Nessie's Got Balls!

Thousands of them, according to new footage from a team of Loch Ness Monster hunters who first mistook them for mushrooms. The team suspects locals have been using the loch as a driving range and at least one eyewitness confirmed this. While some people make their living recovering (and refurbishing) balls lost in waterways, the area of Loch Ness where the balls were found is about ¹/₂-mile deep!

A conservationist said the balls posed no ecological threat to Nessie or the rest of the wildlife in Loch Ness, though he admitted it was "undesirable."

Let's go to video.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Trippy Bream Caught Off Britain's Coast

The sarpa salpa is a type of bream which is known to cause hallucinations if certain parts are eaten. While a delicacy in some parts of the world, two men were hospitalized in 2006 in France after eating the bream - both suffered auditory hallucinations after dining on the sarpa salpa. Indigenous to the Mediterranean and waters surrounding South Africa, only three have ever been caught in British waters... until now.

A fisherman trawling for lemon sole caught one of the gold-striped bream in his nets and saved it. Not knowing what it was, he took pictures and looked on the Web. When he discovered it was a sarpa salva, he said:

Now [that] I realize what it was and the effects it can have, perhaps I should have taken it into town to sell to some clubbers

The last time a sarpa salva was caught in British waters was 1983. Some experts believe global warming is to blame for the bream's northern appearance.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Give Earth Some Slack, Jack - Be Groovy, Baby

Researchers decided to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of the 40% obese British population and compare the results to those of the 1970s, when only 3.5% of the population was obese. The results were pretty staggering: the current population uses nearly 20% more "food energy" than that of the '70s, which equates to nearly 60 megatons of emissions! The transportation costs of supplying this food added another ¹/₂-1 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions! But there is a caveat.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) of the population has also increased, and not just in the UK, all over the world. This means people, in general, are bigger than they were some three-four decades ago. And while the researchers involved preferred to say they were getting "fatter," we have all noticed how much younger kids are developing. You can also see great differences in musculature and so forth in athletes and fitness freaks. It is not fair to say people are "getting fatter" as a blanket statement; it is fair to say people are bigger than we were in the 1970s.

Still, the basic concept is correct in that we should scale-back to the obesity percentages and so forth of the 1970s. Back then, we ate larger portions of vegetables and smaller portions of meat. Changing that much of your diet can help both you and the planet.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

California Tar Balls

Large balls of tar washed up on the shores of Coronado Beach in California late last week. Altogether, there was enough to fill a 55-gallon drum. Beachcombers were warned to steer clear, though they were not thought dangerous.

Experts note this waste could be from an earlier spill, not from one reported Saturday. However, the tarballs were first reported Saturday. Samples from the balls found are being examined and compared to the diesel spill Saturday.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Australian Toad Hunt

In 1935, the poisonous cane toad was introduced to Australia from South America. The intent was pest control, but it backfired; now, the cane toads themselves are the pest. And the population of Queensland has had enough.

A festive culling of the herd known as Toad Day Out has them collecting the fat, warty creatures. Many will be turned into fertilizer, some will be given to the University, and the largest will be stuffed by a taxidermist, presumably for display in museums and similar showplaces.

The cane toads are believed to be responsible for the deaths of crocodiles, which unknowingly ate them.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Beaver Spotted in Detroit

Stop it right now.

A beaver (the animal) was spotted in Detroit the other day - the first in 75 years! A single beaver lodge was discovered in an intake canal near the Edison's Conners Creek power plant. A spokesperson for the city said this proves the clean-up efforts are working.

Detroit has seen a resurgence of wildlife in recent years, including sturgeon, whitefish, peregrine falcons, walleye, and bald eagles.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

The Lionfish Has Arrived

"We knew this 'perfect predator' was coming, we just didn't know when." Florida officials said, following their confirmation of the lionfish in Florida waters. A native of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the lionfish was introduced to Atlantic waters many years ago. Some say it was a natural occurrence, as they were carried on the ballasts of ships, while others say selfish aquarium owners dumped them once they outgrew their confines.

The lionfish, much like the shark, will eat anything it can cram into its mouth and is "a breeding machine." But worst of all, it has a very painful sting. More than just an economic threat to tourism, "Lionfish are altering the diversity of an area that has taken hundreds of thousands of years to adapt and evolve," according to experts.

