Bluefin Tuna to be listed as endangered species?

The UN announced yesterday that the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will be considering listing the Bluefin Tuna as endangered. They say that ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, has not enforced its own policies, routinely setting quotas for the fish at double its recommended numbers, which are often exceeded anyway by its member states. The classification could potentially have a devastating impact on Japan's economy; a single bluefin today "can easily fetch more than $100,000 in Tokyo's largest fish market," according to this article.

Global Warming Effects on Wind Speeds Debated

This article reports on a study that warns that global warming may effect wind speeds. However, the study is disputed, in that other methods indicate the paths of wind (and storms) will change, rather than the speeds of wind. Either way, we'll have to deal with the changes.

What I did during classtime on Tuesday...

My lovely assistant.


I dismantled my frankentree and built a compost bin. :D

The live skink and the dead one apparently were trapped in this plastic thing I found under some old junk in our yard. I flipped it over (from a distance, with a stick) and then threw it in the recycling bin.

Wow...

"Mr Kamkwamba, who is now 22 years old, knocked together a turbine from spare bicycle parts, a tractor fan blade and an old shock absorber, and fashioned blades from plastic pipes, flattened by being held over a fire."

This is awesome.

Can't See the Forest For the Concrete

This is a freeway by Broadway that I walked under on my way home one day. It is a place that has very little foot traffic, is somewhat closed off from the vehicular traffic outside, and has bits of waste that are leftover from other humans who have visited the place, parked, or slept there. The fact that it was designed and built by humans did not have the effect of creating a presence of civilization. It feels like a wilderness; relatively untouched by humans (after its creation), unseen by most people, and slightly dangerous. The plants around and coming up from beneath the concrete are almost untamed.

Lottery

Sorry about the quality of the picture- I guess my camera can't handle close-ups. I found this by the corner store near my house.