Solutions and Abundance

When I post these articles for everyone to read, my intention is to empower and to send a message of hope. There is too much sadness in the world for those of us who know we're responsible for global warming, too much fear of the future.
I've always been a nature girl, from my very first memories as a child. When I was ten years old I read about the greenhouse effect theory, and it seemed like science fiction. Back then we were in the throes of the Regan Administration, and all the efforts from the previous years to curb pollution, protect endangered species, and save for the future had been thrown out the window in favor of boosting the economy. I didn't know the politics at the time, of course. But I remember there being this sort of stigma against people who wanted to protect the environment. It was the uncool thing to do, even amongst my young classmates.
Now times have changed, and I'm able to count myself among the cool people all of the sudden. My business is so happening it's almost running away with me. People are waking up and realizing that we really have to do something to save the planet, and there is a renewed sense that the natural environment is sacred.
And then they despair. There is so much work we have to do to make that difference, and so many other people out there to convince that everything has to change. We humans are not so good at changing the way we think. We like the latest inventions and the coolest new toys. But the thought of the changes to our environment, like the loss of all the megafauna we love, the polar bears and whales, is heartbreaking.
I hope that my message to you all out there is clear, that we need not despair. Change is always happening, and there will be surprises out there to balance the losses we face. Solutions will come from unexpected places. There is fear we may lose our favorite faces from the arctic, and there may some day be no tigers left in the world. I hope to never see this, and that we can prevent so much loss. But I believe that for every lost creature comes the opportunity for another new one to emerge to takes its place, and some day there will be an explosion of beautiful new organisms we never dreamed possible. When there is too much of something on the planet we call it abundance. Nature flourishes on abundance, and finds a way to use it. It part of the natural checks and balances of the planet. Global warming is, to put it quite simply, an abundance of CO2. It's a matter of time before we figure out how to use this, and we will find an answer. It will take courage and perserverance, but the world will recover.

Animal drama in your own backyard

Ever watch those nature shows where the lion is eating the dead carcass of a wildebeast? Ever root for the leopard when she chases down the antelope on the dry plains of Africa? Well then you'd understand when I get excited about the struggle for life in my own garden world. Check it out this season- the predation of aphids by ferocious creatures.
In the spring, aphids come out of dormancy and seek the growing tips of new leaves and flower buds to suck out nutrients. They reproduce very quickly, are asexual, and can reproduce before reaching adulthood, where their plump globular bodies become sleek and they grow gossamer wings. They can decimate your garden with their voraciousness, so get out the bugspray.
That's what most folks do, is reach for the spray. But before you do, know that these tiny sucking creatures are the cows, the antelopes, and the rabbits of the insect world, and everybody else out there loves to eat them. Their predators are a group known as the beneficial insects- the ladybugs, lacewings, soldier beetles, syrphid flies, and parasitic wasps. These beneficials reproduce slowly and need a food source to be attracted to the plants, so if you kill everyone by spraying a pesticide, you give the aphids an unfair advantage, and create a lot of followup spraying time for yourself.
So next time you're out there in the garden and you see the tips of your roses covered in aphids, look a little closer for the predators, and let them do all the work!
Check out the Best Pest site I know- UC Extension IPM

The Argument Against Killing Non-Natives

I've been working on thesis that flies in the face of all the native plant advocates out in Marin county. We have a battle brewing here over the use of chemicals to maintain the native forests in Marin County, and I think they are throwing their money in the wrong place when they support removing invasive species such as Scotch broom from Mt. Tamalpais.
My argument is a work in progress, and if the mere suggestion of letting the invasives stay makes you question my credibility, check out this link to audio casts at Science Friday from scientists that predict novel and dissappearing climates by the year 2100.
According to ecologist Stephen Jackson at University of Wyoming, Laramie, we can expect that as temperatures rise, entire plant communities will dissappear and new ones will emerge in their places, ones we've never seen before. He uses an example that the tropical rainforests are the hottest, wettest places on Earth, but may increase in intensity as things heat up. Until new communities emerge, there may be wholesale die-off of native species, with nothing taking their place for centuries.
When I think of this, I can only picture our beautiful Redwoods, (Sequioa sempervirens) and how their range has shrunk over millenia, until all that reamins of this majestic habitat is their little stronghold on the Pacific North Coast. Will they make it into the next century with temperatures rising? If not, will there be anyone to take their place?