Steve Beissinger discusses his and Zachariah Peery’s article “Reconstructing the historic demography of an endangered seabird” in the February 2007 Ecology (88(2): 296-305). Read the full article at http://www.esa.org/esablog/blog_docs/Beissinger_article.pdf.
I can distinctly remember what got me interested in environmental issues. When I was in 3rd grade I had this really amazing teacher who taught us about the environment. It was my first exposure to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” and she taught us about things we could do to help improve the environment. I was a little skeptical at first…
Throughout National Wildlife Week (April 21 – 29), which intersects Earth Day, about 30 bloggers (signed up in a mere three days since the announcement) will be spending the week conducting bioblitzes across the world – the US, Panama, Canada, etc. – compiling the information gained into tallies and grand totals of species, then georeferencing the whole bit on an interactive world map, showing our results spatially.
This year�s Earth Day, marking the anniversary of the founding of the modern environmental movement in 1970, is Sunday, April 22, 2007.
In celebration of this event, ESA News and Views will feature your thoughts, reminiscences, polemics, and general musings on Earth Day
Regardless of dictionary definitions, anyone who has ever restored a car or a house knows that it is not only possible, it is also a rewarding experience that allows one to regain use of something that has been damaged or fallen into disrepair. But no one expects a restored house to be the same house that it was before. The paint may be the same color, but if lead paint was used something less toxic would now be substituted. No one would propose the use of asbestos as insulation or wallpaper known to burst into flames from a mere spark. In some parts of the world, air conditioning might be installed to protect the remaining historic components of a structure from the elements; if threatened by floods, a historic house undergoing restoration might be raised up on pilings. Where a house might have been home to a family of five, it might now be used as an office or retail store.
Why on earth would an ecologist, much less one employed by the Ecological Society of America, say such a thing? Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of papers and books have been devoted to the subject, not to mention numerous meetings and at least one professional society (the Society for Ecological Restoration International, a partner in ESA’s 2002 and 2007 annual meetings.) The phrase “ecological restoration†generates 772,000 hits on Google, the phrase “ecological restoration is impossible†six. So this would appear to be a minority opinion. But perhaps some explication will produce broader agreement than the current three-quarter million to one ratio would imply.
Anyone who has ventured to Antarctica can not help but have the highest respect for early explorers. How did these men, without the benefit of modern outdoor equipment, endure the harsh conditions of cold, starvation, isolation, scurvy, injury, ice storms, avalanches, and physical deterioration? Why do explorers past and present �� have such an obsession for experiencing nature in its extreme?
Steve Gliessman, UC Santa Cruz, is organizing an International Agroecology course scheduled for July 8-21, 2007. For more information, please visit the course web site at http://www.agroecology.org/shortcourse.htm. Questions regarding the course can be emailed to vvadakan@nullucsc.edu or contact the course organizer, Bee Vadakan at 831-459-5818, Fax. 831-459-2867.
A group from across the United States will congregate in Washington, DC, February 25-March 2, 2007, to spread awareness about the threat posed by invasive plants.
Recently a number of people on the ECOLOG listserv have either recommended or asked about Ecological Society of America (ESA) activities on the topic of biofuels. ESA is in fact planning several activities on this topic, and we thought readers might appreciate a summary.
As you may know, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is conducting a survey of principal investigators. If you received the survey invitation, we encourage our members to participate.
Last month, ESA invited you to send us photographs of your favorite ecologists and ecosystems for our home page, and a number of you have responded with great shots.