In the words of the famous British philosopher Winnie the Pooh,
The more it snows (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom)
On snowing.
Across the northern U.S., it’s done just that for most of the past week; thus we’ve had quite a bit of time, stuck in our respective domiciles as we have been, to ferret out some of the more interesting nature news stories for the week ending December 19, 2008.
Flora
Seeds of hope: England’s freezing vaults guard Earth’s flora.
Who cares about the Muffin Man - do you know the Lichen Lady?
Work with fungus uncovering keys to DNA methylation; implications include possible advances in understanding of long-term memory and cancer.
Fauna
Researchers posit that male predatory dinosaurs were nurturing parents (journalists insist on trivializing the story with terms such as “daddy day care” and “dino daddies”).
Rescue of Humpback Whale from fishing net off the Mexican coast recorded on video.
The 109th Christmas Bird Count has begun.
Natural Resources and Public Policy
An “Obama-rama” Natural Resources Leadership Round-up:
Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack picked to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Colorado Senator Ken Salazar nominated to be the next U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Former Environmental Protection Agency Director Carol M. Browner nominated to be the “energy czar” (funny, I don’t remember ever voting on the establishment of the post of “czar” in the United States).
Oregon State University Professor Jane Lubchenco is Obama’s choice to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Podcasts
BirdNote – Western Grebes, toucans, winter on the Columbia River, and more (IMPORTANT NOTE: due to the present economic mess throughout the world, BirdNote, a non-profit, has lost the support of a major donor. If you enjoy BirdNote and want it to continue, please consider making a small donation to them through their website.)
This Birding Life – Bill Thompson, Phoebe Thompson, and The Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of Eastern North America
Sierra Club Radio - the Mother Nature Network, the legacy of the Exxon-Valdez
Nature – songbirds learning while they sleep
World on the Move (BBC) – the final episode of the series on animal migration; a look back on the stories reported throughout the past year
Green Week in Review – carbon sequestration, President-elect Obama’s picks for Interior and Agriculture
