Image via Wikipedia
The Starbucks Foundation, whose mission is “to create opportunities for youth to learn, serve & grow their natural potential to reinvent the world,” has made a generous $50,000 grant to support CBF’s Student Leadership efforts, providing a huge funding boost for the program.
In addition, from now through June 3rd, bring your own travel mug when you buy a drink at Starbucks and they’ll donate 10-cents to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Thank you UnpluggedLiving.com for the humor!
A Little More Humor
“According to a survey in this week’s Time magazine, 85% of Americans think global warming is happening. The other 15% work for the White House.” –Jay Leno
“Experts say this global warming is serious, and they are predicting now that by the year 2050, we will be out of party ice.” –David Letterman
“President Bush said global warming is happening much quicker than he thought, and then his staff pulled him aside and said ‘It’s just springtime.’” –Jay Leno
“They say if the warming trend continues, by 2015 Hillary Clinton might actually thaw out.” –Jay Leno, on global warming
“Heating bills this winter are the highest they’ve been in five years, but President Bush has a plan to combat rising bills. It’s called global warming.” –Jay Leno
Image via WikipediaBroadlands to be Certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat
Leading a nationwide trend in community concern for habitat loss, the community of Broadlands in Loudoun County, Virginia will be officially designated a Community Wildlife Habitat, the 25th in the country to receive this honor.
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) commends the dedicated residents of Broadlands for their wildlife conservation efforts and for coming together for a common purpose – to create a community where people and wildlife can flourish. At a time when communities are faced with the problems of losing habitat to development, Broadlands stands out as a model for other communities to emulate. The knowledge and inspiration that this project has generated will lead Broadlands residents and visitors to take better care of their natural world.
Broadlands is a 1500-care master-planned community in Ashburn, VA, registered their project back in March of 2003, when the Community Wildlife Habitat program, and the community itself was still being developed. Broadlands is built along Stream Valley Park, a linear park system that runs through the community. Numerous trails, wetlands, woodlands and parks provide wildlife habitat and have been certified. The Broadlands Homeowners Association sponsors nature-related activities for adults and children, based out of the community’s Nature Center.
The Community Wildlife Habitat project is part of NWF’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat™ program. These projects benefit the entire community of plants, wildlife, and people through the creation of sustainable landscapes that require little or no pesticides, fertilizers, and excess watering. These landscapes help keep water and air resources clean. They are healthier for people and the environment, and are less resource-dependent than conventional landscapes. Habitat landscapes can serve to beautify our urban areas and give residents pride in their neighborhoods. A Community Wildlife Habitat project multiplies this positive effect by creating multiple habitat areas in backyards, schoolyards, corporate properties, community gardens, parkland and other spaces.
To date, only 24 other communities have been recognized with Community Wildlife Habitat certification: Alpine, CA; Zionsville, IN; Reston, VA; Tukwila, WA; Chamblee, GA; South Riding, VA; Hidden Springs, ID; Montreat, NC; Chesterfield, MO; Camano Island, WA; Coconut Creek, FL; Milton, MA; Callawassie Island, SC; Sonoma County, CA; Wilton Manors, FL; Hesston, KS; Briarcliffe Acres, SC; Belding, MI; Lake Forest Park, WA; Sweetwater in the Foothills, AZ; Great Fall, VA; and Plantation, FL. Since 1973, NWF has provided millions of people with the basic guidelines for making their landscapes more wildlife-friendly. There are over 97,000 certified habitats nationwide.
For more information please visit www.nwf.org/community.
WHEN AND WHERE: Saturday, May 3rd, 2008: 10:30am – 12:30pm at Broadlands Nature Center, 21907 Claiborne Parkway, Broadlands, VA 20148
CONTACTS: Oya Simpson, Broadlands Habitat Team Chair, 703-725-8040
Susanne Ortmann, Audubon Naturalist, Broadlands Nature Center, 703-729-9726
Roxanne Paul, National Wildlife Federation, Operations Coordinator, Habitat Education Programs, 703-438-6586
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Ad-Hoc Energy Efficiency Committee will hold a public input session on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, on the county’s goals to become more energy efficient. Topics of interest include measures to upgrade existing county structures and vehicle fleets; current and proposed standards for new buildings; technology advances in transportation; performance metrics and fiscal impacts; and engaging Loudoun County businesses and residents in efforts to increase energy efficiency throughout the county.
