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Califone’s Tim Rutili Lends Support to Song+Stories Project, You Should Too

owl and bear staff — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:00:03 +0000

Califone's Tim Rutili wants you to contribute to a worthy cause.

Hummer Drivers Believe They’re Defending America’s Frontier Against Anti-American Critics (Links)

owl and bear staff — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:44:30 +0000

Children who are spanked have lower IQs, and other stories.

Candles Smell Good, But They Could Be Toxic (Links)

owl and bear staff — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:19:15 +0000

When it Comes to Los Angeles Lawns, Brown is Golden You know it’s the silly season when a member of the Los Angeles City Council weighs in on the importance of green lawns during a drought, as the 12th District’s Greig Smith did several weeks ago. How Much Weed Killer Is Safe in Your Water [...]

Milton the Blind Kitten is Probably Dead By Now

marty — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:53:34 +0000

What do you do when you walk out and this rain-wet kitten covered with flies drags itself out of the empty lot onto your property? You think it won’t make it a few more steps and it mewls when you get close and when you get close it’s covered not only by flies but maggots [...]

Non-Profit Group Unveils Winner of Scientific Integrity Contest (Cartoons)

owl and bear staff — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:45:20 +0000

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit group that advocates for scientific integrity, recently released the winners of its 2009 Science Idol contest. According to the organization, The UCS asked 12 artists to draw humorous attention to the not-so-funny issue of political interference in federal government science. After more than 10,000 votes were cast, Jesse [...]

Climate Change Causing Birds to Shrink (Links)

owl and bear staff — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:52:06 +0000

Navy To Conduct Warfare Training Near Right Whale Calving Grounds The training range will be constructed near the only known calving grounds for the North Atlantic right whale, a species whose total population is thought to be around 300 individuals. On the Prowl For Water-Use Scofflaws Since June, nearly 700 citations have been issued to L.A. [...]

An Overrun Florida Looks to Python Bounty Hunters (Links)

owl and bear staff — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:26:01 +0000

Tyranny for the Commons Man Six billion people are now sharing one planet, one water supply, and limited energy resources with a grab-first-ask-questions-later mentality. 10 People Guiding Science for Humanity Ten researchers, politicians, executives, and philanthropists who are working to assure that the benefits of new technologies and knowledge will accrue to humanity. Competitive Altruism: [...]

Duncan D. Hunter: If Only ‘We Could Override The Endangered Species Act’ (CA & San Diego Links)

owl and bear staff — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:00:34 +0000

CA’s State Parks Generate $4.3 Billion Annually Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to close 80% of California’s state parks to address the state’s $24 billion budget deficit—even though park visitors pump $4.32 billion into the economy each year. In Grave Danger, Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard Gets a Reprieve The rare reptile may have one last chance, thanks to [...]

Darwin Killed Off The Werewolf (Links)

owl and bear staff — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:53:16 +0000

The Amazon: The Future of the Forest Brazil’s government hopes that land reform in the Amazon will slow deforestation. Sierra Club’s Carl Pope Debates Chevron CEO Dave O’Reilly When O’Reilly said, “If you can get the government to move faster, then good luck,” Pope replied, “It would help if you’d get out of the way.” [...]

Biodiversity and the True Significance of the Human Species (Links)

owl and bear staff — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:25:23 +0000

Lessons From the Reverse Engineering of Nature The importance of biodiversity and the true significance of the human species. Most Damaged Ecosystems Recover in Decades Nearly 75 percent of damaged ecosystems fully or partially recover within decades. Obama team calls a timeout on logging in roadless areas Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says no new activity [...]

Mockingbirds Can Remember Faces of People to Attack (Links)

owl and bear staff — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:59:56 +0000

Cost of Cigarette Litter May Fall on San Fran’s Smokers A proposed fee would add 33 cents to the cost of a pack of cigarettes, helping offset the estimated $10.7 million a year spent cleaning up discarded butts. Styrofoam Ban Grows in CA Palo Alto joins 21 other California towns in prohibition of polystyrene takeout [...]

Caffeine Withdrawal Headache Explained: Your Brain On—And Off—Caffeine (Links)

owl and bear staff — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:21:31 +0000

California Fires Sparked by Power Tool In an ironic twist, the wildfire that scorched 13 square miles and destroyed dozens of homes was apparently sparked by a power tool used to clear flammable vegetation. Yosemite National Park to Revisit Tribal Ties The park will review visitor information and archives to make sure that its American [...]

‘Angel’ and ‘Devil’ Parts of the Brain Battle for Supremacy (Links)

owl and bear staff — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:28:56 +0000

Obama Returns of Science to Endangered Species Act Interior Secretary Ken Salazar rescinded eleventh-hour Bush administration changes to Endangered Species Act regulations that allowed federal agencies to decide for themselves if their own projects—such as roads and dams—would threaten imperiled species. Fish and Wildlife Salamander Study Could Limit L.A. Sprawl If the Tehachapi slender salamander, [...]

