Originally posted on Exposing the Big Game: Habitat degradation, low genetic variation and declining fertility are setting Homo sapiens up for collapse https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-are-doomed-to-go-extinct/ facebookNovember 30, 2021EXTINCTION AUTHOR Henry Gee?is a paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and editor at?Nature.?His latest book is?A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth?(St. Martin’s Press, 2021). Credit: Jordan Lye/Getty Images Cast your mind back, if…
Humans Are Doomed to Go Extinct — The Extinction Chronicles
Soil fertility drives plant life down-under — Journal of Ecology Blog
Rachel Standish discusses her recent article: Mycorrhizal symbiosis and phosphorus supply determine interactions among plants with contrasting nutrient-acquisition strategies. Find out more about the importance of below-ground mechanisms for understanding factors determining community structure. The south-west region of Western Australia is a drawcard for plant nerds. Geographic isolation, a stable climate, and ‘quiet’ flat landscape […]
Soil fertility drives plant life down-under — Journal of Ecology Blog
Climbing Joshua~ —
Look carefully and spot the climber. Here he is close up. Try and spot this climber, resting on the top. Here she is, getting ready to come down. This guy at the top is waiting for his friends, who are making their way up. He climbs barefoot. Here are all three without zoom. There is […]
Climbing Joshua~ —
Today is Native American Heritage Day — Natural History Wanderings
from the National Parks Conservation Association On Native American Heritage Day, we remember that most if not all lands in today’s national parks were once home to Indigenous people.
Today is Native American Heritage Day — Natural History Wanderings
Do you see the wind?
The sage brush nods her head
In deference to the sun —
Quite —
Juniper branches wave,
Exultant.
Tiny, brave
Plants rustle in delight.
Did the flock
Of goats startle at the ringing
Of the bells of dawn?
The bald eagle,
With downbent beak,
The first of the season
To return,
Sails — her white head held
High,
Sky queen,
Jubilant,
The stars all gone.
Ravens call
Sparkling black in the air
At the spare
Skeleton
Of an eon past – or maybe yet to be.
An urn
Cools in the quick-running stream.
While, off the coast below,
The gill
Of the fish, finned,
Shines in the magic of the rolling sea
Waves fall
And gleam,
Snow-
Tipped in the path of the fierce wind dragon
While Meenakshi looks on
From the shore,
Sea-shelled.
Fish-eyed Meenakshi
Who danced long ago in the sea
With blue dolphins —
She came ashore
Then from the wandering sea
By the coconut palms, in the wind-deep roar,
Whose fronds bend and bow.
No.
No one sees the wind now.
No one has ever seen
The wind,
Yet the wind is there,
All around, everywhere
The living spirit who enlivens
The earth, who brings a confidant
Day; Vayu – God of the wind,
Just as the Holy One,
Who is never seen at all
Anywhere,
Nor ever heard to speak,
Except in the echoing thunder,
Yet, with nothing said,
Gives
Breath to all that lives,
Including the tall
Red
Rock –
Ancient pillars standing,
Mountains,
The strong frame of the earth, awake
By the lake
Of wonder,
Of bumblebees and lilies,
Under the moon
And the sun,
And the eagle’s wing,
In the wind,
In the wind
That runs soon
Through the open door
In the rain-blown rock.
***
By Sharon St Joan, November 2021
© Copyright, Sharon St Joan, 2021
Biden administration announces new protections for sacred Chaco Canyon landscape — Natural History Wanderings
The National Parks ConservationAssociation reports The Biden administration … announced new protections for the sacred Chaco Canyon landscape that would prevent new oil and gas drilling on federal lands within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historic Park for 20 years. Read more at Biden administration announces new protections for sacred Chaco Canyon landscape […]
Biden administration announces new protections for sacred Chaco Canyon landscape — Natural History Wanderings
The book Mystic Universe by Ashish Dalela
In his very fascinating (though just a bit incomprehensible) book, Mystic Universe, Ashish Dalela outlines many very intriguing concepts. I actually really love books that are incomprehensible, so that’s not meant as a criticism – and the reason the book is quite challenging to understand is very simply that a lot of it is written from the perspective of ancient Vedic knowledge, which really isn’t easy to convey in modern, western terms we might be used to.
Sometimes understanding requires that we hop into a different time and space – a different world — and that’s not always easy to do. A world that may be truer, but that we are not familiar with.
One thought that I found quite profound is his idea about the globe and what is shown on it. When we look at a globe of the world and turn it round and round, we see continents and countries, like the United States, India, Kenya, Ecuador, the UK, Italy, Slovenia, Thailand – all kinds of countries and their capitals and major cities – all important places where people live. Well, that’s okay, but that isn’t the real globe as it really is.
The real earth is quite different and what it actually shows, in reality, is forests, rivers, oceans, mountains, deserts, lakes, plateaus, plains, and meadows. If we were to show the real earth as it really is, on every globe, then perhaps we could get our priorities straight and stop putting all that is human first – and all that is of the world of nature pretty much out of the picture altogether.
It is a fascinating concept. Of course, being human, our first thought is to think that is quite a silly idea; we feel we really do need to know where Los Angeles or Nairobi or London is – and we really do need to see a road or a flight path that will take us there. But maybe, after all, it might just be more important to see the location of the last forests on earth or the majestic mountains or the seas where the great whales swim – and then we might have a deeper understanding of where we really live – and less of an impetus to destroy the planet and more of a wish to feel a sense of love and reverence for Mother Earth.
Ashish Dalela has written many books – all fascinating. This one is Mystic Universe, An Introduction to Vedic Cosmology. It’s available on Amazon.
By Sharon St Joan
© Copyright, Sharon St Joan, 2021
~Sanatana Dharma~ — DiosRaw
Sanatana dharma is a term that refers to the eternal Truth of Hinduism. The roots of this phrase can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit literature as a kind of cosmic order. Sanatana denotes “that which is without beginning or end” or “everlasting.” Dharma, no direct translation into English, but comes from dhri, meaning “to hold together or sustain.” Dharma […]
~Sanatana Dharma~ — DiosRaw
~Saraswati~ — DiosRaw
Saraswati, or Sarasvati, is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, art, music, learning and wisdom. Her name is derived from the Sanskrit sara, meaning “essence,” and sva, meaning “one’s self.” She is also associated with flowing water. Within yoga, Saraswati is seen as being a powerful aid to a deeper form of meditation. Feeling her presence is said […]
~Saraswati~ — DiosRaw
