Science – Page 5 – Stone Fig

(*Just_a_Note) – GIORDANO BRUNO

The most recent lunar eclipse on 20 January 2019 included the sighting of a meteor crashing into the disk of the full moon. The flash of the purported crash was captured by Jose Maria Madiedo, a Spanish astronomer who filmed the eclipse. After he reported it others verified a similar sighting.

On June 18, 1178 a similar sight was seen on a crescent moon. That event was recorded by Gervase of Canterbury, “the upper horn of the new moon seemed to split in two and a flame shot from it. From the midpoint of this division a flaming torch sprang up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot coals, and sparks.” The description has been thought to have been the creation of the crater Giordano-Bruno. But that crater is estimated to be at least a million years old. The event seen by the monks is now thought to have been an earthly meteor that happened to be juxtaposed over the moon as it flashed through the sky.

In both these instances an “on-the-moon” survey would answer the question. In either case viewing the moon is a worthwhile past time in summer or winter.

As interesting as these events are, an important aspect of the history of science is caught in the web of the craters of the moon. Giordano-Bruno was an outspoken Italian philosopher in the second half of the 1500s. He was a proponent of an infinite universe (1584) which was at odds with the teaching of the powerful universities and church movements of the time. For his trouble to shake the minds of the youth into new paths of thought he was burned at the stake on February 17, 1600.

Art work based on a photograph of the statue of Giordano Bruno by Ettore Ferrari, in Campo de’ Fiori in Rome. Photograph by David Olivier., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=923033.

Meteor Crater

In December of last year Science News reported on the discovery of a crater under the ice in Greenland. It is thought to have been caused by a meteorite nearly a mile wide. It was discovered during a scan of the thickness of the ice in the polar regions. The researchers were drawn to look more closely at the area due to the rounded edge of the ice over the crater.

In 2001 I was taking a commercial flight from California to the east coast. As I often do I took out the airline magazine from the seat back pocket and looked at the map of all the airline’s routes. As my trip took me via Dallas, I realized that the route would take us over Winslow, Arizona. This meant we might be flying over America’s most accessible meteor crater. I asked the flight attendant if she would ask the pilot to let us know if the crater could be seen from the airplane. About half an hour later the pilot announced that if we were to look out the windows on the right side of the plane we could see the crater.

There far below us with a clearly raised edge was an obvious crater in the Arizona desert. It was by no means tiny even at our perspective from thirty-some thousand feet. It was roundish, with a particularly squared-off shape. You could clearly see that it was a depression in the Earth.

Years before I had been there to see the crater, and had taken the opportunity to walk down to the crater’s floor. In 1971 I was driving to California for a stint in the Navy. My route west took me along I-40 which passes the Meteor Crater. I needed a break from the highway, and I was curious about what the crater looked like. It was summer, and it was hot. When I entered the visitors’ center and was purchasing a ticket the man at the counter asked if I was in the military and when I showed him my military ID card he waved me on through. I asked him if I could hike down into the crater. He said that if I wanted to I would have to hurry because it was at least an hour’s hike down and back. As I walked towards the door to the outside he called out to me, “Take plenty of water. And look out for snakes.” Good advice to a down-east boy on his first trip to the desert. The path was over a quarter mile long and rocky and steep. When I finally reached the bottom, I stood on the crater floor and looked up at the rim towering 500 feet above me. It had been windy and hot when I stood on the rim. On the crater floor there was no wind, and it was hotter. I don’t remember as much of the hike down into the crater as much as I remember the hike back out. I didn’t see any snakes, but I kept thinking that I should have carried more water. The path up was a scramble in the loose sand and rocks that easily gave way under my feet. When I reached the rim, I was hot, tired, and thirsty.

But it was a good hike – if only that I could say that I had done it. It’s not something they allow visitors to do anymore and probably with good reason. The crater can be a trap. It was simple to get down into it, but not so easy to get out of.

At over a half mile wide the Arizona crater is impressive in size but it doesn’t even crack the top ten of known impact craters on the surface of the earth. But most of the known craters are not as visible or accessible as the one in Arizona. They are hidden by millennia of erosion or they may be under water. The largest known impact crater is Vredefort crater in South Africa. It is 118 miles across and was created by an impacting celestial body that was approximately 3 to 6 miles across approximately 2 billion years ago. This crater is more than twice the size of the Chicxulub crater which is theorized to have been the finishing blow to the reign of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The recently discovered but undated crater under the Greenland ice sheet is 19 miles wide. Another crater in Greenland reported in 2012 in Space.com is estimated to be three billion years old and the oldest known impact site on Earth.

