Skolai Images » Environmental Issues

The Hubbard Glacier and Mt. Seattle

Carl D — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:10:51 +0000

Gilbert Point, the Hubbard Glacier and Mt Seattle, Disenchantment Bay, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Aerial photo. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image from the first night of my most recent trip, a month long adventure down around the coastline of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve. This photo was taken on the air taxi flight out to the coast; we departed a little from the scheduled route and I shot some images of the Hubbard Glacier and surrounding area. The points of interest here start with the Hubbard Glacier itself, generally regarded as the largest tidewater glacier in the world. At over 70 miles long, it’s quite a chunk of ice (given part of our trip was to look at the Malaspina Glacier and it caving into a tidal lagoon, the Hubbard’s claim to fame may be short-lived; the Malaspina is much bigger, and most definitely reaches the ocean).

You can also just see the edge of Valerie Glacier, and the medial moraine the separates the 2 glaciers, on the left hand side of this frame. The 2 iceflows join up a few miles before they calve into the Bay, and together form an open glacial face that’s over 6 miles wide. Impressive stats, for sure.

Other points of interest include Gilbert Point, the small channel on the right hand side of the frame here, through which the Russell Fjord drains into Disenchantment Bay. The Glacier advances every summer, often at a relatively rapid rate, and has twice recently plugged Gilbert Point, threatening to landlock the Fjord, and potentially flood surrounding ecosystems to the south. So far, though, that hasn’t happened, and each time the Fjord has forced its way thru the dam wall, breaking through the ice and emptying into the Bay; doing so very dramatically. In 1986 the flow was estimated to be over 5 cubic kilometres of water in 24 hrs, the 2nd largest glacial lake outburst flood ever; that’s about the equivalent of 35 Niagara Falls. How long this cat and mouse game will go on is anyone’s guess.

Mt. Seattle stands aloft behind the Hubbard. The Hubbard Glacier actually starts at Mt. Walsh, to the north, but also a small tributary ice flow starts on the flanks of might Mt. Logan, Canada’s highest peak.

The Hubbard Glacier is also known as one of the most actively calving glaciers around. Here’s a couple of photos from a trip down there in 2008 of a calving face.

Cheers

Carl

Erie Mine, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Carl D — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:09:36 +0000

Erie Mine Bunkhouse and the Wrangell Mountains, fall colors. Erie Mine is one of three mines that made up the famous Kennecott Copper Mines, Kennicott, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

From the aerial shoot we did in September; this one is of the old bunkhouse at Erie Mine, one of the 3 Kennecott Mines, in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park.

It’s interesting to me how much money, time and investment the National Park Service put into Kennecott, an old abandoned Copper Mine. The basic tenant of the Park Service is “don’t take stuff out of the place, and don’t leave your trash behind”.

It seems odd to effectively celebrate an organization that did quite the opposite of that. The mining company, like most mining companies, took what they wanted from the landscape, and left all their sh** behind when they were done. Now, what they did is revered.

But, such are the ways of the NPS; sometimes they’re hard to follow.

Cheers

Carl

Happy Flat Earth Day

Carl D — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:00:51 +0000

A dried up pond on what is normally a wetland. Effects of climate change, global warming.The coastal plain near the Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

For the less progressive of the folks who read this blog, Happy Flat Earth Day.

Cheers

Carl

GoDaddy Hosting Service

Carl D — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 18:56:18 +0000

Hey Folks,

Just spreading the word here: You’re all familiar with GoDaddy hosting service. The CEO, Bob Parsons has posted a video of himself on vacation to Zimbabwe, where he, gets this … shoots a bull elephant. The video is presented here.

The guise that this is “saving people’s crops” is simply ridiculous; I suppose next he’ll save by handing out free GoDaddy caps to villagers he not only fed, but clothed, the villagers.

If you host your site with GD, I hope you’ll take steps to move it elsewhere. I certainly would. There’s no way I’d want any of my money going to fund this idiot’s business.

Photographer Jim Goldstein has a blog on this topic, as well; and full props to him for getting the word out there on a subject like this. HIs blog is here.

Cheers

Carl

Click This; April 2011

Carl D — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 03:58:00 +0000

A coastal brown bear, Ursus arctos, walks along Brooks River shoreline at dawn, backlit, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Next up in this series of news of the month pieces.

This month, I haven’t been spending as much time in the woods, and even less reading the news. Mostly, I’ve been grating sandpaper over my eyeballs … more commonly called “working on website updates”. I need to take about a year off, and learn how to do this properly, then start over from scratch and rebuild everything (yeah, that’s gunna happen).

Below I’ve compiled various bits from around the web that held my failing attention long enough to actually read through the piece. Feel free to add your own stuff of note, I’d love to see some things I’ve missed.

