Tanya’s comment: Stopping to appreciate and enjoy nature helps us understand why it must be protected.
transforms seedy,
into splendid.
Snow blanketing,
drought ravaged land.
Mother Nature cooling,
her still feverish child.
Cheers to you from fragile California~
Courtesy of Bernd Sieker via Flickr
“The Low Income Solar Act would dramatically expand the availability of the financial and environmental benefits of solar power, through loans and grants to low-income families, public housing, and community facilities.”
“Oil well” by Flcelloguy at the English language Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
“ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest oil company, knew as early as 1981 of climate change – seven years before it became a public issue, according to a newly discovered email from one of the firm’s own scientists. Despite this the firm spent millions over the next 27 years to promote climate denial.”
Courtesy of Wikimedia.org
“A team of scientists, in a groundbreaking analysis of data from hundreds of sources, has concluded that humans are on the verge of causing unprecedented damage to the oceans and the animals living in them.”
“Poaching and habitat destruction over the past 3,000 years have brought the total population down below 2,000. Today, giant pandas exist in an area that is less than 1 percent of their historical range.”
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
This just in from FoxNews.com:
“The Obama administration pushed through $181.5 billion in regulations last year, according to a new report from a conservative think tank that claimed the rules will lead to higher energy bills, more expensive consumer goods and fewer jobs.
The new rules mostly focus on clean energy and vehicle regulations, said the American Action Forum, which issued the report Monday. The state that was hit the hardest by new regulations was California, which was slapped with $7.9 billion in new rules, followed by Texas ($6.5 billion) and Ohio ($3.4 billion).
“‘What do these huge sums mean for individuals? Higher energy prices, pricier household goods, a more expensive mortgage, and the promise of yet another year of unrelenting regulatory growth,'” concludes the report, which was authored by Sam Batkins, the group’s director of regulatory policy. ‘No one can accuse the president of abandoning his promises on regulation in 2014.'”
Putting regulations on business is awful, isn’t it? Sure sounds that way. But wait, let’s take a closer look at this news report.
Photo courtesy of http://www.fabulousnature.com/img2451.htm
I recently posted a conservation article on my group blog, League of Bloggers, that mentioned a website called iNaturalist.org. The site has proved to be an ingenious way of gathering scientific data through the help of non-scientists who love nature. I’d like to give some more information about it here. If you’re a nature lover who takes photos of wildlife, this is a great opportunity to help with the conservation efforts of your favorite plants and animals!
A NASA picture of large wildfires burning across sections of northern Baja and southern California.
PHOTO BY NASA VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
“What’s Behind Early Season Winds Fueling Southern California Wildfires?” is the title of a news article on NationalGeographic.com about the forest fires currently raging through the state. Though the precise cause is as yet unclear, what is clear is that the weather system which brings strong winds that intensify forest fires in Southern California, called the Santa Ana winds, usually doesn’t occur until between September or October.
Illuminate 