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A collection of loosely-knit links.
1. The Grid, Our Cars and the Net: One Idea to Link Them All
From Wired last year:
Robin Chase considers the future of electricity, the future of cars and the internet three terms in a single equation, even if most of us don’t yet realize they’re on the same chalkboard. Solve the equation correctly, she says, and we create a greener future where innovation thrives. Get it wrong, and our grandchildren will curse our names.
Chase, founder of ZipCar, proposes a smart grid for electricity and information that links transportation, power, and the internet through mesh networking, involving cars as network devices.
Related (on Shareable.net): New Study: Smart Grid Would Shrink Carbon Footprint by 18 Percent
The National Wildlife Federation’s program to improve wildlife habitat in “urban areas located within the flyway that break the connectivity of natural habitats.”
The Flyway Cities Coalition is an innovative approach towards creating healthier environments for people and wildlife living in wildlife habitat corridors, or “flyways.” Targeting key urban areas throughout the United States, each city’s Coalition brings together the efforts of local stakeholder groups, magnifying their individual strengths as they work towards common sustainability goals. Flyway Cities Coalitions will restore viable habitat for native wildlife and plant populations, educating others about local and regional environmental issues, and encouraging communities to engage in projects that create a better urban environment for everyone.
3. Purple Martins in snow and 100,000 blackbirds
From David J. Ringer’s blog, Search and Serendipity:
I heard the distant clamor of blackbirds and finally spotted a river of Common Grackles up high, moving south. Thousands of birds streamed past — and that was only the beginning. They kept coming. Thousands became tens of thousands, and somewhere along the way, the Red-winged Blackbirds started pouring toward me as well.
The grackles moved high in long ribbons that, at times, stretched farther than I could see in both directions. One such stream passed overhead continually for 20 minutes. The red-wings were much lower, flying in wide bands and in a slightly different direction. Vertigo gripped me briefly as the birds rushed past.
You have to look at the photo more closely to see birds for the trees. Click on the photo or the link below.
OK, you have to see this big to get it, and then you can see a cloud of grackles in the sky, a small, loose flock of red-wings lower down, and thousands of birds packed into the lower tier of trees.
4. The Sense of Wonder in the Wildlife Garden
From a guest post by Kelly Senser in Carole Brown’s wonderful blog, Ecosystem Gardening:
[Rachel] Carson acknowledged that some adults would feel ill-equipped to teach children about the natural world because they lacked an understanding of it themselves. But the scientist held this belief: It is not half so important to know as to feel.
Admittedly, I’ve still much to discover. But the thirst is there—for my family too. Indeed, that’s what I love most about our backyard habitat: It invites us to tune in. It’s a place to nourish our children’s sense of wonder, as well as our own. We planted our garden with wildlife in mind and are daily rewarded with scenes such as bluebirds nesting, monarchs emerging from their chrysalides and mantises stalking their prey.
5. (Video) The World According To 9 Year Olds
Check out the video in the post.
We previously pointed out the above quote, then stumbled upon the video below where 9-year-old children answer some questions about how they see the world.
Questions include: identifying the most famous celebrities, their first computer interactions, and their fears. If nothing else, it will make you feel a bit older than you currently are.
Image credits: Phil Hawksworth (Robin Chase); David J. Ringer (blackbirds); Matt Cottam (childhood)
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Thanks for the shout-out! This is a great collection of links and I’m off to read the rest of them. Plus, you’ve got a great site here yourself!