In a completely random order:

Photography Stuff

Northern Lights Photos I saw this the other day. A nice compilation of photos and a video of the Aurora, both borealis (northern) and australis (southern). Included are shots of the aurora both from space and IN space. Hubble space telescope photos of the aurora on Saturn. That’s a first, for me at least. And definitely check out this video/time lapse Terje Sorgjerd at the bottom of the post. Very cool.

A new blogger (for me, anyway). I wasn’t familiar with fellow Aussie photographer Mitchell Kanashkevich until I read this recent post on the aspirations of a Travel Photographer. Nice discussion, and his site is worth keeping connected to. Google reader time again.

Extreme Sheep LED Art This is simply way, way, way too cool. I mean, awesomely cool. “We took to the hills of Wales armed to the teeth with sheep, LEDs and a camera, to create a huge amazing LED display. Of sorts”. Do yourself a favor and watch this video. Do yourself 2 favors, and watch it again.

What’s wrong with global Photojournalism? Photographer discusses the state of photojournalism today, as presented in the recent “world’s top press photography contest”. A better discussion might be on the point of such contests.

Quote #1: “What the events reveal is the thinness of the margin on which modernity lives.” Bill McKibben, on the tragedy in Japan.

Capture NX2 tutorial I wrote a post a while back about Nikon Capture NX2, and how much I preferred the results to Photoshop’s ACR. Here’s a quick tutorial from Nikon on making some simple adjustments with the program. Things are never as simple as tutorials suggest, but this is helpful.

Composition I’m always in 2 minds about these kinds of articles. In some ways, they’re useful, but in so many other ways, they just seem to regurgitate old rules that don’t need to be regurgitated. Zappa’s “Shut Up ‘n Play Yer Guitar” comes to mind as a response. Still though, it’s nice to read something like this once in every great while.

Fair Use and Photos A Photo Editor’s take on a recent decision in federal court. The case involved a claim of Fair Use, by Richard Prince, Gagosian Gallery, Lawrence Gagosian and Rizzoli International Publications, after photographer Patrick Cariou filed suit for copyright infringement. Prince “appropriated 28 images from Patrick’s Yes Rasta book for his Canal Zone exhibit at the Gagosian gallery”. Good news? Photographer wins.

Odds and Ends

Branding Do you brand? Do you think it’s important? Do you know what it is and how to do it? Do you want to? “Your brand is a promise to the client”. A few tips here on the subject.

WordPress Plugins WordPress is a great, great blogging platform. Virtually every “blogger” I know uses it. A few plugins here might be helpful to improve your photo blogsite. Which reminds me I need to install the Supercache plugin soon.

Artists and Facebook USA Today has a news article titled “Artists draw on Facebook to connect, or sell their work”. I wonder if next week they’ll have a scoop showing that chocolate tastes great. Seriously though, interesting article, looking at how something like the net is a boon for some artists, and a hassle for others.

AWARD WINNERS 2010 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medals were awarded by President Barack Obama. A list of winners is here. I’m jazzed that Sonny Rollins (pun intended) was awarded a medal, and also James Taylor, Quincy Jones, and Wendell Berry. Congrats to all the winners, what a great achievement and recognition.

Quote #2: “The creative person is both more primitive and more cultivated, more destructive, a lot madder and a lot saner, than the average person.” - Frank Barron.

Waste Land A documentary film following photographer Vic Muniz in Brazil. Muniz set out to change the lives of an impoverished group of self-assigned pickers of recyclable materials. “Creating portraits of the garbage pickers, selling them as high art, and giving all the money back to the community”.

Mount Blackburn at dawn. Winter photo, from Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Environmental Stuff

Tuamotu Kingfisher – less than 125 of these birds remain today, living on a tiny island in the South Pacific. “as a result of development and human-introduced”. A researcher is working with farmers and other island inhabitants to stem the extinction. At stake? “50,000 years of uniqueness and evolution”. An interesting approach. Article here.

The End of Overfishing? Article by By Michael Conathan, CAP’s Director of Ocean Programs. Suggests that climate change overrules managing proximate factors. We can tweak everything else, for sure, but at the end of the day, the climate will decide. Climate Progress is a great site.

Climate Change and the Russian boreal forest “The Great Russian forest is the size of the contiguous United States. It has experienced significant documented warming over the last several decades … tree species that are more tolerant of warmer weather are advancing northward at an increasing rate as species that are less tolerant to a warmer climate are declining in number.” Another article from Science Daily. For further reading, a look at how the Arctic Tundra might look before too long. Hank Shugart, professor of environmental sciences. “Warming creates more warming.”

What is Marine Wilderness? Article by ‘The WILD Foundation’, and a quick survey to take if you want, examining our precepts and notions on wilderness – and a question about marine wilderness. “Wilderness is what we believe it to be”. True? False?

Wolves and the ESA Recent action on the issue of Endangered Species Act listing of wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. “conservation groups and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DoI) reached a compromise to remove protections for the animals in two states”. Details here.

Trapped Alaska magazine editor Tim Woody writes a blog about finding a wolf in a trap on a recent trek near the Portage flats. It’s a dilemma; legally, one is not allowed to do anything in such a case. I’ve often wondered how I might response if I ever have the misfortune to come on such a scene.

Bison versus mammoths What caused the extinctions of so many species of enormous creatures in North America 10 000 years ago? “experts debate: climate change, overhunting by humans, disease—or something else? Eric Scott, suggests it was something else: namely, the immigration of bison from Eurasia.” Scientific American article here.

Lessons from a Calamity Bill McKibben may be the best of the current crop of environmental writers. Andy Revkin highlights recent articles by Bill McKibben and George Monbiot — both leading voices of environmentalism, on lessons we might learn from the tragedy in Japan. McKibben is fantastic.

Quote #3: “If you fall into the creeks up there while fishing you die dont you?” - internet question about Alaska.

That’s it til next month. Please do add anything you really enjoyed. The only qualifiers are that you must have actually read the article/watched the video/browsed the photo/s, AND thought the link actually worthwhile sharing. Put everything else on Twitter.

Thanks folks.

Cheers

Carl

Click This – March 2011

Carl D — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:37:55 +0000

Backcountry Skiing trip, Kuskulana River, Mt. Blackburn, winter, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks

The next of the monthly series for 2011. The biggest news, of course, in photography this month was the Oscars. I, of course, missed them. Again. Ahh well – there goes pop culture, I spose.

The next biggest piece of news is that I’ve been spending quite a bit of time out of town, tooling around in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, enjoying the mountains. A few days here, a few days there; beats the heck out of navigating the treacherous icy roads of Anchorage. And much more interesting than reading the news.

Below is what caught my eye this month. I’ve been in the mtns a bit, so might have missed some good stuff. Feel free to add your own stuff of note.

In no particular order:

Photography Stuff

Flickr Loses 4000 Photos. Popular photo hosting website, Flickr, screwed up and deleted over 4000 photos belonging to longtime account holder Mirco Wilhelm. “Wilhelm had e-mailed Flickr customer service about another user’s account which seemed to be packed with stolen photos — a violation of the site’s policies. In trying to delete that errant account, the Flickr employee accidentally nuked Wilhelm’s.”

Canon 200-400mm lens. One lens all my friends who shoot Canon gear have been lusting over for a long time, finally announced. A 200-400mm F4 lens – “Designed for Canon’s leading range of EOS Digital SLR cameras, the new lens will be an ideal addition for sports and wildlife photographers, offering exceptional flexibility with a built-in 1.4x extender that creates an increased focal range of 280 – 560mm.”. Have at it, folks, I’m sure this will be a popular piece of gear.

Extinct Species Photos. New York Times does a short slide show; “A Gallery of Species Lost and on the Brink”

Amazing Mountain Lions. How many wildlife photographers would love an image of a mountain lion? how about a photo with 8 mountain lions in it. All wild. Check this out.

Quote #1: “In the tension between light and dark is the power of the universes”. Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard.

Most Surprising Photos of 2010. TIME Magazine displays a great Photo Essay, 21 photos from 2010. Some great stuff. #5 will blow your mind. Yikes! #13 is pretty amazing as well.

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem A Photo Essay. – “a generally intact ecosystem; all the wild critters that were here a couple of centuries ago when Lewis and Clark passed through the Northern Rockies – wolves, grizzly bears, bison – are still here.” Dave Showalter has some nice stuff here, on the NRDC’s website. Good work.

American Pastoral. This is a must read. Mark Meyer, Alaska photographer, has an excellent piece here on a recently proposed bill in Florida by Florida Senator Jim Norman (R-Tampa) – the bill “would make it a first degree felony in the Sunshine State to make visual depictions of any property without written permission where agriculture operations are being conducted. Other first degree felonies in Florida are murder, rape, kidnapping, sexual battery, and child molestation. Burglary of an unoccupied structure and third degree grand theft are only third degree felonies.”

Aurora webcam. A webcam showing auroras. Useful tool for folks wanting to go out and maybe see or shoot the lights.

Facebook Changes. Recent (again) changes to Facebook are reviewed here on the Photo Editor website. As with everything to do with “the Face”, seems like every rose has its thorn.

Gave Our Kodachrome Away. Nothing lasts forever, not even those “nice bright colors”. Seems Dec 30 was the end of the line for this photography classic. There’s not a single place left to process Kodachrome film. “On Dec 30, 2010, Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kan. will stop processing Kodachrome”. I know, I know, it’s now March. So what?

Artists and Alchemists. Speaking of film, here’s a film about film. Seems a little over the top to me, from the trailer here, but I know some folks will be keen to see this film. “In this digital age, a growing number of artists are reviving 19th century techniques to create modern photographs. Artists & Alchemists is a feature length documentary that follows ten contemporary and renowned photographers employing antiquated photographic processes.”

Photo Tips. Bret Edge puts a nice post on his blog with some helpful reminders to improve our photos. Excellent advice. Nice discussion follows the blog. Sweep the edges of the frame!

Odds and Ends

Customizing Facebook Pages. This guy did it. Nice job, too. Photoshelter blog present Nathan Armes’ work on customizing his facebook page. Will be interesting to see if this catches on. Here’s Nathan’s Facebook page.

Gmail users Some helpful hacks and tips to make gmail even more user-friendly. Gmail is the bomb. With these tips and tricks, gmail rocks even harder. For example, a link to the official gmail keyboard shortcuts page. eg. Click ‘J’ to open or move your cursor to the next oldest conversation.

Quote #2: “In art as in life, form and subject, body and soul, are one.” – Ed Abbey.

Canabis and Psychosis. Scientific America publish an article about an upcoming paper; “This particular study found that marijuana use is associated with early development of psychosis.” Put the pipe down, kids.

Internet Explorer 9.0. Website updates all around, I suppose. What else can this mean? “Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 web browser goes live”? As someone doing my own website work, I shudder everytime I hear anything about Internet Explorer. I hope it dies a slow painful death.

Free Hugs. This is pretty cool; a moving video of people offering “Free hugs” around the world. Seriously folks – Watch this clip.

A cow moose, Alces alces, stands outside a house, Anchorage, Alaska, winter. I shot this leaning out the window, with a 12-24mm lens. That's up close to a moose.

Environmental Stuff

Extinctions lost. Interesting read (by Richard Conniff) on the science of species extinctions. We forget that only a short while ago people didn’t actually believe an entire species could be wiped off the earth’s face. I wonder if the remaining deniers of evolution are simply holdovers from this earlier idea.

Ocelot in Arizona. This is a cool story. An all too rare ocelot spotted (clever pun) in the Huachuca Mountains in southern Arizona. Now we just have to Arizona Fish and Game don’t kill it. Seriously, though, great news.

Wolverines and Climate Change. “The new study shows that climate change might endanger wolverines in the mainland U.S. by eliminating springtime snow and significantly increasing summer temperatures.” Article in Nat Geo on wolverines and climate change.

Serengeti Highway.“A proposed two-lane road across the northern edge of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania would block the migration of 1.5 million wildebeest and threaten endangered species, according to a leaked government report.” E360 Yale have the item here, with all the links you need to follow it up.

Orcas and Grey Whales. Heavy duty - “Up to a third of Eastern Pacific grey whale calves born each year are eaten by orcas that prowl the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula”. Orcas are amazing creatures – fascinating read.

Amur Tigers. Amur, or Siberian Tigers, are in a crisis, apparently. “The effective population of the critically endangered Amur tiger is now fewer than 14 animals, say scientists. — Approximately 500 Amur tigers actually survive in the wild, but the effective population is a measure of the genetic diversity of the world’s largest cat.” BBC Earth news.

Playing God. Peter Gleick writes, on the subject of intentionally permitting a species to go extinct if an argument can be made that it will somehow help other species survive; “killing off a species of animal, or bird, or fish in the name of economic gain is reasonable, including legislators trying to weaken or destroy the Endangered Species Act .. is a moral, ethical, and political outrage”. SFGate article.

“The Limits of Laws as a Conservation Tool” Andy Revkin replies to the above here. “it’s pretty clear that this century will, in many situations, unavoidably see a shift away from “saving” species to conserving ecological function and diversity.” Recommended reading.

EPA Considers Pebble Mine. At long last – “The federal Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that it will review the consequences of large-scale development projects, such as the proposed copper and gold Pebble mine, in the Bristol Bay watershed.” Good news but I doubt it’s good enough. Pebble Mine is a disaster waiting to happen – ADN article.

Gorilla Twins. More good news; “Twin mountain gorillas have been born in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda …. only the fifth set of twins ever recorded in the history of Rwanda’s mountain gorillas.” More importantly, apparently the population of this species is increasing, almost doubling in the last 30 years.

Cradle of Life. “Two dozen chemists, geologists, biologists, planetary scientists and physicists gathered here recently to ponder where and what Eden might have been”. Great article in the NYTimes.

Quote #3: Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” – Kahlil Gibran

That’s the news from here til next month. If you have any items you’d like to add below, please do so. The only qualifiers are that you must have actually read the article/watched the video/browsed the photo/s, AND thought the link actually worthwhile sharing. Put everything else on Twitter.

Thanks folks.

Cheers

Carl

Click this.

Carl D — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 03:27:45 +0000

Hey Folks

The first of the monthly series for 2011. In no particular order:

Photography Stuff

A Video by Frans Lanting. A short video presentation on his Life Project, and how the ‘biodiversity project’ for National Geographic led him there. Quite possibly the only photography related “news” you need to give your attention to. Amazing.

Animal Photos of the Year. The UK’s “The Telegraph” present 30 Photos of the year, in the category “Feeding and fighting”. The first image is fantastic. Check all the categories for some more cool photos.

