Articles by Biodiversivist
My real name is Russ Finley. I also have my own blog called Biodiversivist, which contains articles in addition to those submitted to Grist. I live in Seattle, married with children. Suffice it to say that although I am trained and educated as an engineer, my passion is nature. I very much want my grandchildren to live on a planet where lions, tigers, and bears have not joined the long and growing list of creatures that used to be.
All Articles
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Why not more solar power in Tucson?
I did not see a single cloud in my four days in Tucson last week. But what really surprised me was that I also did not see a single solar panel. The University of Arizona, which I suspect may be an intellectual bubble in the middle of Tucson, did spawn a large number of Priuses. Most people drive pickup trucks. The strip malls and subdivisions stretched out until they bumped up against a national park or a mountain range. If there ever was a place suited for solar power, it is Tucson.
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BioDee was in Arizona
Kaela was able to deduce where I was with very few clues because this ecosystem in Arizona is so unique. Would developers cover the Saguaro National Park in subdivisions given the opportunity? Sure they would. The only reason they don't is, they can't. This is another function of government -- protecting biodiversity from the profit motive. This time, the lovely hand model holding the flying grasshopper is my youngest daughter. We didn't see many hummingbirds, but at one bush I counted five butterfly species.
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A short hike reveals various lizard, insect species
I was poking around in an empty lot today about a mile from downtown when I heard a clicking sound. I looked up and saw this owl staring at me. It was snapping its beak and may have been defending a nest. I took the picture and bailed before the confrontation escalated.
I also took a short hike today with my wife and two daughters. Dusk is the best time to hike because the nocturnal wildlife is waking up, and for a brief period, you will see twice as much traffic.
Kids love bugs. If you have kids, bookmark this site. Note the comments on the photo of the Japanese beetles while you are there. My oldest daughter (now a young woman at the college we were visiting for parents' day) was the hand model for the photos of the tarantula, mantis, and giant black-faced spider shown below:
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Biodiesel for cell phone towers not all good
Here's a Reuters piece about using locally grown crops to power remote cell phone towers in areas of the developing world. Always walking that fine line between reality and pessimism, I have a few thoughts to share.
It turns out that most of the people in the world who do not already have cell phones also live where there is no power-generation infrastructure (electricity). It's a bit of a conundrum. If you are going to expand your cell phone market to the billions who don't have one yet, you have to find ways to power your cell phone towers, as well as give your potential customers enough electricity to power the phones you want to sell to them.
