Saturday, May 22, 2010

Jake Sigg's Nature News Special to Bayview Hill Association

1.   Judicial opinion threatens salmon
2.   Tree drawing artists: Help create a forest of trees in the dirty walls of the Broadway Tunnel
3.   Celebrate Endangered Species Weekend in the GGNRA
4.   Coastal Commission to weigh Tomales Dunes
5.   Pescadero Marsh and Dunes field trip 23 May
6.   Feedback
7.   Integrated Control Methods Field course June 8-9
8.   Winged visitors in your garden - East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden, June 5
9.   Bay Area Nature Fan Fest - celebrate the work of naturalist and illustrator John "Jack" Muir Laws and his new pocket guides - June 5
10. Blue Greenway planning and design guidelines workshop May 26
11.  FUF walk through AIDS Memorial Grove May 28
12.  BREAKING GROUND: Urban Gardening Youth Conference Saturday, June 19 - by and for high school students
13.  Wildflower walk at Arastradero Preserve May 30
14.  Full Moon walk May 27
15.  Getting a Raw Meal: Is an Exclusive Diet of Uncooked Food Good for Personal--and Planetary--Health?
16.  Some bad news about fish from the UN
17.  Farmers tell feds poultry companies control them
18.  Getting the goodness of garlic
19.  Two great blue heron nests at Palace of Fine Arts
20. Transition Town movement at the Commonwealth Club on June 9
21.  Scaring off bark beetles infesting pine forests
22.  Efficient shapes - now, tetrahedral tomatoes?
23.  Some definitions by Ambrose Bierce
24.  Richard Wagner 22 May 1813/SFO Ring Cycle


1.  JUDICIAL OPINION THREATENS SALMON 
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger issued an opinion stating that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) protections for salmon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta do not "take the hard look required to achieve, to the maximum extent possible, the co-equal Reclamation Law objective of providing water service." 
The opinion may presage an unfortunate blow for already-beleaguered California salmon. The protections that provide anadromous fish with the water they need are the best hope for California's wild salmon runs and the commercial fishermen and communities whose lifestyles and livelihoods depend on them. 
The NMFS protections define when, and how much, water can be pumped from the South Delta without driving endangered anadromous fish to extinction. They were recently vetted by a panel from the National Academy of Sciences, who found the protections "scientifically justified." 
In his opinion, Judge Wanger stated that the pumping restrictions had caused "social disruption and dislocation, such as … increased unemployment leading to hunger and homelessness," and that a temporary injunction might be appropriate if it does not "further jeopardize the species or their habitat." 
This opinion was not a final ruling. The exporters continue to seek an injunction on the federal biological opinions that protect the salmon. The court will continue to hear arguments and make a final ruling. The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 25th.  
Planning & Conservation League

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2.  Tree drawing artists: Help create a forest of trees in the dirty walls of the Broadway Tunnel

Local British street artist, Paul "Moose" Curtis, Professor of Dirty, has been creating art on the walls of the Broadway Tunnel (west end, south side) in San Francisco. Using "reverse graffiti," his stencils create images on dirty walls when he shoots a power hose full of water and a natural cleaner at his stencils temporarily attached to the walls. The result is a reverse image that disappears as the wall gets dirty again. His previous images of native plants have disappeared but he has approval to create a new work on the walls.

Located in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, the area lacks not only open space but also street art. His next creation will be a forest of stenciled trees. The work can be viewed best from the north side of Broadway, above the tunnel's west entrance, between Hyde and Larkin. 

Anyone with tree drawings he can enlarge and turn into stencils is encouraged to send him their images at:  treesinthetunnel@gmail.com

He will select 10. The deadline for consideration is June 10, 2010.

Leah Garchik had a blurb about this in her column in the San Francisco Chronicle on May 18, 2010:Broadway Tunnel

The article includes a 3 minute video by Doug Pray of Paul talking about his work: Reversegraffiti

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3.
Celebrate Endangered Species Day at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area!
Endangered Species Day is a national celebration of America's commitment to protecting and recovering our nation's flora and fauna. Nearly a quarter of the species on the planet are currently in danger of extinction.

Started by the United States Senate, Endangered Species Day is an opportunity for people young and old to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions that people can take to help protect our nation's disappearing wildlife and last remaining open space. Protecting America's wildlife and plants today is a legacy we leave to our children and grandchildren, so that all Americans can experience the rich variety of native species that help to define our nation.
Celebrate Endangered Species Day all weekend with Golden Gate National Parks, from Friday May 21 to Sunday, May 23. From Muir Beach to Lands End, get hands-on with a restoration project or interpretive program to benefit the park's endangered species!
At Golden Gate, there are more federally protected species than any other unit of the National Park System in continental North America: more than Yosemite, Yellowstone, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks combined! This is both cause for celebration and concern. The California red-legged frog, coho salmon, mission blue butterfly, Presidio clarkia, and many more species need your help!
Join us for Endangered Species Weekend at Golden Gate National Parks!
Endangered Species Weekend
Friday, May 21, 2010 - Sunday May 23, 2010
Help with restoration projects for endangered species, including:
See peregrine falcons and learn about raptor migration
Restore habitat at Muir Beach for endangered salmon and steelhead
Help grow native plants for Mission Blue butterflies at the Marin Headlands
Observe endangered tidewater goby and clean up the Rodeo Lagoon
Restore habitat for western snowy plovers on the beach
Restore habitat for endangered plants at the Presidio - and more!
Find out more and register for a project at the Golden Gate National Parks website.

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4.  Coast Commission to weigh Tomales Dunes

The future of Tomales Dunes, the largest unprotected dune system and richest collection of seasonal dune wetlands in central California, is scheduled finally to come before the California Coastal Commission.

The Commission will hear an appeal, brought by the Sierra Club and several other environmental organizations, of the permit approved by Marin County to manage the impacts of Lawson's Landing, a gigantic recreation-vehicle (RV) park at the dunes (see January-February 2009 Yodeler, page 15; and November-December 2008, page 17).  Lawson's is asking the Coastal Commission for a permit for a campground for 495 RVs, 305 tents, and 213 "second-home" travel trailers. We believe that it is possible to retain the low-cost coastal access provided by Lawson's Landing while minimizing damage to the remarkable ecosystems here, but the plan proposed by the owners doesn't give adequate protection to the site's sensitive habitats.

The state Coastal Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently allocated $1.5 million for a conservation easement to protect wetlands at Tomales Dunes.  This provides an excellent opportunity for Lawson's to come into legal compliance and for Lawson's and agencies to work together to restore the environmental health of the site.

Write to the California Coastal Commission at:
Peter Douglas
California Coastal Commission
45Fremont St., #2000
San Francisco, CA 94105-2219
fax: (415)904-5400.

