Alaska sea otter now has “a fighting chance
Hi again and yep, from the ramparts of the Bastion on the Puget Sound, it’s been another interesting week. I was real pleased to note that eleven Americans, including Barack Obama, were among this year’s Nobel Prize winners.
This U.S. president joins peers Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter in this regard. History records that the American public did not totally endorse the selection of these two men at the time either. But the Nobel Prize is also the voice of the international community and for a glimpse of what they think of Barack Obama abroad, you might just want to go here.
As we mentioned last week, Seattle’s bracing for an onset of the swine flu and the teamwork among health care providers, the media and the general public is just short of awesome. Overlake Hospital, for example, is providing its pregnant patients free flu shots.
And to make sure this doesn’t turn into a Puget Sound version of a buffalo stampede, Jean Enerson, our NBC affiliate’s veteran health reporter and herself a cancer survivor (October is Breast Cancer Awareness month in the United States) has provided us with an excellent article on the reality of what we’re dealing with. It’s headlined The H1N1swine flu shot - separating fact from fiction.
Well, we’ve got two critter stories for you this week. This first one is not about bears and mountain lions reclaiming the ‘hood but about this weird thing Puget Sound owls go through every fall. These normally unobtrusive and extremely useful nocturnal feathered rodent control machines become very territorial and extremely aggressive in the protection of said turf. Several joggers in our parks here have been attacked, along with their dogs, but since this is annual behaviour, there’s been no backlash. We just avoid the parts of the parks the owls call home until after Halloween, when our feathered neighbors have chilled out. To me, it’s another example of inter-species cooperation and I totally love it. For a video on this one, please go here.
And in another outstanding example of what a government bureaucracy can do when the people running it have heart and conscience, the once endangered sea otters are no longer facing extinction. The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife has designated over 5,000 square miles in the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea and the Alaska Peninsula as protected habitat for these truly ingenuous and smallest of marine mammals. Rebecca Noblin, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity, explained that providing an endangered species critical habitat gives them, “a fighting chance of recovery.”
In a couple of years, the streets, roads and highways of Vancouver, Victoria and other parts of Canada’s British Columbia province are going to be a lot quieter and a lot cleaner thanks to an agreement reached earlier this month between the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the province, the city of Vancouver and B.C. Hydro.
Canada’s been moving in this direction for some time now with both the technology and the legislation necessary to establish electrical recharging stations using either 120V or 240V. Vancouver, like Seattle, is installing hundreds of these and there’s been no talk yet about charging drivers of vehicles like Nissan’s LEAF or those hybrids which run on electricity and then switch over to either gasoline or ethanol when the battery runs out of charge. Seattle this year also entered into a similar agreement with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Canada’s Architects For Humanity (AFH) is tackling the issue of urban density and using Vancouver as a laboratory of sorts. They’re calling for designs for homes that can be constructed in about the square area of two parking spaces (about 19 feet by 19 feet). New Science reporter Tom Simonite interviewed one of the organizers of the competition about what the AFH hopes to accomplish and it’s pretty simple. Even the most crowded cities have unused space too small for more conventional housing or commercial units. Compact, energy efficient and environmentally appropriate dwellings could provide additional residential options. For the interview itself and a look at the winning designs, please go here.
And yep, it’s also under the category of “Probably Only In Seattle Might This Possibly Work,” the merchants and landlords of Belltown have decided that playing classical music through outside speakers will discourage crime in the neighborhood. You guys still accuse me of making this stuff up so check it.
I’m thinking, if this was East LA or some other interesting places I’ve lived, no way, Jim. And here in Seattle? If it was worth it, these criminals would either take a music appreciation class, ignore it, or get together and short circuit the speakers.
Sigh. I’ve lived here for twenty years. The crime rate in Belltown is going down. I don’t claim to understand this stuff and this is a good example of why. But, like Grandpa Seamus used to say, “If it’s working, do not fix it.” If any of you decide to try it, let me know. I can always use more weird in my life.
Well, that’s it for this week folks. Take care, stay well and once again, thanks for the ear.
