Memories of 21, 42, 63 ... the 84th meandering

The chimpanzee




The stones

he'd be great pitching softball!

http://rainforest.care2.com/i?p=583091674

Hi Walter! So nice seeing you and the wildclickers posting here again!

all clicked and perusing enviornmental news

The Ocean Conservancy's report:

Nearly 400,000 volunteers scoured about 17,000 miles of coastline, river bottoms and ocean floors during the Ocean Conservancy's 23rd International Coastal Cleanup in September.

The group's report said more than 3.2 million cigarette butts were picked up during last year's efforts, making the items the most common found. That's followed by about 1.4 million plastic bags, 942,000 food wrappers and containers, and 937,000 caps and lids. Volunteers also collected 26,585 tires, enough for 6,646 cars " and a spare.

Of the 104 participating countries, the U.S. supplied about half the volunteers.

Volunteers collected about 11.4 million items overall, which weighed a total of 6.8 million pounds. They snagged more than 1.3 million cigarette butts in the U.S. alone, about 19,500 fishing nets in the United Kingdom and more than 11,000 diapers in the Philippines.

"Our ocean is sick, and our actions have made it so," said Vikki Spruill, the Ocean Conservancy's president and CEO. "The evidence turns up every day in dead and injured marine life, littered beaches that discourage tourists, and choked ocean ecosystems."

Wildlife tangled up
The group said thousands of marine mammals, sea turtles and birds are injured or killed by ocean trash every year. During the event, participants found 268 marine animals that survived being entangled in debris.

But 175 weren't so lucky and died " a seal wrapped in fishing line near Santa Cruz, Calif.; a juvenile hammerhead shark entangled in fishing line near St. Augustine, Fla.; a sea turtle tangled in rope in the west African nation of Ghana; and a penguin entangled in wire in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The majority of trash, the report said, comes from land-based activities, such as discarding of fast food wrappers during beach picnics.

"Your trash may make it to the beach before you do this year," the report said, adding that a wrapper or cigarette butt discarded on an inland city street can quickly wash down storm drains into rivers and eventually flow out to the ocean.

{good grief}

The next cleanup is set for Sept. 19th...



http://rainforest.care2.com/i?p=583091674

Thanks for the birthday wishes.
Dan, you are always "Hahn im Korb". Too bad you are so far away- we are having a surprise birthday party for my best "antique item ".

My kids watch these storks in The Netherlands- and also the other birds on the site.
http://www.beleefdelente.nl/ooievaar

A nice evening to all.

I ust saved another 7.4 sq feet of rainforest. I want to have my section near the entrance

But he can pitch, we need him for the Phillies

Bailey and Cleo and I usually click for the wetlands. I think a lot of us gravitate to what's most meaningful/closest to our own hearts/locations/vocations/avocations.

The Wildclickers have supported 2,930,082.1 square feet!

Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 221,600.1 square feet.

American Prairie habitat supported: 68,854.1 square feet.

