Save the Bunny!

[sooZen]

Not sure if this is the spot but here is another bit from Zen Upchuck:

According to the Washington Post (front page of MSNBC):

With little-noticed procedural and policy moves over several years, Bush administration officials have made it substantially more difficult to designate domestic animals and plants for protection under the Endangered Species Act

For me, this is really scary stuff...I am not afraid of illegal aliens crossing our borders to work in the chile fields or as domestics in affluent households or the terrorists bombing something again or the economy tanking or our horrible educational system...those things are human endeavors and have human solutions that can be fixed eventually perhaps. The elimination of species due to human mismanagement and a 'care less' attitude is more far reaching than the sound bite of the moment. Because of our insatiable need for energy, and a host of ills perpetuated by sprawling mega-mansions and strip malls we are surely in immediate danger. Once a species is gone...poof! It is gone forever and that my friends, is a long, long time.

It is not just another tree-hugger mentality I am talking about here. It not just a quality of life issue for future human generations either. Whether you like it or not the other species on this planet, fauna and flora, hold the key to our survival...the human race would die quickly without the honey bee for instance. Twelve years I think is all we would have without pollination. And honey bees are disappearing...right now! This very minute...NOW! They are the tip of the melting icebergs.

So all this news that is news about who said what about what and to whom or if they saluted the flag or not doesn't amount to a hill of pintos. It is important, more than most can even realize, that we vote this year for someone that is awake and aware of the dangers of global warming, habitat erosion, protecting species and the forests. We need desperately to have a savior and I ain't taking religion here. Otherwise, as Stephen Hawking predicts, we are surely doomed and this beautiful blue island in the vastness of space will go barren.

The End?

[jimboloco]

why is the bumble bee dissappearing?

[sooZen]

pesticides, mismanagement, disease and a host of human created ills but it is the honeybee I am referring to, although in my own personal experience in my own backyard...the bumblebee is less frequent anymore but I rarely see a honeybee now.

Or, I could just say policies like GWB's and others who have no sympathy or foresightedness to see what they have done in the name of avarice and greed.

[jimboloco]

guess i don't know one bee from another
this does sound bad, indeed

i had let a lot of small weedy plants grow in my yard, because they put out these little yellow flowers, and the little bees would just buzz away,
but the plants were so obnoxious that i finally had to spray them
then to uproot them by hand, maybe a hundred or so, guess i gotta put out some other flowering plants.

i am amazed at how "three corps" in vietnam has rebounded
there is a healthy agriculture now and repopulation where before, when i was there, only the desolation of a free fire zone remained in
many areas, a huge swath

right i agree greed is what empowers avarice and short sighted policies
translate that into neo-con republicanism
nada conservative about them

[sooZen]

ole' mother earth has an amazing resilience, if we let her, she can evolve and change and come back but there only so much she can take before you pass the point of no return. In mho, we are quickly reaching that point.

Btw, you know what 'they' say about a weed, it is just a plant growing where it is not wanted. We (the planet We) need diversity in order to prosper and survive. We (the human We) want perfect green swaths and tended beds due to our anthropological backgrounds. (another story altogether)

Anyways, if, IF we humans could learn to live in harmony with our environment and understand how linked we are with every living, breathing thing...we humans would quit immediately using our nest as a toilet and the other denizens of the earth as our right and priviledge. But NOOOOOO! We humans want what we want and we want it now and the hell with everything else...it makes me sad but I live as I believe as best as I can and believe with my entire be-ing that there is still hope and a chance for us to change. I may be foolish tho so i will continue to let the weeds grow and talk to the animals and plants and worship butterflies and believe me...all of this will certainly influence how I vote. Maybe I can influence one other person...that would be wonderful.

[mnaz]

Hey, most of us voted for Gore. A lot of good that did.

We humans... about all we can hope for at this point is to minimize our impact, because that impact has already been devastating. I'm tempted to say that there are just too many of us on this spinning rock-- the human species may be a victim of its own prolific success, despite its almost rhythmic tendency for state-sponsored mass-suicide via wars of izzm-- but I can never quite go there. There has never been a good excuse to "get mine" before the getting dries up, yet the idea seems to carry intrinsic political appeal-- like the history of the human animal itself, in some ways. Anyway, we'd better hope ol' mother earth has the resiliency of a marathon runner. Btw... I hate yardwork. Weeds are beautiful to my eye.

[sooZen]

Howdy m,

Hey, most of us voted for Gore. A lot of good that did.

It's even more annoying that he won the popular vote.

