Celebrate Earth Day & End Plastic Pollution!
Today is
Earth Day! And this year's theme is ending plastic pollution!
Our reliance on single-use plastic has gotten entirely out of hand, and as a direct result of our consumer choices plastic pollution is negatively affecting our health as well as the health of the planet (particularly marine life).
I urge you - I plead with you - take some time to consider ways you can personally eliminate single-use plastic from your life. Then, start taking steps to implement your plan for a future free of plastic pollution!
For further inspiration and ideas for living without single-use plastics, check out these posts:
Kick the Plastic Habit: Plastic Bags and Other Single-Use Packaging
Kick the Plastic Habit: Plastic Water Bottles and Other Single-Use Beverage Containers
At Home With A Naturalist: In The Kitchen
Happy Earth Day!
About Me
Named after the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I am a naturalist and avid birder based in Central California. Above all, I am a follower of Jesus Christ, our amazingly good Creator God whose magnificent creation is an unending source of awe and inspiration for me. I hope to inspire others to appreciate, respect and protect this beautiful earth we share, and invite you to come along with me as I explore the nature of California and beyond!
- Siera Nystrom -
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It's spring, and the marshes, grasslands and woodlands of California are brimming with life as young birds of all description hatch, grow and begin to fledge. I've mentioned before that when I can't get out into a proper patch of wilderness, I enjoy birding at CSU Stanislaus. This year, there is something particularly exciting on the college campus: a family of Great Horned Owls ( Bubo virginianus ). Great Horned Owls begin breeding very early (or late) in the year, with courtship beginning in the late fall and early winter. While out for a walk last December, Eric and I heard a pair of Great Horned Owls on campus. Noting the presence of tall pine trees (potential nesting habitat) and an abundance of prey (gophers and waterfowl), I dared to hope they might choose to stay. And it turns out, they did! Great Horned Owls lay their eggs as early as January or February in California. Eggs are incubated by the female for about four weeks,...
On a recent birding trip to Merced National Wildlife Refuge, I tallied up a list of sixteen different species of ducks. Only a few more species, around twenty in total, are expected in the Central Valley of California's freshwater marshes during the winter, so I consider that to be an excellent day for ducks! North American ducks are broadly separated into two categories, largely based on their methods of foraging for food. Dabbling ducks , also known as "puddle ducks," tend to frequent shallow water, where they are commonly seen tipping bottoms-up to feed on plant matter and invertebrates in the water and on the muddy bottom. They are most at home in water, but walk easily on land as well, as their legs are positioned near the center of their bodies. The wings of dabbling ducks are relatively large, which allows them to take off from the surface of the water, straight up into their air. Dabbling ducks almost all nest on the ground, near water....
Several times this year I have been lucky enough to see North American River Otters ( Lontra canadensis ) in both the San Joaquin and Tuolumne Rivers. They have been too leery of me to allow for any great National Geographic quality photos (let's be honest, that's not entirely the otters' fault!) but I have gotten a few shots in which they are at least recognizable as river otters, not just obscure brown blobs on the riverbank! River Otter along the banks of the Tuolumne River. The presence of otters in our rivers is a wonderful thing. As a top predator species in the ecosystem, river otters are often heralded as indicators of the health of the entire watershed. Like their seafaring counterpart, California's Southern Sea Otter ( Enhydra lutris nereis ), the North American River Otter was once hunted extensively for its thick pelt. Where otters once thrived, over hunting, followed closely by habitat loss and degradation, has taken...
For those of us living in the Great Central Valley, autumn is the time to head to the coast. Of course, there is no bad time to visit California's magnificent coastline. But as the heat and haze of summer drag on in the Valley, the sea becomes increasingly tantalizing: September and the onset of autumn bring sunny weather and an abundance of migratory seabirds and shorebirds to our coast. A new birder visiting California's Central Coast will undoubtedly be met with a splendid array of very confusing birds. Among these are small shorebirds like "peeps" (sandpipers), Sanderlings and various plovers . But the larger birds can be just as confusing, until you learn a few distinguishing features. Four large shorebirds that are commonly seen (and commonly confused) along California's Central Coast are Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels. Marbled Godwit (upper left), Whimbrel (upper right), Long-billed Cu...
Though I often extol the virtues and merits of winter in the Central Valley , especially when it comes to birding, the whole truth is that we experience "bad" weather also, just like anywhere else. But even when the winter weather rolls in, the birds are still out there! And sometimes, despite our best planning efforts, a birding day happens to coincide with crummy weather. In that case, what's a birder to do? Usually, we go birding anyway! Birders far more intrepid than I regularly brave the ice and snow of northern winters to see their favorite birds, so perhaps you should look to them for real tips on winter birding! For those of us in the valleys of California, the worst weather we see - wind and rain - is really comparatively mild. Birding on an extremely windy day! I don't know of anyone who actually likes birding in the rain. But I would argue that birding in the wind is just as aggravating as trying to bird in the rai...
*Disclaimer : I am not a geologist; I don’t have a geology degree, I never majored or minored in geology. I've taken exactly one college geology class, and I've read three books on geology - four, if you want to count the one I read twice. (More on those gems in another post, no pun intended.) But I'm learning. And since California is such a geologically rich place, it's the perfect learning ground. Therefore, what you read here is just that : a glimpse into a learning process, as I study and read and glean information from my travels to sites of geologic significance, then share my findings with you. Please correct me if anything is amiss! During the summer of 2015, my husband and I spent a week in the Mammoth Lakes area, on the breathtaking eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. The cabin where we stayed was perched on the edge of the Long Valley Caldera, below Mammoth Mountain, in the Lakes Basin region of Mammoth Lakes. (...
Not it's pretty amazing, but it's awfully damn stupid... and blaming it on "consumer preferences" rather than capitalistic profit motive is rather simplistic.
ReplyDeletee.g. we used to wash and re-use glass containers before "they" figured out that "they" could make more money if the bottles were trashed or replaced by plastic. Make laws against plastic and laws that necessitate the re-use/washing of glass containers (our current "re-cycling" is a sham).
The problem - our "lawmakers" are the rich and they don't seem to care about "doing right".
Yes, that pretty much sums it up exactly!
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ReplyDeleteWe need to understand the importance of the recycled product. Try to use less plastic material or try to reuse it so that it may help to reduce the plastic garbage. Find out the eco-friendly product and start using them for the better future.
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