahrungen als “Crocodile Hunter” sammelt und seinem kleinen Sohn, weitergeführt!

Nach einem Rundgang durch den Zoo, wo ich mir alle oben angesprochenen australischen Tiere und noch von Tigern, Elefanten, Riesen Schildkröten und vielem anderen angeguckt habe, begab ich mich auf den Weg zum “Crocoseum”, das “Crocoseum” ist eine Arena, in der bis zu 5000 Zuschauer die Tiershows sehen können (besonders berühmt sind die Crocodilshows). Bevor ich mir aber die Crocodilshow angeguckt habe, machte ich noch einen traditionellen Zwischenstopp im “Food Court”, wo ich einen “Crocodil Burger” gegessen habe. Nach der kleinen Stärkung begab ich mich dann in die Arena und guckte mir Crocodilshow an. Es war wirklich faszinierend, wie die Tierpfleger mit diesen gefährlichen Tieren spielen, als wären es Hunde oder Katzen.

Am Ende kann ich echt nur sagen, dass der Tag sich wirklich gelohnt hat, die ganze australische Tierwelt einmal zusehen, ohne sich selbst in die Gefahr des tiefen Regenwalds zubegeben. Daher kann ich am Ende nur sagen DREAMS COME TRUE AT AUSTRALIA ZOO..!!

Image provided by www.seashepherd.org

Imagine, being on a 174ft shipping vessel in the middle of Antarctica with only your crew and no assistance in sight, you are hunting down a Japanese Whaling fleet only to know your ship cannot handle the iceberg terrain that is around you everyday at all times. What would you do?

This is just an example of a scenario encountered by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) shipping vessel, the Steve Irwin, while on a mission to end the unlawful killings of whales and protect the endangered mammal species. The SSCS, a non-profit organization that has dedicates its whole existence “to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.”

Most notably known for its popular cable television series Whale Wars on Animal Planet, the Sea Shepherd’s track down illegal whaling fleets in response to a 1986 moratorium ban on all commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society believes the  Japanese have intentionally disregarded this the moratorium and continue to kill thousands of whales, due to a loop-hole in the moratorium, which allows whaling for research purposes only. Nations around the world have argued that the Japanese have not performed any relevant research but continue to intentionally kill innocent whales for the sake of profit and a long standing Japanese tradition.

The Sea Shepherds, considered international pirates to those who continue to slaughter whales, use non-harmful, conventional tactics to confront these whaling fleets in an effort to save innocent whales. The most notable tactics used have been butyric acid, also known as a stink bomb, and prop fouler. The butyric acid is used to make fishing unbearable due to the smell left behind and to contaminate whaling meat. Prop Fowlers are “long strands of rope, steel cables, and buoys that would slip under her hull and catch and tangle her propeller.” They are used to slow or disable the shipping vessels, which stops them from hunting and killing whales but the most effective method of stopping the whaling fleet has been chasing these vessels. If the Japanese fleet attempts to flee the Steve Irwin, they are not capable of hunting whales thus saving whales from the hands of the Japanese.

The preservation of whales came to light in the 1960’s, while whale fishing was at its peak, countries such as Norway, Japan and the Soviet Union were heavy whalers and as time passed scientist began noticing the depletion of whale species and concern grew. The eco-impact of depleted whale species was unknown but concerns grew. “As whales were increasingly watched, filmed and studied, their high intelligence, rich social lives, and ability to feel emotion and experience pain became apparent.”

The importance to all that the preservation of whales is imperative to the sustainability of our eco-system. The unknown effects could be disastrous and could potentially effect us all. To learn more about the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society or support their efforts, please visit its website at www.seashepherd.org.

This is probably going to sound enormously lame, but this next post was written due to inspiration generated from the new Young Soul Rebels War Child song, the cover of The Killers I Got Soul. Feel slightly out of perspective considering this song is about children dying in war, and listening to lyrics makes events of my life laughable in comparison.

Now I’m listening to Groove Armada’s Purple Haze, amazing song with a slight excerpt of the Hendrix classic. Listening to music I love always makes me think about the people who created it – how did they do it? How did they go and just make music? They just DID, is how.

Reading the last 8 or so posts of what’s been this arduous dedication to what I’ve probably conveyed as the hardest, most dramatic, most unique, most astounding problem ever known to any woman or man, I can’t help but thinking about what I have created.

What have I created?

A lot of HOT AIR. A lot of HOT AIR and WHINING.

I have the accent for whining. I’m an Australian. An Australian girl with a particularly whiny voice which incidentally, some people earmark as phone-sexy (I have no idea who or what would label my voice in such a way. May he rest in peace, but it’s like suggesting Steve Irwin was the modern-day Barry White). But just because I have the accent for it, it does not under any circumstances give me the license to do it incessantly.

