Landfil leaching

Reading this article would make anyone or at least most people want to limit there waste by reusing ,recycling and composting.

A massive landfill near Cache Creek where Metro Vancouver has dumped nearly eight million tonnes of waste.

This line in the article was the most shocking for me,I can not even imagine what 8 million tonnes of waste would look like,I did however visit a nearby landfill on one occasion and the mountains of garbage there astounded me but I am sure it was no where near the size of this one.

Jelly fish population explodes

I have always been interested in the jelly fish I see locally but while I was aware there were many different types,I had no idea some could be so dangerous.The Portuguese Man O' War is very interesting looking but I would not want to see one at close range unless I was well protected.

Crickets as human food

I feed crickets to my Asian painted frog but I am not sure I would want to eat them myself.Once you read the article they don't actually sound to bad though ground up into a meal.Live ones are a different story,they move so fast(I have lost a few in our house) they would be hopping all over the restaurant.

Amphibians disappearing.

I love to hear the frogs singing outside my window at night and it would be a great loss if they were gone.There are so many interesting and useful amphibians even in our own area,it is a pity people aren't more informed about them.Just the other day when I was out in our yard planting some flowers,I over turned a piece of wood and surprised these two cute little fellows who appear to be salamanders and strongly resembled my fire belly newt except that they were orangey red all over.I hope that they and other amphibians will be around for future generations to discover.

Bio-fuel risk

This article on bio-fuels shows why things need to be thoroughly researched before they are embarked upon.Even ideas that seem to be great to start out with can have serous drawbacks that aren't always discovered before the damage has been done.I think that bio-fuels do show some promise for the future but the advantages must be weight against the possible disadvantages.

I have always been fascinated by mushrooms and taken many pictures of them,this one was growing in our front yard a few years ago.

The fact that there is now research being done on how they might help clean up toxic waste is a good thing and if it is proven to work seems like a much better alternative that the others available.

Even with all the study and research that has been done over the years there is still so much we don't know about nature and the value of many wild plants.This is one reason we must work to protect wild areas and their inhabitants.

Tax on plastic bags in Ireland

Plastic bag use in Ireland has gone way down after the implementation of a 33 cent tax on plastic grocery bags.I don't know if people here are ready for something like that or not but I think it would be good idea,most local stores now have reusable bags available to buy for less than a dollar and I hardly ever use plastic bags myself any more.

I have been up to the red pine landfill several times when we had something to big for the garbage truck and the sight of those mountains of garbage is enough to make anyone want to reduce their waste.

Birds find their way home

This reminds me of something that happened when I was a child,we had a cat named Sam that got away from my mother at the animal clinic which was about 10 kilometres or more from where we lived.We though we might never see the cat again even though my mother went down every day and put out food and the people ate the clinic watched for him and said that he might come out at someones house near by if they happen to be out barbecuing but about 4 days later my father went down one morning and the cat was on our door step.It's amazing how animals seem to know the direction to get home even when they are dumped far away.

Carbon labels

This an interesting idea but it remains to be seen whether it is feasible. I wouldn't mind seeing how much energy is consumed producing the things I buy.

Slow blogging and bees

I haven't found a while lot to blog about recently so I'll be glad when parliament comes back but this article caught my eye.I wonder if some of the virus they talk about affect native bees as well,I see quite a few around my garden in the summer but then other people tell me they don't see many any more.Maybe the native types of bees are more resistant to some of these threats,it would be interested to know if any studies have been done on that topic.

Anyway while I haven't been doing much blogging I have been wasting lots of time online at these two addicting spots-Sylvester
Fish

Ants on trees in Africa

This just shows when humans try to meddle in nature the result isn't alway predictable.The decline in some of these large animals has consequences that are far reaching and affect far more than the animals themselves and can change the ecosystem in ways we could never imagine.

Carbon tax

I think a carbon tax is probably the way to go and is inevitable in the future but this line from the article really stood out for me"Such a tax could target industry or consumers".I believe that such a tax must be on everyone,both industry and consumers and that no one group should have to bear all of the burden of reducing emissions.

Chemical damages schooling instinct

This of particular interest to me as a fish keeper,I keep several schooling species including neon's and pictus catfish and I know fish can become easily stressed and more venerable to predators if they are not kept in appropriate numbers.

How often to wash

This is an interesting article on personal hygiene,I would like to read the book sometime.

Getting methane from old garbage

Harvesting methane from old land fills is a good idea where it is viable,I wonder if there is anywhere this is done in New Brunswick or where it could be done.Hopefully in the future we will be producing less waste and this wont be necessary but until then at least something is being reused from the waste .

Interveiw with Scott Brison

I guess this was in the National Post but I missed it,I found it on Scott Brison's web site.

Scott Brison on the economy and environment

There is a great article in the Chronicle Herald by Scott Brison on the economy and the environment.I found this on Wolfville Watches blog.

Natural gardening

As a gardener this article really interests me.

This is an interesting article,I see toads now and then down in our garden but not in any great number and I believe they are quite beneficial .Hopefully most of the toads get across the road safely.

Giant spider web

This is pretty cool,even though I am not a big fan of spiders,I know how pretty a spider web can be shining in the sun.I can understand why some people won't go near it but even though I don't like spiders up close if I lived near by I would have to see it.