Urge the commission to make sure that:

• all wetlands and sensitive habitats are identified and provided with appropriate buffers, as required by the Coastal Act;
• past unpermitted uses are mitigated by adoption of a management ptetfedMU ensures that sensitive species and habitats are restored and protected, and that also addresses the problem of invasive species;
•a new septic system is installed in a timely manner;
• all camping spaces are made open to the public, not reserved for those few lucky RV owners who hold private long-term leases over prime camping areas.  Come to the commission's meeting when it considers Lawson's Landing.  As of press time the item is scheduled during the Commission's July 7-9 meeting in Santa Rosa at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors chambers at 575 Administration Drive.  For an update on the schedule and more information, go to:  www. eacmarin. org, click on "Tomales Dunes Update .  

Catherine Caufield (reprinted with permission from Sierra Club Yodeler)

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5.
California Native Plant Society field trip
Pescadero Marsh and Dunes
Sunday 23 May, 10 am

Join Toni Corelli for a walk on the North Pond Trail at Pescadero Marsh.  This is a place to see coastal scrub, native prairie and wildflowers, along with saltwater marsh wetlands and the birds associated with it.  This will be an easy one-way walk of about 1 mile and we will return along the same trail.  After lunch we will go to the Pescadero dunes to see different plants and how they manage to live in this extreme habitat.  

Meet at the North Parking lot of Pescadero Marsh at 10 am.  A parking fee is required and there are restrooms at the lot.  Bring lunch and wear layers.  The tour will go until 3 pm.  For more information contact Toni at 650-464-1289 or corelli@coastside.net.

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6.  Feedback

Sharon Muczynski:
Hi Jake, I live in SF and I care about Point Molate. I sent the suggested message to Nat Bates and others in the Richmond City Council. Here is the response I received:
How can a person who do not live in Richmond, pay no taxes in Richmond, do not give a damm about crime nor poor economical conditions make judgment and tell us what is best for our city. Elitist people like yourself are an embarrassment to society. In the future, Please refrain from contacting me because you are not my constituency.
Nat

  I enjoy your newsletter.
Louise Lacey (re lab report:  Pesticides and Soil Fertility):
I mean any government soil.  My point is that they didn't start with "virgin" soil, but soil that was already used, probably for years, in an unknown condition. So we don't know what shape it was in.
Yes.  That is a qualifying factor, but it doesn't necessarily invalidate the results, does it?
I think it does. No mycorrhizae, no etc. etc. We don't even know if that soil has had earlier years of pesticides, fertilizers, etc.  To do it right you have to start with real earth, and two places near by, with a control and the things you are testing.
I won't argue your point, Louise, as it certainly has some validity.  However, we are getting into complications that are beyond my purpose with the posting.  The study was done in England, and can you find anything there that resembles virgin soil?  In my view the study has value, even if a more thorough study might bring qualifying information.  For better or for worse, I pull the plug at this point.  Jake

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7.  Integrated Control Methods Field Course at the McLaughlin Natural Reserve, Lower Lake: June 8 & 9
Cal-IPC is pleased to invite you to a New 2-day Field Course where you will learn about integrating control methods for more effective invasive plant control. This 2-day format provides more social time for networking between participants, instructors and Cal-IPC staff. The McLaughlin Natural Reserve has an abundance of spring wildflowers at this time of year and is engaged in managing multiple invasive plants.  Registration and course details at www.cal-ipc.org/fieldcourses/index.php. 

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8.  East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden - Winged Visitors in Your Garden Sanctuary

Did you know that it's easy to distinguish male from female in some butterfly species; and that some species can emerge from the chrysalis years after going into the pupal stage ?
Do you know why some butterflies seem to have just four legs ?
Monarch butterfly females search for certain qualities in the host plant before laying their eggs on it. Find out why, and how they know this plant is best for their offspring.

Learn which birds breed first, why another species waits to breed until early summer, and how spiders play an important role in the lives of some birds.
You will learn how flocking birds signal danger to other members of their flock; and how birds divide habitat resources by using different foraging strategies.
You'll also hear some fascinating stories about the origins of common names of birds and butterflies.
All this, and more great information to help you get the most from your habitat garden:  plus a free milkweed plant to prepare for the Monarchs in the fall.

Charlotte Torgovitsky will lead the class "Winged Visitors in your Garden Sanctuary" on Saturday, June 5, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM.  Click here for further information on this course or to register.

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9.
Bay Area Nature Fan Fest - LOVE IT! LEARN IT! PROTECT IT!
Saturday, June 5 from 2:00 to 400 p.m.
Heyday Books, SF Botanical Garden Society, and Audubon California invite you to celebrate the work of naturalist and illustrator John "Jack" Muir Laws and his new pocket guides! Join us for nature secrets from Jack, cupcakes, lemonade, buttons, books, and two minute "quick-as-a-bunny" presentations from Jack's favorite local organizations, including SF Botanical Garden Society, Tree Frog Treks, Audubon California, California Native Plant Society, Bay Nature, Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, and Nature in the City.

San Francisco County Fair Bldg Recreation Room, Golden Gate Park, 9th Av & Lincoln Way, San Francisco

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10.  May 26th Community Workshop: Blue Greenway Planning & Design Guidelines

The Port of San Francisco will be hosting a community workshop to provide an overview of the planning process and schedule, existing conditions, opportunities & constraints and to discuss potential program uses for the various open spaces.

Wednesday May 26, 2010 5:30 - 8:00 PM, Port of San Francisco, Pier 1 (Embarcadero at Washington).
Prior to the meeting, the Port will post a document on the Blue Greenway web site  that will present the information that will be reviewed at the community workshop. More information about the Blue Greenway can also be reviewed on the Port’s Blue Greenway web site at: www.sfport.com/bluegreenway

(The last time I looked there was no mention of wildlife or migration corridors.  Evidently the Blue Greenway is conceived for human beings only.  JS)

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11.
National AIDS Memorial Grove
Friday, May 28th 12pm-1:30pm
Bring a lunch and join Friends of the Urban Forest on a walk through the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park with John Cunningham and Ray Goodenough. Ray, gardener for the AIDS Grove, will share his knowledge about the trees and other plants in the Grove while John, Executive Director for the Grove, shares with us its history.
RSVP Sarah Campbell, FUF Education Coordinator at sarah@fuf.net or call (415) 268-0780.
Meet at the Grove’s entrance at the intersection of Bowling Green Drive and Middle Drive East.
MUNI N Judah, 16X, 33, 71, 43
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12.  3rd annual BREAKING GROUND: Urban Gardening Youth Conference Saturday, June 19 - by and for high school students

This environmental conference is free and open to all Bay Area high school students, and takes place in beautiful Golden Gate Park. 


People can register, download poster, etc. all from the Parksportal Breaking Ground listing.