One compared their devastation to a "swarm of locusts" and another said it "may well become the most devastating marine invasion in history."

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

US Challenge: Abandon Oil in 10 Years

Nobel Laureate and former Vice President of the United States of America, Al Gore, issued a challenge to America to abandon fossil fuels within a decade. His plan was boiled down to a rhyme: "Tax what we burn, not what we earn."

Gore's plan depends heavily on nuclear energy, but includes alternative energies. He compared the challenge to that of putting a man on the moon in the 1960s. Other intellectuals disagree, however, saying America is incapable of "going cold turkey." The basic reason is greed.

But Gore made an excellent point when he noted that our economical woes were all tied to our dependence on these fuels. He said it made no sense for us to be borrowing money from China to buy fuel which damages the atmosphere.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Vast Cracks Found in Arctic

Canadian research teams unveiled evidence of giant cracks in the Arctic Shelf yesterday.

This is being hailed as dramatic evidence of the ice caps breaking apart. The cracks were part of a 10-mile network on Ward Hunt, the area's largest shelf. It indicates the individual pieces could float away at any time.

Last year, we brought you news about the Ayles Ice Island, which has since split into two pieces. These developments are part of an "emerging pattern" in the Arctic, which recent data suggests may have more to do with natural, biological factors than anything man-made.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Wetlands to Blame for Global Warming?

Biologists and researchers said that Arctic wetlands may have been to blame for recent global warming conditions.

A multitude of scenarios and theories were forwarded, all having to do with biological factors, as opposed to human ones, such as increased waste and a general lack of concern for the atmosphere. In particular, emissions from wetlands, the release of carbon dioxide from permafrost, and a release of methane from seawater. Most data suggests these effects are centralized to the Arctic region.

Of course, we should pull our own weight, but scientists say this indicates the recent climatic changes are biological in nature and will likely run their course without human intervention.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Freshwater Dolphin Extinct

A rare, freshwater dolphin known to be found on ly in the Yangzte River is now thought to be completely extinct, thanks to recent research carried out over a 6-week period in which absolutely none were found or spotted. The team involved blamed unregulated fishing. This would be the first known extinction of a large vertebrate in over 50 years. It should come as no surprise it happened In China.

The six-week research endeavor was carried out using both visual and sonar equipment in December 2006 and January 2007. They also noted that other human involvement, such as boat collisions and the destruction of dams, have likely contributed. But they also noted that some small schools and individuals might have been overlooked. Still, the overwhelmingly depressing results indicate the species may very well extinct or, at the very least, severely endangered.

-Source: BBC

It's Easy Being "Green"

With all this talk of “being green” and all of that lately, we have all heard at least a thousand “little” things we can do to cut down on our emissions, make our “eco-footprint” smaller, and on and on - and many of these are great ideas and not that hard to implement - but there is one I have not heard repeated often enough.

Reusing your coffee filters is a pretty good idea, sure. Recycling your cans simply by rinsing them out (cuts down on bugs and stench) and separating them from the rest of the trash - simple, quick, easy. Turning off your lights and other appliances when they are not in use - something we all should have always been doing anyway, just to save the money if nothing else. Wait until you have an actual load of dishes to do them, instead of washing every few dishes you dirty.

These are all great, simple ideas that require little more than (in most cases) a simple change of habit or behavior. But the one thing that seems to make more sense to me than all of these is probably the easiest and least mentioned (that I’ve heard):

Eliminate paper and transportation waste by buying online.

And no, this is not a pitch to buy our patronage our sponsors - not even if they provide you with great sportswear you can use while enjoying the outdoors like any good eco-friendly cat (that’s totally tongue-in-cheek; this really isn’t a plug) - I’m being quite serious.

When you shop online, you don’t burn fossil fuels in transportation, you don’t need paper or plastic, you don’t use up paper with receipts - the list goes on and on. And if you use standard delivery, it comes right through the mail like any other package, so delivery companies don’t have to make the extra trip, saving even more fossil emissions.

Think global, shop global.

Live Earth - Hypocritical?

So I gave my thoughts on the Live Earth events and coverage over to The Rundown. I talked about it both while I was watching it and then after it was over, and my outlook was basically the same. I really hoped it was going to change, but it didn’t; I was rather disappointed by the lackluster coverage all the channels provided. But I digress.

