Restoring forests may be one of our most powerful weapons in fighting climate change

Adding 2.2 billion acres of tree cover would capture two-thirds of man-made carbon emissions, a new study found
.https://www.vox.com/2019/7/4/20681331/climate-change-solutions-trees-deforestation-reforestation

Old Flames: The Tangled History of Forest Fires, Wildlife, and People

Old Flames: The Tangled History of Forest Fires, Wildlife, and People
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/old-flames-the-tangled-history-of-forest-fires-wildlife-and-people/?utm_source=Cornell%20Lab%20eNews&utm_campaign=3243b2af77-Living_Bird_Summer_2019_TOC&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_47588b5758-3243b2af77-319005133

‘This should scare the hell out of you

‘This should scare the hell out of you’: Photo of Greenland sled dog teams walking on melted water

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/this-should-scare-the-hell-out-of-you-photo-of-greenland-sled-dog-teams-walking-on-melted-water/

13 Female Scientists Who Shaped Our Understanding of the World

13 Female Scientists Who Shaped Our Understanding of the Worldhttps://explorethearchive.com/female-scientists-shaped-our-world?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Archive%20Weekly%20Newsletter%202019-06-17&utm_term=Explore%20The%20Archive

Voyaging canoe Makalii

Voyaging canoe Makalii is preparing for a trip to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/06/11/voyaging-canoe-makalii-is-preparing-trip-northern-hawaiian-islands/

June 11 meeting - CANCELLED

June 11 - Storm in a Teacup

Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life by Helen Czerski

Storm in a Teacup is Helen Czerski’s lively, entertaining, and richly informed introduction to the world of physics. Czerski provides the tools to alter the way we see everything around us by linking ordinary objects and occurrences, like popcorn popping, coffee stains, and fridge magnets, to big ideas like climate change, the energy crisis, or innovative medical testing. She provides answers to vexing questions: How do ducks keep their feet warm when walking on ice? Why does it take so long for ketchup to come out of a bottle? Why does milk, when added to tea, look like billowing storm clouds? In an engaging voice at once warm and witty, Czerski shares her stunning breadth of knowledge to lift the veil of familiarity from the ordinary.

Why some doctors are prescribing a day in the park or a walk on the beach for good health

On an intuitive level, this makes sense. Humans evolved in an open, natural environment and removing us from this environment could have a negative effect on our health. But what does the research say? Is there actually evidence that being in natural environments can promote our well-being, prevent disease and speed recovery?

https://theconversation.com/why-some-doctors-are-prescribing-a-day-in-the-park-or-a-walk-on-the-beach-for-good-health-115537

Asteroid dust brought back to Earth may explain where our water came from with hydrogen clues

Oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, and scientists argue that the planet’s interior also contains a lot of water. But where did all this water come from?
https://theconversation.com/asteroid-dust-brought-back-to-earth-may-explain-where-our-water-came-from-with-hydrogen-clues-116260

Happy Earth Day

To solve climate change and biodiversity loss, we need a Global Deal for Nature
https://theconversation.com/to-solve-climate-change-and-biodiversity-loss-we-need-a-global-deal-for-nature-115557

Teen Climate Activist Greta Thunberg To EU Lawmakers: ‘I Want You To Panic’

“Our house is falling apart, and our leaders need to start acting accordingly,” Thunberg said during a meeting with politicians.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/teen-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-to-eu-lawmakers-i-want-you-to-panic_n_5cb7344ce4b0ffefe3ba6287

May 14 - The Thing with Feathers

The Thing with Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human by Noah Strycker

Birds are highly intelligent animals, yet their intelligence has been little understood.
As scientists learn more about the secrets of bird life, they are unlocking fascinating insights into memory, game theory, and the nature of intelligence itself.

The Thing With Feathers explores the astonishing homing abilities of pigeons, good deeds of fairy-wrens, influential flocking abilities of starlings, deft artistry of bowerbirds, extraordinary memories of nutcrackers, lifelong loves of albatross, and other mysteries – revealing why birds do what they do, and offering a glimpse into our own nature.

