this, that, and the other thing.
The Lost Ladybug Project
Across North America ladybug species distribution is changing. Over the past twenty years several native ladybugs that were once very common have become extremely rare. During this same time ladybugs from other places have greatly increased both their numbers and range. Some ladybugs are simply found in new places. This is happening very quickly and we don’t know how, or why, or what impact it will have on ladybug diversity or the role that ladybugs play in keeping plant-feeding insect populations low. We're asking you to join us in finding out where all the ladybugs have gone so we can try to prevent more native species from becoming so rare.
You can send in photos of ladybugs you find to this site and they will track that and even put your photos up. Cool idea.
Rainbow Toad Discovered in Borneo after 87 years
From livescience.com the other day. All over the news. What a pretty critter. Not such a good thing to be a pretty island toad in this world, alas.
Pretty cool though that people found a few after all this time. Only knew them from drawings. Also cool that they didn't release collection data. The pet trade would be very happy to import and kill 95% of any they could find. You know how that goes.
Republican politicians have totally lost touch with ordinary people.
Letter from the Sun-Journal, YourTown, USA
Republican politicians have totally lost touch with ordinary people. They say that big corporations should have special loopholes, subsidies and low taxes because they create jobs, but they have already had fantastic tax deals since President George W. Bush’s tax cuts. Where are all the jobs they have supposedly created?
Fourteen million people can’t find work and companies are refusing to hire the unemployed. The U.S. has more than 600,000 homeless people while, according to the IRS, from 1992 to 2007, the 400 highest-income taxpayers have had their incomes go up by an average of 392 percent while their taxes went down 37 percent.
The deficit was run up mostly during President Bush’s two terms, with two incredibly expensive wars, tax breaks for the rich and the Wall Street bailout. Now Republicans want to lower the deficit by hurting the middle class, seniors and the most vulnerable people in America.
Why don’t the rich and big corporations have to pay their fair share of taxes, the way they have done in the past?
Ellen Field, New Gloucester
Well, don't you rock, Ellen?
Uh-oh, Bats!
Bats now on endangered species list
Oooh, this is news, today. Or maybe not, since it does not include any links suggesting that any new bats are listed as endangered. But this article is purported to be written by the Vermont Secretary of Natural Resources. However, she does note that:
Consequently, as of this month, the little brown bat along with the northern long-eared bat have been added to Vermont’s Endangered Species list.
Okay, we'll presume this lady knows what she's talking about, though this is not exactly a formal press release on the part of Secretary Deb Markowitz. Still, glad she took the time.
Searched, can't find anything else on it.
BREAKING BAT NEWS!
Seriously, folks; I care about this shit, a lot.