A lot of critics have busied themselves pointing out how these popular musicians are such polluters, what with their tour buses and private jets, not to mention the lights and fireworks and excesses they promote during their concerts. One critic said that for it to be have been a truly “green” event, the musicians should have played all acoustic sets in local venues near their homes.

Well, yeah, I can agree with that. But how would that have really raised awareness?

Where I live, I was literally the only one in the entire neighborhood who watched the event or even knew it was on! In fact, I’m one of the few who has cable TV and without it, all you can pick up is the local ABC affiliate. They didn’t mention anything about it on the radio, there was nothing about it in the local newspapers, and the NBC coverage was not promoted to any great extent that I noticed. From my street-level, "grassroots" perspective, this thing occurred on all seven continents, in like ten countries or cities or whatever, and it still wasn’t all that effective. In fact, unless you have cable TV and/or are interested in "being green," I doubt you were even aware that history was being made. And history was made; Live Earth was the biggest, most successful, global event in history. So while being a purist might have been less hypocritical, it certainly wouldn’t have been more successful.

While it is a decent point, it isn’t very valid because what coverage they did provide - whether you thought it good, bad, or mediocre - absolutely did raise awareness as to the issues surrounding the movement. The spots they showed during the coverage, the short films Sundance showed constantly, and the literature you can find online absolutely educated at least a few people as to some of the simpler ways they can make the world a slightly better place without enacting any major lifestyle change.

So, while hairy-legged hippie chicks might think it a failure on purist grounds, hairy-legged hippie chicks are kinda nuts anyway. I also find it completely hypocritical that all these hippies have been bitching about this for years now and suddenly, when change is being made, they want to act all snobby, like, "We don’t want any Johnny-come-latelies." That’s the problem with those kind of people - you just can’t win with them.

© C Harris Lynn, 2007-2008

Scientists Land on Ice Island

Scientists, along with a BBC team, have landed on the Ayles Ice Island, a chunk of the Ayles Ice Shelf which broke away in 2005 and was only recently identified.  They went there to "tag" it with a monitor -- not unlike how wild animals are tagged -- so scientists can follow the Ice Island's movements in the Arctic.

It now floats about 400 miles from the North Pole in one of the fastest-warming regions of the Earth.  It broke from the Ayles Ice Shelf in less than an hour back in August 2005, registering with the force of a small earthquake.

Records show this region of the Arctic has lost as much as 90% of its ice in the last century.  The map of the Arctic will have to be redrawn.

Fewer Leaves Led to Frogs' Decline

Now We Know What Happened to Pepe!

Scientists working in Costa Rica have come to a startling conclusion as to the decline of the frogs' species in the region after studying 35+ years' worth of data: Fewer leaves on the ground seem to be the cause.

A fungal infection was previously assumed to be the culprit, but scientists noticed that the population of lizards who were immune to the infection were also in decline.  Amphibians have declined by up to 75% since 1970, yet scientists insist there is no human cause-effect relationship -- such as the destruction of their habitat by encroaching industrial efforts.  This percentage in decline directly correlated with the decline in leaf litter on the ground, which provides the creatures with both food and shelter.

The new suspect?

Global warming.

UPDATE:  "Global Warming" or -- as we Old Folk were taught to call it --"The Greenhouse Effect," is a very real, and very direct, by-product of Industrial pollution -- specifically, fossil fuel consumption and the eradication of millions of miles of trees and foliage (especially in tropical rainforests, such as the Amazon).  The "Scientific Community" refuses to acknowledge this because they are intellectually dishonest, and corrupt to the core; they would rather soak-up "free" grant money (that we taxpayers are forced to provide to further such MISO) than stand-up to the corporate giants responsible.  The few who do often wind-up featured on this blog as dead or missing.

However, there are some (too few) within the scientific community who refuse to be terrorized into silence and submission.  They never receive "mainstream" coverage but, once again, they do receive coverage on The OddBlog.  Then they wind-up dead or missing (so we get two posts out of the deal).

Fewer leaves on the ground means fewer trees, not "Global Warming."  That's common sense -- which is why mainstream "scientists" can't seem to figure that out.  We hope they enjoy cashing the checks we (and the oil companies) provide. - 2018