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13.  Interpretive Walks and Ecology Workshops
Acterra Stewardship offers a number of walks and workshops throughout the year. These are a great opportunity to learn about local ecology and explore nature in the Bay Area. Space is limited, so please register in advance.
Upcoming Walks and Workshops:
May Wildflower Walk at Arastradero
Come see what April showers brought to Arastradero! Staff Botanist, Paul Heiple, will lead a walk to share his copious knowledge of what is blooming and many other gems of local natural history. The wet spring made for a good flower year, and many flowers are blooming late this year. There should be plenty still to see!
We recommend bringing a water bottle and wearing closed-toe, comfortable shoes and a hat!
When: Sunday, May 30, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Where: Gateway Facility, down the trail from the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve parking lot on Arastradero Road, just north of Page Mill Road. [MAP] 
Cost: Free [REGISTER NOW]
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14.  Full moon time again, and we'll be taking our walk Thursday, May 27, starting at 8:00.

As always, the walk will start at the Quarry Road Entrance Park by the Brisbane Post Office and Community Garden. The Brisbane Post Office is at 280 Old County Road, Brisbane.
These quarry walks are fun, a companionable walk with friends and neighbors. Come join us. Children and dogs are most welcome.

Round trip distance is about two miles on a nearly flat road. Dress in layers. It can be cold and/or windy. Heavy rain cancels, but a bit of fog or a few clouds won't stop us. Right now, they're predicting a 30% chance of rain in Brisbane on Thursday.

Sometimes someone brings a binocular on these walks, but mostly we rely on our naked eyes for our moon and stargazing. If you would like to get a closer view than that, you might want to check out a star party hosted by the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers. They hold two free events a month, one at Lands End in San Francisco, the other on Mount Tamalpais.  Recently, I went to one of their Lands End gatherings. There were about a half dozen telescopes, all different, all custom made by the person attending them. They were focused at first on the moon, which was a few days short of full, and then, as the sky got progressively darker, they added Venus, Saturn and the Orion Nebula. The telescope guys - yeah, they were mostly guys - were very good with kids, and it was terrific to see how some of the children reacted to that view of the moon. My inner kid had a good time too. Here's their calendar: http://www.sfaa-astronomy.org/calendar.php?drawcalendar:sfaa  

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15.  Scientific American:
EARTHTALK: Getting a Raw Meal: Is an Exclusive Diet of Uncooked Food Good for Personal--and Planetary--Health?
Although humans have been eating raw foods since they first began foraging for their sustenance, the diet really began to catch on in recent years when some high-profile celebrities began touting its health- and weight-maintenance benefits

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16.  Farmers tell feds poultry companies control them
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD, AP Agribusiness Writer
Friday, May 21, 2010
Alabama chicken farmer Garry Staples told federal officials Friday that there's no open market in the poultry industry.
The 57-year-old farmer from Steele raises birds for Pilgrim's Pride, one of the nation's biggest poultry companies. But like other farmers who raise most of the chickens Americans eat, he doesn't own the birds he raises, nor does he determine what food they eat or medicine they get. Pilgrim's Pride controls that.

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17.  Meanwhile, some bad news from the UN about fish: 

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18.  Getting the goodness of garlic

Consuming large amounts of pungent, raw garlic may be good for your heart, but not necessarily your social life.  Until recently, researchers and nutritionists assumed that eating uncooked garlic was the best way to obtain the cardiovascular benefits attributed to it—and its close relative, the onion.  Both are rich sources of heart-protective compounds called “thiosulfinates.”  These sulfur compounds, best known for causing eyes to water, are thought to lower blood pressure and break up potentially harmful clusters of platelets in the bloodstream.

To test the effects of cooking on garlic’s beneficial compounds, scientists boiled, baked, and microwaved both crushed and uncrushed cloves and evaluated them for their antiplatelet activity.  They learned that crushing the garlic helped free up the compounds.  And though garlic retained most of its health benefits with light cooking, microwaving practically stripped it of its blood-thinning characteristics.

From Agricultural Research March 2008


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19.  Linda Sharp:
BTW, there are TWO Great Blue Heron nests at the Palace of Fine Arts. The other one is in the tree just to the right of the Rotunda, about 1/4 of the way down on the left, but very hidden by greenery. We can see two heads.  I'll check on them today. Cheers, Linda

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20.  (From Judith Katz)

Come learn about the Transition Town movement at the Commonwealth Club on June 9, 2010 - A Transition Town is an organized effort by people in a community to respond to the challenges of peak oil, climate change and economic dislocation. Beginning in England in 2005, the transition movement has grown rapidly, with 60 official U.S. initiatives, including six in the Bay Area alone. Join Transition U.S. President Gray, a pioneer of the transition movement in the U.K. and the U.S., and a panel of local transition leaders for a lively introduction to transition, locally, across the U.S. and worldwide.
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $12 members, $20 non-members

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21.  Researchers at Northern Arizona University have found a way to scare off the bark beetles that are infesting pine trees throughout the western U.S.:  play sounds that annoy them.  When scientists exposed beetles to digitally-altered recordings of aggression calls, the insects stopped chewing, stopped mating, and some even fled or attacked each other.  Previous trials with heavy metal music and talk radio failed to produce the same results.  Researchers still need to study how and why the sounds word.  www4.nau.edu/insidenau/bumps/2010/2_3_10/beetle.htm  Cal-IPC News, Spring 2010

(Talk radio didn't work, huh?  Have you tried Rush Limbaugh's Hate Radio?)

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22.  Efficient shapes

What is the most efficient shape for randomly packing things into a container?...(Researchers) report ...that the tetrahedra filled roughly 76% of the available space in a large container, whereas experiments with spheres typically filled only 64% of the available volume.  The physicists say the data will be useful when calculating, for example, how liquids seep through soils of different densities.  They think the work might also have some use in packaging consumer products.  Watch out for tetrahedral tomatoes.

Excerpted from The Economist 8 May 2010

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23.
CONSERVATIVE, n.      A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.
CONSOLATION, n.     The knowledge that a better man is more unfortunate than yourself. 
CONSUL, n.      In American politics, a person who having failed to secure an office from the people is given one by the Administration on condition that he leave the country. 
CONSULT, v.i.      To seek another's disapproval of a course already decided on. 
CONTEMPT, n.     The feeling of a prudent man for an enemy who is too formidable safely to be opposed. 
CONTROVERSY, n.     A battle in which spittle or ink replaces the injurious cannon-ball and the inconsiderate bayonet.

Ambrose Bierce:  Devil's Dictionary

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Richard Wagner, born 22 May 1813

The San Francisco Opera is proceeding with its new production of Wagner's Ring Cycle next month.  It began with Das Rheingold two years ago and proceeds with Die Walkuere next month.  

The Ring Cycle is a very powerful story, and it represents nothing less than the history of the human world--specifically, it is about power, its uses, abuses, and its corrupting effect.  The Cycle is set in mythical times; the composer deliberately employs archaic German, and its power derives from the power of myth.  It is in the nature of myth to be larger than life.  Never mind that these gods are all too human, squabble, and make tawdry deals--they are immortal and they have power.  The consequences of power and immortality cannot be dismissed.  Wotan, king of the gods, to gain wisdom gave one of his eyes at the spring at the base of Yggdrasil, the world ash tree.  His power derives from the treaty with the world carved on his staff, as the giants and his wife Fricka inconveniently remind him.  

