Black History Feature: Matthew Henson - Arctic Explorer

Arctic Explorer and African-American Matthew Henson is considered a great figure in science and history. History records him as the first Black Man to reach the North Pole, along with Robert Peary, and 11 others in that brave expedition. The year was 1909 and they overcame amazing odds against nature to survive the journey and return to document their findings. He is considered a national hero and is buried at Arlington National Cemetary. But a very important science discovery and moment in Black History very well lose all significance and context.

Why? Fewer that 100 years since that team's arrival to the Artic, our generation may actually witness the sad loss of this special and important ecosystem. Arctic (and Antartic Ice) is melting...way too fast. Some researchers sadly predict that the summer Artic ice may be completely gone by 2012, much faster than predictions made only a few years ago. That's only 4 years from now!!! That is alarming. And if you thought that film footage of the exhaused polar bear on Planet Earth was heartbreaking, then get ready to buy more tissues. Polar Bear habitat is at risk..from global warming and human economic activities.

Let's get educated, become aware, and act!!

photo credit: http://www.britannica.com/

Environmental Health Internship for College Students

Here is perfect opportuntity for students interested in a career in applied environmenal studies....

Collegiate Leaders In Environmental Health: Summer Undergraduate Internship 2008

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) invites qualified applicants to apply for a ten (10) week summer program for in Environmental Public Health at the National Center for Environmental Health /Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) in Atlanta , Georgia . This is a 10 week paid summer internship for undergraduate students passionate about the environment, about health, and about the link between the two—this opportunity is for students majoring in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, or related fields. This is a full time summer opportunity for rising collegiate juniors and seniors to get real-world experience in Environmental Public Health activities at the federal level. Students will assist with projects and be paired with mentors to gain experience in the fascinating field of Environmental Public Health.

Students that are majoring in Environmental Sciences/Studies or related fields are encouraged to visit our website at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/cleh.

Deadline for application: March 4, 2008
Program dates: June 4 -August 8, 2008

For questions concerning this announcement, please contact Cory Moore at CMoore3@cdc.gov

Good Luck!

DNLee

Blogging While Brown: the Science Side of things

Partly fueled by vanity, and also my interest and dedication to share science with people of color (ok, that still vanity, cut me slack), I have submitted this site to Villager's Black Blog Ranking (BBR). Urban Science Adventures! (c)wasn't included on the February Ranking list, but I asked Villager what the site's ranking was and they replied back -- #609 out of 761. Hey, that's great news.

I thank YBPGuide for listing this site on the Jan 13 posting about Great Black Blogs and also being included on the rsspect.org lineup. I am truly honored and grateful. Thanks.
I was also checking out other ranking systems like the Black Weblog Awards. They have a Best Science/Technology category. Yeah!! Okay, I'm gonna be picky. Can we see about splitting these categories into 2? Just scanning the BBR and I'm sure there are at least a dozen and a half technology weblogs alone. They deserve their own category. And it looks like science (alone) is burgeoning). It's a great way to showcase Black Blogging talent and intellectual diversity... But honestly, I am glad, very glad there is a category that recognizes science and tech.

Another site is Black Web Awards. I first learned about this ranking site because a distant relative had our family's family reunion site nominated for an award. So I checked to see if there were appropriae categories for sites like this one. I didn't see any categories related to best science site or best education site, heck I didn't see anything about technology or gadgets, either.
There is a Blogging While Brown Conference this summer. Any chance these issues can get hashed out then?

Happy Black History Month - Celebrate Science and African-American Achievements

All year is great time to learn more about science and the people who make the discoveries. But February offers a unique opportuntity to learn about the achievements of African-Americans (and others from the African Diaspora) in the sciences.





In St. Louis, Missouri, the Missouri Botanical Garden has a special George Washington Carver Garden. It is open all year and features a statue in his likeness and presentations about this contributions to botanical, agriculture and plant sciences. In celebration of Black History Month, the world-reknowned institution is hosting Carver Days.




Saturday-Monday, February 16 through 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A three-day weekend of family fun with a focus on George Washington Carver, one of America's great scientists and educators.

Activities include:
Story-telling with KMOV-TV anchor Vickie Newton. Saturday, 11 a.m.
“The ABC’s of George Washington Carver,” where children may ask questions of this famous man. Sunday and Monday at 11 a.m.
“Listening to the Still Small Voice,” an award-winning one-man live performance about Carver’s life. Sunday and Monday at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Throughout the weekend:
Visit the “Jesup Wagon,” Carver’s movable school where kids are invited to explore and experiment in Carver’s footsteps.Ride the free shuttle to the Carver Garden (weather permitting).Eat Carver-inspired sweet potato and peanut dishes, available for purchase in Sassafras.

Activities are included with Garden admission. Visit us online for more information.

Check out what your local science center, zoo, conservation area or even area colleges are doing to celebrate Science & African-American Achievements.

New Adhesive will let you climb up the wall

First there was Velcro (R), now there is Gecko!

Seriously, the wonders and joys of biomimicry are at it again.



The new adhesive is first to mimic quick catch and rapid release traits of a gecko's foot



A gecko sits atop a glass surface in this image from the NIRT laboratory. Credit and Larger Version

The National Science Foundation has released a press release all about this wonderful and potentially very useful technology. Check it out!

Science News Stories

It's a bit a bit of a smorgasborg, but here are 3 interesting links.

1. The Mississippi River is a little under the weather. Why? Way too much cabon dioxide and it's all being dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. Too much CO2 in the ocean throws off the pH and affects the living organisms there -- all of them from the microscopic plankton and algae to complex organism like coral reefs. Just like terrestial systems, too much CO2 in the air, throw off plant life and everything else in the food chain lives off the plants.