All interested individuals and groups are invited to participate in the meeting, which will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E. in Leesburg.
Interested individuals and groups can pre-schedule time on the agenda to make a presentation or comment. Individuals will be given up to five minutes to speak, while groups will be given up to 15 minutes.
To participate as a presenter at the session, contact William Marsh, Environmental Review Team Leader, at 703-737-8303 or e-mail: william.marsh@loudoun.gov.
This from Environmental Leader…
Anheuser-Busch Plans New Environmental TV Spots
Starting the week of April 21, Anheuser-Busch will air four new TV spots featuring employees discussing the company’s environmental initiatives.
In the ads, employees will talk up the brewers energy conservation, recycling and wildlife preservation efforts. The ads carry the Budweiser logo and will air on various programs, including ESPN’s SportsCenter, FOX’s coverage of Major League Baseball and TNT’s coverage of the National Basketball Association Playoffs. Longer versions of these ads appear on the company’s environmental web site.
From feelgoodstyle.com…
“For those of us who hate the thought of slathering on dangerous chemicals like DEET just to enjoy a summer picnic without mosquito bites, there is good news!
Bug Bam has created these fantastic wristbands that resemble “cause” bracelets and are amazingly effective in repelling mosquitoes. All-natural (made with plant oils), DEET-free, and 100% recyclable, these wristbands are waterproof, sweat-proof, and last up to 100 hours.
You can even put them on the chair legs as you sit down to enjoy your outdoor barbeque feast. They have a citron-y fragrance, but you don’t smell like you’ve been dipped in citronella wax. For just a few bucks, Bug Bam can help you can stay safe, stylin’, and most importantly, unbitten.
Bug Bam wristbands are available in kid-size at LeapsandBounds, and adult-size at Wal-Mart and BJs’ stores.“
More info at BugBam.com.
By Larry West at About.com
Dear EarthTalk: As warm weather approaches I know we’re going to have a problem again with ticks near our home. Are there any eco-safe applications we could use to get rid of them? – Thomas Cohn, Bedford Corners, NY
“Tick season” will be upon us sooner than we know it. And ticks can pass on more diseases to humans than any other creepy crawly except the mosquito. Small bugs with big bites, ticks are of course associated most with Lyme Disease, symptoms of which include fever, headache, fatigue, and a distinctive circular skin rash. Left untreated, infection can spread to joints and the nervous system and, according to the Centers for Disease Control, to the heart as well.
Anti-Tick Products Contain Toxic Chemicals Modern science has devised many ways to keep ticks at bay, most involving harsh chemicals with dubious safety records. Indeed, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the majority of tick products on the market today contain toxins, known collectively as organophosphate insecticides (OPs), which not only kill insects but can also damage the nervous systems of pets and people. Studies have shown that children exposed to OPs may face increased risk of health problems later in life, including cancer and Parkinson’s disease. One recent study showed that people with any history of in-home exposure to insecticides containing OPs faced twice the risk of Parkinson’s as the rest of the population. In addition, four OPs used in pet products increase cancers in lab animals, and as such may cause cancer in humans. One study showed children of pregnant women exposed to products containing OPs to be 250 percent more likely than those in a control group to develop brain cancer before the age of five. According to NRDC, pesticides that contain the OPs chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, tetrachlorvinphos, naled, diazinon and Malathion should be avoided, and regulated much more stringently by government.
Manage Your Habitat to Avoid Ticks While there is no environmentally safe and effective way to spray buildings or backyards to fight ticks, the Bio-Integral Resource Center urges an approach that manages the habitat in and around your home to make it less hospitable to ticks:
For Tick Prevention, Pay Special Attention to Your Pets and Yourself Because pets are frequent carriers, their sleeping quarters should be vacuumed frequently. NRDC also recommends that pet owners ask their veterinarian about dog and cat collars containing fipronil, a chemical that blocks nerve transmission in insects but has little if any effect on people or pets. The best advice when exploring the outdoors during tick season is to always cover yourself from head to toe, and to wear light-colored clothing so you can spot ticks more easily if they do get on you. Search yourself thoroughly, particularly at the base of your skull, and wash your clothes immediately after returning home.