In recent years we have seen what abuse of power in the human world can do.  Can the president of a corporation be substituted for king of the gods?  San Francisco Opera thinks so.  Setting the production in historic times and peopling it with mortal characters holes it below the waterline.  Wotan, king of the gods, is (I think) president of the Southern Pacific Railroad--which ruled California for so long--the fire god Loki is a corporate lawyer; and the Rhinemaidens are harpies or striptease floozies.  Yawn.

Wotan has an eyepatch all right, but the loss of an eye suggests something like an accident when his little sister poked it out as they were playing.  And who are these other two guys in business suits and ties hanging out with him, silent, and without any apparent function?  (In spite of my keen knowledge of the opera, I had no idea who they were.)  Oh--they turn out to be other gods--Froh and Donner.  We don't find who out Donner is until that magnificent musical moment when Wagner masterfully portrays the menacing, lowering, charged atmosphere before a violent lightning storm.  The orchestra builds up an almost unbearable tension before the climactic thunderclap clears the air--it is so magnificent when heard.  In this production, who is responsible for that grandeur?  Oh, one of those suited corporate flunkies, who holds up a comical device and--p-f-f-f-f-t—shoots out some sparks that ignites the lightning and thunder!  It was a risible moment, and one that must have embarrassed the actor-singer stuck with portraying Donner.  It embarrassed me.  I guffawed aloud, but fortunately it was drowned out by the thunderclap.

Die Walkuere, to be performed in June, is nearly everyone's favorite of the four operas, the heart-tugger and tear-jerker.  Two years ago I bet that the nine Valkyries were going to be dykes on bikes.  Judging by the advance publicity, it appears that that is exactly what they are.  I wonder what the singers think of all this crap.  They have to perform whether they like it or not in order to get their paycheck.  Ugh.   What a life.

Who is responsible for this disaster?  The Opera's general manager hired the egomaniacal stage director.  A pox on both.  They plainly have a shallow understanding of the cycle.  I'm sitting out this production, instead checking out a recording from the library and experiencing in imagination the grand drama without the distraction of an absurd staging.
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Special to Bayview Hill-Jake Sigg's Nature News


1.   2010 Annual Team Spring Bird Survey in the Presidio - May 8
2.   Life in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, May 13
3.   Some California Flowering Shrubs for Our Gardens by Ted Kipping, Thurs 6 May
4.   Exciting news from the Green Hairstreak corridor project - it's working!/volunteer day Sunday May 9
5.   Galileo AP Environmental Science students invite you to 2010 Project WISE Environmental Science Symposium May 19, 20
6.   CNPS field trip to Yerba Buena Island May 8
7.   The Gulf oil blowout may take 90 days
8.   Steal the common from the goose?  Not if George Monbiot has his way
9.   Dramatic video of baby hummingbird rescue
10. Human egg donors offered up to $50k/unpleasant racial overtones
11.  Magnificent Hubble Space Telescope photos/setting Sun
12.  For Farley fans
13.  Feedback:  Einstein's God, Richard Dawkins/Arizona law hullabaloo
14.  Global catastrophe kills more children than HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined - water
15.  Grassroots initiatives - Dee Dee Workman may be able to help you (but not gratis)
16.  The Watershed Project's Native Oyster Restoration Program - May 13
17.  Counting underway for Bird-a-thon.  Join today
18.  Claremont Canyon Conservancy - many events through June
19.   Yo buddy--outta my space.  Chemical warfare, underground
20.  Cause of earthquakes found:  scantily-clad women
21.   And cause of Gulf oil spill unmasked

1.
2010 Annual Team Spring Bird Survey
Presidio of San Francisco
 Saturday, May 8, 8 a.m. – noon
Steve Phillips, 415-850-4677
sphillips@presidiotrust.gov
Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day collecting data on the Presidio's breeding bird species. Since 2005, one morning each spring volunteer birdwatchers have walked one of eight designated routes through the Presidio counting species of concern such as Wrentits, Wilson's Warblers, and Olive-sided Flycatchers.
These estimates will help document trends in bird populations in the Presidio, and the effect that restoration and re-forestation are having on breeding habitat in the park. The data is only strengthened by continued monitoring—but we need your help. Novice birders will be paired with experienced birders, so this is a great way to learn to identify common San Francisco birds both by sight and by their spring songs. After walking their routes, teams will re-convene at the old Crissy Field Center to share their birding highlights.
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2.  Thursday, May 13
Life in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.
Summertime in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) in northern Alaska is a brief but intense rush hour for its resident and migratory life forms. Come learn about the land, its ecology, and some of its fascinating inhabitants. Includes excerpts from a log of a rafting trip to the Kongakut river system in the heart of ANWR.

Ashwin Sunder speaks to the San Francisco Naturalist Society. Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA 94114. 7:30-8:30 pm. For more information, go to http://www.sfns.org; or contact Patrick at (415) 225-3830 or jkodiak@earthlink.net. Free and open to everyone.

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3.  California Native Plant Society program - free and open to the public
Some California Flowering Shrubs for Our Gardens
Speaker:  Ted Kipping
Thursday 6 May 7.30 pm
San Francisco County Fair Bldg
9th Av and Lincoln Way, Golden Gate Park

Join the speaker for dinner at the Golden Rice Bowl on Irving between 11th & 12th Avs.  To reserve, call 282-5066 the evening before.

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4.  GREEN HAIRSTREAK CORRIDOR - We saw our first ever Green Hairstreak butterfly at one of our newly planted sites on April 21st 2010, at 14th & Pacheco, likely eclosed (butterfly birth) there!!!  Then on our two sold-out treks with Liam O'Brien, we had photographers take exquisite photos, and have our first photos ever of the eggs!   Check out our newsletter for details, and visit our site for upcoming postings of these photos! www.natureinthecity.org

Please join us on SUNDAY, MAY 9th, from 10:00 AM to NOON at 14th Ave at Pacheco. Iris is away at a wedding, and site steward Sarah McConnico, will be will be extra grateful for your help and support that day.  Please come out and lend a hand to this thriving Green Hairstreak site.   Also, let us know if you have any interest in becoming a site steward, co-steward, or in helping to grow plants for the corridor!  We would love to expand the corridor, and have a couple of exciting spots in mind! If you have other talents to offer, or would like to help with funding, please be in touch too. 


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5.  Galileo AP Environmental Science students invite you to 2010 Project WISE Environmental Science Symposium

Please join our students at the Crissy Field Center as they present on their final projects.  Students have designed and conducted experiments and will be presenting on a number of topics.  Topics include wind energy potential, oil eating mushrooms, bioswales protecting the bay, lead in drinking water, landfill waste reduction, sandcrab monitoring, ground level ozone monitoring, garden companion planting, effects of acid rain, nitrate levels in Crissy Field Center drinking water, rocky shore biodiversity assessment at Aquatic Park, coliform study of Lobos Creek.