So I screwed around with a married guy, dumped my ex-boyfriend, and married guy’s wife had a baby. And because I’m a human and not an engineered machine, I ended up with a few feelings so I screwed around a bit more. I’m sorry, is there are actually room in the already bursting-at-seams-extramarital-affair-participant club, or will I need to join the year long waiting list?

My point is (I finally have one) – for the love of god, who cares? Nobody else, that’s for sure, and it’s high time that I didn’t either. There are people out there with actual, tangible problems, and while I’m not saying the last year of my life has been problem free, it’s all about the context.

Today, whilst filling a basket with 46 quid worth of shoes and various stockings and tights in Primark, I thought about lifestyles. I looked in the mirror while I twirled around trying on my now new pair of corporate-pencil-skirt-matching red stiletto heels (which I will wear to the office – I’m sorry, but I never volunteered for the job of making life any easier for married people), and imagined telling my sordid tale to the 13-year-old child who sat in a crowded, sweaty, smelly warehouse making these shoes.

‘Well, you see, there’s a man and… and he sort of kissed me and then you know, went back to his wife and I didn’t like that, and then you know, I might have sent him this text message and then his wife-’

‘Yeah, I have a family of five, including my parents, to support with my 5p equivalent daily wage and I’ve been working for thirteen hours. When my shift ends I’m going to go home and tend to my sick little brother and try and find enough food to feed the rest of us tonight. You were saying?’

I’m not saying the wealthy Western world should feel guilty about feeling the way we do about certain situations and events in our lives (about, about). We’re humans and humans have feelings, it’s both a fortunate and unfortunate element of our make-up (genetic, not cosmetic). It’s just sometimes – well, really, all I’m trying to say, if there’s anyone reading this who’s also feeling covered by steel duvet’s weight’s worth of problems – it can help to jump outside your head for just a few minutes and think about the globe. Once you think about the globe, you can start making changes in your life to get yourself and those around you to where you’d all like to be.

Currently, I’m listening to one of my favourite songs (Groove Armada’s Lightsonic – yes, I’ve worked my way through the album during this post), I’m looking at my new boots and red heels with a secret kind of glee (I’m sorry, but my SSS will understand -  once a stirrer, always a stirrer), and I’m waiting on a call for a new job which I’m 90% sure I’ll get. It doesn’t sound like much, but I think, as the beginning of my recovery phase, that’s a good start for tonight.

Oi a todos!

Em pouco tempo eles estão partindo para a sexta campanha intitulada Waltzing Matilda, e sempre com os mesmos objetivos, prevenir a matança das baleias….

Nesse ano eles estão mais preparados, pois alem do navio base, o Steve Irwin (com seus dois barcos de apoio), os Pastores tem um aliado muito forte o Ady Gil, ex Earthrace, um navio futurístico, que ficou famoso por bater o recorde de volta ao mundo em apenas 60 dias!…. e usando apenas biodiesel….

Esse basco tem a capacidade de atingir 50 nós (92,6 km/h) o que será muito bom para achar todos os barcos da frota japonesa…..

Até mais!

We kick-off The Catastrophist’s 00’s Retrospective Series with a look at the relative Google search volumes — and geographic patterns — of some notable dead celebs. Passively enjoy — or go to Google Insights yourself, and investigate further…

Jackson is the only real candidate here for deification. (Diana who?) If you look at the patterns of celeb-death, you’ll see that (unusually) interest hasn’t yet dropped down to pre-death levels. Maybe it never will…

WHERE IS THE CARE?

Of the conservative estimate of 10 million species on planet Earth, there currently exist 2,500 different kinds of mosquitoes. Yet despite being the size and weight of a grape seed, these are deadly and fearsome creatures. Mosquitoes are benefiting from global warming meaning once near-decimated strains of diseases like malaria are on the rise again. So how has something so tiny, yet so deadly, been able to successfully inhabit our planet for the past 80 million years?

It’s all in the size and, in this case, it matters to be small! Mosquitoes are adapted to every terrestrial ecosystem from the top of mountains to valley bottoms, from the Arctic Circle to the Sahara desert, and everything in between. They have thrived and adapted with the spread of human beings. In 300 years, the common house mosquito which started in Africa is now global.

The mosquito is a self-serving creature. She’s not an aerator of soil like ants or worms, nor a pollinator like bees or moths, and not an essential food source for a particular species. Her goal is to feed and breed. Mosquitoes and the pathogens that they carry are extremely hardy. They are clever and relentless critters. Our troubles with mosquitoes are getting worse as they infect and kill millions of people each year, despite all out war by modern science.

