An Excellent, professional Blog

Environmental Economics

Sample from recent piece on dam removal:

There are benefits and costs to leaving a dam in place, and there are benefits and costs to removing a dam.  Can cost/benefit analysis help us weigh the relative advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives?  I think so (as do many others). 

The most widespread heron in the world, this
medium-sized heron is locally abundant in its summer breeding areas around much of the US, near water. A colony nester, like most herons, he is most often seen along shorelines at dusk, stalking frogs and minnows. He winters mainly in Central and South America.

Read more about this elegant heron here.

Photo courtesy of P. LaTourette - link to the left.

Abiogenic oil, Science and Politics

We have been hearing about how the earth is running out of oil for decades but thus far there seems to be no end of the petroleum reserves in sight. Those warnings begin to sound like just another Chicken Little story – the sorts of exaggerated scare stories which cause people to dismiss some valid claims and predictions coming from environmentalists.

The theory of “abiogenic” petroleum production  and also here - that is, petroleum production not from ancient plant and microorganism life, but generated chemically in the earth’s mantle – enters the debate about the limits of petroleum reserves. After all, if petroleum hydrocarbons are generated in the mantle from simple molecules like methane, then we are sitting happily on top of an essentially unlimited oil and natural gas production line.

Originally promoted by Russian scientists in the 1960s (eg: n for Natural Petroleum. Click here: Dismissal of the Claims of a Biological Connectio) in the US the theory has been mostly associated with astronomer Thomas Gold at Cornell. There are two interesting aspects of the abiogenic oil story: First, the science. Second, the politics.

The simplest way to demonstrate the origin of organic (carbon-containing) molecules is to look at the ratios of isotopes of carbon, especially carbon 13. Overall, the evidence strongly suggests that our fuel hydrocarbons do indeed have plant and bacterial origins – that they are “fossil fuels” - but it also indicates a likely but very minor production from non-living origins.

When science leaves the academy and the professional conferences, all sorts of things can happen, as in the global warming debates. Anti-environmentalists, and SUV drivers, want to believe the comforting abiogenic theory, and anti-growth and anti-oil environmentalists want to believe – or to make us believe – that we are down to our last drop. (Here is one such discussion.)

Psychologists and psychiatrists always are telling us about how powerful the wish to believe something can be, and how powerful wishes can be in distorting our version of reality. Even scientists are not immune from this human frailty, but they are hopefully more immune – and their results and opinions are always subject to the scrutiny and challenges of their colleagues. Trying to punch holes in one-another’s hypotheses and data is part of the job. Without the emergence of surprising new evidence, it appears that abiogenic oil is not a meaningful component of oil supply.

Eagle Cam

Looked at those babies lately? You click above to switch from the Eagle Cam to the Osprey Cam.

A huge wildlife management success story - the reintroduction of the Wild Turkey into the areas in which it had been eliminated (by extensive farming, combined with the 1904 chestnut blight). This giant, ever-watchful game bird is now back in huntable numbers in forested areas across the US, even in suburbia.

And with its return, we see the return of the cult of the ancient Indian turkey-hunting techniques. Everybody says they see them all the time, so they should be easy to hunt, but have you ever seen one within 20 yards when you were in camo, sitting under a tree with a shotgun in your hand, at 6 AM? I haven't.

Ben Franklin wanted this guy to be on the National Seal, not the fish-thieving Bald Eagle. And, by the way, this is not the ancestor of the domestic turkey - that ancestor is the white-tailed wild turkey of Central America. Read more about this dramatic bird.

Whaleburgers

Aw, man, gee whiz, can you Japanese give the whales a break? What is it about the Japanese and whales? They taste like beef? So eat beef. We will never run out of cows.

Red Tide

The worst red tide in memory has hit the New England coast this spring, from Maine to Nantucket, slamming Cape Cod and Cape Cod Bay. This nasty algae bloom renders mollusks toxic, so it's a disaster for the shellfishers as well as for the shellfish-eaters. Thus far, it has not moved south into Rhode Island. Details in Boston Globe. Basics on algal blooms here.

The Wild Salmon Problem

How do you solve this one? The dams in the Columbia River system provide cheap power but destroy the wild salmon. The farm-raised salmon, cheaper than 10 years ago, is great stuff, but how do you balance economics and conservation? These require Solomonic, or should I say, Salmonic, decisions.

A nationwide, usually flocking songbird with a subtle, creamy color. Not uncommon, especially where fruits and berries are abundant. Read more about this attractive bird.

Photo courtesy of Bill Horn - his link to the left.

Pardon this poor photo of this wonderfully-colored bird which is common in the eastern woodlands and edges, and in suburbia, with its masterfully-woven hanging nests and its loud call which announces its presence.

We must have seen a dozen of them last weekend in New Haven. Like the tanager, it looks like a jungle bird and, indeed, during our winter, it is. Read about this splendid bird here.

It's hard to imagine that in 1972 this large fish-catching water bird was named a species "of special concern" by the Audubon Society. It's numbers have rocketed since the banning of DDT.

Like their cousin Anhingas in the Everglades, they are often seen drying their feathers on rocks and buoys, with wings outstretched. They swim very low in the water - often only their neck and head are visible - and pursue fish underwater.

It has a wide breeding range, both coastal and inland, but instead of welcoming its resurgence, in some areas it is being killed as a competitor to recreational fishing. All animals beware: when it's dollars vs. you, watch out!

 Read more about this unusual bird here.  Photo courtesy of Bill Horn - his bird photography link to the left.

Despite being the end of migration, and despite the leaves being fully unfurled, we were able to find a few good birds Sunday morning in the expansive and lovely East Rock Park in New Haven:

Black and White Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Canada Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Redstart
Red-Eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Solitary Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Baltimore Oriole
Wood Pewee
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo
Red Bellied Woodpecker
Rough-winged Swallow
Red Tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Black Crowned Night Heron
Wood Thrush
Scarlet Tanager

Plus of course the regular stuff. Always good to see woodland robins - we think of them as suburban lawn birds but they aren't - they are woodland thrushes which found our suburban lawns to be an easy source of earthworms. Thanks to Ron Bell, the great Connecticut ornithologist, for joining us yesterday for the final warbler outing of the year, and thanks to M and J for their auditory skills. The Phila. Vireo was a first for the Bird Dog.

My photo of New Haven's Soldier's and Sailor's Monument, which overlooks New Haven and Long Island Sound from its perch on the peak of East Rock. God Bless both our eager and reluctant warriors, who give us the freedom we thrive on.

What a fine, simple name for a bird.

It is now the end of warbler migration, and migration in general. This common warbler, pictured here in a Larch (remember "The Larch" on Monty Python?), is beginning to nest, although it's still cold this week up here. 

Read more about this handsome warbler., which is seen in the eastern 2/3 of the US.

By this time of year, the fairly common Goldfinch has undergone the spring
molt and the canary-yellow males become much more evident. In the winter, they are a drab shade of olive. They are usually seen in small flocks in weedy fields and edges. If you don't think you have Goldfinches in your area, put out a thistle feeder for a few weeks.

Read more about the American Goldfinch.

Email from a Friend in CT Yesterday

Bird Dog:

Sitting on my back deck this AM stuffing envelopes for Ducks Unlimited with my ears wide open. Here's what I am hearing: red-eyed vireo, black and white warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, baltimore oriole, cape may warbler, parula warbler. All singing just for me!

CF

Parula Warbler

A common eastern tree-top migrant, more often identified by voice than by eye. Nice looking tiny bird, though. Northern variety likes to nest in dead man's beard, southern version in Spanish moss.

Read more about this warbler.

Gorilla Warfare: War over gorillas in Africa., from NYT.

The Sky may not be Falling: We understand the hidden motive of "Smash Capitalism to Save the Earth," but what if the earth is sort-of OK?

Peregrines, Ospreys and Eagles

Seen their videocams lately? The chicks are growing. NYC Peregrine.  Maryland Osprey.  Maryland Eagles.  What's that corncob doing in the nest on the video? Looks like they had a clambake up there.

Also, the story of the removal of one of the eaglets to Vermont.

Photo courtesy of P. LaTourette - his link to the left.

The Yellow-rumped is another abundant migrant, but unique as a warbler that can winter in the north, living on bayberries which they have a unique ability to digest.

We used to call them Myrtle Warblers - some of us still do. Bright yellow at base of tail is diagnostic. Found across the US and Canada. Click here: All About Birds

Photo courtesy of Bill Horn.

Video of Ivory Bill

If you aren't into God's nature, you don't understand what a big deal this is. We posted the news yesterday AM. For the video - Click here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/video/qt/woodpecker.mov

Of course, Scrapple-Man has to put in his two cents.

Bird of the Year

For birders, a VERY BIG DEAL, and very heartening. The Ivory-bill, long believed extinct, likes the swamps of the deep south. The definite ID of one on the Arkansas border with La. is wonderful.

Story here

Along the New England coast, we have mainly Common Terns, some Least Terns, some Roseate and some Forster's Terns if you can ID them, and some Arctic Terns passing through.

Tough to ID them, but their white secondaries are field-marks, plus their blood-red bill. These birds, like Peregrine Falcons, are the great travellers of the world, wintering in Antarctica and breeding in the Arctic. A 25,000-mile migration. I haven't seen one in years, but haven't looked for one either. Have seen them on Cape Cod, taking a rest on their way south.

Not too much known about these fine minnow-munchers, but read more here.

Photo courtesy of P. LaTourette.

Never seen in New England! And never will be.

This Lilac-Breasted Roller, also known as the Rainbow Bird, photographed by Matt Grimes on the Savuti Channel in Botswana last month.

Bird photography is tough. Just try it. This is a very fine shot.

A rarity in New England, Julian took this photo on Saturday in Deep River, CT. First record in 20 years. A hell of a photo. This bird is lost - they tend to be Fla. breeders, but are mainly South American birds. Read more about this beautiful hawk here.