Forests are very important habitat.

The third type of forest in New York State is the Oak-Hickory Forest. It lives primarily about across one-fifth of the land of the state and just beyond the coastal forest.

The trees found in this forest are:

Northern Red Oak and the Southern Red Oak

Black Oak 

Scarlet Oak 

White Oak

Chestnut Oak

Shumard Oak

Pignut Hickory

Mockernut Hickory

Bitternut Hickory

American Chestnut (understory)

Flowering Dogwood

Sassafras

Haphornbeam

Hackberry

Green Hawthorn

The plight of diminishing numbers within the climate crisis has many variables.

Cowbird (click here) moms pay attention to the size of eggs in the nests they choose for egg-laying, a new study finds. Inset: Two cowbird eggs in the nest of a northern cardinal, with two (larger) eggs of its own.

The cowbirds are only one reason for diminishing numbers of birds. It adds stress to other female birds and bird behavior is unpredictable.

...Rather than spending any time building a nest for her eggs, (click here) the female cowbird puts all of her energy into producing eggs and does so at the rate of up to three dozen in a single summer. When she is ready to lay her eggs, she begins to look for nests that other birds have constructed (or have already constructed). When the host bird is not at the nest, the female cowbird slips in and pushes one of the eggs out of the nest and replaces it with her own, referred to as "nest parasitism". The baby cowbird is often raised by the unsuspecting host bird, who becomes a foster parent through no fault of her own.

Should the host bird destroy the cowbird's egg, the cowbird will often retaliate by destroying the entire nest in what many people have referred to as "mafia behavior."...

Food sources for birds may be finite in any specific community. Imagine robins hatching six eggs a season opposed to twelve eggs by the Cowbirds, who is going to survive more often in any season?

Cowbirds are not the first thing I look for when bird numbers trend down in numbers, there are food sources and habitat changes to examine, but, if there is a population of Cowbirds, that could be the problem.

They have exquisite coloring.

The Eastern Towhee (click here) (formerly called the Rufous-sided Towhee) is a declining species that inhabits dense, low, shrubby edge habitat in the Hudson Valley.

Conservation Status Throughout its range, the Eastern Towhee has experienced major population declines during the past 30 years, particularly in the northeastern portion of the range. However, it is not listed as Endangered or Threatened by New York and is not found on the Audubon WatchList. Partners in Flight lists it is as a Species of Regional Concern in Bird Conservation Regions (BCR)13, 14, 28, and 30, and of Continental and Regional Stewardship in BCR 28. Breeding Bird Survey results for New York State reflect a drastic decline over the last four decades. Breeding Bird Atlas data show a reduced distribution in the Hudson River Valley....

Eastern Towhees (click here) usually nest on the ground, the nest cup sunk into the fallen leaves up to the level of the rim.

Only the female towhee builds the nest.

Eastern Towhees are common victims of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird (click here). Towhees, unlike some other birds, show no ability to recognize or remove the imposter’s eggs.

This is the Rufous-sided Towhee ( Pipilo erythrophthalmus) of New York State. They like Huckleberries.

This film was captured in Rockefeller State Park (click here)

Steve, a new phenomena discovered by citizen scientists.

December 11, 2019
By Wendy Weisberger

San Francisco - An oddball sky glow (click here) endearingly named "Steve" captivated aurora chasers from the moment they first spotted and photographed the unique light display over Canada in 2016. 

Steve somewhat resembled an aurora, but its sky-climbing ribbons and ladders of purple and green light were distinctly different in shape and behavior from those produced by a typical aurora.

Since then, Steve has intrigued not only hobbyist skygazers but also astronomers from NASA — and filmmakers, too. "Chasing Steve," a new documentary that was screened Dec. 9 at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), highlights the efforts of citizen scientists and researchers alike, as they race to capture Steve's unearthly beauty and define the electromagnetic forces that shape it.

"We were so taken with this really great story," said Leah Mallen, who co-produced and co-directed the film with Jess Fraser. "This advancement of digital photography really allowed for new types of aurora photography to be introduced. People had longer exposures, higher resolution; people who were hobbyists were taking things to a new level," Mallen told Live Science....

"Chasing Steve: (click here)

Kalmia latifolia leaves. 

Evergreen.

Narrowly elliptical or lance-shaped, hard whiteish point at tip, without teeth, thick and stiff leaves.

Dull dark green above and yellow-green beneath.

Sheep Laurel with evergreen leaves.

Africa is probably the least understood continent in all matters.