Are Human Beings Organisms Or Living Ecosystems? (Links)

owl and bear staff — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:16:45 +0000

Are Human Beings Organisms Or Living Ecosystems? Human beings are not really individuals; they’re communities of organisms. Amphibians May Develop Immunity To Fatal Fungus A fungus threatens amphibians all over the globe and has contributed to extinctions. $40k Reward Offered in Deaths of California Condors The feds are investigating the shotgun shooting of two California [...]

Endangered Rivers, Roadkill, Oil Sands, American Prairie (Links)

owl and bear staff — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:15:56 +0000

California’s 2 Longest Rivers Called Nation’s Most Endangered: The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers have been named the country’s most endangered waterways because of outdated water management and poor flood planning. ‘Bucket Brigades’ Carry Migrating Amphibians Across Busy Roads: The black salamander with yellow spots sat on the roadside in the dark, ready to make [...]

Is It Possible to Be a Conscientious Meat Eater? (Links)

owl and bear staff — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:23:24 +0000

To Meet Asian Food Demand, U.S. Turtles are Harvested to Extinction: Surging demand for turtle meat in southeast Asia has prompted a huge jump in American turtle harvesting, leading to concerns that populations of the reptiles could suffer permanent damage. Is It Possible to Be a Conscientious Meat Eater? You may have noticed an onslaught [...]

EPA Halts New Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Permits, Plans ‘Aggressive’ Review

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:25:35 +0000

Awesome news: The Obama Administration just made a major announcement – they have directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to not issue any new mining permits until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a chance to take a hard look at well over 100 pending permits to bury streams with mining waste, an essential [...]

Exxon Valdez, 20 years later

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:24:10 +0000

From SFGate.com: After two decades, the memory of the spill persists for the commercial fishermen and Alaska natives whose livelihoods were destroyed by Exxon’s recklessness. Sadly, the oil persists, too: A 2007 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study showed that 26,600 gallons of crude oil from the spill are still lingering below the surface of [...]

Slavery: The Price of Florida’s Tomatoes

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:19:09 +0000

Involuntary servitude—slavery—is alive and well in Florida. Since 1997, law-enforcement officials have freed more than 1,000 men and women in seven different cases. And those are only the instances that resulted in convictions. Frightened, undocumented, mistrustful of the police, and speaking little or no English, most slaves refuse to testify, which means their captors cannot [...]

‘Thrillcraft Users Are Turning Our National Pride Into A National Tragedy’

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:18:25 +0000

This web site outlines the major problems with the use of thrillcraft (off road vehicles) on our state and national parks, forests, refuges, and reserves. The site provides the latest information on impacts, successful strategies used to limit thrillcraft destruction, as well as inspiration to carry on the effort to control and limit these machines [...]

Galápagos Islands: No Vacancy for Humans

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:16:41 +0000

In an effort to conserve the islands, officials are tightening migration laws. They have put residency requirements on Ecuadoreans that are, in some ways, as tough as those on foreigners trying to gain citizenship in the United States. Even children born to parents on the islands are not automatically granted permanent residency unless their parents [...]

What are the Environmental Benefits of Economic Decline?

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:13:44 +0000

The environmental benefits of economic decline, though real, are fragile, because they are vulnerable to intervention by governments, which, understandably, want to put people back to work and get them buying non-necessities again—through programs intended to revive ordinary consumer spending (which has a big carbon footprint), and through public-investment projects to build new roads and [...]

At California’s Salton Sea, San Andreas Warning Signs

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:55:02 +0000

Photo: Flickr user Crotaphytus After a series of earthquakes in the California desert, scientists are monitoring the Salton Sea for small faults that could transfer energy to the larger, more dangerous San Andreas fault. A moderate earthquake struck Monday, March 24 near the San Andreas fault in Imperial County, seismologists said, and over the weekend, [...]

Buy Local: Locavore iPhone App Lists In-Season Food Near You

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:49:31 +0000

Locavore is a $3 iPhone app offering government and non-profit data arranged in easy-to-read, timer-style pie charts on what produce is in-season in your state. According to the app’s page, Locavore automatically detects what U.S. state you’re in and lists food that’s in season near you, food that’s coming in season near you, and farmers’ [...]

Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’ Now Streaming Free on Hulu

owl and bear staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:49:13 +0000

Carl Sagan’s landmark series Cosmos is now streaming for free on Hulu. In 1980, Cosmos premiered on public television. Since then, it is estimated that more than a billion people around the planet have seen it. Cosmos chronicles the evolution of the planet and efforts to find our place in the universe. [Hulu] Follow us [...]