Former employee fights county for his job
By Jana Renn, Times-Mirror reporter
The former environmental program coordinator for Loudoun County placed an appeal March 27 in opposition to his firing.
Bruce McGranahan, of Bluemont, was fired March 7 for submitting a report called “Loudoun County’s Environment: Challenges and Opportunities, 2008-2012” to some members of the Board of Supervisors without giving it to county administration first.
On Feb. 20, Julie Pastor, director of planning for Loudoun County, sent McGranahan a letter to let him know that she was considering terminating his employment “for serious misconduct.”
“Specifically, County Administration became aware of the release of an environmental report to the Board of Supervisors (‘Board’) that had not gone through the standard internal review process,” Pastor wrote.
“Administration’s concerns were that the review and subsequent release of this report had not followed the County’s standard operating procedures, the information had been given to select Board members and not others, the report potentially represented the view of an individual staff member and not that of the County as an organization, and that the information in the report may not be accurate,” she continued.
The complete text of the letter is posted on the Web site for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (www.peer.org), which is representing McGranahan.
“Bruce freely admits that he knew he should have gone through the administrators, but he had no idea he could get fired for something like that,” PEER attorney Adam Draper said.
“This is a slap on the wrist type of situation.”
Draper said that the report was very professionally done and that the preface states clearly that the opinions stated are McGranahan’s only.
To argue the firing, Draper is citing section 15.2-1512.4 of the Code of Virginia, which details the “rights of local employees to contact elected officials.”
“Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit or otherwise restrict the right of any local employee to express opinions to state or local elected officials on matters of public concern, nor shall a local employee be subject to acts of retaliation because the employee has expressed such opinions,” the code states.
Draper added that McGranahan did not format the report as a resolution that the Board of Supervisors could act on — it was just an opinion of what he thought of the environment in Loudoun and what should be done to improve it.
“I felt that I was simply doing my job of providing an honest assessment of environmental concerns in the county,” McGranahan said. “My career is secondary to the critical challenges facing my community.”
Now that McGranahan has appealed the firing, a panel will be assembled for a hearing on the case.
One panel member will be selected by McGranahan and another by his immediate supervisor. Those two panel members will agree on the third, who will serve as the chair.
The panel has a span of 14 days to meet and make a decision. That meeting has to take place from 14 to 28 days after the appeal is filed, according to the Loudoun County Grievance Procedure.
During the panel, each side will present opening statements, evidence and closing statements. Witnesses can be called during the evidence period.
After closing statements, the three panel members will vote on whether McGranahan’s complaint has merit. If two of the three decide that it does, then the county will have to either give him his job back or provide other adequate relief.
If it doesn’t, McGranahan plans to sue the county, Draper said.
“[McGranahan is] hopeful that out of this he’ll get some relief, and if we have to go to court, we’re more than happy to do that,” Draper said. “That’s the last option.”
Times Community © 2007 | Loudoun Times-Mirror
Scott’s Run and other beautiful nature photos at gallery on flickr.com
Zoologists Unlock New Secrets About Frog Deaths
ScienceDaily (Mar. 28, 2008) —
New research from zoologists at Southern Illinois University Carbondale opens a bigger window to understanding a deadly fungus that is killing off frogs throughout Central and South America, and that could threaten amphibian populations in North America as well.
The research, led by SIUC zoologist Karen R. Lips, and SIUC zoologist Michael W. Sears, underscores the dire circumstances facing up to 43 percent of known amphibian species in the world and points up the need for more regulations, conservation efforts and quarantines to prevent the fungus’ spread.