Photos of the Year. Naturescapes.net presents their Photos of the Year Gallery. Some amazing images here, all of them. Justin Reznick’s Grand Teton image is superb. Congrats to everyone.

Quote #1: “Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

ANWR turns 50 Years old. And I’ll plug my own slideshow here. If you haven’t seen it, take a wander through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with this birthday tribute; 50 years since the establishment of the Refuge. Here’s to the next 50.

Photographers present their 2011 favorites. Jim Goldstein hosts the annual photo-pallooza, with well over hundred and fifty photographers offering their favorite images from the last year. Thanks to Jim for putting this together. Check out the work here.

Photography and Conservation. A video from the ILCIP, International League of Conservation Photographers. “In a new video documentary, some of the world’s foremost conservation photographers discuss the critical role photography plays in calling attention to threats faced by the natural world and in affecting global change.” Watch the Video documentary. “You really can’t have successful conservation without photography shining a light on it”.

Photography Business Plan. A helpful article on mapping out where you might want to head, starting now. Contrast this structured approach to the typical “let’s see what happens when we press this” strategy adopted by most “artist” types (yes, yes, yes, I know, gimmea break here, OK?) Start Your photo business plan for 2011.

Frog and a Snake. Of all the amazing images coming from the countless weather related madness around the world, this one is pretty wild. A frog hitches a ride on a the back of a brown snake to flee the flooding in Queensland, Australia.

Photo Editing Tips. Another article via Jim Goldstein’s blog, Experienced professional Gary Crabbe offers his advice on editing photos. A helpful read, well worth your time. Gary’s really someone to learn from, so this article is full of useful tips.

Aperture Blog. Aperture users would do well to subscribe to this great blog. With a new look, it’s a great site.

Nature’s Best Magazine. 2010 Winners published in Nature’s Best Magazine. Windland Smith Rice International Award Winners. Some wonderful photography here, of course. Look for Bence Máté’s Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird and Green Pit Viper – stunning shot.

Meditation and the Brain. Not directly “photography” related, but I’m sure the findings would be very similar had they studied making art. “an 8-week meditation course leads to structural changes in the brain”. Short article from Scientific America.

Odds and Ends

We are Cyborgs now. Technology is evolving us, says Amber Case, as we become a screen-staring, button-clicking new version of homo sapiens. Amber Case studies the symbiotic interactions between humans and machines — and considers how our values and culture are being shaped by living lives increasingly mediated by high technology. Good, short presentation.

Google and Bing? Who’s copying who? Google says Bing is “cheating, copying our search results”. Perhaps what’s most disturbing is Bing’s response, in the article: “Bing has been watching what people search for on Google, the sites they select from Google’s results, then uses that information to improve Bing’s own search listings. Bing doesn’t deny this.”

Quote #2: “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” – Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

Science and People. Are we hard-wired to distrust science? “The absence of scientific evidence doesn’t dissuade those who believe childhood vaccines are linked to autism, or those who believe their headaches, dizziness and other symptoms are caused by cellphones and smart meters. And the presence of large amounts of scientific evidence doesn’t convince those who reject the idea that human activities are disrupting the climate.” This is a pretty interesting article, read it here.

Facebook Ads are up. Facebook continue to spread the word, and make every single word you utter someone else’s spam. Now they’ve “introduced a new advertising vehicle called Sponsored Stories, which takes all those shared “likes,” check-ins and other actions that are already being posted by you and your friends and turns it into a paid ad.” The folks at Facebook say who tested this out said ”it helped with brand identification and retention.” Seems like there’s no end to this stuff. Full article.

2010 Tops off a hot decade. And yet the deniers continue. “Topping off the warmest decade in history, 2010 experienced a global average temperature of 14.63 degrees Celsius (58.3 degrees F), tying 2005 as the hottest year in 131 years of recordkeeping.” From the Earth Policy Institute.

Winter on the Kuskulana River, Kuskulana Gorge, near the McCarthy Road, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. During the summer this river rages a dirty silty brown, a seething torrent of dirty water. At the lower water levels of winter, it becomes a beautiful turquoise. Fantastic place.

Environmental Stuff

Wilderness Debate. Is it jobs versus preservation, of jobs versus jobs? “For years, colleagues in the outdoor industry have recognized the tired, old sound-bite debate of “jobs vs. preservation” as overlooking the 6.5 million Americans whose jobs are created by the active outdoor recreation economy. It is as if the $730 billion contributed to the American economy annually did not exist”. A nice article by Black Diamond Equipment CEO Peter Metcalf.

Doug Peacock on Grizzlies. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, “Peacock talks about why the demise of white-bark pine will lead to more contacts between grizzlies and people, why the grizzly needs to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, and how witnessing the bear in the wild helped restore his spirit after his tour as a Green Beret medic in Vietnam”. Doug Peacock’s awesome. Check this interview out.

