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No salesman will call, at least not from us. Maybe from someone else.
NASA – Dark Skies: Turn on the Night
If the nighttime stars are only a distant memory to you, or – even worse – a mythological tale, check out this before & after photo from the NASA website. A small hillside town in Kaihua County in far western China decided to turn down many of their lights.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190516.html
Give the photo a few seconds to load, then move your cursor onto and off the picture. You’ll see the town lights go out and the stars come on, just like they would if your town didn’t have all those lights on every night. Then think about the Dark Sky Association.
By the way the main NASA page is a great home page for your web browser. A different photo & explanation every day, popping up as soon as you hit the web.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/
[Chuck Almdale]
You remember the Poo-Poo Project? Of course you do!
When completed, screens will be installed
on all the vault toilet vent pipes in Los Padres National Forest.
This solid beastie from the Teton Raptor Project keeps any and all birds out of the pit toilet vents.
Jeri Edwards sends me an update from time to time. As of May 4, donations were $1140, as of May 13, they were over $1400, and as of today, May 15, 2 PM, 36 people have contributed a total of $1566. Only $834 to go!
In case you’ve forgotten, this campaign is to save cavity-nesting birds from a horrible death in the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF). [They climb into the vent tube looking for a good nesting cavity, and fall down into the you-know-what, never to emerge unless they get lucky and a park employee extricates them. Ugh!] All funds received through this GoFundMe campaign go directly to the Los Padres Poo-Poo Project and bypass Jeri. The funds will be used to purchase and place screens on the tops of vault toilet vent pipes in Los Padres National Forest. https://www.gofundme.com/los-padres-NF-Cavity-Nester-Poo-Poo-Project
So it’s not too late to kick in a few loose bucks. Check out the current status at GoFundMe and leave a donation if they have not yet made it.
(Northern Pygmy Owl, photo taken in Los Padres National Forest, by Jeri Edwards)
Many thanks to all for your interest and for your donations.
[Chuck Almdale]
Host Myles Bess breaks down gerrymandering, and how politicians on both sides of the aisle use sophisticated software to rig the voting system in their party’s favor. What does this mean for YOUR vote? Fair elections are at the heart of American democracy, but many people argue that politicians have been undermining this American ideal through the practice of what is called gerrymandering. Gerrymandering has been described as the process of politicians picking their voters instead of the voters picking their politicians. In order to really understand this concept, you need to know how voting districts work.
ABOVE THE NOISE is a show that cuts through the hype and takes a deeper look at the science behind controversial and trending topics in the news. Hosted by Myles Bess and Shirin Ghaffary.
This series is aimed at teens, but after viewing a few episodes, I’m sure that most adults will benefit from it as well. Let us know what you think.
This is another installment of KQED’s Above the Noise series. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you. [Chuck Almdale]
Planarians are tiny googly-eyed flatworms with an uncanny ability: They can regrow their entire bodies, even a new head. So how do they do it?
This is another installment of the PBS Deep Look series; this installment is adapted from the “It’s OK to be Smart” series. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you. [Chuck Almdale]
The 39 species (new species keep popping out of the forest) of birds-of-paradise include tiny, starling-sized birds and big, crow-sized birds; birds in vivid blues, greens, and reds; birds with head plumes, tail plumes, back plumes, chest plumes, and no plumes; mountain birds and swamp birds; branch dancers, pole dancers, ballerina dancers. The Birds-of-Paradise Project is the first to capture all 39 in stills and video. Catch a glimpse of every one of them here. Filmed and photographed by Tim Laman.
There are currently seventy-two short films in the entire Birds-of-Paradise Project playlist, ranging from 26 seconds to 8:29. In the upcoming weeks, we will present some of our favorites.
A film from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you. The lab is a member-supported organization and they welcome your membership and support. [Chuck Almdale]
SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG 