Mapping Global Temperature Changes
This is a sobering graphic via the Twitter feed of Ed Hawkins (https://twitter.com/ed_hawkins), Climate scientist at the University of Reading. He said, “When considering changes in global temperature, it’s always important to look at the big picture, rather than obsess over short-term effects” which is why something like the cold and snowy days in the winter are not an indicator of how the planet is feeling. Our lives encompass a very small span of time compared to that of the Earth itself, and we often do not have an appropriate sense of the environmental and climate...
Read MoreLimosa Harlequin Toad (Atelopus limosus) & RTPI in New Scientist
In the 60 years that the illustrious journal New Scientist has been around they’ve never run a photo-led feature. I’m very proud and honored that they decided to break with that tradition with a story on our work with endangered frogs in Panama. Our research on a population of the exceedingly rare Limosa Harlequin Toad (Atelopus limosus) in Cocobolo Nature Reserve in Panama will hopefully give us more information on why these frogs are seemingly doing alright while its surrounding populations are going extinct. And with some luck, that information can help direct conservation...
Read MoreWinter Bird Forecast #6 – Great Backyard Bird Count
The latest Winter Bird Forecast from Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History is up at WXedge.com and focuses on the Great Backyard Bird Count which takes place this Friday, February 13, through Monday, February 16. You can participate wherever you are because the entire Earth is our collective backyard! You should plan to count birds from a given location, or as many places as you can, for at least 15 minutes each of those four days. Enter your sightings into eBird and you will be all set. Our staff will be participating in the count across the Northeast....
Read MoreRhinoceros Beetle
Here’s an imposingly named Rhinoceros Beetle (Dynastinae sp.), an insect of Costa Rica as photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global diversity project. That is not a bug to mess around with!
Read MoreHistoric Western New York Snowfall
The past week has been nothing short of historic in Western New York with crippling and dangerous snowfall beyond what even lifelong residents could have imagined. This lake effect snowfall weather event was the culmination of several factors that allowed Lake Erie’s snow machine to turn on full blast and dump feet of snow in very short periods of time, rivaling some all-time American records. While the final totals need to be examined, assessed and fully vetted, once you pass four, five, six, or seven feet, there is really no number that can do the impact justice. It is a tragedy that...
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