Rainforest habitat supported: 2,639,628.0 square feet.

~~~

I think there's a nice spot up front for you, Fman. Don't forget your hipwaders!

Way to go Wilclickers!!!!!!!!!!

Yes you did, Farmerman! A nice step upfront and center


ul, Beth, Farmerman, Walter, and all the wildclickers, a good evening to all

Time change week and nearly a full moon - time to howl!

ul,
Sehr danke schatzerl.

I too wish to be closer to Vienna - the most beautiful city I've seen in all my visits to Europe.

ehBeth, you be quiet now........ big grin.

And, ehBeth, thanks for the clicks while I'm out and about.

EPA Plans U.S. Registry of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 11, 2009; A02

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to establish a nationwide system for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, a program that could serve as the basis for a federal cap on the buildup of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to global warming.

The registry plan, which was announced yesterday, would cover about 13,000 facilities that account for 85 to 90 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas output. It was drafted under the Bush administration but stalled after the Office of Management and Budget objected to it because the EPA based the rule on its powers under the Clean Air Act.

"Our efforts to confront climate change must be guided by the best possible information," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson in a statement. "Through this new reporting, we will have comprehensive and accurate data about the production of greenhouse gases. This is a critical step toward helping us better protect our health and environment -- all without placing an onerous burden on our nation's small businesses."

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both California Democrats, had inserted language in a 2007 spending bill instructing EPA to develop a national greenhouse gas reporting system.

If adopted by the end of the year, the rule could produce greenhouse gas statistics by the end of 2010. The EPA requirements would apply to large industrial sources that emit 25,000 metric tons or more a year, including oil and chemical refineries; cement, glass, pulp and paper plants; manufacturers of motor vehicles and engines; and confined animal-feeding operations. The 25,000-metric-ton threshold is about equal to the annual emissions of a little more than 4,500 passenger cars.

Most small businesses would fall below the threshold and would not be required to report, EPA officials said.

In addition to carbon dioxide, emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases would have to be reported.

Officials from several of the industries that would be subject to the new reporting rules reacted relatively mutedly, but some questioned whether the proposal was too sweeping. Scott Segal, who represents coal-fired utilities, noted that although most electric power plants have been reporting their greenhouse gas emissions "for decades," smaller emitters may now find themselves subject to the registry.

"If the rule is the first step in the direction of actual regulation, the inclusion of schools, hospitals and small businesses sets a dangerous precedent for an overbroad approach," Segal said.

Environmental groups and Democrats welcomed the plan, saying it would help guide implementation of any mandatory, national limit on greenhouse gases. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who has co-sponsored separate legislation with Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) calling for a national greenhouse gas registry, called the proposal "a crucial building block to the policy changes we need to make."

ooooooooooooooooh.... I thought I was clicking three times.... but it only allows once... and then again for Big Kitties! (sorry Farmerman - misinfo before )

hey ho...

click on wetlands... click on jaguars. Cool!


arooooooood for Noddy and the wolf pack. Love that moon! It was stunning last nite.


<waves to the ClickerCrew>

oh yeah....

Wishing all the WildClickers, a singin' good day




http://www.wolfpark.org/wolfsounds.html



http://rainforest.care2.com/i?p=583091674

Speaking about 'wetlands' (and storks):

this afternoon, I was looking if the storks were still there.
They weren't. (Away since yesterday, a local told me.) And the residents of the nest aren't back from Africa yet.

This wetland, however, is quite interesting:
a marsh, which was neglected when the river Lippe was canalised 200 years ago.
And afterwards all the former floodplain (forest) became an aria at high risk of flooding: at least twice per year.

A couple of years ago, they started the renaturation.
So we've got not only less floodings but the former back, close to the town.

Besides the great varia of waterbirds you find the "wild" horses (Koniks, a semi-wild pony) and cattle (the Auerochs-like 'Hack-cattle').

Due to the rain and resulting watered areas, these animals were on the 'higher' parts, and the horses obviously in the bushes (according to the already mentioned local person).







The a couple of nests (the largest 'colony' in Westphalia) of herons is just one mile away, I only saw some 'foreign' examples

I've taken my photos from an observation point, close to a really picturesque ensemble, the old church and vicarage of a small village (the night view was shot last night)

Scale of above (three years old aerial view):

Great stuff, Walter. You've definitely shown me an aspect of Germany I had no familiarity with. Thank you.

Walter, so interesting! Thanks for the photos and information.

Are the horses confined to just the wetland site??? Is there another preserve where the horses and cattle migrate adjacent to the restored area?

In California, the San Francisco penninsula and delta restoration project began in 1999 .
The Bay and the watersheds that surround it are home to hundreds of species of fish and wildlife and a growing human population of more than seven million people.



From the Napa/Sonoma Counties restoration project



From San Francisco to Los Angeles, there are lagoon and wetland projects running simultaniously.