Fetching my quill for a quip

It has been some time since I have added my current writings to this public blog. I understand there is a new interest in my observations of the metropolitan field in which I play, and I will most graciously fill this interest. :)

The Upwelling Event: why does Red Tide occur naturally and how can we stop it from unnaturally occuring?

Perhaps the question should instead be, how does it occur? Can we tell the difference between natural and non-natural occurences of Red Tide? The simple answer is sometimes. Should we intervene on man-made fluctuations of the Karenia brevis algae? Can we yet readily identify these man-made upwelling events of the necessary chemicals required by these particular algae to produce these population explosions? And if we do intervene, what steps can be taken to filtrate this toxic chemical process?

Does dredging cause aggravated occurences of Red Tide upwelling events?

Do hurricanes positively or negatively influence Red Tide?

This author was introduced by Bill Hemme, Director of Math, Science, and Wellness at St Petersburg College to the Lead Scientist working to analyze the data of this algal bloom off the western coast of Florida, collectively known as an HABs (harmful algal blooms) on October the 26th, 2005.

"Cynthia Heil is a Senior Research Scientist and HAB (Harmful Algal Bloom) Group Leader at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she oversees a staff of 25 people responsible for conducting research on and monitoring red tide blooms in Florida. She received an MS degree from the University of South Florida studying the migratory behavior of the Florida red tide organism and a PhD from the University of Rhode Island in 1996 for research dealing with the ecology and nutrition of phytoplankton involved in harmful algal blooms. After working as a research fellow at the University of Queensland, Australia from 1996-1998 developing marine plants as nutrient bioindicators of water quality, she continued research on Florida’s red tide, managing the ECOHAB:Florida red tide research program at the University of South Florida (USF), College of Marine Science from 1998 to 2003. During this period she conducted monthly research cruises examining physical and chemical conditions conducive to red tides in southwest Florida and developed her own research NSF and NOAA funded research program focused upon nutrient sources supporting Florida red tides. She joined the staff of FWC in November 2003, and remains on faculty at USF. Her current research includes projects focused on the development of new detection technology for Karenia blooms, the effects and fate of red tide toxins in coastal ecosystems and the nutrient sources supporting red tides, including potential impacts of Everglades restoration on coastal phytoplankton communities."

The above she sent to me to read during her introduction at a Math and Science Club sponsored talk on Red Tide hosted by the good doctor herself.

The article that got me thinking of my lunch discussion held after the Red Tide speech:

Marine Mammals Suffer Human Diseases

By Bjorn Carey
LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 23 February 2006
04:03 pm ET

PI!!!!!!!!!!! 

Raiding ZG with Easy Company...the dreaded Panther boss 

Awe Faery Dragon <33333 

Loathe the unhappy audience raining insults from above... 

1823 crit...not my highest but a good average! Buffs shown for more accuracy 

Fun in other games anyone? Here's Zemir/Leimnear 

Fun in AV the hunter point way... 

Broken bow...in Silithus. 

A giant Antlion in AQ...the first boss, Kurinnaxx 

Raiding in ZG with Easy Company 

Yes I know what you're thinking... 

Broken bow, again... 

Lucifon dead by Casual Raid 2/23/06 

Fighting Lucifron with the Casual Raid 

cropped karate- WoW style! 

Florida park scores lowest on NatGeo rating

A quote from National Geographic.com, Destination Scorecard:

27. Everglades National Park/Big Cypress National Preserve
FLORIDA (Score: 34)

"Clearly a paradise in jeopardy," the Everglades is dying of thirst and other maladies. Upstream demand for water by the sugar industry and growing cities has slowed a much-heralded restoration program to a crawl. Promised federal funding has not been forthcoming. The national park is not over-visited, but off-road vehicles have scarred Big Cypress. "A culture of big swamp buggies, high-speed watercraft, and airboats does little to preserve the more fragile areas." Birding is still good, if only a shadow of what it used to be. "Rapid development on all sides has created an unpleasant, unattractive gateway to one of the planet's unique places."



››Why Canada?

Of these 55 parks, only ten are Canadian, but eight of them score above average. Sixty percent make it into the top quarter of the scoring range, versus a paltry 22 percent for the U.S. What's going on?

Obviously it helps to be northern. Parks with short seasons suffer less tourist trampling. All four surveyed Alaska parks did well, too. But there's more to it. By law, Parks Canada must first protect the environment, whereas Congress demands the U.S. National Park Service protect nature while also promoting outdoor recreation, dual mandates that can conflict when too many park-lovers show up.

Last, says one U.S. panelist, "Canadians in general take their government's role in preserving parks more seriously." In short, they'll spend some money. "U.S. parks are now forced to be more self-sufficient," agrees a U.S. recreation ecologist, "whereas Canada has maintained better funding." Apparently, you get what you pay for.


››About the Survey

Evaluating an entire destination—both park and gateway—requires weighing such subtle issues as aesthetics and cultural integrity, as well as balancing good points against bad. Since simple numerical measures cannot do justice to the task, we turned to informed human judgment: a panel of some 300 well- traveled experts in a variety of fields—ecology, sustainable tourism, geography, park management and planning, travel writing and photography, historic preservation, indigenous cultures, archaeology.

We asked panelists to evaluate just the places with which they were familiar, using six criteria weighted according to importance: environmental and ecological quality; social and cultural integrity; condition of any historic buildings and archaeological sites; aesthetic appeal; quality of tourism management; and the outlook for the future.

Experts first aired all points of view by filing comments about each park and gateway (anonymously, to ensure objectivity). In a version of a research tool called the Delphi technique, panelists then reviewed the comments and filed their stewardship scores.

The resulting Stewardship Index score, then, is an average of informed judgments about each place as a whole, taking into account its many faces. Like the cards that Olympic judges hold up, our experts' scores incorporate both measurable accomplishment and the intangibles of style, aesthetics, and culture. And like an athlete, each destination has a chance to improve.

To help, Traveler, the Center for Sustainable Destinations, and the Conservation Fund have assembled an online "Community Toolkit" of resources. If you live in a gateway town or visit one often, visit our Sustainable Destinations Resource Center..

*Simon Williams, Cassandra Cartwright, and many others helped with this study.

Get an illustrated version of this article.
Download PDF now.

(PDF files require the free Adobe Reader.) "

Morgan Freeman in March of the Penguins

March of the Penguins trailer

The lands I know so well gone?

The following quoted from: National Geographic . com

"Using computer models, scientists have created a series of maps that show areas susceptible to rises in sea level. The above map shows that a 6-meter (20-foot) rise would swamp Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and the entire Florida coastline, in addition to parts of Orlando and other inland areas.

Image created by Jonathan Overpeck and Jeremy Weiss, courtesy University of Arizona Department of Geosciences Environmental Studies Laboratory"

And, what about hurricanes or tsunamis? Just a 20 foot rise...