But back to Arizona. In the early 1900’s attempts were made to find the meteorite that crashed in to what is now the Painted Desert of Arizona. The object is estimated to have been up to 300,000 tons. The mass of the meteor and its speed likely caused the meteor to vaporize in its explosive impact. When you are on the rim of the crater its not hard to look up and imagine what the object might have looked like as it streaked across the sky and then exploded just before impact, carving out the crater. Soil and plants and rocks and rubble were heaved upward and outwards.

In 1994 I was again standing on the rim of the Arizona crater. I could look up and imagine the bright light that suddenly appeared in the sky and with a thunderous roar exploded in front of me. Of course if I had been standing there 50,000-some years ago I would have been vaporized as well. What is a safe distance from such a blast? Miles and miles I am sure. And even if I was at such a distance to only feel the earth tremble and to see the blinding flash on the horizon and to have been knocked to my knees by the pressure wave from the explosion, I am sure that it would have left a searing mark on my memory. The mark I carry now is one of looking up from the crater floor towards the rim and realizing that the best path for me to take was upward and out before the night fell. And I was wishing I had brought more water.

Information on the craters mentioned above may be found at:

Regarding the Vredefort site, https://geology.com/articles/vredefort-dome.shtml

The recently found crater in Greenland was reported in the December 8, 2018 Science News, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/impact-crater-greenland-asteroid-younger-dryas

In 2012 Space.com reported on what is the oldest known impact site on Earth, https://www.space.com/16366-oldest-meteorite-crater-earth-found.html

The home page of the Arizona Meteor Crater is https://www.meteorcrater.com/

Le Grand Kilogram

“The world is changed.” – opening narrative, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”

The international kilogram mass, or Le Grand K, will no longer the world’s standard. There will no longer be a physical object protected from human touch and wayward air currents under triple bell jars. Now the standard mass for the kilogram will be defined as something ethereal.

I think the first time I heard about “Le Grand K I was in 3^rd grade. An article in my Weekly Reader spoke of a weight stored in a vault outside of Paris. I was fascinated! Since the time I was small, I had seen weights used on scales at feed stores and general stores in old rural North Carolina. They were handled by hardy men and women as they talked about the weather and their families. They moved them onto and off the scale-balance with careless ease as they weighted out feed or flour or nails. But this weight in Paris was completely different. This was a piece of metal that had been carefully made and even more carefully protected. It defined, for all other weights in the world, what a true kilogram actually was. It was handled not with bare, sweaty hands but only with gloved hands. It was covered in a glass bell jar. That bell jar was covered by another, larger glass bell jar. And that bell jar was covered by a larger, third bell jar. Le Grand K did not hang on a nail on the wall next to the scale. It was in a vault, kept behind closed and locked doors.

But over the years corrosion and dust and decay have affected the weight of this world standard. There had to be a better way. So now, all these years later, the old metal standard is just a museum piece. Perhaps if I wander far enough I may find it in a flea market in some distant corner of Europe. It is now detritus of a past age.

There is no longer a physical presence of a defining Kilogram. There is no more tactile experience of grasping the bell jar and lifting it away, being careful not to hit the precious mass. There is no more grasping the mass with gloved hands or padded tongs and feeling the weight of that mass pulling against bone and sinew and muscle of the hand and arm. Now it is ghostly. Now there is an ethereal determination of the pull of something that we cannot readily see as we would the weight.

The device now used to determine the mass of the test object measures electricity. For the test object, the question, “How much does this weigh?” is answered in a vacuum with the soft vibrations of electrical current and the resistance and magnetism of a conductor. There are two forces to be measured. The first is a measurement of value of an applied electrical current in a conductive coil in a Watt-Balance. The second is a measurement of induced voltage in the coil while moving through a stationary magnetic field.

Each of the measurements can be converted into the units of power (watts) by a known and proven mathematical formula, hence the name of the device, the Watt-Balance. The mass to be measured is placed in a pan which pulls down against the stiffness of a conductive, metal coil. A current is applied to the coil. This current stiffens the coil until the upward force in the coil balances the downward pull of the mass being measured. The value of the current required to balance the mass is recorded. The current is then turned off, the subject mass is removed, and the coil is now tested. The coil, a conductor of electric current, is passed through a magnetic field of known strength at carefully controlled, constant velocity. The value of the induced voltage in the coil is recorded. Based on the values of the measured current from the first stage and the value of the induced voltage from the second stage, two mathematical equations can be compared. Through this process the mass of the item being measured can be established with an extremely high degree of accuracy.

