Dendroica: Loose Feathers #798

Friday, April 23, 2021

Brant / my photo

Birds and birding news

Bright reds and yellows are supposed to be a sign of breeding fitness, but some male tanagers are able to appear more colorful than they really are because of their feather structure.
An Italian luncheon broken up for violating coronavirus regulations also had protected songbirds on its menu.
At the time of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, there were questions about whether rescued and rehabilitated birds would survive. At least one rescued Brown Pelican has been photographed in its old breeding grounds in Louisiana, 11 years after the spill.

Science and nature blogging

Earth Day

Individual actions are often overemphasized for addressing environmental problems, but one thing people can do is resist the urge to create manicured lawns and let native plants grow instead.
The biggest issue on this and recent Earth Days is what to do about climate change. Here is an explainer on the climate crisis.
Grist suggests how Earth Day can remain relevant despite the cynical greenwashing that comes with it.
Monmouth County used Earth Day as the occasion to open a fish ladder that will allow migratory fish to spawn further upstream in the Wreck Pond watershed.

Biodiversity and conservation

The Florida Reef Gecko is the most endangered native reptile in the US primarily due to sea-level rise but invasive species are also a factor.
Narwhal tusks, like tree rings, record information about a narwhal's diet over its lifetime. A study of ten tusks found that narwhals are consuming an increasing amount of mercury and that they are feeding more in the open ocean than around sea ice.
Brood X periodical cicadas will emerge for a month of so this spring for the first time in 17 years. The emergence will be an opportunity to learn how they interact with bird populations. Amateur naturalists are encouraged to document the emergence through the Cicada Safari app.
If wolves are to resettle the eastern US, they will have to expand their range through the Midwest, but states like Wisconsin are already killing hundreds of wolves. That hunt is not nearly as egregious as the extermination plan in Idaho.
Despite the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, jaguars are still being seen on both sides of the border for now.
A Vibrio bacteria outbreak is killing hundreds of menhaden around Raritan Bay this spring.

Climate change and environmental politics

This week Biden promised to cut US greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. There are two problems with this goal. One is that this pledge is based on emission levels from 2005 while most other countries base their pledges on the levels from 1990, which has more scientific support. The second is that any pledge is likely to be undone by future administrations since the Republican Party opposes any climate action, and even many Democrats owe their offices to support from fossil fuel companies.
There are also questions about whether Biden's climate plan is ambitious enough to meet the scale of the climate crisis, given the lack of carbon pricing and the minimal funding for decarbonizing transportation in the American Jobs Plan.
Decarbonization is also unlikely when the country is still building new fossil fuel infrastructure like Enbridge's Line 3.
Halving carbon emissions by 2030 will require eliminating energy generated from coal, which currently accounts for 19% of US emissions.
There are seven potential climate tipping points that could cause irreversible changes.
NOAA is updating what a "normal" temperature means to keep pace with climate change. In most of the US, the "normal" temperature has gotten hotter over the past several decades.
The EPA announced a new plan to dredge dioxins and other toxic chemicals from a nine-mile stretch of the Passaic River.
New Jersey's air pollution is rebounding after a drop due to restrictions on travel during the pandemic.

Dendroica