Rusty
NORTHSTAR RECOMMENDS
TO YOUR HEALTH
If you’d like to know whether your eating habits are either adding years to your life or taking them off, take this RealAge quiz. It will not only score your real age against your health age but give you a program for improvement. I’ve been working this one for about a month now and yep, I feel a lot better.
Want to know how to live to be 100? Try this one.
Ever had trouble getting behind eating a lot of fruits and vegetables despite how good they are for you? Ever had trouble selling that one to your kids and grandkids? Ever been totally sold on the idea then gone to the market and been totally tasered by the price of good health in some places? If your answer is yes to any or all of the above, you really need to check this site out. Fruits and veggies: more matters.
ONLINE TOOLS FOR THE KIT
Free People Search – This is an American online White Pages that I found really simple, quick and user friendly. I looked for myself under the several versions of my name and it found them all. It’s also free and doesn’t involve anything to download.
Know Thy Elected Officials - Just type in your zip code and this site will supply you with the names and contact information for your legislators from the state level up. This is a two click site with a host of other relevant features.
MEDIA
KING 5 NEWS – for a good window on Seattle, the Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest.
BBC – Best source for international news
Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean – Live from the smallest record store in North America. Canadian humor, entertainment and commentary at its maple leaf best. Popular on National Public Radio in the States.
Sightline Daily (formerly Tidepool) – The “United Press International/Reuters of the American West/ Updated and informative news shorts with links to the source. Its editors draw from a coverage area which includes Alaska, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Update and informative collected news shorts from those sources. They also put out an excellent weekly environmental edition.
U Got Style is a monthly ezine dedicated to independent films. Fully illustrated, it features hard news, interviews, reviews and a wide variety of other information. It’s also fun to read.
The Vancouver Sun, outstanding source for Canadian and world news.
TALENT FOR HIRE
Rusty Miller, Freelance Photojournalist – Whether it’s a one time press release, book or product review, difficult business correspondence, resume or classified ad composition you need, take a look at the services offered menu on my writer-for-hire homepage and we’ll get together on it.
Are you a travel editor looking for color shots of Seattle? Are you an art dealer looking for new work to carry on consignment? You might enjoy checking out a gallery of my work for sale
This U.S. president joins peers Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter in this regard. History records that the American public did not totally endorse the selection of these two men at the time either. But the Nobel Prize is also the voice of the international community and for a glimpse of what they think of Barack Obama abroad, you might just want to go here.
As we mentioned last week, Seattle’s bracing for an onset of the swine flu and the teamwork among health care providers, the media and the general public is just short of awesome. Overlake Hospital, for example, is providing its pregnant patients free flu shots.
And to make sure this doesn’t turn into a Puget Sound version of a buffalo stampede, Jean Enerson, our NBC affiliate’s veteran health reporter and herself a cancer survivor (October is Breast Cancer Awareness month in the United States) has provided us with an excellent article on the reality of what we’re dealing with. It’s headlined The H1N1swine flu shot - separating fact from fiction.
Well, we’ve got two critter stories for you this week. This first one is not about bears and mountain lions reclaiming the ‘hood but about this weird thing Puget Sound owls go through every fall. These normally unobtrusive and extremely useful nocturnal feathered rodent control machines become very territorial and extremely aggressive in the protection of said turf. Several joggers in our parks here have been attacked, along with their dogs, but since this is annual behaviour, there’s been no backlash. We just avoid the parts of the parks the owls call home until after Halloween, when our feathered neighbors have chilled out. To me, it’s another example of inter-species cooperation and I totally love it. For a video on this one, please go here.
And in another outstanding example of what a government bureaucracy can do when the people running it have heart and conscience, the once endangered sea otters are no longer facing extinction. The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife has designated over 5,000 square miles in the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea and the Alaska Peninsula as protected habitat for these truly ingenuous and smallest of marine mammals. Rebecca Noblin, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity, explained that providing an endangered species critical habitat gives them, “a fighting chance of recovery.”
In a couple of years, the streets, roads and highways of Vancouver, Victoria and other parts of Canada’s British Columbia province are going to be a lot quieter and a lot cleaner thanks to an agreement reached earlier this month between the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the province, the city of Vancouver and B.C. Hydro.