Wednesday May 19, 4-6pm and Thursday May 20, 4-6pm
4-5pm:  Formal project presentations in the Gathering Room
5-6pm:  Interactive small group presentations throughout the Center - Light refreshments will be served
Project WISE (Watersheds Inspiring Student Education) is a partnership between Crissy Field Center, Urban Watershed Project and Galileo Academy of Science and Technology

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6.
California Native Plant Society field trip
Saturday, May 8, 10 AM – 2:00
Yerba Buena Island
Leaders: Mike Wood, Jake Sigg, Ruth Gravanis

It has been a couple of years since Mike last led a public tour of Yerba Buena Island.  But with the upcoming transfer of a portion of this natural island from the Navy to the City, and with the a Habitat Management Plan in the works, it high time for another tour.

A prominent feature of the San Francisco Bay located just off our city’s shores, YBI was entirely overlooked by early botanical explorers.  This familiar yet little-known feature of the San Francisco Bay was placed under military control in 1868 and was off-limits to the public for 130 years.  But with the closure of the Naval facility there and its transfer back to the public, you can now see for yourself some of the botanical treasures that represent the indigenous flora of the island

Join Mike for a circumnavigation of this natural geologic feature.  In addition to astounding views of the city and bay, visit a pygmy oak grove, see willows growing in mangrove-like colonies that dip into salt water, see the locally rare dune gilia, fiesta flower, and Dutchman’s pipevine, host for the beautiful pipevine swallowtail butterfly.  We’ll see fern grottos, coastal scrub, wonderful specimens of toyon, buckeye and California hazelnut.  Western gulls nest on the island and harbor seals haul out near the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

There are no trails or sidewalks so we'll have to walk single-file along some busy and narrow roads. The terrain is steep and challenging…recommended for moderately strong hikers with good balance. 

We'll meet at the parking lot just inside the main gate to Treasure Island.  Public transportation from SF is available.  (The #108 Muni bus; to catch it go to Level 3 in the Transbay Terminal.)  Bring sturdy shoes boots, hats, water, a snack, and a camera.  Group size is limited.  To reserve your spot, e-mail Mike at wood-biological@mindspring.com, or call (925) 899-1282.

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7.  Jean Ouellette:
Hi, Jake -    This is an exchange between a maritime industry acquaintance and one of his buds in the Gulf area.  Not comforting. 
Date: Saturday, May 1, 2010, 3:24 PM
HEY R...,GUESS YOU ARE IN THE CENTER OF THE OIL SPILL, THOUGH IT IS REALLY AN UPWELLING.  IS THE DRILL PIPE CUT OFF AT THE SEA FLOOR OR OFF THE SEA BED?  DID THEY EVER DECIDE WHAT CAUSED THE FIRE?  NOT MUCH NEWS FOR PEOPLE NOT INVOLVED.   SALUDES, G...

Date: Saturday, May 1, 2010, 4:01 
Hi G...,I'm here in drydock with the T.... in Port Fourchon so I'm kinda in the middle of it all.  What I understand is that the Deepwater was a drill ship.  It was a well that was drilled then capped.  The Deepwater moved into position to open the well up again to ascertain more about setting up a floating platform to begin production.  What I am hearing is that they encountered more pressure than ever before and the blowout that should have shut (exploded and collapsed) the well failed, thus a free flowing gush of uncapped oil.

It sounds like the only way to stop it is to set up more drill ships and try to bore in from the side and siphon off the oil before it reaches the place where it is venting now.  That process may take as long as 90 days!!   Not good........................R...
(See last item below to find the real culprits.)

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8.  No one should be above justice - By George Monbiot (excerpt)

Confession and repentance are not among the Christian virtues practised by the pope.  He has apologised for the rape of children by Catholic priests in Ireland, but this is one of the few paedophilia scandals now shaking the church in which neither he nor members of his inner circle were involved.

Earlier this month, the authors Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens announced that they have asked lawyers to prepare a case against the pope.  Geoffrey Robertson, the barrister they consulted, has explained that senior churchmen who protected paedophile priests, swore their victims to secrecy and allowed the perpetrators to continue to work with children, committed the offence of aiding and abetting sex with minors.  Practised on a large scale, this becomes a crime against humanity, recognised by the international criminal court; Cardinal Ratzinger is accused of presiding over this as a general Vatican policy.  When Pope Benedict XVI comes to the UK in September he could, if Dawkins and Hitchens get their warrant, be arrested.

At last we are waking up to what international law means.  For the first time in modern history the underlying assumption of political life - that those who exercise power over us will not be judged by the same legal and moral norms as common citizens - is beginning to crack.

International law is the belated answer to one of the oldest surviving aphorisms in the English language.  There are half a dozen versions, but the best known is   
"They hang the man and flog the woman
That steals the goose from off the common
But let the greater villains loose
That steals the common from the goose." 
This is the way we thought it would remain. The powerful were licensed by our expectations to carry on committing great crimes, while their subjects were punished for lesser offences.  No longer.  Picture the pope awaiting trial in a British prison, and you begin to grasp the implications of the radical idea that has never yet been applied:  equality before the law.

At the same time as Dawkins and Hitchens made their case, the barrister Polly Higgins challenged our perceptions of what legal equality means. Recently she launched a campaign to have a fifth crime against peace recognised by the international criminal court. The crime is ecocide:  the destruction of the natural world. 

The laws of most nations protect property fiercely, the individual capriciously, and society scarcely at all.  A single murder is prosecuted; mass murder is the legitimate business of states.  Only when these acts are given names - genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of aggression - do we begin to understand their moral significance.                             

The same applies to nature. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 criminalises anyone who "intentionally picks" a single flower from a protected plant. But you can grub up as many as you like as long as it's "an incidental result of a lawful operation". Pick a buttonhole and you
could find yourself in the dock.  Plough out the whole habitat and the law can't touch you.  Higgins gives some examples of ecocide: the tar sands mining in Alberta, the Pacific garbage patch, the pollution of the Niger Delta by oil companies.  She points out that ecocide is rarely a crime of intent, but in most cases an incidental consequence of other policies.

Company directors or politicians could be prosecuted individually, but instead of being fined they would be charged for the restoration of the natural systems they have damaged.  The purpose of criminalising ecocide is to raise the costs of trashing the planet to the point at which it stops being worthwhile.  This is the obvious outcome of a wider understanding of legal equality:  why should private property be protected while the common wealth of humanity is not?  Guardian Weekly 23.04.10

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9.  A couple rescued an injured baby hummingbird, its mother comes to feed it--in a person's hand. The injured bird is rehabilitated and successfully released into the wild.


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10.  From Charles Marsteller:

Tonight I read the article attached below and saw some KEYWORDS that I thought were loaded.  I will cut to the chase:  It is an article with an agenda by the MORMONS.  I tracked down LIVESCIENCE.com and it led me to TOP TEN REVIEWS, a news source (scanning) company.  I researched the officers of this company and they are all out of Brigham Young University and Webster State University (which I tracked down to UT).

