Category: environment

Bird Migration

It appears our hummingbirds have departed for warmer climes. The hummingbird migration is a fascinating story. I did notice our hummingbirds were spending a lot of time at the feeders just before they disappeared. According to the information at Hummingbird.com they engage in a feeding frenzy to store energy for the trip. We have enjoyed our humming birds and look forward to their return in the spring. One thing I find interesting is that they seem to return to feeders after this migration. How do they find their way back?

For a general picture of bird migration visit the Migration Dashboard. Migration patterns of birds and even butterflies are amazing. I have found the Cornell Lab of Ornithology a good source of information about birds. I found them when I visited a bird feeder camera on explore.org.

Bird migration is an interesting subject to start your exploration of our environment. It is popular to talk about saving the environment. I submit it is important to understand the environment, before trying to ‘save it.’ Understanding starts with observation. Complex systems may behave in unexpected ways when prodded by ignorance; the earth’s environment an extremely complex system.

environment

World Elephant Day

“It was the mark of a barbarian to destroy something one could not understand.” ― Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey

It is estimated that the count of elephants worldwide has slashed by 62% over the past decade, and the figure indicates the animals face an imminent extinction by the end of the next 10 years.

Between the years 2014 and 2017, as many as 100,000 African elephants were illegally hunted primarily for their ivory that goes into making traditional medicines and ornate pieces of jewelry. Poaching or illegal hunting of elephants in favor of the notorious wide-ranging ivory trade puts the environment at the risk of losing its ecological balance. Therefore, it became an immediate necessity to protect the animals at all costs.

Caring for the environment and promoting sustainability is far more than recycling or climate change. The environment is a very complex system for which the only simple answers are those at the individual level. Complex systems don’t react well to big changes. For the environment, an answer is education and awareness at the world level, action at the local; my opinion.

“Elephants are so wise and so funny and so endangered and so intelligent. I just think there is a lot to learn from them.” – Gloria Steinem

environment

The Environment

If you can’t be in awe of Mother Nature, there’s something wrong with you. —Alex Trebek

The broad topic of the environment covers everything from recycling to climate change. While these subjects are important to understand, I think the most important effort is to raise the awareness of folks to the world in which we live. How can one say they care about saving the environment, if they are unaware and have little understanding of this environment? My observation of the news and social media is that many speak of concerns without understanding them.

The question then is how to introduce people to the joy of really observing their environment? As contradictory as it sounds, the internet provides many opportunities for that. A great start is birds. A great place to start with that is The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. There are many other ways to become more aware of the wonders of nature. Citizen Science activities provide many ways to explore this. I think the most important part of this is getting out of doors and exploring.

I am a Rotarian and Rotary International has declared protecting the environment its 7th area of focus. Other areas are: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies. A friend and I are proposing we bring that to a local level through our Rotary District and local clubs. Rotary International has an action group, ESRAG, which has been involved in this for quite some time. A healthy interaction with the environment is not only good for the environment; it’s good for us.

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. —Frank Lloyd Wright