Canada’s been moving in this direction for some time now with both the technology and the legislation necessary to establish electrical recharging stations using either 120V or 240V. Vancouver, like Seattle, is installing hundreds of these and there’s been no talk yet about charging drivers of vehicles like Nissan’s LEAF or those hybrids which run on electricity and then switch over to either gasoline or ethanol when the battery runs out of charge. Seattle this year also entered into a similar agreement with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Canada’s Architects For Humanity (AFH) is tackling the issue of urban density and using Vancouver as a laboratory of sorts. They’re calling for designs for homes that can be constructed in about the square area of two parking spaces (about 19 feet by 19 feet). New Science reporter Tom Simonite interviewed one of the organizers of the competition about what the AFH hopes to accomplish and it’s pretty simple. Even the most crowded cities have unused space too small for more conventional housing or commercial units. Compact, energy efficient and environmentally appropriate dwellings could provide additional residential options. For the interview itself and a look at the winning designs, please go here.
And yep, it’s also under the category of “Probably Only In Seattle Might This Possibly Work,” the merchants and landlords of Belltown have decided that playing classical music through outside speakers will discourage crime in the neighborhood. You guys still accuse me of making this stuff up so check it.
I’m thinking, if this was East LA or some other interesting places I’ve lived, no way, Jim. And here in Seattle? If it was worth it, these criminals would either take a music appreciation class, ignore it, or get together and short circuit the speakers.
Sigh. I’ve lived here for twenty years. The crime rate in Belltown is going down. I don’t claim to understand this stuff and this is a good example of why. But, like Grandpa Seamus used to say, “If it’s working, do not fix it.” If any of you decide to try it, let me know. I can always use more weird in my life.
Well, that’s it for this week folks. Take care, stay well and once again, thanks for the ear.
Rusty
NORTHSTAR RECOMMENDS
TO YOUR HEALTH
If you’d like to know whether your eating habits are either adding years to your life or taking them off, take this RealAge quiz. It will not only score your real age against your health age but give you a program for improvement. I’ve been working this one for about a month now and yep, I feel a lot better.
Want to know how to live to be 100? Try this one.
Ever had trouble getting behind eating a lot of fruits and vegetables despite how good they are for you? Ever had trouble selling that one to your kids and grandkids? Ever been totally sold on the idea then gone to the market and been totally tasered by the price of good health in some places? If your answer is yes to any or all of the above, you really need to check this site out. Fruits and veggies: more matters.
ONLINE TOOLS FOR THE KIT
Free People Search – This is an American online White Pages that I found really simple, quick and user friendly. I looked for myself under the several versions of my name and it found them all. It’s also free and doesn’t involve anything to download.
Know Thy Elected Officials - Just type in your zip code and this site will supply you with the names and contact information for your legislators from the state level up. This is a two click site with a host of other relevant features.
MEDIA
KING 5 NEWS – for a good window on Seattle, the Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest.
BBC – Best source for international news
Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean – Live from the smallest record store in North America. Canadian humor, entertainment and commentary at its maple leaf best. Popular on National Public Radio in the States.
Sightline Daily (formerly Tidepool) – The “United Press International/Reuters of the American West/ Updated and informative news shorts with links to the source. Its editors draw from a coverage area which includes Alaska, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Update and informative collected news shorts from those sources. They also put out an excellent weekly environmental edition.
U Got Style is a monthly ezine dedicated to independent films. Fully illustrated, it features hard news, interviews, reviews and a wide variety of other information. It’s also fun to read.
The Vancouver Sun, outstanding source for Canadian and world news.
TALENT FOR HIRE
Rusty Miller, Freelance Photojournalist – Whether it’s a one time press release, book or product review, difficult business correspondence, resume or classified ad composition you need, take a look at the services offered menu on my writer-for-hire homepage and we’ll get together on it.
Are you a travel editor looking for color shots of Seattle? Are you an art dealer looking for new work to carry on consignment? You might enjoy checking out a gallery of my work for sale
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