Posters block
Aug. 29th, 2012 09:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urbpanI want to make a proper lj post but the next ones I have queued up are about stilt bugs and moldy mushrooms--doesn't seem fair after you guys were so generous kicking in to renew my paid account.
I suppose I can say a little something about my podcast "The Species of Least Concern." The most recent episode I talked about the tiger bee fly and the cross orbweaver. Haven't seen the bee flies lately, though I saw a bunch in the week before I recorded the podcast. But I've been seeing cross orbweavers everywhere--don't know if it's because now I know what they are so I'm more tuned to noticing them, or if there are more of them around than there used to be.
My podcast has a website: http://speciesofleastconcern.com/
And if you'd rather download it than stream it you can do that here: http://soundcloud.com/urbpan/species-of-least-concern-2
Oh, I heard an story on NPR today about West Nile Virus: there is a lot of it going around this year. When they asked the expert why that was so, he said that it could be because of how mild last winter was or because of how hot this summer has been WITHOUT MENTIONING ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE. I mean, okay, you're a scientist and you make hypotheses you don't jump to conclusions, but come on dude. At least mention the fact that since temperatures are going up, that conditions for the mosquitoes that carry WNV will continue to be favorable, and the disease is likely to get worse and spread further north.
Not to alarm anyone.
Maybe I should mention that in my podcast and then enter my podcast into the Voices for Climate contest, whatever that is.
In conclusion, puppy makes me sleepy.
Thanks again for donating! I'll get you back when your time rolls around.
I suppose I can say a little something about my podcast "The Species of Least Concern." The most recent episode I talked about the tiger bee fly and the cross orbweaver. Haven't seen the bee flies lately, though I saw a bunch in the week before I recorded the podcast. But I've been seeing cross orbweavers everywhere--don't know if it's because now I know what they are so I'm more tuned to noticing them, or if there are more of them around than there used to be.
My podcast has a website: http://speciesofleastconcern.com/
And if you'd rather download it than stream it you can do that here: http://soundcloud.com/urbpan/species-of-least-concern-2
Oh, I heard an story on NPR today about West Nile Virus: there is a lot of it going around this year. When they asked the expert why that was so, he said that it could be because of how mild last winter was or because of how hot this summer has been WITHOUT MENTIONING ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE. I mean, okay, you're a scientist and you make hypotheses you don't jump to conclusions, but come on dude. At least mention the fact that since temperatures are going up, that conditions for the mosquitoes that carry WNV will continue to be favorable, and the disease is likely to get worse and spread further north.
Not to alarm anyone.
Maybe I should mention that in my podcast and then enter my podcast into the Voices for Climate contest, whatever that is.
In conclusion, puppy makes me sleepy.
Thanks again for donating! I'll get you back when your time rolls around.
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no subject
Date: 2012-08-30 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-30 01:40 pm (UTC)Short version - the Dallas City Entomologist retired a few years ago, and they didn't replace him. In fact, they dissolved his department to save money. They had basically spent most of their time tracking small urban water sources and stocking them with minnows, which eat mosquito larvae. After last year's drought, those water sources dried up, killing the minnows. This year, they had rain, which refilled the water, but nobody restocked the minnows. Result? Mosquitoes. Lots and lots of them. Sigh.