So now, knowing what I found: read the story.  You will see what the agenda is, clearly.  MSNBC missed it.  I gave them a comment/correction, so I hope it shakes them up.

I ended my feedback to MSNBC:  "Welcome to our new media age.  Be careful."    I think we will all lament the demise of print journalism when we all knew our hometown newspaper and THEIR agendas.  Now there is just too many damn sources of information...

Egg donors offered up to $50,000
Fees far exceed ethics guidelines, study finds
By Clara Moskowitz
LiveScience updated 6:26 p.m. PT, Fri., March. 26, 2010


Fertility companies are paying egg donors high fees that often exceed guidelines, especially for donors from top colleges and with certain appearances and ethnicities, a new study finds.

The upshot: Parents with infertility problems are willing to pay up to $50,000 for a human egg they hope will produce a smart, attractive child.

_____________________

(From Jake) Charles:   I am busy, and it takes me a long time to unsnarl this rat's nest.  What, in brief, does it say?

Hi Jake, the story was about how eggs are being sold for $50K and that babies are being made to order, ie.donors are PhD's or have certain physical characteristics--ie. Aryan blue eyed, blonds....

The first paragraph says that unwed mothers/fathers and gay people are ordering up fertilized eggs (ie.outside of marriage).

The article struck me as being 'manufactured' or 'engineered.'  For the first time in my life I decided to find out who LifeScience was, and three layers down I found it was backed by a group "Top Ten" something or other.  I looked them up and found that their Board of Directors was also odd:  several were graduates of a college I never heard of "Webster State University" so I looked it up and found it was in UT.  This, coupled with the fact that other Board members where Brigham Young University (BYU) allowed me to realize that this story was generated as part of the culture wars...

It is designed to influence public opinion...in this case, against surrogate parenting (egg donation)--particularly outside of conventions, ie.gay people, or engineering the egg to produce a child of certain characteristics (intelligence and physical appearance).

The other factor?  How common is this?  Is this a phenomenon that is growing, or is it rare?   And are there not medical guidelines for this type of thing? (there are).

So it was a non-news story engineered to influence, subtly, public opinion by a group/business that states they are a "news survey company"--selectively picking the news from their point of view.

Sorry to go on and on...  I'm not sure I like our new media age.  As I said, when I read my local newspaper, I know who they are and where they are coming from--just like I know you.  This is no longer true.  Charley

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11.  The first is of a red, squarish sun setting, the other two are sensational images from Hubble Space Telescope's latest contributions to human knowledge and wonder.




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12.  Hello Farley Fans,
You will be pleased to hear that the Phil Frank Cafe Press shop is up and running again.  T-shirts featuring Velma Melmac in Yosemite, mousepads of sleepy bears on their way to hibernation and mugs featuring the Fog City Dumpster and more products are available here: http://www.cafepress.com/PhilFrank.  Let us know if there are any other Farley characters you would like to see offered on Cafe Press products!  Stacy Frank

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13.  Feedback

Bruce Grosjean:
Jake - Once again thanks for pointing out another great read, i.e., the WSJ-sponsored exchange between Karen Armstrong and Richard Dawkins. It is one of the best short dialogs on the subject I have ever read. A friend of mine gave me a copy of Einstein and Religion by Max Jammer, so while I was reading the WSJ essays I came to the conclusion that Armstrong's and Einstein's God are one in the same. But then Dawkins skillfully closes the door.

Ben Golder:
Well, yes, if it means abuse by law enforcers and harassment of legal Hispanic residents.  The governor can take measures to reduce abuse and arbitrary enforcement actions.  But surely people can sympathize with Arizonans' frustration with a serious situation, and who can blame them for trying to do something--anything--to draw attention to the hypocrisy and inaction of the federal government?

I'll blame them. Just as a few organized, intelligent, and well-meaning people can change the course of human society, so can a few organized, intelligent, and well-meaning people bring about injustice and tragedy. When we don't fully consider how our actions may affect others, we are all capable of committing horrible atrocities. Most of humanity's greatest shameful acts are attributable to well-intentioned people who lack empathy and awareness for another group of people. We need to demand more responsibility from each other—positive intentions are insufficient. Arizona's new law demonstrates a shocking lack of empathy and awareness, because it facilitates abuse and arbitrary enforcement. To say that this aspect of it could be "reduced" in order to make it workable is to apologize for a structurally flawed policy. It is a terrible law. We shouldn't do "anything" or just "something" out of frustration; we should do the right thing and the intelligent thing. Please raise your ethical standards.
I have given up waiting for a few organized, intelligent, and well-meaning people to deal with this festering sore--and I didn't hear any suggestions from you, Ben, on how you  would deal with it.  Empathy and awareness won't do it.  You say it's a terrible law, and I agree with you, and I agree that it facilitates abuse and arbitrary enforcement.  But I can't blame Arizonans in their frustration from trying to do something--anything--to let the federal government know that it has a responsibility for dealing with it.  Continued dithering, which is all we have had for decades leads to initiatives like Arizona's.  There will be more such, because the problem isn't going away.

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14.  Quote of the week
Barbara Frost, WaterAid, on the global problem: "Here is a global catastrophe which kills more children than HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined and which is holding back all development efforts including health and education."

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15.  Since launching Workman Associates San Francisco I've opened an office in a beautiful Victorian on Mission Street and taken on a variety of interesting work for clients including:

· Planning and leading non-profit board retreats and strategic planning efforts;
· Outreaching to local groups and civic leaders to secure support for clients and their projects;
· Acting as liaison with city staff, elected officials and commissioners;
· Resolving disputes between residents and government departments;
· Communicating with and publishing opinion pieces in the press;
· Representing constituents and winning endorsements for a San Francisco ballot campaign;
· Facilitating public meetings regarding parks and open spaces;
· Advising environmental activists on funding community projects.

I also write about San Francisco from an insider's perspective for local and national websites, including Examiner.com, Dee Dee's San Francisco and a new travel site about to go live this summer.  Follow my current blogs at:

Dee Dee's SF Examiner                             
                                                   

Workman Associates San Francisco is a consulting firm assisting individuals, merchants, neighborhood groups, property owners and non-profits interface with city agencies and the public through comprehensive, strategic civic engagement practices. WASF also helps community groups and non-profit agencies build capacity to carry out this work themselves through organizational development consultation and facilitation.

Please contact me if you or someone you know needs help navigating city hall, outreaching to the community, advocating for (or fighting against) a project or issue, or cultivating organizational capacity to take on the work from within.

I reduce my rates for non-profits!

