Mapping New York's Shoreline

I can't wait to check out the current exhibit at the New York Public Library.  Mapping New York's Shoreline, 1609-2009 is full of maps, books, atlases, journals, photographs and more that explore the original shoreline dating back 400 years ago and how it has evolved because of urbanization. Perhaps this can provide some inspirational thoughts to New Yorkers on how we can restore our intertidal zones.

Viral Ancestry

The title might not make sense immediately, please bear with me...

The Matrix series may not have been as religious an experience for most of you as it was for me. A futuristic, apocalyptic, video-game like nightmare world were computers have taken over the world and harvest heat from human beings for power. Not to mention having the ability to fly, stop bullets, and take on any martial artist the world has to through at you. It's freakin' awesome, but I digress.

One of my favorite scenes in the series comes from the original film where the evil Agent Smith (picture right) has captured Morpheus, our heroic leader, and is giving him the typical villain monologue about why he wants to destroy humanity. The line he uses is classic:

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus."


Well as it turns out, it might be true (see I told you I would bring it around eventually). An amazing new form of viral research has arisen recently in which DNA researchers search for ancient viral DNA structures in the genomes of organisms alive today, including humans.

Go, go (green) gadgets!

Here is another interesting story regarding ecology and green development I found in the METRO newspaper that I pick up on my way to work:

House that works like a living tree
A researcher invented a synthetic tree (shaped like a house) that also can get rid of CO2. Klaus Lackner, from Columbia University, answers our questions.

How does your invention work?
The “leaves” are made from a plastic material that absorbs CO2 when it is dry and releases it again when it is moist. Standing in the wind, the sorbent material loads up with CO2, it is then transferred into a chamber, from which the air can be removed and moisture is introduced. The plastic releases CO2 into the chamber, which is pumped out and compressed to liquid CO2.

Where exactly can we install them?
Anywhere, because the air mixes well and everywhere has the same CO2.

Also -- Self-erasable paper! Read more in the same article, here.

Ecoterrorism -- Whale Wars

I wonder if they were on former President Bush's axis of evil?

"If a whale is hit by an exploding harpoon near Antarctica and the world doesn’t have a way to witness that, does it make a sound?" - ANDREW C. REVKIN

I thought that was one of the more eloquent quotes I've heard in recent years. Mr. Revkin was talking to whale activists about the recent clash over Japanese whale hunting in the antarctic, which resulted in the sinking of a $1.5 million vessel owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). A video of the ordeal can be found below, taken from the deck of the Japanese whaling vessel the Shonan Maru 2.

Urban Safari

The Urban Landscape Lab at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, & Preservation (GSAPP) has developed a do-it-yourself tour complete with downloadable podcasts that introduces no. 7 subway riders to the diverse ecology along the urban transect.

Say Cheese

Wonderful. I love when nature poses for the camera.

http://citynoise.org/article/9510/by/

The Good Ole Days

I found it funny to run across this article at the NY Times website my first day in the office of 2010. Starting my fourth year at GEE it was interesting to read about Laura Francoeur, who has the exact same job that I was brought onto GEE for, albeit with more guns. I went to school for wildlife conservation, got my first job as an ornithologist, and still; nothing warms my heart more than knowing some portion of my tax money goes toward the killing of Canada geese every single day.