The Washington Post article on the redefined kilogram may be found at https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/a-massive-change-nations-will-vote-to-redefine-the-kilogram/2018/11/15/b5704b0a-e6c7-11e8-b8dc-66cca409c180_story.html

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) information on the Watt-Balance (Kibble-Balance) may be found at https://www.nist.gov/si-redefinition/kilogram-kibble-balance

(*Just_A_Note) – Chang’e-4 cotton seed sprout

On Tuesday January 15, 2019 the China News Agency, Xinhua, reported that the Chnag’e-4 experiment of growing plants on the moon had ended. Seeds of cotton, rape seed, and potato cuttings as well as eggs of the fruit fly had been carried to the moon in the recent landing of Chang’e-4. They were part of an experiment to see if terrestrial plants could be coaxed to grow in an enclosed and protected environment on the surface of the moon. The experiment was enclosed in a heated canister. Sunlight to stimulate plant growth was directed into the canister through a tube. Cameras were included in the canister to record the plant growth. Within days of the landing on the far side of the moon, the world was excited to learn that one of the cotton seeds had sprouted and its small stalk was the first plant to be cultivated on the moon’s surface. However, it was the only plant in the experiment to germinate and grow. The plant did not fully develop. Now that the lunar night, during which the dark side will not receive sunlight, has begun in the current phase of the moon, the experiment has been terminated.

The full article may be found at http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/15/c_137745505.htm

(Just_A_Note) postings are short articles regarding current, noteworthy events in science and being outdoors.

Reef Protector

I had to decide if I wanted to title this post “KILLER ROBOT” or “Reef Protector”. The two different titles convey very different images, one quite provocative as a hunter/killer, and bringing to mind an endless stream of science fiction movies. I chose “Reef Protector”. It brings to mind a quest, and a hero who takes on the challenge. I had already designed the art of a killer robot but added a shield to make it less so – an assassin and a protector.

The Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, https://www.barrierreef.org/the-foundation, launched a protective program to defend the Great Barrier Reef against a voracious predator,the Crown of Thorns starfish. This predator is one of the greatest challenges facing the survival of the Great Barrier Reef. Other threats to the Great Barrier Reef include climate change, disease, changes in ocean chemistry, rising ocean waters, pollution, and physical destruction of portions of the reef by fishing gear and boat propellers. These economically valuable and beautiful reefs are threatened wherever they are.

I have not seen any part of the Great Barrier Reef, but I have dived on smaller reefs in the Philippines and in Florida where corals have created habitats for a myriad of other species. I plan on visiting the Great Barrier Reef, but this creates a challenge as well. When I get there I have to ensure that my presence and my activity does not further damage or destroy any part of this magnificent natural wonder. I say that not just as an individual wanderer, but as one of many people who visit the area. We all must ensure that tours and dives we take and services that are provided to us allow for sustainable use and protection of the Great Barrier Reef.

If the Great Barrier Reef were a single organism, it would be the largest living organism on the planet. It is of course a massive natural wonder that is made of countless individuals from a myriad of species,including many fragile and beautiful corals. However, in lore and in stories a coral reef is considered a danger which can crush the hulls of massive ships and tear small boats apart. How can a fragile thing be so dangerous and tear apart the strongest steel? The coral in the coral reef is a tiny animal. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) website, https://coralreef.noaa.gov/, describes the coral animals, called polyps, as being between one and three millimeters across. That means that in the space of an inch, depending on the type of coral, between eight polyps and 25 polyps could exist. A five-inch line of type could span more than 100 polyps. The coral polyps create hard shells out of minerals in the sea water and live in closely packed colonies. When the polyps die their tiny skeletons remain behind along with those of its generation. These skeletons form the base for the following generations of corals to grow on. Over thousands of years these tiny polyps build up into massive reefs of incredible bulk and mass. It is this stony calcium carbonate base that has the mass to tear ships apart.

The Great Barrier Reef is made up of not just the uncountable individual coral polyps but of a huge number of intertwining coral reefs that have built up over the millennia. These reefs provide shelter for undersea communities that form the basis of the vast food webs of the warm tropical waters in which the majority of reefs are found. The reefs provide protection for the land on their inward side as they break the force of the ocean storms as the waves cross over the reef. In adddition, they are a living ecological community of incredible beauty.

The GBRF is working to protect the Great Barrier Reef. As part of their effort the RangerBot program was launched in 2015. Initially and provocatively described in the press, these robots were programmed to find and kill the Crown of Thorns starfish. The Crown of Thorns eats away at the corals and destroys much of the coral community. Without the living corals the other members of the undersea environment living on the reef were deprived of its benefits and either died or migrated to find other living coral reefs that could provide them with a habitat. And of course, the Crown of Thorns would be there too.

