Dead and dying salmon in Pacific Northwest

Out of the more than 507,000 salmon that have passed through the Bonneville Dam, some 235,000 have died — a number that Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fisheries manager John North told Reuters is unprecedented.  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/29/3685149/dead-salmon-pacific-northwest/

The lion killer

This American dentist apparently paid $50,000 to kill Cecil the Lion.  Unbelievable.....words can't express how I feel right now: we have to find a way to stop these trophy hunters!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/11767119/Cecil-the-lions-killer-revealed-as-American-dentist.html

Jane Goodall's full statement reads as follows:

"I was shocked and outraged to hear the story of Cecil, Zimbabwe's much loved lion. Not only is it incomprehensible to me that anyone would want to kill an endangered animal (fewer than 20,000 wild lions in Africa today) but to lure Cecil from the safety of a national park and then to shoot him with a crossbow...? I have no words to express my repugnance. He was not even killed outright, but suffered for hours before finally being shot with a bullet. And his magnificent head severed from his wounded body. And this behaviour is described as a "sport." Only one good thing comes out of this – thousands of people have read the story and have also been shocked. Their eyes opened to the dark side of human nature. Surely they will now be more prepared to fight for the protection of wild animals and the wild places where they live. Therein lies the hope."

BBC article: What Cecil the Lion means to Zimbabwe: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33722688

How walking in nature changes the brain

Informative New York Times article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/how-nature-changes-the-brain/?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Getty Images

"A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature. Most of us today live in cities and spend far less time outside in green, natural spaces than people did several generations ago. City dwellers also have a higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses than people living outside urban centers, studies show."

Apache protesters fight U.S. land swap with mining company

Native Americans from one of the poorest reservations in the country are using cell phones, Twitter and Facebook to throw a flash mob in Times Square to save a sacred site in Arizona stolen by a multi-national mining company in Australia. It’s their land, but it’s public land, and John McCain is bent on privatizing it.

See more @ http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/from-times-square-to-the-capitol-apache-protestors-fight-u-s-land-swap-with-mining-company/?_r=0

Update on 7/24/2015: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/24/3683935/citing-religious-freedom-native-americans-fight-take-back-sacred-land-mining-companies/

Fracking linked to hospitalizations in Pennsylvania

Hydraulic fracking has been linked to illnesses and hospitalizations, says a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. The study indicates hydraulic fracking is leading to an increase in hospitalizations for heart conditions, neurological illness, and other conditions, according to UPI. Read more at http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015/07/17/Hydraulic-fracking-linked-to-hospitalizations-in-Pennsylvania/4481437167118/

Farmers Market at Harper Court

Some lovely fresh fruits and herbs at today's Harper Court farmers market: http://www.secc-chicago.org/discover-hyde-park/farmers-market

Photos: Marge Ishmael

Wolf Park, Indiana

Last night's July 4th "howl night" at Wolf Park wildlife education and research facility: wolfpark.org

Here are two photos of Fiona, the darker wolf, from my last visit to the park:

Photos: Marge Ishmael

Chipmonk

Chipmonk in our front yard yesterday: animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/chipmunk

Barn Swallow

Mark went for a walk today at Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve and saw a barn swallow in the rafters of the barn pavilion: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/barn-swallow

"One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy."

 

An allusion to the return of swallows at the start of the summer season. From a remark by Aristotle (384 BCE - 322 BCE).