bats in big trouble

Not everyone loves bats, but most people can appreciate the billions of bugs that bats eat! That free pest control, not to mention part of the stunning biodiversity of our planet, is now in serious danger.  For the past five years, bat colonies throughout the East have been literally wiped out by a fungal infection known as "white nose syndrome."  (One symptom of the fatal disease is a patch of white fungus on the nose and wings of the affected bats.)  At this time, little is known about how the disease got started, how it is spread, or more importantly, how to stop its spread. If wildlife biologists don't figure it out FAST, several bat species could literally go extinct in the next decade, and even common species such as the Little Brown Bat will be severely impacted.  The disease was first found in New York State, but has QUICKLY spread south and west to 16 states and Ontario, affecting nine different bat species, including the highly-endangered Indiana Bat. Sadly, many more bat species are now likely to join the "highly-endangered" list:(  The most recent cases were discovered in North Carolina and our near neighbor, Indiana.

For more information on this wildlife disease crisis, check out the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service information page, http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pdf/white-nosefaqs.pdf,  or Bat Conservation International (http://www.batcon.org/index.php/what-we-do/white-nose-syndrome.html) .  Although white-nose syndrome has not yet been found in Michigan, it is tragically only a matter of time before our bats are also threatened with this disease.  If you find a bat with a white fungal growth on its face or wings, please contact the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service immediately.

too cold for stargazing?

Winter constellations are beautiful to behold -- on the few clear nights we get!  But if you would like to go beyond stargazing, or just want to learn more in the warmth of your living room, check out this amazing website by a retired astronomy professor from the University of Illinois:  http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/sowlist.html  Whether your interest is the ancient stories of the constellations, or the science of star formations and supernovas, this website has it all! 

In the meantime, enjoy the great views of the waning moon (waning gibbous at first, then "last quarter" on the 24th, followed by waning crescent), along with the planet Jupiter glowing brightly in the western sky just before sunset.  'Tis also the season for spectacular views of the constellations in the southern sky, such as Orion, the Winter Hexagon (called a "circle" by some, but really, it's more of a hexagon), and Orion's hunting dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor). For great information on finding these constellations, check out this website; click on "tonight" in the upper right-hand corner:  http://earthsky.org/space From there, you can see not only stars for "tonight", but see what the coming week is bringing or search through previous articles.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

If you love birds, you're invited to join thousands of other birders in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), held this year from February 18-21. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a joint project of the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology with Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada. This four-day event is open to bird watchers of all ages and provides information about more than 600 bird species. “There’s simply no better way to collect information about all these birds so quickly across such a large range,” said Janis Dickinson, Citizen Science director at the Cornell Lab.From reports of rare species to large-scale tracking of bird movements, the GBBC provides insight into the lives of bird populations.

In 2010, the GBBC had a record-breaking year for participation as more than 97,200 bird checklists were submitted by an estimated 63,000 volunteer bird watchers from across the United States and Canada. To participate, you just have to spend at least 15 minutes counting birds on one day of the count. When you're done counting, you simply enter your data on the GBBC webpage.

For full details, visit http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/howto.html. 

Converting plastic back into oil

We are surrounded by plastics every single day. But as we drink a soda, use a cell phone or drive our car it's easy to forget that those plastics started their "life cycle" as raw petroleum. Check out this amazing video of a Japanese inventor who found a way to convert plastics back into oil. Just think how different the world would be if plastic garbage was instead seen as a resource to be used again!