We humans... about all we can hope for at this point is to minimize our impact, because that impact has already been devastating. I'm tempted to say that there are just too many of us on this spinning rock-- the human species may be a victim of its own prolific success, despite its almost rhythmic tendency for state-sponsored mass-suicide via wars of izzm-- but I can never quite go there.

heck, I'll go there...my Dad used to repeat constantly, "there are too many people in this world and most of them are no damn good." And you are right, for instance as long as abortion rights are challenged and people think it's okay to have all the children they can't afford or educate and human sanctity is held that we humans are better, more important than whatever else exsists...well, that is the problem. WE can't seem to get beyond OUR self importance. This is not a conscious thing on many persons part even. Osho says that a blade of grass is no less important than a redwood, if you get the drift. Everything IS connected.

But the point is probably moot as nature has a way of taking care of things and it sure may not be as WE would envision or like. Viruses and bacteria will probably be our real demise...

Btw... I hate yardwork. Weeds are beautiful to my eye.

[mnaz]

Viruses and bacteria will probably be our real demise...
Probably. But then that huge simmering caldera wrapped around Yellowstone is also a concern... and a much sexier threat. Or better yet, a billion-to-one asteroid hit. Natural selection, anyone?

Nahh. In my lifetime it will be people. See, I used to watch a lot of TV, keep track of what we fear the most-- what gets the most hits-- what the dark-side global movie-news industry mines and pimps so effectively, if not artfully. And bin Laden was up there for quite awhile-- even as late as two years ago he was this sort of iconic kinda-sorta-immediate threat to humankind... FOX hasn't covered that once-urgent tipping point much recently. ** cringe** And we were so worried about killer bees for awhile...

[sooZen]

well, you know i am betting on the cockroach.

yeah, if you watch a lot of TV you will masticate your brain, bite by bite. i am drawn to watch Fox occasionally just to see over the fence and find my Self yelling at an innocent contraption for the evil it is spewing.

Ahhh, the Bin Ladin effect, the boogie man in flesh and frankly, aren't we all just a bit tired of being scared to death? Snort! What a way to go!

In truth (shaky ground) the African killer bees may be the originally European honeybees' salvation for they are able to withstand the onslaught much better. Stronger, meaner, more loyal, more tribal, and definitely not the get in my hive and take my money kinda bees.

Yes, it is time for a change. This old fogie for one is ready for another revolution but this time it is not up to "my, my, my Generation." I hope (and secretly pray and cross my fingers) that the youth WAKES UP and sees it too.

BTW, Yogi misses you, I can tell...he said to say "Arf."

[jimboloco]

well i did let the weeds grow
four years
spring cleaning i guess
they are ubiquitous lil plants
grow along the bike trail
our yard is definately not hi maintenance
gravel and natural light grass in front
in back a cement deck and now a lot of wild trees that have come up
i am cultivating a bunch of baby trees
volunteers
have them fenced off
but no blossoms for the bees
will have to work on that
we do have vines with flowers that should be coming around soon
cover the fences
i saw a beautiful crab spider in the back
watched it for about a week
its web was amazing
then a storm took it down
hopefully it migrated
and is well

[Arcadia]

only mosquitos, cucarachas, cascarudos, langostas, doves, gorriones & (numerous) murciélagos as flying beings in the city. In the city borders you also can see sometimes alguaciles, some butterflies, avispas and a wide range of birds. Bees & moscas are less than other times. No idea if the soja-glifosato had something to do with it.

[sooZen]

Jimbo, thanks for the response.

Nurturing baby trees is a good deed indeed and that flowering vine is just perfect for honeybees and butterflies. It is best to plant and grow the native species for your area. WE humans tend to import things *like our shoes* Those imported species become invasive and take over or don't really thrive in the climate you are in and you spend all your time caring for them or pulling them up. If you would like to plant something that flowers, great! Try and get something that grows there.

BTW, do you still have that kitty i see in your avatar? I hope she (or he) is an indoor kitty as a cat can kill an amazing number of songbirds each year. My kitty would sit in the window and clickity-clack at the birds she would never reach.

My yard is a registered World Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat. I have brush piles, fruit trees (pomegranates), salvias, wild sunflowers, wild grasses and other things that birds and insects love. I try to do my small part but I assure you I don't let the weeds in the tomatoes or chiles! I have a wonderful and endangered chile pequin which is abundant in Arizona and I am sure some bird planted it in the yard. The birds love them! Especially the mockingbirds and Thrasher.

Arcadia, gracias mi amiga!

Los murcielagos comen los mosquitos! Is muey buen, no? Mucho gorriones aqui tambien. I like them all si, especial los murcielagos. In la noche, I can see them fly around eating the bugs, bueno!
No intendo cascarudos (beetle?), alguaciles or soja-glifosato (global warming?)? I do not like avispas...they scare me as they will bite you for no reason at all, very aggressive insectivo!

besos!