This book made it to a New York Times bestseller list, has been translated around the world, and is illustrated with Noah’s own pen-and-ink bird drawings.

Plants and Birds Need Privacy Online, Too

Our enthusiasm for sharing birds, plants, and superblooms has unintended consequences. But we can use the same tools that made the problem to fix it.
https://slate.com/technology/2019/04/superbloom-california-nature-internet-collide-birds-poaching-science.html

Why Even a Little Nature Is Good for Your Brain

In a new study, mountain hiking had similar psychological and stress-reducing benefits whether or not there were signs of human habitation
https://www.outsideonline.com/2393049/nature-psychology-study?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Bodywork-04062019&utm_content=Bodywork-04062019+Version+A+CID_1fd4dc46b220b7c2cb8138f6d3c1a99a&utm_source=campaignmonitor%20outsidemagazine&utm_term=Even%20a%20Little%20Nature%20Goes%20a%20Long%20Way%20for%20Your%20Brain

5 Insects Everyone Can Eat

An excerpt from Ben and Penny Hewitt’s new book, 'The Young Adventurer’s Guide to (Almost) Everything,' reveals how your family can add a little buzz to your snacks
https://www.outsideonline.com/2392230/insects-everyone-can-eat?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dispatch-04022019&utm_content=Dispatch-04022019+Version+A+CID_6bfa227de5fe63ca8df9b670e400c0ce&utm_source=campaignmonitor%20outsidemagazine&utm_term=Youre%20Not%20an%20Adventurous%20Eater%20Until%20Youre%20Eating%20Bugs

The Poet Who Planted Trees

The Poet Who Planted Trees

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/opinion/w-s-merwin-poet-trees.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_ty_20190319&nl=opinion-today&nl_art=11&nlid=62019526emc%3Dedit_ty_20190319&ref=headline&te=1

April 9 - The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation

The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation by Fred Pearce 

Named one of the best books of 2015 by The Economist

A provocative exploration of the “new ecology” and why most of what we think we know about alien species is wrong

For a long time, veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce thought in stark terms about invasive species: they were the evil interlopers spoiling pristine “natural” ecosystems. Most conservationists and environmentalists share this view. But what if the traditional view of ecology is wrong—what if true environmentalists should be applauding the invaders?

In The New Wild, Pearce goes on a journey across six continents to rediscover what conservation in the twenty-first century should be about. Pearce explores ecosystems from remote Pacific islands to the United Kingdom, from San Francisco Bay to the Great Lakes, as he digs into questionable estimates of the cost of invader species and reveals the outdated intellectual sources of our ideas about the balance of nature. Pearce acknowledges that there are horror stories about alien species disrupting ecosystems, but most of the time, the tens of thousands of introduced species usually swiftly die out or settle down and become model eco-citizens. The case for keeping out alien species, he finds, looks increasingly flawed.

As Pearce argues, mainstream environmentalists are right that we need a rewilding of the earth, but they are wrong if they imagine that we can achieve that by reengineering ecosystems. Humans have changed the planet too much, and nature never goes backward. But a growing group of scientists is taking a fresh look at how species interact in the wild. According to these new ecologists, we should applaud the dynamism of alien species and the novel ecosystems they create.

In an era of climate change and widespread ecological damage, it is absolutely crucial that we find ways to help nature regenerate. Embracing the new ecology, Pearce shows us, is our best chance. To be an environmentalist in the twenty-first century means celebrating nature’s wildness and capacity for change.

This Woman Set Up A Photo Booth For Birds In Her Yard, And The Results Are Extraordinary (30 Pics)

Birds have always been a symbol of freedom. But because of their liberating ability to fly, they seem so unreachable and mysterious to us. Luckily there is a way to meet with nature face to face and explore the beautiful feathered creatures in their natural setting without scaring them away or causing any harm.
https://www.boredpanda.com/bird-photo-booth-feeder-ostdrossel/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

