Crossposted from Biodiversivist The above photo is from Rhett Butler's (of Mongabay) latest trip to Bali. It inspired me to do a post. Beetle collecting was all the rage back in Darwin's day. Photos from today's high-quality, affordable, digital cameras, which allow anyone to snap cool pictures and video of wildlife, may be just the thing to end the collection of actual specimens to show off and to aid other conservation efforts, like saving the endangered stag beetle in Britain. The above video of a hummingbird nest on a porch swing chain was taken by my neighbors. At first we …

(Photo credit: Ollie Crafoord's photo stream Flickr) Cross Posted from Biodiversivist There have been four recent articles in Grist (mine makes the fifth and I would not blame anyone for not bothering to read it) on the topic of population. I put it together mostly as a matter of record. Good luck keeping track of it all. I list them below in chronological order: 1) On World Population Day, take note: population isn’t the problem by Fred Pearce. 2) To the population doomsayers: What do you propose? by Jason D Scorse. 3) Of course population is still a problem by …

Last week a bunch of crows (called a murder for reasons unknown) were making so much noise I stepped out of my house to see what was up. Most of my neighbors did as well. We discovered a pair of red-tailed hawks in a nearby tree, one of which was eating a crow. Today I heard another murder of crows raising hell and figured that the hawks had returned. Instead, I found two bald eagles in my neighbor's tree. I assumed they were eating a crow but when one flew out I could see that it was eating a bird …

Photo courtesy of, er, Hidinhumiliation via Flickr A short, relatively innocuous post on an obscure farming blog created a small stir last week when it caught the attention of some less obscure bloggers, Robert Rapier in particular, who was was on the corn ethanol enemy list presented in this article. I didn't want to open a can of worms in that blogger's comment field, but the can got opened anyway so I finally chimed in. Mine was comment number 41. I outed an anonymous commenter named "Cindy" who was critical of anonymous posts: Cindy, "If you believe so strongly in …

The original Metro (not being sold at Best Buy) is actually more of a moped than a bicycle. It has a twist throttle,  smallish wheels like a scooter (which enhances acceleration from a stop), along with front and rear suspension--pedaling optional: Maximum road speed under power – 20 mph Up to 20 miles* unassisted range (extendable to 40 miles**) Battery chemistry: lithium ion Nominal voltage: 36 volts Continuous power output: 500W Real-time state-of-charge indicator Frame: TIG welded 6061 aluminum Suspension (front): Ultra Motor shock-absorbing front fork (80mm  travel) Suspension (rear): Ultra Motor shock-absorbing swing arm (30mm  travel) Tires: 20 x …

Photo courtesy of Chuckumentary via Flickr "Could it be the unholy alliance between oil interests and environmentalists?"--Bob Dinneen, CEO of the RFA *Bob Dinneen (the Bob on the right) is the CEO of the RFA, a corn ethanol propaganda mill lobbying organization that never prints the word "corn" next to the word "ethanol." Note also that he has dropped the whole "energy independence" canard for a new one called "reduce America's reliance on oil." This is because ethanol exports (including some to the Middle East) are going ballistic because ethanol refiners are getting a better price from foreign consumers. Bob's …

When it comes to energy produced per area of food cropland usurped, corn ethanol and soy biodiesel are the worst options available. If you want to obtain energy from the sun, your best option is to grow a crop of solar panels. The solar farm above covers 150 acres. It nets sixty times more BTUs of energy per year than a corn crop used for ethanol and about 120 times more than a soy crop used for biodiesel. And you could still graze livestock around these panels to keep the weeds down. From a land use perspective, siting these on …

Photo courtesy of roel1943 via Flickr Brace yourself. Here comes another of my thought exercises, again inspired by my latest reading of The Red Queen-Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley. Another word of warning--random bursts of dripping sarcasm can be found in places you may not always expect it. Ever wonder why we feel compelled to comb our hair and fertilize our lawns? We do it to look presentable of course, but why do we want to look presentable? So others won't think poorly of us of course, but why do we care about what others …

Click here to see my anti-propaganda propaganda film. For the full effect, turn your speakers on before playing it. I see it has already drawn a video response from a company that retrofits cars to run on E-85. I cringe at the thought of the hateful comments this video will elicit. Human nature can be an ugly thing to behold. The truth is complex; propaganda is simple. The $13.7 billion number in the concluding Google search applies to all lobbying in the united states, not just corn ethanol or biofuels.* About $8 million was spent on lobbying by various biofuel …

Photo courtesy of Dog Tag Art via Flickr This thought exercise was motivated in part by my second reading of The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature (by Matt Ridley) while on a trip to Argentina. The book covers parasitism's role in evolution. While in Argentina I noticed the stark difference between the urban mostly purebred lapdogs in Buenos Aries and the often malnourished mutts found in rural areas. Here are some Wikipedia links to the terms parasitism and symbiosis for reference. Look at the picture of that blue-eyed, smiling beauty. Is that a smile? It's like …