Within 15 minutes a female can lay about 250 eggs. One by one, they are symmetrically orientated head-first and placed in water into a craft that has a pointy bow. All 250 float together in a war canoe formation. Incubation takes about two days and then the larvae hatch. Much longer, segmented, wriggly, whiskered, with specialized air tubes for breathing, they are set to grow and move into their next stage of development. Under magnification, they are as gruesome as any sci-fi monster! About 14 days after birth, they possess wings for moving, jaws for chewing, large compound eyes for finding their victims, a long spear-like drill for cutting through skin and sucking blood, and fuzzy antennae for smelling victims or sensing mates. 

Its wings beat at about 250 to 500 strokes a second and it can attain and maintain speeds of 5 km./hr. and, rather clumsily, hover.

 Like humans, their appetite for sex is insatiable, so two days after they become adult they search for a mate. The process begins at dusk or dawn when hundreds or perhaps thousands of males form a dancing swam in the air near a landmark like a chimney or a church steeple. Males smell the females, lock together and copulate. In many cases the fit is so tight that the male has some difficulties escaping and an unfortunate few manage to get away only by leaving their sex organs behind.

The female mosquito needs just one other ingredient to nourish her eggs – blood. Mosquitoes sense with their antennae carbon dioxide and lactic acid as we exhale and other chemicals from our bodies. This usually occurs at ground level because our scent plume is heavier than air and sinks to ankle level. Next, their compound eyes, similar to a house fly, locate the unsuspecting victim. Lastly, the heat from our muscles guide them to the most radiant spot on our bodies – that bit of flesh not covered by clothing. She lands softly, probes skin up to 20 times with her long snake-like apparatus called a proboscis. Her salivary tube will deliver a chemical that inhibits the body’s ability to stop any bleeding that might begin. Ninety seconds later, her body weight is three times that before feeding, and in an aeronautical feat, she just manages to sputter away.

 In one of nature’s most remarkable processes, within 45 minutes, she digests the blood by separating the water from the proteins and urinates pink droplets from her anus. The light solids are stored for creating future offspring. What she leaves behind from saliva will either irritate the skin or kill you! An old female mosquito may live for about five months.

Yellow fever, malaria, dengue, encephalitis and West Nile diseases have all, at one time or another, penetrated southern United States. Each pathogen carried by loathsome species of mosquitoes is excruciatingly painful and, in most cases, lethal. Malaria kills millions of people each year. DDT, although toxic to our environment, is still the only known effective mass antidote to curtail the spread of malaria.

West Nile disease, carried by the common house mosquito, has a relatively short history first appearing in Israel in the 1950s. It appears to follow flyways of migratory birds as vectors of the disease. Crows, ravens, jays and other Corvids are particularly susceptible to West Nile.

 The Rocky Mountains in their entirety and parts of British Columbia are the only regions in North America not yet permeated by this disease. The chemical DEET appears to be an effective insecticide to ward off mosquitoes as does the natural chemical citronella, but it must be frequently reapplied.

Instead of destroying this enemy, modern science is trying to genetically convert her. The race to find the genes to prevent pathogens from developing in mosquitoes is on. But in the meantime, human beings are perishing by the millions as mosquito diseases expand worldwide at an alarming rate.

SAVE THE HONEYBEES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6w-Z7XlnHI

Dr Reese Halter is a public speaker, conservation biologist and founder of the international conservation institute Global Forest Science. His most recent book is The Incomparable Honeybee and the Economics of Pollination http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Incomparable+HoneyBee+reese+halter&x=0&y=0      Contact him through http://DrReese.com

The amazing whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis)  reach ages in excess of 1,000 years old. It lives in the harsh environs of the Rocky Mountains and has cooperatively co-evolved with a bird – known for its extraordinary memory – called the Clark’s nutcracker.

White bark pines can reach heights of 65 feet, but more usually they are recognized as a stunted multi-stemmed tree. Named after its whitish bark with scaly plates on older trees, its needles grow in bundles of five and egg-shaped, sticky-with-resin purple cones, take two years to ripen. The wingless seeds are large and filled with high concentrations of fats and proteins. Cones mature in late August, but do not open widely enough for the seeds to fall out. If the seeds over-winter in the ripened cones, by springtime they become moldy and turn rancid. So how does viable seed get out of white bark pine cones?

Clark’s nutcrackers belong to the 113-member group called the Corvids. Corvids have unusually large brains compared to all the other 10,000 bird species. They eat some insects and occasionally a bit of carrion.  But it’s their chisel-like bills that are specially adapted to ripping into white bark pinecones and with precision extracting the large protenacious seeds. These seeds, as a primary food source, enable the throaty squawks of resident Clark’s nutcrackers to live year-round in the otherwise inhospitable environment of the Rocky Mountain alpine (above tree line).

This is a story of a mutual relationship between bird and pine, offering insight into the marvels of Mother Nature. Together, Clark’s nutcrackers and white bark pines build high elevation ecosystems.