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16.  Bubbles & Bivalves - A Benefit to Support The Watershed Project's Native Oyster Restoration Program
 Thursday, May 13, 2010, 7:00-9:30 pm
Aquarium of the Bay, Pier 39, San Francisco 

Join The Watershed Project, CBS 5 news anchor Wendy Tokuda, and special guests for an evening of oysters, hors d'oeuvres, champagne and libations from the region's finest sustainable restaurants, wineries and breweries. Learn about our native oysters while helping to support our Oysters on the Half Shell program and efforts to restore the critical underwater ecosystem of our magnificent San Francisco Bay! Tickets are $50.
Speakers include:
Luc Chamberland, Aquaculturist
Maria Brown, Superintendent,
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
Brian Allen, Ecologist, Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Wallace J Nichols, Founder/Co-Director of Ocean Revolution
Featuring:
Waterbar, Prospect, Farallon, Slow Club, CleanFish
Hog Island, Drakes Bay, and Tomales Bay Oyster Companies
TCHO Chocolate, Bi-Rite Creamery, Scream Sorbet
J.Lohr Vineyards and Wines, Handley Cellars, Cakebread Cellars, Porter-Bass, Radio-Coteau
Alaskan and Anchor Brewing Companies 
Music by Acacia Collective
For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Executive Director Linda Hunter at (510) 665-3495 or linda@thewatershedproject.org.
To purchase tickets, visit our event webpage or call (510) 665-3643 with a credit card.
Can't make it to the event? Please consider making a donation to support native oyster restoration.
Click here to donate.

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17.  The counting is well underway for Golden Gate Audubon’s 2010 Birdathon and continues through May 16th. This is GGA’s most important fundraising event of the year and there’s still time to join in the fun.  Please Join Birdathon Today!  

Go to www.goldengateaudubon.org/birdthon to register or make a pledge.

Don’t have a pair of binoculars? Visit Sam at Scope City in San Francisco. He is providing loaner binoculars exclusively for GGA members!
Remember, you can participate as an individual or as a team or sign up for one of our bird hikes dedicated to Birdathon!
Or pledge your support to someone else.



Photo By Bob Lewis 
I went out last weekend with the Dan Murphy team, Murphy’s MOb.  Our group spent the entire beautiful day moving south from San Francisco down the peninsula, counting 103 species along the way.  Two employees from Birdathon sponsor LowePro joined us and took a video of the count. LowePro specializes in bags and packs for photographers and birders. Click to view a short video of our adventures**
Then Save the Date!

We will host a celebratory dinner for birdathon participants on June 2, 2010 at Tilden Park’s Brazilian Room and award fabulous prizes such as binoculars, spotting scopes, birding getaways, and much more!

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at 510-843-2222, or email Rue Mapp

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18.  Claremont Canyon Conservancy



We are pleased to announce a series of spring events in Claremont Canyon.  All events are free for members and non-members.
If you missed our bird walk last Saturday with Dave Quady, you can see some pictures and a list of the birds we saw and heard.  Just CLICK HERE or on the above picture.


May 8-Final Headslope Session with Tom Klatt, 9:30-noon
The last--the very last--Headslope Session in Phase 6 at Mid Canyon.  Meet across from the Chert at 9:30 AM for waiver signing, shoe tying, and last minute instructions.  We will be all about broom eradication.

This season's long and wet spring has extended the period for easy broom pulling from moist ground and chip piles. You will still need to dress protectively--long sleeves (remember the ample poison ivy), good shoes, sun screen, bug juice, caps or hats, GLOVES, and a cutting tool of your choice.  We plan to work till noon, probably in small groups.  Using that model, last month, we cleared an amazing amount of territory.  If this time, we can "finish off" phase 6, we will be in a great position to help with maintenance next fall.  That is a lot easier than the initial eradication and will continue the great example that UC sets in the fight against this notorious invader.  No need to RSVP. 
If you need more information, or wish to leave a message, contact the Conservancy or Mary Millman, headslope coordinator at: sfflea@earthlink.net

May 11-Wildlife and Wild Plants along Drury Court with Bill McClung, Paul McGee and Kay Loughman, 11 AM-1 PM.
The leaders will point out different modes of vegetation management that have been applied to private parcels on this interesting, quiet street and identify native plants and wildlife at the wildland-urban interface. This short, easy walk has a great views and is wheelchair accessible. Meet at the bend of Drury Court.

May 15-Garber Park Stewards, 10 AM-noon. Meet at the Evergreen Lane entrance to Garber Park. Volunteers clear fallen debris, pull invasive weeds, and improve the trails. GarberParkStewards@gmail.com

May 29-"Infinite in the Small" with Jerry Powell and Barbara Deutsch, 10 AM-noon
An opportunity to observe and learn about butterflies and other species of the micro-fauna that comprise well over 80% of terrestrial animal life. This walk will be leisurely and for all fitness levels. Meet at the end of Panoramic Way. Limit is 20 persons so please RSVP early.

June 1-Garber Park Stewards 10 AM-noon 
Meet at the Evergreen Lane entrance to Garber Park. Volunteers clear fallen debris, pull invasive weeds, and improve the trails.

June 5-Geology Ramble with Martin Holden, 10 AM-noon
Meet at the Stonewall trailhead to the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. This hike is vigorous and steep in places but highly informative with expansive views of the Bay.

June19-Garber Park Stewards,10AM-noon
Meet at the Evergreen Lane entrance to Garber Park. Volunteers clear fallen debris, pull invasive weeds, and improve the trails.

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19.  YO BUDDY—OUTA MY SPACE!
By Gail Dutton, Free-lance Writer, Irvine, California
 
Have you ever suspected there is more going on in your garden than can be attributed to light, water, and fertilizer? Why, for example, do your prized penstemons inexplicably waste away while that particularly obnoxious weed conquers so much terrain? If questions like these lead you to wonder whether plants are capable of conspiracy, you're in good company.

Researchers are finding that plants really do communicate with each other, in a variety of ways. These are not skills that our fancier garden plants acquire at some European finishing school — even the ugliest desert weeds can "talk" to each other. Some species, for instance, release chemical messages that inhibit the root growth of their neighbors. Others may have developed ways to warn their fellows of an insect attack—and help them prepare for it.  

The theory of allelopathy, which holds that plants release substances that inhibit the growth of their neighbors, has been debated in one form or another for centuries. The black walnut (Juglans nigra), for instance, is known to secrete compounds from its roots that discourage neighboring vegetation. But though particular cases of allelopathy have been recognized, its importance in shaping plant communities has remained open to question. Now there is evidence that it may be a major factor in the desert ecologies of the Southwest.

In experiments at the University of California-Santa Barbara, biologists Bruce Mahall and Ragan Callaway were able to demonstrate a complex pattern of interactions involving the roots of two shrubs common in California's Mojave Desert:  the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and Ambrosia dumosa, usually called burro-weed — a name it shares with several other southwestern plants. Mahall and Callaway grew seedlings of both species in boxes with plexiglass "windows" so they could see and measure root growth. Theyfound that a burro-weed root would practically stop growing if it intruded into the root zone of a creosote bush. The same effect was observed when the intruder was from another creosote bush: the invading root's growth slowed nearly to a halt. The scientists explained this behavior by suggesting that creosote bush roots produce a potent growth inhibitor. Thus far, they have not managed to identify the inhibiting agents, but they were able to confirm their hypothesis by adding activated charcoal to the soil. Since charcoal readily absorbs organic compounds, they reasoned, it should soak up any growth inhibitor and negate its effect. That is exactly what happened.