Because of nutrient runoff from farms and homes into streams that feed rivers whose waters flow out to and over the Great Barrier Reef, the population of the Crown of Thorns starfish has grown significantly. With this population growth, their capacity to destroy large portions of the Great Barrier Reef has also escalated. To fight this increasing threat the RangerBot program was launched to seek out, optically identify, and kill the Crown of Thorns starfish with a killing agent. But this is not the only capability of the RangerBot. It is described on the GBRF website as a “Swiss-Army knife” for reef protection. The RangerBot was developed by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) as an autonomous, underwater vehicle which can provide a “ranger-like” presence in the coral reef, day and night. It is a new set of eyes and hands for reef managers. It not only can help control the Crown of Thorns, but it can also be used to monitor the health of the reef. A planned modification of the RangerBot will assist in the spread of new coral polyps. The RangerBot will collect millions of spawn from the corals. After the spawn has been raised to a larval stage in large tanks, the RangerBot will return them to the reefs and spread them in an effort to rejuvenate the damaged reefs.

Hooray for the good guys!

Scientific American has an excellent article on the RangerBot’s fight against the Crown of Thorns, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-starfish-killing-artificially-intelligent-robot-is-set-to-patrol-the-great-barrier-reef/.

New Atlas has an article on the planned version of RangerBot, https://newatlas.com/larvalbot-larvae-robot-great-barrier-reef/56966/.

CLICK-Bait

We all do it. It’s an easy way to waste some time.

Ohhh – there’s an interesting picture – “CLICK!”

We have taken the bait.

We all spend time on the internet. Perhaps we are online for work or for a hobby or to volunteer – or even just to pass an idle hour – or rather 5 minutes. An idle hour is too much.

If you are like me, you may wander away from your stated purpose every now and then. Sometimes I search odds-and-ends while I take a break between work sessions. However, those times that we wander through the endless, enticing corridors of the web may cause us to become stuck in a sticky trap. But we should be able to extract ourselves shortly after a few laughs, or a pleasurable moment or two of letting our mind wander.

I use these times that I wander on the internet as cool-downs between work session. It’s like playing solitaire. I can do it without putting much thought into it and so can also be thinking about a project that I’m working on. I always find it relaxing and often helpful.

A lite search for articles on “Click Bait” (Cbt) turned up several including one from Wired and one from Forbes (links below). Both spoke in unflattering terms of the problems with Cbt and how it distracts us. The articles both start with a focus on what the Cbt headlines states and how that makes us react. I would challenge this and say that is true if we are letting Cbt use us, but what we need to do is empower ourselves to use the Cbt to our own advantage.

The two referenced articles have a scientific basis and speak to studies conducted by the authors and by others. I make no such claim. This article is not based on a study, scientific or otherwise. It is based on what I like. Wait – have I fallen into the Cbt paradigm? The Cbt invitation classically uses emotions to get me to click. But why do they want me to click in the first place. It could be – but I highly doubt this – the author/owner of the click bait-able article just wants me to have a moment of fun. What I do believe is that there is some algorithm running behind the article that knows who I am. OK, that may sound somewhat paranoid, but I feel (not a scientific word) that there is some merit in the statement. Let’s see. How do the sites that post the Cbt make money? Yes, making money is a strong incentive for baiting the silken trap. They make money by having me look at my computer screen, because next to the picture of the kitten or the article that claims “THIS WILL MAKE YOU A MILLIONAIRE” – is an ad. Maybe the ad is for shoes or for dog food or for vacations, but there is an ad. When I open the webpage and see the ad, someone is making money. But I have to say, “That’s OK”, because I clicked on the Cbt because I wanted to – a mild distraction in the middle of a busy day.

But what else has happened? The algorithm – not one you can dance to – that is embedded behind the article says, Billy has just looked at a picture of shoes; Billy must want SHOES! I am sure that you notice that once you have bought a pair of shoes on line – or looked at some shoes on line – suddenly there are ads all over your screen about shoes and where to buy them. “They” know what I’m looking at. No Kidding! I firmly believe that whenever I willingly do something on the internet that it is being noticed and recorded and sorted and added to the profile of ME.

So, what do “they” know. First, they know where I live. Maybe not this apartment on this street but the area. My ISP tells them this whenever the algorithm sees my IP address. So what else do they want to know? They want to know my demographics. They want to know how old I am and how much I money I make. You see the bait all the time, “What was the most popular tree the year you were born.” No one cares what tree you like, but if they can find out your age bracket that is gold for marketing to me. And then there are questions like, “What is the most fun you can have in your tax bracket?”, e.g., questions from which your response will imply your income. Bingo – now they know where you are, how old you are, and how much – in general terms – you make. Now they want to know your gender. I don’t see too many headlines – or bait lines – that ask outright, What is your gender? But many times, if you enter the web and start looking around it’s the big algorithm in the web that perhaps can deduce what your gender is. And now they have it all – because you gave it to them. Willingly.

