Wander With Wild Things

Look at this -- a Friday Fun Fact on Friday!!! Small miracles happen every day.

Today's "wow" factor comes from the sea otter, a charming little mammal that inhabits the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of California, Alaska, and Siberia. Otters have the thickest fur of any animal in the world and rely solely on that fur for insulation in the chilly aquatic home. They have no blubber beneath their skin, so if that fur becomes slicked down by oil or other contaminants, the unlucky otters will quickly die of exposure.

Otters are the largest members of the weasel family, weighing in between 45-65 lbs in their southern range, but reaching a whopping 100 lbs in the northern reaches of their territory. They also have the distinction of being the only other mammals besides primates to routinely use tools -- I'm sure we all were charmed growing up by footage of sea otters lying on their back in the water, cracking open tasty abalone with rocks.

So this Friday, take a minute to appreciate these fascinating furry beasts -- they are a crucial part of the coastal ecosystem and are still threatened after being driven nearly to extinction by pelt-hunting two hundred years ago. They are constantly at risk from oil slicks and entanglement in nets and fishing gear, so we need to do our best to ensure that the probability of otter encounters with these risks are minimized. They do fall under the jurisdiction of the US Marine Mammal Protection Act, which also shelters whales and dolphins. You can help them by adopting an otter through Defenders of Wildlife. You can also learn more and take action throuhg The Otter Project and at Otternet.com.

Compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs): great for saving energy and last much longer than conventional lightbulbs. By all means, buy them and use them in the place of the old incandescent bulbs. They even have great natural light now, no more harsh florescent glare.

But.



All CFLs contain mercury, which we all know is bad to release into the environment. It is toxic to humans and animals -- put in landfills, it leaches through the soil into groundwater and you drink it. Once it's in the water, it is also bioavailable to fish and, through the food web, is integrated into their tissues, so when you eat them, you get an extra dose of "quicksilver." Mmmm-mmmm, mercury! Well, crap, you say, what the heck am I supposed to do with the stupid things if they burn out or break then?!

Green Guardian is a great start for any questions on how to dispose of pretty much anything you can think of -- for CFLs, just click on "florescent bulbs" in the dropdown list. Your county will also have an answer for you.

And just in case you're feeling particularly lazy (hey, I don't like working too hard either, you never know when it might kill you!), I've got some ready options for you right here!

(1) Home Depot has a nationwide CFL recycling program, just drop 'em off
(2) Check your local Ace Hardware, availability may vary.
(3) My favourite because you don't even have to leave home: Waste Management's LampTracker program -- they send you cartons, you pack up your bulbs and just mail them back. Think of it as Netflix for CFL's!

You'll hear me talk a lot about water -- things that influence it, creatures that live in it, how we depend on it, how we hurt it. And you may wonder why; "Is she just really thirsty? Did her mother give birth in a lake? Is she part fish?" Well, ok, I am a bit thirsty right now, but in truth, water is not only a part of us, it is a formative force in our lives and without it, we literally could not exist. For the next few days, I will be away at a conference, but I will leave you with these words from my favourite naturalist, William Beebe, to ponder. He transcribed his thoughts in 1934 after reaching record oceanic depths in his explorations of life at ALL elevations.

"One thing we cannot escape--forever afterward, throughout all our life, the memory of the magic of water and its life, of the home which was once our own--this will never leave us."

It's time for your Friday Fun Fact! On Saturday! Hey, nobody's perfect....

The world is full of animals, all running, jumping, hiding, crawling, flying, and digging. If you could see them all from space it would probably look like a ball of jumping beans. If beans could jump. But everyone moves at their own pace, some with jaw-dropping speed, some...not so much.

For comparison, the pathetic human being can reach a blazing speed of 4.1 mph in water. Ouch. Swordfish put us to shame, gliding along at a smooth and confident 68 mph.

On land, we do slightly better, leaping to maximum of 24 mph. Hey, at least we are faster than a snail, who cruises through life at 0.000362 mph. Plenty of time to stop and smell the roses!

Even the behemoths leave us in the dust: elephants can run 25 mph in the open and a charging rhino barrels down at 30 mph. We'd have even worse luck with a hungry cheetah who would be whipping past at 70 mph.

No one can hold a candle, though, to the frigate bird. These adrenaline junkies can dive at 260 mph. See ya later, Earnhardt!

So sorry, so sorry for my lapse in posting. Travels, work, they all get in the way of what SHOULD be the most important part of my life -- entertaining YOU!

So back on the 9th of February, I believe I promised you how we could solve a few of the ills of parking lots and their rather catastrophic levels of runoff. Well, look no further, wanderers, for the answer is a simple one: use smart design to let nature do all the work for you for free!

The concept is very simple, as shown by this diagram.



You dig a hole. Install a pipe that is an underdrain for excess. Dump in some gravel, some nice sandy/loamy stuff on top of that that drains well. Then plant some native plants that like living in soggy places. Voila! Lovely stormwater control that filters AND drains water far better and much more prettily than any conventional engineered solution!

We are all used to the stupid useless landscaped islands that are standard issue for parking lots -- some pine straw or mulch with a thirsty looking tree or some scruffy bushes sitting there. They are usually elevated above the lot surface and mounded so that little if any water is actually absorbed by plants and soil. Each one a collassal waste of time and money.

You can easily and cheaply install a raingarden in the place of each of these during initial construction or retrofit later. Key elements: (1) The elevation of the soil surface must be slightly lower than the lot itself. (2) Vegetation must be appropriate for wet environments so it doesn't drown. (3) Curbs must be notched to allow water entry into each patch of raingarden. To the right is a great example of parking lot application.

So why aren't these already all over the place if they are so easy?? Simple: developers and engineers seem to be rabidly afraid of change, even when it saves them money and looks better. The train of thought appears to be that the way things must be done is the way they have been done for the past 30 or 40 years. But you don't have to stand for this. Call or email your local government, city planner, county commissioner and ask that these raingardens be required in all new development. They are an effective and beautiful addition to residential lots too; you can easily add one to your own yard, let your creativity run wild and set an example for your community. Wouldn't you love to have this beautiful garden in your yard? I sure would!

(That was supposed to be read in an ominous Terminator voice) I'll have new posts soon, I SWEAR! I'm just swamped with meetings and prepping for a conference this week. I have not forgotten you, wanderers (all three or four of you...)!

Ok, ok, so I promised I would solve the world's parking lot problems in my next post but frankly, it is late and that is wayyyyyy to much like work for right now, so you'll just have to wait until my NEXT post to satisfy your undying curiosity. I know it will be hard to stem your enthusiasm until then, but do try, for both of our sakes.

In the meantime, I will drop a plug for my favourite society, both professionally and personally. The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an international conservation organization that puts out a wealth of information and connects conservation scientists all over the world. I had the priveledge of attending and speaking at their annual conference last year and it was simply awe-inspiring. For a few brief days, I truly felt my place as a part of a global effort to protect all things bright and beautiful, as it were. I also felt a huge wave of relief and gratitude that there were so many compassionate, talented, and enthusiastic people giving their heart and soul even though they may never hear a single "thank you" from the masses. And that was enough to get me through another year in the trenches!

In addition to their professional journal, SCB also puts out a phenomenal magazine for broader public consumption. I highly, highly recommend it and can honestly say that I have never gotten through an issue without saying "Wow, no way!" at least once!!

(And yes, I DO steal topic ideas shamelessly from them, so deal with it!)