Very little commentary to add here… just thought I would drop some links and let the reader peek over my shoulder and see what I’ve been reading. So here’s the news round-up… ecology edition.
Maps, maps… Stunning maps!
Don’t know what to say other than… depressing. I touched on this in October. Regardless, we cannot shy away from what science reveals and what morality compels.
I’ll post a related photo here, from my garage last weekend (box cutter & 2-by-4 for scale), and see if you can guess what’s going on:
Reading the Landscape – a poem by Steve Glass, restoration ecologist
Beautiful, painful, poignant. Give this one some space.
Sparing vs Sharing: The Great Debate Over How to Protect Nature
Following the theme of the previous links… this is a big and complicated question.
Musk. Echolocation. Venom. Spread The News About Shrews!
Ok, just a little commentary on that last one… I did some reading in my favorite mammal guidebook. Shrews are more closely related to moles than either mice or voles. We have 6 species in Indiana, and 3 in Northern Indiana where we are: the Masked Shrew, the Northern Short-Tailed Shrew, and the Least Shrew. I’ve caught a few in my mousetraps in my backyard shed (not sure which species). They appear to be pretty abundant.
Did you also know… we have flying squirrels in Northern Indiana, and armadillos in Southern Indiana? Crazy.
Adam,
Thanks for letting us peer over your shoulder. Good information that makes me think!
Sr. Marybeth
Share or Spare debate is a big one.
Love the shrews. Sofie occasionally brings one in. Noticed the red teeth.
Cute little buggers.
I made time today to read all your latest offerings and I am glad I did. The maps are remarkable and helped me put aside some of the myths I had going in my head. No too long ago I read an article about the huge changes in the insect population but this article with its poignant stats is really frightening because of the rapidity with which this is occurring and the many consequences that follow. I struggled through the sharing and sparing debate but felt the truth of one of the concluding statements: “Reductions in waste and less livestock-intense diets are what is needed – not more food.” This we can and must do something about locally right here. Thanks for sharing the articles and the poem.
Glad you enjoyed, Sr. Linda.