As we blunder through the internet it’s always good to recall Mary Howitt’s memorable line, “Will you walk into my parlour? Said the spider to the fly.” You are invited in not because they want to entertain you – but to use you, to sell you stuff.

So where is the fun in that? The fun is in turning the tables – or trying to turn the tables – on them. Deny them the information. First, don’t care about the tree that was the favorite in the year you were born. But do care about what helps you relax. Take a look at a cat if you want. Look at pictures of the 50 best national parks. The internet knowing you like kittens or that you like being outside is more or less ok. Especially if it uses that information to send you pictures of cats (which evidently you like) and articles about being in the woods (which is a passion). But watch the ads change as you go. You will see cat food and pet products replace the ads for shoes that used to line you screen. And perhaps you will see more scenic views of national parks.

But remember the closing lines of Mary Hewitt’s fable of the spider and the fly.

And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.

It’s a game we play with the algorithm. How much can I enjoy without telling it more than I should? So be aware.

Now what do you think of these shoes?

The articles reference above:

Bryan Gardiner’s article in Wired Magazine – https://www.wired.com/2015/12/psychology-of-clickbait/

Jayson DeMers’ article in Forbes – https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2017/07/26/is-clickbait-dying-or-stronger-than-ever/#6d291b3f3dac

The Mary Howitt’s poem The Spider and the Fly may be found at – https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-spider-and-the-fly-4/

Mark Trail and the Lost World

Finding items to write about can be an interesting and fun search. One source that might surprise is when it can be found in the Sunday funnies.

For 70 years Mark Trail and his friend, now wife Cherry, have brought hiking, conservation, and wilderness adventure to the funnies. Created by Ed Dodd, and now drawn by James Allen, the dailies and the Sunday strips can still be found in newspapers as well as on-line. I always enjoy the Sunday strip and found a recent one (9/23/2018) very interesting. It dealt with an expedition in May 2018 to a world virtually hidden from humanity atop a singular mount in Mozambique.

The initial idea for an expedition to Mount Lico came to Julian Bayliss of Oxford Brookes University in 2006 when he found the highland during a search of Goggle Earth. But it was not until six years later that he would lead an expedition of 28 scientists on a ten-day visit to the top of this granite monolith. It must have been like being on the top of the world, or perhaps the top of a new world.

The top of Mount Lico is separated from the surrounding landscape by a near-vertical 375-foot (125 meters) cliff face. This mount is likely the remnants of an ancient volcano, a cinder cone, in which lava had been pushed up into its central shaft where it hardened. Then as the millennium passed the cinder cone eroded away leaving this massive granite mesa towering above the rain forests below. But another rain forest also developed at the crown of the mount. Perhaps it started when the cinder cone was still part of the landscape; or maybe it started from seeds being blown in the wind or carried by birds. But the forest is there at the top, and it is teeming with wildlife. One new species of butterfly has been confirmed, and several other animals are under study to determine if they are new to our knowledge as well.

To reach this unexplored forest each scientist had to steel themselves for the 375-foot vertical ascent by climbing rope. They were assisted by experienced, world-class climbers who laid out the pitch and secured the novice clambering-scientists by lines. Each made the arduous and dangerous climb, and the equally arduous and dangerous descent after the 10-day survey of the mount-top forest was finished.

The age of the forest has yet to be determined. The depth of the soil which generally aligns with the age of the forest was not established. Even after a 2-meter test pit was dug and a 50-cm probe was driven into the bottom of the pit, bedrock was not found. In addition to the plants and animals found in the forest, stone pots were discovered from previous human incursions into the new-found forest. Julian Bayliss is quoted on the Earth Alliance (link below) site as saying of the expedition and its findings; “It’s very exciting.”

I would say that is truly an understatement.

How many of us have stepped from the forest track or from that path in a park to investigate a tree, a flower, a bird, that we had not seen or heard before. And then we stand in awe of a new vision and perhaps wonder who was the last person to have stood here and marveled. There have been a few times for me when back in the lonesome territory – not deep wilderness but a place where others do not often go – when I have stopped and stared and marveled. There was a time in the marsh of South Carolina when I was investigating a palmetto and pine island in a tidal flat, that I stopped and stared and then stepped back in awe and wonder at the natural temple that I found in front of me. I did not go in. My entrance would have spoiled the place. Yet I can see it still in my mind’s eye.

Where Professor Bayliss led his team was truly into the wilderness. And their trek to the base of the granite wall more than 1,900 feet (575 meters) above the surrounding plains, and then up the 125-meter climb to the top surpasses my walk across the firm, sandy soil of the tidal flat, but each of us in a way experienced a similar exhilaration. There are still places out there to be discovered.

