http://naturenewssf.blogspot.com
1. SF proposes ban on release of bred butterflies/Commission meeting tonight 5 pm
2. Knowland Park update
3. CNPS potluck & slide show Thurs 5
4. More gardens needed for spring garden tour
5. Jepson Herbariium 2014 Workshop schedule now available
6. Is all we see or seem but a dream within a dream? asks Edgar Allan Poe
7. Rainforest Medicine: Preserving Indigenous Science and Biodiversity in the Upper Amazon Dec 10
8. Autumn, by Rilke
9. Pacifica’s Charlie Brown Tree & Holiday Wreath Event Dec 7
10. This year, give the gift of words
11. ...Or a writing style guide
1. Please come out to the Bayview Opera House to the Commission on the Environment meeting
Tuesday 3 December, 5 pm
4700 Third Street, San Francisco
On the agenda is:
Review and Approval of Draft Resolution 2013-13-COE Supporting a Ban on the Release of Commercially Raised Butterflies.
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S.F. floats ban on releasing bred butterflies
By Joshua Sabatini San Francisco Examiner
• Commercial breeding of butterflies is a multimillion-dollar business; a single monarch butterfly can reportedly sell for about $10.
San Francisco could become the first major city to outlaw the release of commercially bred butterflies as the practice that took off nationwide in the mid-1990s persists at weddings, funerals and other special events.
While the release of butterflies is a meaningful sight to behold, it all comes with potential environmental hazards. To local urban lepidopterist Liam O’Brien, the act is inhumane and poses a detriment to species, such as the prized monarchs, that are on the decline. Lepidoptery deals in the study and collection of moths and butterflies.
“They are not creatures to be owned. They are not party favors for the human circus,” O’Brien said. “We all know the exultation of a butterfly release. But it’s really a hellacious relationship to nature.”
He is among those calling on the Commission on the Environment to vote today in favor of banning the release of commercially raised butterflies in San Francisco. A ban would need to be approved by the Board of Supervisors to become law.
O’Brien has been working on the effort since 2008, when he watched the California Academy of Sciences release 500 monarch butterflies to mark the opening of its Golden Gate Park home. The proposal has pitted butterfly breeders against environmentalists. The two sides have had a long-standing debate about the impacts commercially bred butterflies can have on wild butterflies. The North American Butterfly Association and the Bay Area’s Bay Nature Institute support the ban.
San Francisco could become the first major city to outlaw the release of commercially bred butterflies as the practice that took off nationwide in the mid-1990s persists at weddings, funerals and other special events.Commercial breeding of butterflies is a multimillion-dollar business; a single monarch butterfly, above, can reportedly sell for about $10.
Jeffrey Glassberg, head of the North American Butterfly Association, said in a letter that commercial breeding harms wild butterflies with the threat of disease and genetic weakness, and it interferes with scientific studies. Also, it’s simply wrong to ship adult butterflies, he contends.
“Allowing the sale of butterflies creates a commercial market for butterflies,” Glassberg said. “Individual monarchs sell for about $10 each. There have already been reports of individuals capturing monarchs at the California overwintering sites to sell to the public.”
Dale McClung, a spokesman for the 100-member International Butterfly Breeders Association, refuted claims that the bred butterflies are harmful and said they actually can have a benefit.
“If they disallow reintroduction they will actually be injuring the butterfly population,” McClung said. He added that a ban would be unenforceable. “People are just going to order butterflies anyway.”
A successful breeder can earn up to $250,000 annually, McClung said, and commercial butterfly breeding is a multimillion-dollar industry. One of the largest butterfly breeders, Swallowtail Farms in El Dorado, charges between $85 and $95 per dozen monarchs.
Department of the Environment spokesman Guillermo Rodriguez said the proposal is “commission driven,” meaning it wasn’t a recommendation from department staff, and the department will wait for direction. Rodriguez said proponents have started to meet with wedding and meeting planners who would be most impacted. “It’s not a very big business in San Francisco,” Rodriguez said.
Ban crazy in S.F.
City officials and agencies seem to have a tendency to propose – and often pass – restrictions that make headlines for their unique goals.
