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Green Tip of the Week
Paper Nor Plastic. Bring your bags with you! By taking
reusable bags to the grocery store, you can cut down on the 350 bags the
average American uses each year and reduce needless deaths of marine
life caused by plastic bags that end up in streams, rivers and oceans.
Original text from World Wildlife Fund
Conservation Calendar
National Fossil Day
Thursday, Oct 18, 4:00 to 7:45 pm, at the Oak Bluffs Library.
Bring fossils to show to others, or to ask about -- or just come and see
what others bring. Participants include Nancy Cole of the MV Museum,
Dr. Maurice Tivey of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Galadriel’s of Circuit Ave, Heidi Raihofer and Joe Leonardo, Jacob and
Sam Gurney, Sondra Murphy of the OB Library, Fred Hotchkiss, and others.
Guided Birding Tours
Saturdays, 9:00 to 11:30 am, starting at MV Reg. High School.
Visit birding hot spots with your guide Robert Culbert. Carpool will
depart from the high school faculty parking lot at 9:00. Cost is $30 per
adult, $15 for under 18. For more details, call 508-693-4908.
Sunday Projects at the FARM Institute
Sundays, 1:00 to 2:00 pm, Katama Farm.
Help with farm projects that will be taking place this season. Ages ten
through adult, children under ten must be accompanied by a parent or
caregiver. Free. 508-627-7007.
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Monday, October 15, 2012
Local News
Ecosystem to Experience Harsh Notes
It is impossible to predict what species
will suffer when an entire ecosystem is altered. Spring peepers, aka
Pinkletinks, are widespread across the U.S. and common on Martha's
Vineyard, but they are declining where wetlands are rapidly being lost.
(Photo from Well Tea, Wikimedia Commons)
The next installment
of Liz Durkee's series on how climate change is impacting our island
takes a step back from human self-interest for a look at the broader
picture: how disruption of the historical climate regime under which our
native plants and animals have evolved threatens both individual
species and, through their interactions with each other, the entire
ecosystem. From the opening,
“Plants and trees, birds and bees,
butterflies and frogs have survived in a fairly fine-tuned Island
ecosystem for a long time. Not anymore. Their interconnectedness is
stressed not just by the loss of habitat to development but by hotter
summers, warmer winters and more droughts and floods.”
Online Carpooling Group Helps Islanders Get Around
Almanac readers who are also facebook users might want to take a look at the "MV Rideshare and Carpool"
group, started earlier this year. The facebook group can help reduce
your carbon footprint while saving some cash, but will be more effective
as more members join.
Also, if you're facebook user, make sure to like VCS at our page to receive VCS updates through your news feed!
Other News
Reports of Green Energy's Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated
The fact that electricity production from renewable sources has doubled
in the United States over the past four years might come as a surprise
to most. The American press has taken to describing green energy as a
hopelessly unprofitable venture (without government subsidy), a
loss-leading marketing ploy, or a sincere attempt to do good, but rarely
as a legitimate industry in its own right.
Andrew Winston at Climate Progress makes a good case
that this is a mischaracterization of the current state of affairs, and
that while individual companies may fall, the industry at large is
thriving. As one example, the frequently referenced
failure of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra was not because of a
general lack of demand for solar panels, but primarily due to
competition from much-lower priced products developed and exported from
China. |
