A man said to the universe:
“Sir I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”

–Stephen Crane, 1899

Interview with Paul Bogard, author of The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light:

http://v-e-n-u-e.com/In-Search-of-Darkness-An-Interview-with-Paul-Bogard

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/science/exxon-mobil-under-investigation-in-new-york-over-climate-statements.html

News out of New York: State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has issued a subpoena to Exxon Mobil in regards to an investigation as to whether or not the energy giant lied to both investors and the public at large regarding climate change.

This signals a massive shift in public policy towards the energy giants, as in the recent past, favorable outcomes for fossil fuel oriented businesses have been rendered in lawsuits, criminal proceedings, and even with politicians at large. Just recently, in my home state of New Jersey, Governor Christie has used a settlement met with Exxon (roughly around 225$ million dollars) as a boasting point on the campaign trail; but, as many scientific and environmental scholars can attest to, this was actually a concession to Exxon, and not nearly the win that it has made it out to be by the Christie camp.

These small steps, a subpoena and court proceedings, are the first steps towards changing the public perception of climate change. It is no advertised fact that many of the companies who rely heavily on fossil fuels saw their research and development numbers equate to 90% of funding towards fossil fuels, and 10% towards investment in new renewable energy methods. A step in the right direction for the government indeed.

The article about the White Nose Syndrome (WNS) brings up a good point about the introduction of diseases via human trade or travel from Europe. The bats are dying from the WNS disease that compromises their ability to store fat during hibernation seasons. This disease did not originate in the US, but is having a huge effect on bats in North America.

In class we have talked a lot about invasive plants, but not as much on invasive diseases. Ever since settlers came to the Americas they have brought diseases with them such as small pox. These diseases were deadly to the Native Americans who had no ability to fight off these infectious diseases because their immune systems had never been exposed to these kinds of pathogens.

International trade has always been seen as a good thing between friendly nations, but it can have deadly consequences. When things are shipped to the US or other countries, they not only bring their goods, but also their diseases, insects, and seeds.

This video gives a pretty good synopsis on the impact of invasive species if you’re not as familiar on the subject. It also talks about what implications climate change will have on invasive species, check it out!

In 2015, it’s hard to imagine that a fully developed city in North America would be willing to dump billions of gallons of untreated sewage into their waters. Well… it’s happening. Starting on Wednesday, the Canadian city of Montreal will begin releasing nearly 2.1 billion gallons of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River. City officials claim that there is no alternative in the matter, as the sewage must be released in order to complete construction of a new highway for the city.

Although I have no engineering background and little information on this story, I wonder if there truly were no alternatives to this situation? It will be interesting, and probably unsettling to see what the environmental impacts of this decision will be.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/montreal-sewage-dump-to-begin-wednesday-1447182904

As Jeremy mentioned in class today, last week in conservation biology for lab we went to Jacobsburg state park and witnessed bird banding. The activity was very interesting and surprisingly simple. Brad, the man running the lab, set up 3 special nets for catching birds and then we waited. Over the course of 3 hours, 6 birds were caught, examined, banded, and released. The process itself and the Brad knowledge about the birds was interesting, but what truly impacted me about the lab was the amount of time and effort Brad spent birdbanding in his normal life. He had a full time job working in the easton area but also spent time every weekend banding birds. Brad found something he was passionate about and has devoted time, money, and energy into that passion. If more passion can be generated about nature maybe more will follow in Brad’s footsteps. 

—

“The earth is not a mere fragment of dead history, stratum upon stratum like the leaves of a book, to be studied by geologists and antiquaries chiefly, but living poetry like the leaves of a tree, which precede flowers and fruit, -not a fossil earth, but a living earth; compared with whose great central life all animal and vegetable life is merely parasitic” (Walden 334)

“They are not even faintly shy. They are everywhere, in treetops and on the ground. Their song reminds me of a child’s neighborhood rallying cry — ee-ock-ee — with a heartfelt warble at the end. But it is their call that is especially endearing. The  towhee had the brass and grace to call, simply and clearly, “tweet.” I know of no other bird that stoops to literal tweeting”(Dillard 252).

“A kind of nothing is what I wish to accomplish, a singleminded trek towards that place where ant shutter left open to the zenith at night will record the wheeling of all the sky’s stars as a pattern of perfect, concentric circles. I seek a reduction, a shedding, a sloughing off”(Dillard 255).

“But to me the most mysterious thing about the universe is not its comprehensibility but the fact that it exists. And the same mystery attaches to everything within it. The world is permeated through and through by mystery. By the incomprehensible… But this knowledge adds not much to our understanding of things. “Knowledge is power,”… But power does not lead to wisdom, even less to understanding… This blather about mystery is probably no more than a confession of intellectual laziness”(Abbey 51).

“I respect vultures myself, even like them, I guess, in a way, and fully expect someday to join them, internally at least. One should plan one’s reincarnation with care. I like especially the idea of floating among the clouds all day, seldom stirring a feather, meditating in whatever it is that vultures meditate about. It looks like a good life, from down here” (Abbey 53).