That’s the sub-headline to an article in the Washington Post that had me laughing out loud. I’m an old Africa hand, after all. I know just how deadly dangerous hippopotami can be – I’ve written about it before. However, it seems Colombia has not (yet) learned that lesson. In the 1980s, drug kingpin Pablo… Continue reading “Efforts to castrate hippos are not as easy as you would think”
Tag: Environment
Becoming a tree when you die – but which tree???
Via an e-mail from an anonymous reader, I became aware of an outfit called Capsula Mundi. They explain their mission as follows. Capsula Mundi is a cultural and broad-based project, which envisions a different approach to the way we think about death. It’s an egg-shaped pod, an ancient and perfect form, made of biodegradable… Continue reading Becoming a tree when you die – but which tree???
A ship with a vision – but is it practical?
I was interested to read about a new sail- and electric-powered wooden cargo vessel, the Ceiba, currently under construction in Costa Rica. Here’s a CGI rendering of how she’ll look when she’s complete. Ceiba is tiny by commercial standards, carrying only 250 tons of cargo, but is designed to be ecologically friendly, creating no… Continue reading A ship with a vision – but is it practical?
More about ammonia as an engine fuel
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled “Ammonia as an engine fuel?” It mentioned plans by a South Korean shipyard to build a major container vessel powered by ammonia, as opposed to fuel oil, diesel or natural gas, and speculated on the future use of ammonia in other engines. A recent article at… Continue reading More about ammonia as an engine fuel
Blue and purple memories…
This photograph on Gab brought back many memories. It shows blue jacaranda trees in Pretoria, South Africa. They flower in October and November, which is spring in that part of the world. The jacarandas were imported to South Africa from South America at around the turn of the twentieth century. Today they’re regarded as… Continue reading Blue and purple memories…
The logical consequences of Greening
Bestselling author, blogger and meatspace friend Michael Z. Williamson hit one out of the park with a post on MeWe yesterday. I can’t link to it directly, because MeWe doesn’t provide that facility, but here it is. One crisp winter morning in Sweden, a cute little girl named Greta woke up to a perfect… Continue reading The logical consequences of Greening
The reality of wildfire disaster
Rancher Dave Daley pens a long missive describing the reality of losing his herd to mountain wildfires, and the insanity of looking to either politicians, or environmental and climate activists, to find solutions to the problem. It’s a long article, but well worth reading, because it describes reality as seen and experienced on the ground,… Continue reading The reality of wildfire disaster
“Mother Earth is angry.” Oh, yeah?
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi demonstrated her ignorance of science and reality the other day. “Mother Earth is angry,” Speaker Pelosi says, discussing wildfires burning in California. “She’s telling us with hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, fires in the West, whatever it is…the climate crisis is real and has an impact.” What’s… Continue reading “Mother Earth is angry.” Oh, yeah?
Some remarkable landscape photography
I’ve always liked good landscape art, whether paintings or photographs. Perhaps it comes from growing up in South Africa, where nature is very lovely and offers almost infinite variety. I was struck by this photograph on Gab the other day. It’s by photographer Kevin McNeal, taken in the Arches National Park in Utah. Click the… Continue reading Some remarkable landscape photography
“Mining” plants???
I was surprised to learn that some plants absorb so much nickel, it can be “mined” by processing them. The BBC reports: Sixteen years ago, Aiyen Tjoa was exploring a small mining town of Sorowako in the heart of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Sorowako once had been a home to immense diversity of plants,… Continue reading “Mining” plants???