Archive for November, 2006
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
Alt Fuel Researchers Turning on to Switch Grass
Interesting story on switch grass in today’s Chicago Tribune - A grass worth getting high on; Prairie plant seen as promising fuel option.
Switch grass, once a dominant component of the ocean of prairie that covered the Plain States in tall tangles, is being being touted by a Canadian researcher as a “living solar battery.”
Ethanol […]
No Comments » - Posted in Info, Comment by Brian Leaf
Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006
The Day of the Turkey
When you sit down for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the wild turkey.
It’s probably not the turkey that’s on your table, which is most likely a Broadbreasted White – a domesticated bird bred for a lot of breast meat.
We’re talking about the bird Ben Franklin called a “bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack […]
No Comments » - Posted in Info, Observing Nature by Brian Leaf
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
Election Results Could Accelerate Alt Fuels Push
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., (bio) appears to be the heir to the House Energy and Commerce Committee chair.
Michigan makes cars. Cars burn fuel.
It’s a safe bet that Detroit lobbyists have been in Dingell’s ear throughout the election. So what’s Dingell — who has been in Congress for 50 of his 80 years — thinking?
According to […]
No Comments » - Posted in Info by Brian Leaf
Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
Planting a Billion Trees
Hats off to environmentalist Wangari Maathai, United Nations and Africa’s Nobel laureate. She proposed planting a billion trees to help fight climate change and poverty.
While planting a billion trees seems impossible, Maathai says that if one-sixth of the world’s population planted just one tree, the job could be accomplished in a year.
Using that math, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Comment by Brian Leaf
Tuesday, November 7th, 2006
More Fun With Animal Words
You may know James Lipton as the great interviewer on “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” But Lipton is also an author with a passion for language, specifically Old World phrases that describ sets of things — a rope of pearls, a school of fish or a cluster of grapes.
These terms are hundreds of years old. They […]
No Comments » - Posted in Info, Observing Nature by Brian Leaf
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
Thanks to Everyone Who Ate Breakfast With Us on Nov. 1
A great big thanks to everyone who helped attended our “Got Nature?” breakfast Wednesday morning at Giovanni’s in Rockford. This was our major fundraiser for the year. It is also a major friendraiser as many people find out about Severson Dells Nature Center for the first time, or reconnect with us.
Don Miller, our executive education […]