--Owning an unneutered pit bull
--Cat declawing
--Feeding famed Telegraph Hill parrots
--Public nudity
--Pet sales, including goldfish*
--Toys in Happy Meals
--Segways on sidewalks
--Tobacco sales at pharmacies
--Soda in vending machines on city property
--Styrofoam to-go containers
*Proposed but not adopted
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2. Friends of Knowland Park update
ZOO BOARD MEETING
Some twenty volunteers attended the November 20 zoo board of trustees meeting to raise serious questions about the expansion project. During the meeting, the board voted to take out a $10 million dollar loan, PLUS $1.3 million from their annual operating budget, to supply enough funds to start the proposed 56-acre expansion uphill into the Knowland Park highlands. (Note: You'll remember that last November, zoo executives asked Alameda County voters to pay a parcel tax because they said they didn't have enough operational money to feed and care for the existing animals at the Oakland Zoo. Now, they are shifting money away from basic zoo operations to finance their big theme park project). Our group asked to see a copy of the financial feasibility study on this big development project and received only evasive answers. No financial feasibility study has EVER been made public since an enlarged zoo expansion plan was announced a few years ago. Therefore, not only could Oaklanders lose their most beautiful natural park, they will be on the hook to pay dearly for a theme park for years to come. To date, neither zoo executives, Oakland's mayor nor elected city council members have made public the total financial cost, the projected income, or the ongoing maintenance charges on this heavily taxpayer-funded zoo expansion. You've likely heard local elected officials talk sincerely about "transparency" in City government. You're right, this is not it! Before the money is lost, let them know if you don't think your taxes should go to an oversized, questionable zoo expansion into Knowland Park. Stay tuned on this one.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are ramping up in a big way and need more of you to volunteer for some of the activities we have planned. Your ongoing support is critical to saving Knowland Park from development. If you can spare an hour or two a couple of times a month, we need you! Please contact Elise Bernstein at elisebernstein@gmail.com to learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities. Many hands make the work lighter for all—and it takes a village to save a Park!
NEED A GUEST SPEAKER FOR YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP?
If you are a member of a community group and would like to have a presentation on Knowland Park at your upcoming meeting, please email us at info@friendsofknowlandpark.org so we can help others understand what is at stake.
NEW GUEST BLOG
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the wonderful guest blog by Heather Wood on our website at http://www.saveknowland.org/2013/11/20/what-knowland-park-means-to-me-by-heather-wood/
It captures an entirely different perspective on how kids discover and come to love nature than the packaged experiences the zoo plans as part of its “conservation theme park.” We hope many more kids and their parents will discover the Park before it’s gone. It’s just unfathomable in this century that we would bulldoze wildlife habitat in a public Park to build gondola rides and display animals in pens. Please tweet, Facebook and otherwise spread the word about this beautiful little essay—check out the photos, too!
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3.
CNPS Annual Members' Slides and Potluck Supper - free and open to the public
Thursday, December 05, 2013, 6.30 pm
Location: Recreation Room, San Francisco County Fair Building
Join our annual year-end informal members' potluck dinner and slide show. Please bring your favorite slides or digital images and your favorite dish or beverage to share. Whether you are a photographer or an appreciator, come for an enjoyable evening of delicious food and great pictures.
The potluck starts at 6:30 and the slides start at 7:30.
Contact Kipp McMichael (kimcmich@hotmail.com or 510-759-3178) for information about showing your pictures.
Directions:
• 9th Avenue & Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park
• The building is served by the #71 and #44 lines, is one block from the N-Judah car, and is two blocks from the #6, #43, and #66 bus lines.
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4.
The CNPS Santa Clara Valley Chapter Going Native Garden Tour still has space available for more gardens to be featured on the 2014 tour!
If you were planning to submit your garden and missed the Nov 30th deadline, please note that it has been extended and the Tour Committee is accepting garden submissions until December 15th.
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Submit Your Garden Going Native Garden Tour 2014
WHAT: Tour of Gardens (at least 50% natives)
WHERE: Santa Clara Valley and Peninsula
WHEN: Saturday, April 26 (North), and Sunday, April 27 (South)
HOW:
1. Go to http://www.gngt.org
2. Read "How Do I Submit My Garden..."
3. Submit your garden by December 15 - and have fun!
No garden but want to be in on the fun? Sign up to volunteer four hours on Garden Tour Day and receive a custom T-Shirt. For more information, visit our website: www.gngt.org.
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5.
Announcing the 2014 Jepson Workshop Schedule!
The 2014 Jepson Herbarium Workshop schedule is now available. Join us for our 20th season as we explore California's diverse natural history.
Workshop topics for 2014 include:
• Asteraceae
• 50 Families in the Field
• Ceanothus
• Seaweeds of Northern California
• Flora of Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands
• Wetland Delineation
Until December 9, registration is open only to current members of the Friends of the Jepson Herbarium. Public registration begins December 10.
2014 Schedule
Workshop FAQ
Registration Form
Workshop Homepage
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6.
A Dream Within a Dream
by Edgar Allan Poe
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand—
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep—while I weep!
O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
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7.
