Eco-dilemmas

Econundrums, maybe?

Situations in which you might want to make the ecologically "right" choice, but it's not very clear what that is.

Here are a few of my recent ones.

1) I think on my own blog, I already mentioned the Norway maple trees in my yard. They're an invasive species, so maybe I should cut them down and plant native trees instead. But on the other hand, they're performing a variety of ecological functions that their hypothetical replacement trees would take a good many years to grow into. My decision here was that if money was no issue I would probably replace them, but money is definitely an issue - so for now, they stay.

2) Inspired by some very pleasant fall weather lately, I started thinking about riding a bike instead of taking the train to work. There is a bike trail that more or less follows the train tracks along the Schuylkill River, and to reach it, I would probably drive to the same train station at which I currently board the train. There are too many huge, bike-unfriendly roads between our house and the Schuylkill trail for me to bike all the way from our house. If I drive then bike, instead of drive then ride the train, I personally get some benefits - I'd save money and get more exercise. But environmentally speaking? The train will run whether I use it or not, and I presume that my presence on the train is negligible in terms of energy cost to run the train. Maybe the extra calories I would eat to make up for all that strenuous biking would have a higher ecological cost than my contribution to the ecological cost of public transit? Not to mention that by using public transit, I'm helping to create demand for it and ensure its continued operation/improvement so that it can be a viable alternative to driving. The lazy option might be the greener one here.

What econundrums have you thought about lately?

Conservation Books, Cases and Ideas

I'm teaching conservation biology in the spring (to a class of about 10, 3 days a week, no lab), and want to use lots of case studies and current info.

I'm thinking about assigning some sort of popular book review, but I need help with book recommendations (telling my students to find one will not work). Top choice is current conservation biology paperbacks, preferably specific to a species or a system with a good story. Also considered would be general conservation (An Inconvient Truth, Cadalliac Desert, Notes from a Catastrophe) and historical conservation (Silent Spring, Sand County Almanac). Any suggestions?

I'm also wanting each student to follow a cons bio issue that is likely to be in the news throughout the spring (wolf de-listing and controversy comes to mind, bats are a big issue here) but I also need some suggestions. Will pollinators make the news in the spring? Coral bleaching? Wetlands and hurricanes? Are polar bears passe or will they still be in the news cycle?

Good case studies that aren't in the news also accepted.

"Open state land for haying, grazing"

Iowa is approximately 93% agricultural land, with only 4% of natural areas, privately protected or state-protected. Although I know the flooding has had a terrible impact on the state, it kind of breaks my heart to think of cattle grazing that little bit of land isn't already devoted to agriculture or to cities.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-northeylandreques,0,3187433.story
Am I just overreacting? I know state parks aren't exactly pristine habitat, but COME ON, don't we have any limits?

Konferons Agrikol en Haiti

I just attended the 1st agriculture conference in Pignon, Haiti! A man named Saul taught about 50 men about how trees a important in the watercycle, how Haitians need to stop cutting them down for no reason, crop rotation, etc. I was the guest attendee - they introduced me and I piped up about how in the US they plant crops right up to the streams and that's bad, and that people travel to see birds and they could get jobs as guides if they had trees and birds. The I left before it was over and took a 3 hour nap. I have a horrible cold which came on the day before, I was up last night coughing - didn't get into the miami hotel until 1am on Mon. and got up at 5:15am to catch the plane to Haiti. But other than that this is really a cool place, and the couple live in a cool house and I'll post pictures when I get back. Everyone here is so pleasant, and the language creole is like french spelled pheonetically - easy to figure out main topics. Sound this out: Anviwonman (environment). la grann vizyon = vizyon + aksyon + avalyasyon (the grand vision = vision + action + evaluation). The men were really into the discussions. And the mayor of Pignon (a woman) was ther to give them a pep talk. Tomorrow we go to Hencle so the Mompremiers can register their truck (with Iowa plates) - a get local food! Don't miss Jennifer's blog below!

Take only memories, leave only footprints....really?!?!

Here's a cool website to quantify your ecological footprints by taking a simple quiz.

http://www.myfootprint.org/en/