Durrell’s vontsira (Salanoia durrelli) Welcome to the world. Scientists “discover” the Newest Member of the Order Carnivora in 24 years. A mongoose-like creature in Madagascar. Of course “the creature may not be long for this world: much of its wetland habitat has been drained to grow rice”.

Conservation Biology. A great article focusing on climate change and conservation, looking closely at the National Parks and particularly Yellowstone. “As ecologists scramble to predict changes, park managers are gearing up for a new management style, which will have to include at least one of two approaches traditionally anathema to the profession: letting things change, or intervening aggressively to keep them the same. In many cases, choosing between these strategies will be the challenge.”

The World’s Newest Cat. Scientists have determined that the Clouded Leopard actually exists in 2 distinct forms, or species. “This big cat is so enigmatic that researchers only realised it was a new species – distinct from clouded leopards living elsewhere in Asia – in 2007. The first footage of the cat in the wild to made public was only released last year”. Pretty cool article here, with a video.

Polar Bear’s Epic swim. “A polar bear swam continuously for over nine days, covering 687km (426 miles), a new study has revealed … researchers say that increased sea ice melts push polar bears to swim greater distances, risking their own health and future generations. …. “This bear swam continuously for 232 hours and 687 km and through waters that were 2-6 degrees C,” says research zoologist George M. Durner.

High school biology teachers and evolution. This is disturbing. “The central theory of biology is evolution, yet a new study shows that most high school biology teachers are reluctant to endorse it in class. .. about 60 percent, “fail to explain the nature of scientific inquiry, undermine the authority of established experts, and legitimize creationist arguments.” I wonder if math teachers resist teaching pythagorean theory?

Shark-eating Orcas. Wow! Fascinating read (and yes, I agree SA shouldn’t have called Orcas “Whales” – they’re dolphins) … ”one type of killer whale, or orca, has been found to dine on an unusual dish: shark. But these ‘offshore’ killer whales of the northeastern Pacific pay a high price for their tough-skinned preference — their teeth become worn right down to the gums”. 2 of the 3 well-studied northeastern Pacific orca have been known since the 1970s: One, the ‘residents’ eat fish, and the others, the ‘transients’, eat marine mammals, like sea lions. The 3rd, known as ‘offshore orcas’ “were first identified in the late 1980s, but what they prefer to eat has been a mystery up to now.”

Quote #3: “The difference between pornography and erotica is lighting.” - Gloria Leonard

Thanks folks.

Cheers

Carl

50th Anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Carl D — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 14:00:52 +0000

Hey Folks,

December 6, 2010, marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, in Alaska. To commemorate this, and as a tribute to an amazing place, I’ve put together this slide show; 50 photos to mark the 50 years. These are all images from the Refuge, over 19 million acres of wild lands. The refuge is a treasure, home to thousands of creatures and features; the caribou herds, the Brooks Mountains, the broad coastal plain, migratory birds and countless other gifts to this world. A beautiful landscape that warrants our respect, not our exploitation.

I selected the images to present a the diversity of features and creatures that call the Refuge home, and composed and recorded the music to accompany it. I hope you enjoy it.

If you have a nice, large computer screen and broadband connection, what I REALLY recommend you do is go to my page on Exposure Room.com and click the ‘HD’ button underneath the thumbnail. You can watch and listen to this video in full HD resolution, at 720 x 1280. It’ll take a moment to load, but is (hopefully) well worth the time.

Happy Birthday ANWR – and cheers to many, many more.

Visit the wild.

Cheers

More Stuff To Click On

Carl D — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 07:24:47 +0000

Morning in the Wrangell Mountains

Hey Folks,

‘Stuff to Click On’; videos, photos, articles, quotes, etc .. stuff that caught my eye during the month. If you missed last month’s posting, you can read it here.

In following up from last month’s comments, I guess one of the things I get frustrated about with the “Social Media” whirlwind is the barrage of cr** that folks seem to love to scatter all over the internet. Jeff Sweat, writing for the Huffington Post, says “It’s as if you’re trying to feed someone by shooting pieces of a sandwich — bread, tomatoes, meat — past their head at 90 miles an hour. And half of the things flying by them aren’t even food, they’re garbage. Or toasters. The odds of someone eating your sandwich are pretty slim.” Note to Twitter users; just because it landed in your feed is no reason to pass it on. It reminds me of those emailers we all seem to have in our address book, who pass along every single joke/cartoon/touching story of faith, etc that comes their way. People, please stop.

An example? Here, look at this article on the Huffington Post. The title of that page is “21 Insanely Gorgeous Valleys Around The World (PHOTOS)”. How about “21 Insanely Mediocre Photos”? We kind of expect this from the news media, I suppose, as they strive to sell advertisements. But friends on Twitter, Facebook, etc, etc .. let’s not stoop to that. You love it, post it and say so. If not, don’t regurgitate drivel.

Photography Stuff

Take a LOT of Photos. Chase Jarvis is a good photographer, and a great blogger. This article, inspired by a great book, “Art and Fear”, is a good read for any serious photographer. As is the book, Art and Fear; Check it out. And add Chase’s blog to your RSS Feed or newsreader.