Picture is taken from the Alliance Earth site at https://allianceearth.org/mount-lico/ “It is a Rhampholeon, or Dwarf Chameleon, found during the expedition in another forest on nearby Mount Socone.”

Mark Trail current and past strips may be found at http://marktrail.com/

SAND.

When I think of sand I imagine the vast expanses that I recall from my childhood. There was Third Beach in Middletown, Rhode Island that I thought was as wide as the Sahara. There was Fort Macon State Park in North Carolina with its long, flat expanses and massive dunes. There was Polly’s Beach in South Carolina with the light house that we could climb. And there were sand castles to build and holes to be dug. There were walks to be taken. And there were those terrible grains that somehow always found their way into my sandwich. There were endless quantities of sand.

But those beaches have vanished. They eroded away with the storms and the construction. No one lived at the beach back then. There were miles and miles of impenetrable salty oak and brush that separated the road from the shore. Now it’s mile after mile of careless condos and beach homes. And the dunes at Fort Macon, they are long gone under the tread of the bull dozer. It seems that everyone lives at the beach now.

More than the sand has been eroded.

But where did it go?

The Guardian published an excellent article on the theft of sand around the globe. They point out that the global building boom has driven the need for sand far beyond what can be provided by legitimate means. Around the world sand is stolen.

Water may be considered the most valued natural resource in the world. It is needed to sustain life – all life. It is needed for industry. It is needed for farming and for homes. Everyone needs water. Some of us have the nearly unbelievable luxury of walking a few steps and turning on a tap and having clear clean water pour out. That is not the case for the majority of the world. But this article is not about water; it’s about the second most valuable natural resource on the planet. What do you think that is?

What gives something value? If we look at how we defined the value of water, value is based on its necessity for life. Most natural resources are mineral and are not generally considered to be directly used as water can be. If you are lost and thirsty, if you find a stream you can drink. Most other natural resources are bound in the earth or are awash in the sea, and they have to be mined. What then is this substance that is considered by many as the second most valuable resource on the planet. Sand!

Not what I would have initially said, but think on it. It’s used to build most everything that allows us to function in large metropolitan communities. So maybe you don’t live in or want to live in a mega city or a city or a town but prefer the country and a simple life. You pack your bags and walk out the door. Onto concrete – there’s sand. You drive down the street with curb and gutter – there’s sand. You stop at the bank and take out all your cash. The bank is made of concrete – more sand. If it’s a big city and the bank is in a skyscraper – there’s sand. You rush back to your car and onto the highway – there’s more sand in the pavement and then mile upon mile of sand imbedded in interstates and roads and bridges and overpasses. As long as you drive on a road or go to the store you are on what is “sand-built”. There’s no way around it. Or is there?

As the population of the earth continues to grow towards 8 Billion even countries that some people refer to as third world are building population centers. Out of concrete – and sand. Everyone needs and wants and is willing to pay for sand.

Don’t run out into your backyard and start digging up what you have there and try to sell it. The world wants high quality sand that has the rough edges that help concrete to bind. And it’s not only concrete; asphalt uses sand too. In asphalt the sand fills the voids in the overall matrix of sand, stone, and “tar”. So how much do we use? Using a measure of how many cubic yards of sand it takes to fill an Olympic size swimming pool, the amount of sand used in the concrete to build the Empire State Building would fill 6 Olympic size swimming pools. And how much sand does it take to build a four lane road asphalt road from Los Angeles to Las Vegas? To build 230 miles of four-lane takes approximately 54 Olympic size swimming pools. And how much sand did the Chinese use to build their artificial islands in the sea between Vietnam and the Philippines? News reports claim that the sand ship used to build the islands created nearly 3,000 acres on seven islands in one year. If we assumed that the average depth of sand underlying those acres is 10 feet (a lot of which was under water) then the project required over 48 million cubic yards of sand, over 14,000 Olympic size swimming pools.

All of this is to say that it takes a lot of sand to build our buildings and our infrastructure. Think of the thousand miles of asphalt paving all over the world that is being laid today. The need for high quality sand is huge. And wherever there is a huge market you can expect a black market to feed the supply. And yes, people are stealing sand and selling it to anyone who wants it.