Nutcrackers start to feed on white bark pine seeds in mid-August. They chisel into the purple, pulpy cones and extract seeds, one at a time. They store the seeds in a sublingual pouch in the floor of their mouth, underneath the tongue. This pouch can hold as many as 80 seeds. The August and September seed harvest must sustain the birds and their offspring, for the coming 10 months.

The Clark’s nutcrackers then carefully deposit the seeds, one at a time and up to 15, 1 inch deep into the soil. Occasionally these caches are close to the tree where the harvest took place, but more often it’s up to 6 miles away. Seeds are buried in open areas and in recently burned-over high-elevation forests. Some of those openings remain windswept during the long winter months. Others can have over six feet of snow covering the cache and I have observed Clark’s nutcrackers burrowing into deep snowpacks to retrieve white bark seeds.

One bird can cache up to 98,000 seeds in over 30,000 sites. About half those seeds will be recovered by Clark’s nutcrackers. Multi-stemmed white bark pines denotes a cache was not retrieved and that several or more seeds sprouted at the same time and have grown together.

How does the Clark’s nutcracker locate all of its caches? Experiments have clearly demonstrated that these birds, like other Corvids, have excellent memories and in fact remember where they placed the seeds. They use a system of triangulation to reference where caches are located. That is, they use a tree, stump, rock, log or other landmark and remember the angles between the caches. Their memories, especially long-term, are remarkable, since they are able to recover seeds some 10 months after storing them. They must also use other cues to assist them because snow modifies the landscape.

White bark pine seeds are also an important food source for ground squirrels that also live full-time in the alpine of the Rocky Mountains. They too harvest the cones and take them to large caches called middens. In addition, ground squirrels raid Clarks’ caches and relocate seeds. 

In the autumn and occasionally the springtime, black and grizzly bears raid ground squirrels middens. I have watched bears gingerly extracting the delectable white bark seeds. Prior to hibernation a sow must add about 7 inches of fat around her tummy or 99 pounds of body weight, in order to give birth – while she’s hibernating – to cubs. So the white bark pine seed is a very important food source for many different big and small alpine and subalpine animals. 

Soon after the spring snow-melt, white bark pine seeds germinate and grow 8 inches deep tap roots. White bark pines require full sunlight – they are shade intolerant and cannot grow under other trees. White bark pines change the micro-climate, causing warmer winter and cooler summer under their cover. Over time, openings along the high elevation landscape are filled in by white bark pines and clumps of young trees form new forests high in the mountains. 

In time, Englemann spruce, which require some shade, seeds itself into the under-story of the white bark pine forests. Other tree species like subalpine fir follow soon thereafter.

Some trees die young and their wood serves as a decomposing base to feed bacteria, fungus and wood boring insects, which assist in the breaking down of wood and making new soils. Other, like old white bark pines, become victims to pine bark beetles and die but remain standing upright for another 100 years. Woodpeckers, nutcrackers and other cavity-nesting birds use these trees for roosting and nesting. These forests are occasionally used by big game animals like mule deer. In the autumn, finches, siskins and crossbills forage in the Englemann spruce treetops.

In the wild, Clark’s nutcrackers can live for 12 years. They can fly at speeds of 30 miles per hour carrying a load of seeds than can exceed 20 percent of their body weight, for distances up to two miles. About 22 species of high elevation pines worldwide depend on a dozen or so Corvids to help disseminate their seeds, create forests and habitats for many animals. 

Eventually, one hot and muggy summer afternoon a bolt of lightning ignites the forest. The assiduous Clark’s nutcracker will return to replant the forest, feed other animals, and recreate the tenacious forested mountain ecosystems of Rocky Mountains.

SAVE THE HONEYBEES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6w-Z7XlnHI

See Dr Reese in Northern Rocky Mountains in the snow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuLz6iHdV2U

Dr Reese Halter is a public speaker, conservation biologist and founder of the international conservation institute Global Forest Science. His most recent book  The Incomparable Honeybee and the Economics of Pollination http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Incomparable+HoneyBee+reese+halter&x=0&y=0 He can be reached through http://DrReese.com

The  Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin left Fremantle harbour (Western Australia) just minutes ago. The vessel is bound for the Antarctic for another season of battling Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. (And, of course, another season of filming of Animal Planet’s “Whale Wars“.)

Operation Waltzing Matilda should keep them busy down there for several months. This year, the trimaran formerly known as Earthrace (now christened Ady Gil) will be joining the Steve Irwin in the battle. Should make for good TV, if nothing else.

I wish them luck and good hunting.

Vessel and Animal Planet camera crew aboard the Steve Irwin about 45 minutes prior to departure from Fremantle on December 7, 2009

Steve Irwin leaving Fremantle at 10:18 December 7, 2009

Steve Irwin leaving the mouth of Fremantle harbour at 10:25 December 7, 2009

(Images captured from the Fremantle Ports Inner Harbour webcams.)