Nikon Gear Guides. Here’s a nice new addition; Nikon USA have a new section of their pro-website; “Technical guides that cover practical know-how and usage tips for professional photographers who use Nikon cameras, NIKKOR lenses and accessories”. This info is NOT in their manuals, and is much more relevant and helpful. Technical Solutions.

Quite the Climbers. Take a look at this mountain goat, in Joel Sartore’s photo, published in National Geographic magazine’s recent article on migrations. It should be photo #8 in the thumbnails. Now THAT’S some serious climbing action. No ropes.

Quote #1: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein

Joel Sartore Interiew. Nature Photographers Network Editor-in-Chief Richard Bernabe interviews National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore. They discuss various nature photography subjects, but focus on Joel’s latest project, a book called “Rare: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species”. “Let’s save endangered species simply because we care … Do we want to save species and habitats, or do we want to simply pave over and sterilize as much as we can in the name of economics?” Joel’s a great photographer, and this interview is a nice read.

Wolverine – Chasing the Phantom. A PBS special documentary on the mythical Wolverine. the entire rogram is available online. “A wolverine patrols an area about 500 sq miles”. That’s an enormous home range. “This episode of NATURE takes viewers into the secretive world of the largest and least known member of the weasel family, revealing it to be one of the most efficient and resourceful carnivores on Earth”.

Life Unseen: Images of Magnificent Microscopic Landscapes Check out this year’s winning micro-imaging entries from the Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Contest. Some simply amazing photographs. Slideshow.

Crocodiles and elephants. A crocodile leaps from the water and grabs … wait for it …. an elephant’s trunk. A tug-of-war follows. Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park.

Here are the Winners! ….. of the 2010 National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest, that is. Take a look over the winning photos from this contest, some amazing images here. David Mitchell’s shot from the Alabama coast in the gulf oil mess is incredible.

More amazing images. Photos entered into the still to be decided National Geographic Photo Contest. Deadline = Nov 30. A selection of 47 of those images posted online at the Boston Globe.

Nature Photographers Head to Bosque. Naturescapes Photography Series: Bosque del Apache, New Mexico. Join Greg Downing, along with Deborah Sandidge and Tim Grey for a nature photography extravaganza this December, at Bosque del Apache, New Mexico. That’s gotta be a blast to attend.

Banff Film Festival. .. and the winner is ….. Mi Chacra! The film, by Jason Burlage, follows “a young indigenous Peruvian man (Feliciano) who has lived his entire life, but for a few brief months, in a small farming village in the mountains above the Sacred Valley. .. Framed by the seasons, the film chronicles a year in the young man’s life, from planting to the harvest, and through a season of work as a porter on the Inca Trail.” 3 other winners from the Banff Film Festival include Eastern Rises (a fishing adventure and misadventure in Kamchatka, Russia) Crossing the Ditch (Aussie kayakers attempt to paddle the Tasman Sea) and A Life Ascending (documentary film about mountain guide Ruedi Beglinger). Fire up your Netflix list!

Earth as Art. Some very cool Landsat images from the U.S. Geological Survey; a colorful and striking portrait of the Earth’s land and sea surfaces as seen from space.

Odds and Ends

Uh Oh! Apparently Facebooking, low self-esteem and narcissism are linked. “Soraya Mehdizadeh .. discovered narcissists and people with lower self-esteem were more likely to spend more than an hour a day on Facebook and were more prone to post self-promotional photos ….” Ouch!!! Scientific American article.

What Happened to Downtime? A nice article by Scott Belsky on the pervasive, indeed invasive, nature of modern technology, and what it means for our ‘sacred space’, distraction free time. Scott offers a cursory examination of where this kind of incessant influx of media might lead us, as well as a way to power off and listen to ourselves. Excellent article and advice for those interested in creativity (and who wouldn’t be?).

Quote #2: “Writing songs is like capturing birds w/o killing them. Sometimes you end up with nothing but a mouthful of feathers.” – Tom Waits.

The Creative Pause. Linked from Scott’s article above, this piece by Cameron Moll, titled Why thinking in the shower may be an ideal model for “creative pause” is itself worthy of note. “Let’s be honest: Who doesn’t profit from thinking in the shower?” Cameron’s discussion in this article is 100% on the money, in my experience anyway. “How do you achieve creative pause?” is an excellent question. Give it some time.

Biking as Art. Sometimes a piece of art just stands out and stays with me. Check out Danny MacSkill, a near-legend on a bicycle. Treat yourself well – load up the full-screen version of this HD version of Danny’s latest video, turn up the sound, and enjoy some magic. Danny’s a legend, and this may be his best video yet. The music, the photography; the whole thing is just fantastic; the riding is absolutely extraordinary. This is awesome.