So now to the point of this tale. Sand is being stolen from all over the world. It is being take off the sea floor destroying habitats. It is being piled up on coral reefs to make islands, and in the process killing the corals and the reef habitat that surrounded them. Beaches are being plundered. Sand is being stolen not from Miami beach but from poor countries that cannot control the thieves. And these thieves often provide the barest of income to the people who welcome any amount of income to try to make their lives better and the lives of their children. As they dredge up the sand or dig up the beaches the collapse of the ecological system means that people who earned their living fishing can no longer do so. Perhaps they even turn to working for the sand thieves. This is not just a question of how we can support the global demand for sand but a question of the 8 Billion (see Post of 8 August 2018). People need to make a living. They need to be able to improve their lives. Right now they will turn to any means to do so. What choice do they have?

The global demand for sand is not going to end. The demand will accelerate. What can perhaps be substituted for sand in all that concrete and asphalt? Desert sand is too round and smooth from having been blown around for eons. To answer this question will take science, inventiveness, and action by governments. Perhaps a substitute can be developed. The Guardian points out that research focused on making artificial sand out of waste plastic may be able to cover 10% of the need. Where then will the rest come from? Right now it’s from the thieves. But is there another answer?

For more insight into this issue, visit coastalcare.org.

The Guardian article may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jul/01/riddle-of-the-sands-the-truth-behind-stolen-beaches-and-dredged-islands

A Time to Nap

I recently read several articles based on a question posed on Twitter, “How long is a nap?” The articles quoted various sources and spoke to why and when to nap. According to the Mayo Clinic there are many benefits to a nap, including; relaxation, reduced fatigue, increased alertness, improved mood, and improved performance.

But I want to ponder where to nap – and specifically napping out of doors. Having a nap in the out of doors is great, but there are precautions to be taken. And always expect the unexpected.

Napping on a hammock or in a lounge chair in your own back yard is always a joy. But sometimes the ground beckons, and lying in the grass is just fine. But what should you do to prevent regretting napping on the ground? Use a good bug spray. Pick your spot. Don’t lie down in leaf matter enjoyed by chiggers or in tall grass which often abounds with ticks. And mosquitoes as you well know can make an airborne assault. Using a blanket or a nice-sized towel can help. But don’t forget the bug spray.

And when to nap? Sometimes I say do the chores first, and the outdoor nap is a reward. Other times? Well I believe that a nap before the task will help me understand the task better. Let’s say if I need to cut the grass. What better than to lie in the grass and consider its texture and its height? To feel it on my skin. To understand its nature and purpose.

If I am lying on the grass I can consider the magnificent life that abounds on the ground. The ants and spiders, and beetles, and resting lightening bugs, mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks. What!? Yes, beware. There are tiny critters on the ground and in the air that can make you itch and may make you sick.

There is also a choice of sun or shade. Both can be enjoyable. However, napping in full sun can be a real problem during the time of year when the sun’s rays are most direct. Wear sun screen especially during the late Spring, Summer, and early Fall. It may not be needed as much in late Fall, Winter, and early Spring. In any season a nap in the sun can be a real delight. I remember stretching out on rocks on the coast of Rhode Island in early May as an excellent nap. I even found a bit of a depression in the stone as some shelter from the wind. Sometimes in the cooler times of year I might have wrapped myself in a blanket, but in this case the rocks had been warmed by the sun. It was great.

And yet often the shade is the place to be. On a hot summer day after working in the sun, a nap in the shade can feel as refreshing as a dip in the ocean. I recall on particularly hot day in Virginia lying in the shade of a huge old sycamore tree and watching the blue sky and white clouds pass overhead above the welcoming, thick canopy of leaves that shaded me. The stiff grass prickled but did not deter me from my rest. Or perhaps after lunch in a hammock under the shade of a fruit tree. I have had many a great rest there.

Resting in the shade away from the glare of the sun has been a favorite study of many artists. Picasso’s sleeping peasants hiding from the noon-day sun (top) and Van Gogh’s La Siesta (bottom) are two that capture the benefit of a mid-day respite to escape the heat, perhaps after a tryst or after a long morning’s work.

When I am on the trail, I prefer lying on rocks in the sun if they are available. There are too many crawling and creeping critters in the leaf matter of the forest floor or at the base of an inviting tree. In those cases a blanket is advisable. And when you get up, check yourself for tiny attackers that may have attached themselves. I have seen ticks take a walk across a tarp to find a tasty snack. But on a cool day in winter, when the weak winter sun flows down through the open canopy, the base of that inviting tree is a great place to sit and lean back and enjoy the view – until you doze off.

Remember though, in all things out doors know where you are and who or what is around. This goes for insects, raccoons, dogs, cats big and small, and of course other people.