February 27, 2017

...In recent years, (click here) the Sahel has been in the global spotlight due to famines, religious terrorism, anti-state rebellions, and arms, drugs and human trafficking. These developments are the product of both local and global dynamics. They remain substantial challenges for the region in 2017....

15 December 2019

The African continent will be hardest hit by climate change. (cilck here)

There are four key reasons for this:

- First, African society is very closely coupled with the climate system; hundreds of millions of people depend on rainfall to grow their food

- Second, the African climate system is controlled by an extremely complex mix of large-scale weather systems, many from distant parts of the planet and, in comparison with almost all other inhabited regions, is vastly understudied. It is therefore capable of all sorts of surprise.

- Third, the degree of expected climate change is large. The two most extensive land-based end-of-century projected decreases in rainfall anywhere on the planet occur over Africa; one over North Africa and the other over southern Africa

- Finally, the capacity for adaptation to climate change is low; poverty equates to reduced choice at the individual level while governance generally fails to prioritise and act on climate change....

...In southern Africa we are seeing a delay in the onset and a drying of early summer rains, which is predicted to worsen in forthcoming decades.

Temperatures there are predicted to rise by five degrees or more, particularly in the parts of Namibia, Botswana and Zambia that are already intolerably hot....

From the Hoover Institute:

January 14, 2019
By Mark Giordano and Elisabeth Bassini

Acutely malnourished child, Sacdiyo Mohamad, is treated at Banadir Hospital... (click here) 

Africa is often described as the continent most at risk (click here) to the negative effects of climate change, both because of the expected change itself and because of the perceived lack of capacity of Africans and their governments to adapt. This paper provides an overview of what is known and unknown about Africa’s climate future and examines how possible changes may challenge four critical and inter-related areas: agriculture, health, migration, and conflict.

A primary conclusion is that our understanding of climate change in Africa is disturbingly poor as a result of gaping holes in historic data availability, the complicated nature of climate processes affecting tropical regions in general and Africa in particular and the severe underrepresentation of climate research and researchers on Africa. There is nonetheless broad consensus that temperatures will rise faster than global averages, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) base scenario projecting an increase of about 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, though there is little agreement on how that change will impact precipitation. As an example, models using differing but plausible assumptions about the interrelations between Africa’s climate and the melting of the Greenland ice sheet on one hand and trends in sea surface temperature on the other can produce scenarios in which rainfall in the Sahel increases 200–300 percent from current levels or falls to desert conditions. What does seem certain is that variability in timing and quantity of rainfall will increase with significant social consequences....

The Heath family (click here) is as exciting to know as blueberries and huckleberries (Vaccinium). This family includes mostly shrubs (some herbs and trees) with usually alternate, often evergreen leaves. The plants typically grow in poor, acidic soils or bogs. The bisexual and regular or nearly regular flowers typically have 5 sepals united at the base and 5 usually united petals (sometimes 4 of each or rarely more or less), often in a bell shape and white to pink or red in color. Expect to find the same number or twice as many stamens as petals. The ovary is positioned either superior or inferior and consists of usually 5 (sometimes 4, and rarely more or less) united carpels with the partition walls present, forming an equal number of chambers. It matures as a capsule, a berry, or rarely as a drupe (a fleshy fruit with a stony pit).

Native to the USA are about 1500 species, mostly shrubs, but, 15 native trees.

      Worldwide there are about 126 genera and 4,000 species. Taxonomists have expanded the family to include the Pyrola and Indian Pipe families as subfamilies of the Heath family. In addition, the Crowberry family has been folded into this family as a tribe of the Heath subfamily.

Greta Thunberg's future is in good hands and it is more than prayers.

15 December 2019
By Rob Davies

An investment fund representing 9,000 nuns (click here) has criticised the multitrillion-dollar investment group BlackRock for failing to combat the climate crisis.

The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas called on the world’s largest asset manager, which has $7tn (£5.25tn) of assets, to use its clout to coax companies into moving faster to reduce emissions.

The intervention, via their Mercy Investment Services fund, adds to mounting pressure on globally powerful asset owners to think more radically on climate issues.

Mercy Investment Services filed a joint shareholder motion with a group of investors before BlackRock’s annual meeting.

“We believe it is BlackRock’s fiduciary responsibility to review how climate change quantitatively impacts […] portfolio companies, evaluate how specific shareholder resolutions on climate may impact shareholder value, and vote accordingly,” the group said....

The taxonomy above genus and species is Family.

To a silviculturist or a botanist, an evergreen is relating to or denoting a plant that retains green leaves throughout the year.

Simple. 