2 young grizzly bear adults play fighting in a river, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Environmental Stuff

Are Polar Bears More Than Threatened? New research suggests polar bears will adapt to climate changes and find new food sources, rather than face imminent starvation and extirpation. “Climate change driven advances in the date of sea ice breakup will increasingly lead to a loss of spring polar bear foraging opportunities on ringed seal pups creating a phenological trophic ‘mismatch’. However, the same shift will lead to a new ‘match’ between polar bears and ground nesting birds.” The published report is here. At the same time the US F&WS announced the final ruling for polar bear critical habitat …“geographic areas containing features considered essential for the conservation of the bear that require special management or protection.” The listing includes nearly 190 000 sq miles.

A Gaggle of Scientists Gather. ” … hundreds of members of the American Geophysical Union are forming a rapid-response team aiming to challenge disinformation and misinformation deployed in the policy wars over global warming.” One wonders, of course, what took so long. Andrew Revkin’s DOT Earth column is always a good read. He discusses this issue at length, including snippets of interviews and responses from some of the scientists involved.

Bluefin Tuna and the Free Market. Argue for a ‘free market’? Browse this report. This is what happens when oversight is missing. A 7 month long investigation shows ” …. the system failed at every point. It failed in that vessels were overfishing and that officials were turning a blind eye to that overfishing for years.” Populations of Atlantic tuna, which is prized for sushi, have dropped by 75 percent over the last four decades, with half of that loss happening between 1997 and 2007, according ICCAT data”. As a follow up to this, unfortunately, “France, Spain and other Mediterranean nations forced the European Union to retreat Thursday from an ambitious plan to save the threatened and prized bluefin tuna.” EU retreat.

Killed – 100 Tigers Each Year. A frightening report on the illegal trade in tiger parts. Excuse me? WTF is a “tiger part”? This study suggests as many as 1200 tigers slaughtered purely to supply folks with “tiger parts”. Horrific stuff. “A century ago there were around 100,000 wild Tigers; today the figure is believed to be as few as 3,200.” Read Traffic International’s press release here. On the upside, those same folks trading ‘tiger parts’ had a meeting and “officials from 13 nations agreed Tuesday on a program to double the population of the big cat by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger under the Chinese zodiac”. Article.

Bird Beak Deformities. USGS scientists publish a Press Release suggesting an epidemic, called “avian keratin disorder”, in some Pacific Northwest and Alaska bird populations. The exact cause is unknown, but the issue could well suggest a wider environmental problem. The studies yielded the highest rate ever recorded in wild bird populations of beak abnormalities. “We’re seeing ecologically unique species affected across a wide range of habitats. The scope of this problem raises concern about environmental factors in the region”. The published reports can be found here: Beak Deformities in Northwestern Crows and Widespread Beak Deformities in Resident Species.

Quote #3: “The line between use and misuse, between objectification and celebration, is fine indeed.” – Gary Snyder, “Practice of the Wild”.

That’s the news from here til next month. If you have any items you’d like to add below, please do so. The only qualifiers are that you must have actually read the article/watched the video/browsed the photo/s, AND thought the link actually worthwhile sharing. Put everything else on Twitter.

Thanks folks.

Cheers

Carl

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Carl D — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:39:39 +0000

A small bloom of Arctic Lupine in the Brooks Mountain Range catch last light of the summer day. Land of the midnight sun, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, in arctic Alaska where the coastal plain meet the Brooks Mountain Range. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Another photo from the Brooks Range, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Back in September the US F&WS (Fish and Wildlife Service) announced, as part of their Comprehensive Conservation Plan, that “the Service will conduct wilderness reviews for three Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) for potential inclusion within the National Wilderness Preservation System. These three WSAs encompass almost all refuge lands not currently designated as wilderness”. This is good news. I’ll reiterate my favorite part of the quote: “These three WSAs encompass almost all refuge lands not currently designated as wilderness“.

There are numerous steps involved, and, if recommended by the US F&WS, approval is required by the Dept Director, the Secretary of the Interior, and the President. Then, the final decision lies with the US Congress; the actual authority to designate land as ‘wilderness’.

It’s almost comical, really; such a rigorous and formalized process to meander through in order to deem lands “wild”. Implicit in the word wild is ‘free will’ – yet not quite so wild as to be free of the rigmarole of official procedure, of course.

Anyone who suggests the 19 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge isn’t a wilderness either hasn’t been there or is simply in denial. Perhaps I could say it more clearly this way; if the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge doesn’t qualify for ‘wilderness designation’, then we might as well remove that term from our vocabulary. Surely there is no place more deserving of such designation than the Refuge?

The “wilderness reviews” should be completed by Feb 2011, which will be followed by a released draft, more public comment, more revisions, and hopefully, a final plan and recommendation in May 2012. Apparently wilderness takes careful planning and review; it’s not simply created overnight.

A reminder that Dec 06, 2010, marks the coming anniversary of the establishment of the Refuge; I’m working on a little project for it, and should have it online soon. Stand warned.

Cheers

Carl