Burro-weed roots proved less potent: they couldn't stop intrusive creosote bush roots. But they still had things to say to each other.  When roots from two different burro-weeds touched each other, the researchers noted a decline in growth. Yet when roots from the same plant met, there was no decline and the two roots tended to grow in the same direction thereafter. Since this form of communication appears to require direct contact, the scientists suspect that the burro-weed roots are not simply releasing a chemical into the soil.  The mechanism underlying their behavior has yet to be identified.  But whatever it is, the scientists argue that it clearly involves "a capability of self-nonself recognition."

In a study they published last December, Mahall and Callaway theorize that "root communication mechanisms may play important roles in the structure of natural desert communities, and many field observations could be explained by an understanding of these mechanisms." For example, burro-weed shrubs sometimes act as "nurse plants" to die prematurely. Could it be that their ungrateful charges are poisoning them?

Of course, allelopathy alone could never explain the complex dynamics of a plant community. Random distribution, other forms of competition, the availability of light, water, and nutrients — all are important in determining which plants grow where. But for gardeners, the study of allelopathy may lead to a better understanding of which plants make good neighbors. It may also affect succession planting, since growth-inhibiting chemicals may remain in the soil for some time.

But even though plants, like people, will squabble over resources, they can team up when pests threaten their health and well-being.  Research at Illinois State University and a U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory in Florida has shown that corn plants can summon help when caterpillars start chewing on them. Scientists found that a plant attacked by caterpillars will release combinations of chemicals called terpenoids into the air. The terpenoids attract a species of wasp that parasitizes caterpillars, killing them in the process and freeing the corn from its agony. Researchers found the corn's reaction to be very specific: terpenoids are not released when the injury is inflicted by other means, such as a hoe-wielding human. The trigger seems to be secretions from the caterpillar's mouth.

Another chemical messenger, called methyl asmonate, may be the basis of an even more sophisticated defense strategy — one that involves the "cooperation" of plants from many different species.  Methyl asmonate, a common perfume ingredient, is produced in trace amounts by a wide range of plants. It belongs to a class of compounds that inhibit the activity of enzyme proteinase, which plant-eating insects use to digest their meals. Proteinase inhibitors are produced in plant tissue when a wound is inflicted. If the injury has been caused by an insect, "the proteinase inhibitors make it more difficult for pests to digest the proteins" they extract from the plants, according to biologist Edward Farmer, who studied methyl asmonate for several years at Washington State University.  Therefore, a bug encountering a leaf laced with the substance in nature is unlikely to be a glutton. Insects forced to munch a steady diet of methyl asmonate in the lab show high mortality or stunted growth.

The production of these chemicals appears to be a standard defense. "Methyl asmonate or other proteinase inhibitors are thought to be in all higher plants," says Farmer.  Much of the time, the methyl asmonate is produced in a nonvolatile form and remains in the plant's tissues, making them less palatable to marauding bugs. But what intrigued Farmer was that when some types of plants are wounded, they release a volatile form of methyl asmonate. Once airborne, the substance is detected by other plants, which then produce proteinase inhibitors of their own, sometimes in greater amounts than if the plants had been injured directly. Volatile methyl asmonate is fairly common.  It is found, not surprisingly, in jasmine. But it also occurs in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and in many common garden plants, including peas, potatoes, cucumbers, and sunflowers.

In the laboratory, Farmer and fellow researcher Clarence Ryan were able to demonstrate a response to volatile methyl asmonate in several plant species. They found, for instance, that after only 30 minutes of exposure to the chemical, two-week-old tomato plants showed moderate proteinase inhibitor levels of their own.  Continued exposure increased the levels. In tobacco, exposure boosted proteinase inhibitor levels from seven micrograms per gram of tissue to about 116 — a 16 fold increase. In alfalfa, inhibitor levels increased about 11 times.

Researchers have yet to prove that volatile methyl asmonate influences the behavior of natural plant communities. "We know methyl asmonate is quite long-lived. It's very stable and doesn't begin to degrade for about a week. It also can travel a long way", he says. But he adds. I think it is likely to act best within short distances of about one meter."

Farmer's research has important implications for agriculture. It might be possible, for instance, to use methyl asmonate on crops to increase levels of their own proteinase inhibitors. 
Such a procedure would have some clear environmental advantages over conventional pesticides. Farmer points out that methyl asmonate is a naturally occurring compound. It's effective at low levels, it's nontoxic to people, and it doesnt affect the taste of fruit   or vegetables. But whatever its future promise, Farmer's work also appears to confirm some old-fashioned gardening lore. "It's too early to say how these findings will affect home gardeners," he says, "but it seems there is some truth to gardening laws of planting sage near various plants."

(In Growing Points, publication of UC Cooperative Extension, May 1993)

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20.  Women behind earth's moves?

A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.

Iran is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric's unusual explanation for why the earth shakes follows a prediction by the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate.

"Many women who do not dress modestly...lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which increases earthquakes," Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media.  Women in the Islamic Republic are required by law to cover from head to toe, but many ignore the more strict codes.  "What can we do to avoid being buried under the rubble?" Sedighi asked last week.  "There is no other solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral codes."  Seismologists have warned for at least two decades that it is likely the capital will be struck by a catastrophic quake.  Some have even suggested Iran should move its capital.

The welfare minister, Sadeq Mahsooli, said prayers and pleas for forgiveness were the best "formulae to repel earthquakes.  We cannot invent a system that prevents earthquakes, but God has created this system and that is to avoid sins, to pray, to seek forgiveness, pay alms and self-sacrifice," Mahsooli said.

Associated Press

(JS:  So there you have it, and Sodom-and-Gomorrah-by-the-bay is proof.  It's all these half-naked women you see roaming our streets.  The reason for our earthquakes is obvious.  However, don't worry about falling behind in the morality race; we have our own watchdogs to save us from perdition):

"The Equal Rights Amendment is part of a feminist agenda that is not about equal rights for women.  It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians."             Reverend Pat Robertson

"They're trying to prove their manhood."  Ross Perot, on two women reporters who asked him tough questions.
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21.  (Had enough?  How's this?)
In the twisted world of Rush Limbaugh, the commitment to protecting our environment and endangered species is proof that we blew up the oil rig that is right now ravaging the Gulf of Mexico with a massive oil spill.

In Rush's own blustering words:
"But this bill, the cap-and-trade bill, was strongly criticized by hardcore environmentalist wackos because it supposedly allowed more offshore drilling and nuclear plants, nuclear plant investment. So, since they're sending SWAT teams down there, folks, since they're sending SWAT teams to inspect the other rigs, what better way to head off more oil drilling, nuclear plants, than by blowing up a rig? I'm just noting the timing here." 

(Yah, Rush, that's pretty convincing proof all right.  I thought we'd disguised ourselves pretty well, but you unmasked us.)
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