An evergreen in the world of plants is forever green. It encompasses many genus and species. In this case, the Family is Ericaceae

Whereas conifers (click here) predominate in the canopy of our forests, members of the heath family dominate the understory of our forests, our wetlands, and alpine regions.  This large family of plants lives in almost every part of the world.  The petals of ericaceous flowers are fused at the base, usually forming a tube.  They are usually pollinated by hummingbirds, bees and other insects.  Most ericaceous plants are found in acidic, humusy soil and often depend upon fungal mycorrhiza for successful growth.  Many genera are important in the field of horticulture.

Poland's first wind farm.

December 13, 2019

On 10 December,2019 Equinor (click here) completed the acquisition of a 50% interest in the offshore wind development project Bałtyk I in Poland from Polenergia. The company now has an interest in all three Bałtyk offshore wind development projects (MFW Bałtyk III, MFW Bałtyk II i MFW Bałtyk I.).

“The acquisition of Baltyk I strengthens our presence in the Baltic Sea area. With interest in all three – Baltyk I, II and III projects, we have the opportunity to build scale and value in what we see as an important energy region,” says Jens Økland, Senior vice president for business development in New energy solutions in Equinor.

The Bałtyk I offshore location license allows for a development of a wind farm with a capacity up to 1560MW of which Equinor will hold 50%. Equinor will be the manager for the construction preparation and the potential construction and operational phases.

It was in 2018 that Equinor acquired a 50% interest in the offshore wind development projects Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III which have a combined planned capacity of 1,440 MW with the potential to power more than two million Polish households. Later that year, Equinor decided to exercise an option to acquire a 50% interest in the Bałtyk I offshore wind development project, and this transaction is now concluded....

Kalmia angustifolia

Sheep Laural also is known as Lambkill is a shrub in coastal New York. Isn't it a really cool looking flower?

The shrub itself is an evergreen.

Your vision of how other Kalmia (click here) look may influence you to envision a much different plant than this radically different Kalmia with blue-green, almost needle-like evergreen foliage that forms a much smaller, low, dense shrub at maturity. Sheep Laurel's closest match for looks might be a mature Rosemary plant with similar size and texture making it perfect in a small garden or rock garden. This Kalmia produces small rose-pink flowers from June into July that are set off perfectly by its foliage color. One of the hardiest plants in cultivation, it performs best in moist well-drained soils with light shade as its preferred exposure and is a great addition to the native shade garden.

It's Sunday Night

"Sheep" by Pink Floyd (click here for Pink Floyd The Later Years website)

Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away
Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air
You better watch out
There may be dogs about
I've looked over Jordan, and I have seen
Things are not what they seem

What do you get for pretending the danger's not real
Meek and obedient, you follow the leader
Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel
What a surprise!
A look of terminal shock in your eyes
Now things are really what they seem
No, this is no bad dream

(stone, stone, stone...)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by
With bright knives He releaseth my soul
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places
He converteth me to lamb cutlets
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger
When cometh the day we lowly ones
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication
Master the art of karate
Lo, we shall rise up
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water

Bleating and babbling we fell on his neck with a scream
Wave upon wave of demented avengers
March cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream
Have you heard the news?
The dogs are dead!
You better stay home
And do as you're told
Get out of the road if you want to grow old

If there had to be an uplifting moment on this day for Newtown, this is it. Congratulations, Nighthawks.

December 14, 2019

The Newtown High School football team (click here) won its first state championship in 27 years Saturday night. And the Nighthawks did it in the most memorable and emotional manner imaginable, capping a fourth-quarter comeback with a 36-yard touchdown as time expired to beat Darien 13-7 in for the Class LL title — on the seventh anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

On a night so foggy it was hard to see across the field at Trumbull High School, quarterback Jack Street hit Riley Ward for a touchdown to tie the game at seven with seven minutes remaining.

After forcing a turnover on downs, Newtown took over at its own 32-yard-line with less than a minute left and orchestrated one of the most memorable drives in school history....

Thank you Minority Leader Schumer. The trial should be a complete accounting of the facts.

McConnell will be acting against his oath of office if he simply discharges the trial as a joke. McConnell thinks the Democrats are going to lie down and die at his insistence. From the statement by Minority Leader Schumer, the trial will proceed with a full complement of witnesses.

That may mean all the current proceedings in the courts regarding these people might have to reach a conclusion, unless, Chief Justice Roberts orders them to testify at the trial.

The American people deserve to have their country safe from those that abuse the offices they hold. The Impeachment Trial in the US Senate needs to be complete and not full of half-truths.

