Today is World Turtle Day. I was commissioned by Turtle Survival Alliance, to revisit my ‘Turtles, all the way down’ print again, with a variety of wonderful but sadly endangered turtle species of special focus, in 2 prints: 1 for turtles from around the world, and 1 for North American species. Turtle Survival Alliance works to prevent extinctions of these amazing and varied animals worldwide, 🧵 #linocut#printmaking#WorldTurtleDay#turtle#sciArt#conservation#endangeredSpecies#biodiversity
On this #biodiversityday:
The assumption that #biodiversity is a mere add-on and irrelevant for modern economies, is one of the most extreme sectarian ideologies I can think of. Unfortunately, it's still dominant in academic and business circles. The real thing: Human economies are a mere sub-set of the economy of nature, which is based on biodiversity. As long as economists don't make that their starting point, it will become increasingly difficult to sustain human civilization.
Most people (and evidently, AI) think that biodiversity is all above ground, where we can see it. Think again....most biodiversity is in the soil, and overwhelmingly microbial.
Pic: a set of soil saprobic fungi; we've worked on them for 10 yr
The authors argue that protected & #conservation areas that meet all 4 criteria—which they name #Nature's #Strongholds"—will be disproportionately important for biodiversity conservation.
"Whether for fuel breaks, salvage logging, or private land logging, native forest logging hasn’t stopped in Victoria. It will continue for many years, and the logs cut from these operations will be sold commercially."
The #project will include a number of activities, such as the possible #reintroduction of lost wildlife like butterflies, rare #plants & beavers & the moving of #funghi to restore #soil.
The #WilderInstitute will be launching a first-of-its-kind engagement with community groups through requests for proposals as part of a broader Wilder #Canada#ActionPlan to save imperiled species globally, announced on May 15.
An insect glue, produced from edible oils, inspired by plants such as sundews that use the strategy to capture their prey, has been produced in a new trial. A key advantage is that pests are highly unlikely to evolve resistance, as this would require them to develop much larger and stronger bodies, while bigger beneficial insects, like bees, are not trapped by the drops.
Pedal-electric Hopper may be the German "car" you didn't know you wanted.
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The rider's pedaling power is augmented by a 250-watt rear hub motor, taking the Hopper up to a top speed of 25 km/h (16 mph). The motor is powered by a removable 30-Ah/48V/1,440-Wh lithium-iron-phosphate battery, which is claimed to be good for a range of approximately 65 km (40 miles) per charge. An optional rooftop solar panel should help boost that figure.
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In order to minimise maintenance and mechanical complexity, the Hopper utilises an electronic pedal-by-wire system instead of a traditional chain-drive drivetrain.
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Such systems work by having the rider spin up a generator as they pedal. Doing so converts their mechanical energy into electrical energy, which is fed into the motor. That motor converts the electrical energy back into mechanical energy, which is used to turn the wheel.