Vermicomposting
September 2, 2008
Mary and I are trying to decide the best design for our vermicomposting system or “worm bin”. People have some creative designs out there. We were thinking about converting our coffee table into one. It has a top that slides open to reveal a hidden storage compartment. The only problem is that the “floor” of the bin is made of cardboard so I will have to customize a wooden floor for it. Of course, with wood, the bin won’t last so long, so, as cool as it would be to have a coffee table worm bin, we are leaning towards a plastic one. 
If you want information on vermicomposting, the best book about it is “Worms Eat My Garbage” by Mary Appelhof. She just makes it easy to understand with simple tips
Hummingbirds and Hawks
August 26, 2008
Hummingbirds and hawks are my new interest these days. My mom has a great backyard for birds. She has a fountain that allows the hummingbirds to hum right up to the top to take a drink of water or flitter their wings in to take a bath. They spend a lot of time there and I would love to get some pictures. I am staying in Irvine for a bit and am currently surrounded by two different types of hummingbirds that I haven’t seen in my moms back yard. A rufous hummingbird and a ruby-throated hummingbird. Of course, they go by so fast I could be wrong! 
I am also learning a bit about the different types of hawks in the area. There is a red-shouldered hawk that has a perch near my mom’s backyard and she took some great pictures that I will share. Red-shouldered hawks eat small mammals, the largest being rabbits and squirrels. This one picked the perfect spot because there are rabbits everywhere in this neighborhood! I am afraid, though, that maybe this bird was what got a hold of Gracie (my cat) a couple of weeks ago. She is ok now, though, tough gal.
Polar Bear saga continues
May 13, 2008
So for those of you interested in the outcome of the proposal to list the Polar Bear as a threatened species, this is the week. The decision on whether to list the species is due on May 15.
Click here to check out the current news.
Still getting snow…
April 27, 2008
Yes, folks. While the rest of you are smelling the scents of flowers in bloom and are about to enjoy summer, we are here in Alaska getting 15 inches of snow!
Here’s a video I made of the last couple of days of winter, click here.
Climate change
April 5, 2008
A few days ago, I spoke with someone that told me that he thinks that climate change isn’t happening and that it is a ploy for those who are rich to make more money. I was stunned by this response. Maybe it is because I am informing myself and keeping on top of the latest information, that I know that climate change is happening; granted, I am taking a seminar type class on the subject. But there was simply no trying to convince this person with numbers and facts that the Earth is warming. Maybe by ignoring the problem and blaming someone else, it will just go away. Maybe it is just his way of trying to maintain a blissful state.
Well, if you would like to know more about climate change, I found a few handy items that summarize the current state of wisdom on the subject.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a committee put together by the WHO and UN to review the research and put forth a report on the latest understandings of climate change. They put out a report in plain language for policy makers, you can get to it on the site through the press releases section or download it by clicking here.
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment is another great source of easy to read information. A copy of the report can be found here. This report is put together by another intergovernmental panel, the Arctic Counsel, made up of the following countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States of America.
For some interesting commentary on climate change from the climate scientists themselves in the form of a blog, visit RealClimate.org.
The reports above are fairly long, but there is a lot of information out there and it is nice to have it packaged in a nice, handy-dandy summary.
It is snowing…
April 5, 2008
Last one for the year is my guess, it hasn’t stopped since early this morning. I am surprised it is sticking, it has been in the 40’s lately, but here we are, everything is white again!
Time Lapse of Glaciers
April 5, 2008
Thought these were some amazing videos of glaciers advancing and retreating:
Polar Bears
March 17, 2008
“In January 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The polar bear depends on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals, their primary food, and projected loss of sea ice due to global warming was believed to jeopardize polar bears throughout their range.”
USGS was asked to research the potential and concluded and advised to the US Fish and Wildlife Service…
“Projected changes in future sea ice conditions, if realized, will result in loss of approximately 2/3 of the world’s current polar bear population by the mid 21st century. Because the observed trajectory of Arctic sea ice decline appears to be underestimated by currently available models, this assessment of future polar bear status may be conservative.”
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/special/polar_bears/docs/executive_summary.pdf
The Polar Bear did not make it on the endangered species list…at least not yet. The decision was due the first week of January 2008 and has been delayed…probably until the current administration leaves office.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/08/MN60UAQFJ.DTL
Had to sell those leases in the Chukchi Sea first…
http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/338712.html
If it doesn’t make you angry, you’re just not paying attention
A reason to enjoy a cup of cocoa…
January 29, 2008
Today is a gorgeous day. It is 14 F, the sun is shining bright and warm and is higher in the sky than it has been for months. I took Molly to the farm for a little cross country skiing. We went through the woods, up and down hills, and across the fields, just enjoying the exercise and the magnificent views of the Chugach and Talkeetna ranges.
I decided it would be fun to do a little back-country skiing and followed a trail that hugs the boundaries of the 700 acre farm. I derailed a bit and cut across the muskeg bogs that are now covered in snow, the short clumps of moose browsed willow scattered about the bog. Molly was up to her neck in snow and I swear I could actually see her smiling. She jumped her way across the deep snow and retreated to my ski tracks for a bit of a break when she needed.
I eventually hiked my way out of the bog and clamored onto the narrow trail, thick with spruce, birch, alder and some aspen. There was fresh snow from yesterday and mine were the only noticeable tracks on the trail. I felt free breathing in the chilled air and gazing at the trees still clumped with snow, the sun beams angling downward through the crisscross of branches.
When I reached the end of the trail there was a steep slope with a slight angle towards the end that I knew would test my skiing ability but I went for it anyway without thinking. Slip, slide…oh no…turn left, turn left…no….hello tree. Ouch. The air was quiet except for my cantankerous curses thundering above it all…I felt silly afterward, what’s a little snow in your face? This is cross country skiing afterall. Molly and I took the trail back in towards one of the farm fields and glided across. I could feel my muscles getting sore, what a work out! Ah, think I’ll head back home for a nice hot cup of cocoa.