An associate professor of zoology in the College of Science at SIUC, Lips is at the forefront of in research in catastrophic decline of frog species brought on by the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus. The fungus, known to researchers as “Bd,” wipes out frog populations essentially by completely blocking their skin. Amphibians such as frogs depend on their skin to provide oxygen and moisture. Bd infections cause electrolyte imbalance, which can lead to cardiac arrest. <READ MORE at SCIENCE DAILY>
| County Administrator Lifts Mandatory Water Restrictions in Eastern Loudoun |
County Press release March 10, 2008
Loudoun County Administrator Kirby M. Bowers Monday lifted the water shortage emergency and the mandatory water restrictions that had been imposed for customers of the Loudoun County Sanitation Authority (LCSA) in eastern Loudoun in October.
Bowers lifted the restrictions at the request of the LCSA, which also asked that the emergency be downgraded to a water shortage alert stage. There are no mandatory restrictions associated with the alert, but residents are asked to reduce water as much as possible.
[LCSA] cautions customers that if we do not have rain on a regular basis, and/or if customer demand for water spikes beyond 22 million gallons per day for an extended period, there will be a need to return to water restrictions later. Customers can prevent the imposition of mandatory water restrictions by limiting outdoor water use to two days per week, preferably one weekday and one weekend day.
H2OUSE is a great website to learn more about water conservation in and around the home…
A fall off in visits to the nation’s parks offers further evidence of “nature deficit disorder”
In the oft-quoted “Birches,” Robert Frost muses about a boy who lives too far from town to learn baseball so instead spends time in the woods swinging in the trees. “He always kept his poise / to the top branches, climbing carefully / with the same pains you use to fill a cup / up to the brim, and even above the brim,” Frost writes. “Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish, / kicking his way down through the air to the ground.” This sort of unstructured, imaginative play is increasingly lacking in an indoor, scheduled world—to children’s great detriment, argues Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, a book that explores research linking the absence of nature in children’s lives to rising rates of obesity, attention disorders, and depression … <CONTINUED>
Listen Now [7 min 50 sec]
Organizing play for kids has never seemed like more work. But researchers Adele Diamond and Deborah Leong have good news: The best kind of play costs nothing and really only has one main requirement — imagination.
Self-regulation is a critical skill for kids. Unfortunately, most kids today spend a lot of time doing three things: watching television, playing video games and taking lessons. None of these activities promote self-regulation.
Howard Chudacoff is a cultural historian at Brown University. Chudacoff’s recently published history of child’s play argues that for most of human history what children did when they played was roam in packs large or small, more or less unsupervised, and engage in freewheeling imaginative play. They were pirates and princesses, aristocrats and action heroes. Basically, says Chudacoff, they spent most of their time doing what looked like nothing much at all.
“They improvised play, whether it was in the outdoors… or whether it was on a street corner or somebody’s back yard,” Chudacoff says. “They improvised their own play; they regulated their play; they made up their own rules.”
But during the second half of the 20th century, Chudacoff argues, play changed radically. Instead of spending their time in autonomous shifting make-believe, children were supplied with ever more specific toys for play and predetermined scripts. Essentially, instead of playing pirate with a tree branch they played Star Wars with a toy light saber. Chudacoff calls this the commercialization and co-optation of child’s play — a trend which begins to shrink the size of children’s imaginative space.
Clearly the way that children spend their time has changed. Here’s the issue: A growing number of psychologists believe that these changes in what children do has also changed kids’ cognitive and emotional development.
It turns out that all that time spent playing make-believe actually helped children develop a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of different elements, but a central one is the ability to self-regulate. Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline … <MORE>
Spotted salamanders, poison dart frogs and other color-splashed amphibians will leap aboard a Noah’s Ark of sorts this week.
The Wildlife Conservation Society has pledged its continuing participation in the Amphibian Ark, a global initiative to save hundreds of critically endangered amphibians from extinction through captive breeding in zoos.
On Leap Day, as part of the Amphibian Ark mission, the WCS’s Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium and other city zoos will raise awareness of the plight of amphibians as they welcome the 2008 Year of the Frog.
At least 120 species of frogs, toads, salamanders and other amphibians have perished since 1980, and up to half of the remaining 6,000 species may soon succumb to extinction, according to WCS.
Habitat loss, climate change, pollution and diseases have all contributed to the dwindling amphibians. <Read More>
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