San Francisco Botanical Garden Society presents
Rainforest Medicine: Preserving Indigenous Science and Biodiversity in the Upper Amazon
Author Presentation
Tuesday December 10, 6-8 pm
Free to the public
SF County Fair Building Auditorium
9th Avenue at Lincoln Way
Come listen to stories of the Amazon rainforest and learn about native healing practices with ethnobotanist Jonathon Sparrow Miller-Weisberger
and illustrator Thomas Wang
Books will be available for purchase and signing by Jonathon
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8.
Born 4 December 1875 Rainer Maria Rilke
AUTUMN
O Lord, it is time
The summer was so vast
Put your shadows on the sundials
And in the fields let the wind loose.
Order the last fruits to become ripe
Give them two more sunny days
Push them to fulfillment
And force the last sweetness into the heavy wine.
He who has no house now will not build one
He who is alone will be so for a long time to come
Will stay awake, read, write long letters
And restlessly walk in the park among the blown leaves.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~
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9.
Save the date: Invite your family/friends, Get out your hiking shoes, Collect your favorite wreath form, ribbons, or decorations, it's time for our 4th annual Charlie Brown event...
Pacifica Land Trust's Pedro Point Headlands Charlie Brown Tree & Holiday Wreath Event is coming Sat. Dec. 7 10a.m. - 2:00p.m.
The Pacifica Land Trust invites you to come play in nature, kick off the holidays and enjoy the 4th Annual Charlie Brown Tree and Wreath-Making event on Saturday, December 7th from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM.
This year, because of all your help since 2010, our little Charlie Brown trees are either too little, too big or too sparse for most of our homes. If you find one that is just right, you are welcome to cut it down. But we thought you might have even more fun planting a “tree” (ahem... native plant or grass) that will help us restore the headlands even more. So come, escape to nature, plant your own holiday “tree/native plant” and make your own wreath, swag, garland, or natural decor while supporting the Pacifica Land Trust’s efforts to protect and restore the Pedro Point Headlands and the Open Space around Pacifica.
Volunteers will help you find your way to stunning views of the jagged rock outcroppings, the newly opened tunnel, Devils Slide, and the incredible Pedro Rock. They will help you plant a native species on a bluff above the ocean. There will be pine cones, plenty of greens, a collection of natural materials for your nature-inspired Charlie Brown wreath/swag/holiday decor creations and a helping hand should you want it. Please bring your own wreath forms, and to add to your creation, bring your favorite ribbons, ornaments, and beads. Think candlesticks, table centerpieces, yule logs, mantle decorations. And, if you want, hunt for just the perfect addition to your creation on your Pedro Point Headlands hike!
Meet in Pedro Point’s “Castle Kitchen” parking lot (across from Ace Hardware) where we’ll gather and carpool to the Headlands. Wear long sleeve shirts, pants and sturdy boots to walk in the beautiful, rugged terrain that you’ll be navigating.
While you enjoy the holiday carolers, hot cider and refreshments, Charlie Brown trees, white elephant surprise gifts, hiking, planting, singing, and decoration-making, consider supporting the Pacifica Land Trust. Donations to the Pacifica Land Trust are truly appreciated and will assist them to preserve, protect and restore this magnificent headlands for ours and future generations. To learn more about on-going stewardship and restoration efforts, go to www.pedropointheadlands.org.
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10.
The gift of words
This holiday season, why not make a gift of words?
Books:
"A delightful, quirky collection." -The New York Times
Buy them at your nearest bookstore
Newsletters:
"The most welcomed, most enduring piece of daily mass email in cyberspace." -The New York Times
Send a gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day (Free edition)
or
Send a gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day (Premium edition)
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Sample - A Word A Day
sub rosa - adverb: Secretly, privately, or confidentially.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin sub (under) rosa (rose). Earliest documented use: 1654. The English term "under the rose" is also used to refer to something in secret.
NOTES:
In Roman mythology, Venus's son Cupid gave a rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to ensure his silence about Venus's many indiscretions. Thus the flower became a symbol of secrecy. Ceilings of banquet halls were decorated with roses to indicate that what was said sub vino (under the influence of wine) was also sub rosa.
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11.
Style Guide - 10th edition
"Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought..."
Everyone who wishes to communicate with the clarity, style and precision for which The Economist is renowned will find this guide invaluable. Based on The Economist's own house style manual the "Style Guide" gives general advice on writing, style and grammar, backed with detailed reference material.
Don't miss out on our Special Bundle offers.
(Price includes shipping)
(Or, better yet, get the old classic The Elements of Style by Strunk & White. The Economist--well edited and clearly written--has a few peculiarities, such as plurals of acronyms: eg, Credit Default Swaps (CDS) is CDSS, not CDSs). JS)
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