December 15, 2019
By Lauren Fox

To the right John Bolton (click here).
Senate Minority Leader Chuck 

Schumer (click here) made it clear in a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Sunday night that he prefers a Senate impeachment trial with witness testimony and new documents, a direct rebuttal to top Republicans who have argued in recent days that a shorter trial without witnesses would spare the Senate from becoming a partisan circus.

To the right Robert Blair (click here).

In the letter obtained by CNN, Schumer, a New York Democrat, called for at least four witnesses to testify, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former national security adviser John Bolton, senior adviser to the acting White House chief of staff Robert Blair and Office of Management and Budget official Michael Duffey.

"We believe all of this should be considered in one resolution. The issue of witnesses and documents, which are the most important issues facing us, should be decided before we move forward with any part of the trial," Schumer wrote in the letter, adding that he would be "open to hearing the testimony of additional witnesses."

The letter comes just days ahead of the House's expected vote to impeach President Donald Trump, which would set up a trial in the Senate....'


November 19, 2019
By Brian Bennett

It was mid-May, (click here) days before the inauguration of Ukraine’s newly elected president, and President Donald Trump’s Acting Chief of Staff seemed unusually interested in the guest list. As the White House finalized which U.S. officials would attend the event, National Security Advisor John Bolton kept taking E.U. Ambassador Gordon Sondland off its list, and Mick Mulvaney’s office kept adding him back on.

Mulvaney’s insistence on Sondland’s attendance at the inauguration surprised Fiona Hill, the National Security Council’s director for Russia and Europe, whose office was across an alley from Mulvaney’s on the White House grounds. Ukraine is not part of the European Union and Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, had no official role at that point in the country....


October 10, 2019
By Sarah K. Burris

Michael Duffey, (cilck here) a politically appointed Office of Management and Budget official and former director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, is tangled in the new probe against President Donald Trump’s Ukraine scandal.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted, the Wall Street Journal found that Duffy was given authority by the White House to hold up the Ukraine aid that President Donald Trump was allegedly holding until Ukraine agreed to help find dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden....

Just sat down from all the holiday going's on and will talk about the coastal NY forest, but, a few other things to take care of some business.

Anti-semitism was defeated in the UK, too.

The Labour Party needs to clear up its politics, end the dog whistles and find new leadership! There is nothing wrong with demanding human rights for the Palestinians, but, the dog whistles to White Supremacists/Nationists must stop.

These right-wing extremists have a comfortable home in Europe, their numbers can be tapped to win elections and that should never be a priority. Any voter in elections of democracy should first look to strong ethics in the choice of a candidate, dog whistles are very, very unethical.

26  March 2018

Jeremy Corbyn speaking against the 2009 Israeli bombing of Gaza. An estimated 50,000 people demonstrated in London.

Jewish Labour activists demonstrated (click here) in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday afternoon in London.

Left-wing group Jewish Voice for Labour has praised Corbyn’s “consistent commitment to anti-racism” and condemned current right-wing attacks.

The show of support comes after two Israel lobby groups issued a call on Sunday to demonstrate against alleged anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, for which they hold Corbyn responsible.

But Jewish Voice for Labour has called an emergency rally as a counter-demonstration, accusing the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council of “playing party politics” ahead of May’s local elections.

Mick Davis, chief executive of the ruling Conservative Party, is former chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council – a leading part of the UK’s Israel lobby.

On Monday morning’s edition of BBC Radio 4’s flagship Today program, the Jewish Leadership Council’s current chairperson Jonathan Goldstein issued an unprecedented personal attack on Corbyn.

Goldstein claimed that “Jeremy Corbyn is now the figurehead for an anti-Semitic political culture, based upon obsessive hatred of Israel, conspiracy theories and fake news.”...

Any white supremacy/nationalism should be outlawed at any of the USA military academies.

The “okay” hand gesture (click here)—in which the thumb and index finger touch while the other fingers of the hand are held outstretched—is an obvious and ancient gesture that has arisen in many cultures over the years with different meanings.

In the video, the offensive hand signal is exhibited by the wimp in the upper right corner next to the intoxicated Coke drinker, while being coached by the cadet behind him. Eventually, the camera pans in to eliminate his face and another gloved cadet pushed his hand down. It seems fairly obvious others understood the hand gesture was inflammatory and inappropriate.

December 15, 2019

Philadelphia - The Army and Navy academies (click here) are looking into hand signs flashed by students that can be associated with “white power" and were televised during the Army-Navy football game on Saturday, school officials said.

Cadets at West Point and midshipmen at the Naval Academy in the stands both appeared to display the sign during the broadcast, officials with the two military academies told The Wall Street Journal. The gesture was seen during an ESPN broadcast segment.

School officials are trying to determine what the hand signals were meant to convey, they said....