7 WAYS TO REKINDLE YOUR SENSE OF AWE OUTSIDE—AND WHY

Awe comes in many forms. It’s the amazement that arises with once-in-a-lifetime experiences, such as catching the northern lights, or the wonder of taking in a transcendent performance, or the quiet “wow” you utter while watching a magnificent sunset. As human beings, we have a natural capacity for awe, but in the midst of our busy routines, it’s surprisingly easy to lose it.
https://www.rei.com/blog/hike/7-ways-to-rekindle-your-sense-of-awe-outside-and-why?cm_mmc=email_com_gm-_-20190305_ADM_AllDistroHikeMarch-_-030519-_-cta_journal_wh4&ev36=8777843&rmid=20190305_ADM_AllDistroHikeMarch&rrid=1164621&ev11=1

A Troubling Discovery in the Deepest Ocean Trenches

In the Mariana Trench, the lowest point in any ocean, every tiny animal tested had plastic pollution hiding in its gut.https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/deepest-ocean-trenches-animals-eat-plastic/583657/

March 12 - John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire

John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire: How a Visionary and the Glaciers of Alaska Changed America by Kim Heacox 

John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire takes two of the most compelling elements in the narrative of wild America, John Muir and Alaska, and combines them into a brisk and engaging biography.

John Muir was a fascinating man who was many things: inventor, scientist, revolutionary, druid (a modern day Celtic priest), husband, son, father and friend, and a shining son of the Scottish Enlightenment -- both in temperament and intellect.  Kim Heacox, author of The Only Kayak, bring us a story that evolves as Muir’s life did, from one of outdoor adventure into one of ecological guardianship. Muir went from impassioned author to leading activist. He would popularize glaciers unlike anybody else, and be to glaciers what Jacques Cousteau would be to the oceans and Carl Sagan to the stars

The book also offers an environmental caveat on global climate change and the glaciers' retreat alongside a beacon of hope: Muir shows us how one person changed America, helped it embrace its wilderness, and in turn, gave us a better world.

In 2005, Californians had to choose a design for its commemorative quarter. Hundreds of submissions – the iconic Hollywood sign above Hollywood Hills, the 1849 Gold Rush, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc. – fell away until one remained: an image of John Muir.  2014 will mark the 100th anniversary of Muir’s death. Muir’s legacy is that he reordered our priorities and contributed to a new scientific revolution that was picked up a generation later by Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, and is championed today by influential writers like E.O. Wilson and Jared Diamond.

Heacox takes us into how Muir changed our world, advanced the science of glaciology and popularized geology. How he got people out there. How he gave America a new vision of Alaska, and of itself.

See the microscopic wonders of herbs

A photographer reveals the intricacies of kitchen herbs. The result is otherworldly

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/future-of-food/macro-photos-of-kitchen-herbs/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=sunstills_20190203::rid=1092534

February 12 - 10:00 am - Dawn Light

Dawn Light: Dancing with Cranes and Other Ways to Start the Day by Diane Ackerman 

"It's easy to live in the moment when you're immersed in Ackerman's glorious prose."—Washington Post

In an eye-opening sequence of personal meditations through the cycle of seasons, one of our most celebrated storyteller-poet-naturalists awakens us to the world at dawn. Diane Ackerman draws from sources as diverse as meteorology, world religion, etymology, art history, and poetry in order to celebrate that moment in which the deepest arcades of life and matter become visible. From spring in Ithaca, New York, to winter in Palm Beach, Florida, Dawn Light is an impassioned call to revel in our numbered days on a turning earth.

Bison are back

Bison are back, and that benefits many other species on the Great Plains

https://theconversation.com/bison-are-back-and-that-benefits-many-other-species-on-the-great-plains-107588

A teen scientist helped me discover tons of golf balls polluting the ocean

Tons of golf balls polluting the ocean

https://theconversation.com/a-teen-scientist-helped-me-discover-tons-of-golf-balls-polluting-the-ocean-109769

Citizen scientists discover strange new world that pro astronomers missed

The newfound exoplanet is unlike anything in our solar system.

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/citizen-scientists-discover-strange-new-world-pro-astronomers-missed-ncna956761

3D scans of bat skulls help natural history museums open up dark corners of their collections

https://theconversation.com/3d-scans-of-bat-skulls-help-natural-history-museums-open-up-dark-corners-of-their-collections-107878