And now we come to expecting the unexpected. Have I ever been caught off guard while napping out of doors? Not by anything other than time as I let it slip away while I had my eyes closed. But have I ever caught someone else? Well, yes. This one instance serves as a good example. It was a bright day in mid-Fall, and since there had been several night-time frosts I was not overly concerned with ticks. I ranged across the open fields of tall grass in one of my favorite places. I knew there were a couple of people out with me as there were two other cars in the parking area. I was able to see a quarter mile in all directions out in the open. I could see no one. I was cutting right through the middle of a field to one of the old farm ponds when suddenly out of the grass about 10 yards in front of me a young lady pops up.

When walking in the open field I often sing, so I am not surprised that she heard me coming. But to say the least I was unexpected! And to not further disturb her I changed my route and walked off in a new direction – singing – and chuckling.

And now it’s my turn. Ahhhhh! I lower myself and stretch. My eyes are already closed, and I am in anticipation of a wonderful brief rest. And I know when I wake up I’ll have things to do, but I know that I’ll feel better while doing them.

So, always know where you are. Always know who and what’s around. And enjoy a nap in the wonderful out of doors.

Little Orphan Annie art work is by Harold Gray – Annie lies under a tree as Sandy is opening a bee hive. Unaware, Annie says, “Gee, I feel sleepy – I wish something exciting would happen to wake me up – “

Quail and Sparrow

I submitted my siting to the online bird database. The first thing they told me – and I expected them to tell me this – was that I likely did not see what I told them I saw. But that’s ok, the data managers’ responsibility is to ensure the data submitted makes sense.

What I had seen was a black bellied whistling duck (BBWD). But I knew the bird was way out of its normal neighborhood. The BBWD is a bird of Florida and southeast Texas and up the Mississippi River as far as Tennessee. The map of its range can be seen on the black bellied whistling duck page of the terrific, on-line Cornell guide to birds. But it is not seen in a creek in the hills of Virginia. But that’s where I saw him, or rather them. Three BBWD standing in a creek on those long, very unduck-like legs with their long necks held high.

They looked quite at home in this lowland stream. And I was very much at home in the outdoors walking these woodland paths. I had not seen one of these long-legged ducks before, but I knew them from pictures. I was certain they were not geese. But I was surprised to see them there minding their business while I minded mine. As I watched them they flew off to some other more private stream. I imagine that they were heading back to a location that they are more use to. I watched them until they disappeared through the trees. I stood and continued to watch and listen in case they circled back. They did not.

What is it about birds that has the capability to enrapture us?

I think it’s because they make themselves available to us. They fly overhead. They will sit in a bush – perhaps hidden – and sing to us and to all of creation. They have the capability to remind us of the life and the beauty that is abundant in this world. And knowing this, they also remind us of our responsibility to enjoy and protect them, and to protect areas in which they can live so that they come back year in and year out to nest and sing and give new life and joy. The appearance of a certain bird may be a harbinger of spring. Or it may be an indication of a change in the weather, as gulls flocking inland may be warning of a storm. Their morning songs bring up the sun. And their last flights of evening bring the return to the nest and the calm of the night.

There are two birds in which I am currently interested as a volunteer citizen-scientist for a national park. I help with the park’s bird observation and management programs. It’s great. I have a reason to be out in the woods and the open fields. And it takes me out for the sunrise and into the new day that follows. I often hike to my listening stations in the pre-dawn darkness. It takes me out in the Spring and in the Fall and my task is – to listen to the birds sing.

I listen for the gentle call of the Northern Bobwhite Quail and the often hidden and reclusive Henslow’s Sparrow, a little bird of the open fields. The surveys each bird are repeated in selected areas along specific transects with established stations. It requires standing still and listening; it requires patience. Often I do not hear the quail whether it be the well-know “bob-white” call or the more muted nesting calls that might be heard. Nor do I often hear the Henslow’s Sparrow the thin, reedy notes that might rise and fall in the tall grass. But that’s all part of being outside. The birds are allowing me to share their home. I come with respect and quietness. And I am rewarded, if not by the song of my subject bird, by the call of all their feathered partners of the woods and fields.

Listening and surveying for these birds is part of an overall program to determine the health of the local environment and its ability to support these birds and birds similar to them. If the birds are present it means that they have an adequate food supply and have a place to perch, or hide, or loaf. I love that term and often picture the quail loafing around their nesting area. However, absence of these birds indicates that they and other birds may not find the food or cover or level of calmness that they like in order to take up and maintain residence in the area. As noted above we have a responsibility to ensure that we maintain and conserve areas where wildlife may thrive and we can go and loaf ourselves.

And the Whistling Ducks, they are welcome to come back anytime, but I agree with the purveyors of protocol on the bird site. This is not a normal occurrence, but it is the normal and the not-normal that continue to draw me outside to enjoy the birds, and the woods, streams and open fields.

Halcyon!

Picture is taken from Jules Breton’s painting “The Song of the Lark” from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.