2. Understanding science, especially about your body and nutrition can help you become healthier. So this article reminds us all to mind our eating habits. Too much meat and fast food eating can have negative consequences on not only your weight, but affects heart health and diabetes risk too.

3. Finally, there's nothing like an industrious teen. Check out this article about this kid who made a fully-functional bicycle from wood. It's neat.

Interactive Science Lesson - Cancer

Okay, it's not urban ecology, but it is an important matter -- your health. Cancer is a comm0n disease that affects every living creature (yes, any kind of animal or plant can get cancer) and every tissue (any part of your body can get cancer). Not all cancers are fatal, but it can really bring you down. One important thing to understand about cancer is that it is based on a completely natural biological process - Mitosis. Any student who has taken high school biology or higher has heard it. Quick and dirty: Mitosis is the way a cell divides & reproduces. It's how we get new skin cells and other tissue cells to keep our bodies going. But with cancer, the cells don't stop reproducing and things just get all our of hand.

Children's Hospital Boston has a great interactive website about how cancer grows and spreads.
It's a perfect way to introduce a science lesson about cancer or supplement a mitosis or disease physiology lesson.

Teens, Sex, and Technology

My intended audience for this site are teens and families. Though the main purpose is to share urban ecology and urban wildlife science, I sometimes feel compelled to share information I think would be generally useful for young people. I post about human behavior sometimes, usually in the context of 'what we can do to have a lesser impact on nature'. But I also care about young people being safe and ready for adulthood. I have worked with and mentored many young people (middle school and high school age) and I am very concerned about their perception of sex and the quality of sex education they receive. I know too many teen girls and boys who are parents and/or who have had to treat a STI.

It is for this reason that I am sharing the following links with you all. Please visit them and share with others, especially the young people in your lives.

Fresh Focus Video Contest: Why Is Sex So Interesting and Sex Ed So Boring?
There are 10 Sex Ed Video Contest short films. These shorts were produced by young people. They film their Sex ed experiences and how inadequate the lessons were and what they wished their parents, teachers, and other adults had taught them about sex. Great conversation starters and sex education tools for young people. Check out their videos and vote for your favorites. You have until January 16th to vote. Winners will be announced January 22nd. I'm partial to Video 9 I must admit. My cousin, a film school student and new intern for Spike Lee, produced it and her younger sister is the main character in the . I am so proud and I am shamelessly asking you to vote for it. But many of the others are great, too.

Sex::Tech Conference Focus on Youth
This organization seems to be a great online resource with real talk answers about sex and technology aimed at young people. They are even sponsoring a conference on STD/HIV Prevention for Teens in San Francisco.

Stay informed. Stay Safe. Let's all work together to help young people become healthy adults.

Cool New Science Discoveries

Discovery #1: Photosynthesis...not just for plants and algae anymore.
Well, something like that. A new discovery has found that a species of clam can actually gulp air and covert it to protein. Yes, using microbes that live in its gut, the clam can covert the Nitrogen in the air and make protein. Proteins are to animals what carbohydrates are the plants -- the main building blocks for tissue growth. Plant tissues are mostly made of carbon and Animal tissues are mostly made of Nitrogen. For both plants and the shipworm, they can take inert, non-active carbon and nitrogen in the air and create building blocks. Check out the full story.

Discovery #2: Skating on thin, short-lived ice.
Particularly in the northern US and Canada, ice skating on the river and lakes are apart of local traditions. But with recent concern over climate change, a team of scientists looked into records of lake and river freezes over the lst 150 years. The deep freeze season is getting shorter. Lakes and rivers are freezing later and the thaw comes sooner each year. This means a short ice skating season. Plus, there is a record of air temperatures increasing a little more than 1 degree Celsius over the last 100 year. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it adds up. Check out the full story.

Book Review: Little Lost Bat

Each year the Animal Behavior Society selects an Outstanding Children's Book that accurately presents animal behavior and behavior ecology in literature for children in grades 3-5.
The following title was one of the finalist for the 2007 Award. This book was my personal favorite. I even cried at the end.

Animal Behavior for Kids: Children’s Book Award Book Review

Title: Little Lost Bat
Author: Sandra Markle
Illustrated by Alan Marks
Published by Charlesbridge, Watertown, MA

The author and illustrator create a touching and accurate image of the birth and care of an infant Mexican free-tailed bat. The story depicts realistic accounts of the ups and downs of the life of a young bat – the struggle to stay warm, clinging to the safety of the cave ceiling, and the daily ritual of locating its mother by call among the other thousands of bat calls. The students were most impressed with the description of the birth of the baby bat, noting how the mother curls her body into a hammock shape while hanging upside-down. Students were able to relate the care and attention the mother bat provided her baby to the care and attention their own mothers provide to them and their siblings. The story also tells of loss and survival and how caring and affection exist among all animals, not just humans. I, like many of the students, would recommend this book to friends.

Urban Wildlife Watch - Earthworms

During hot summer days, my younger sibling often tryies to rescue poor little earthworms trying to cross the hot sidewalk. It's as if the little guys started out early that morning, when the day was fresh and cool and still moist with dew at the edge of the walk. They were inching their way ever so steadfast across the walk. Creep. creep. creep.
And then, the sun began to rise higher in the sky, and the dew evaporated. The side walk warmed. A few passer-bys squished a worm here. there. A robin snagged a few plumped snacks.
The sun is high in the sky. And the poor worm is getting ever so dry and parched. And by 2 pm, the hottest part of the day, the little guy is dry. Withered away and stuck to piping hot concrete. Only inches away from the soil on the other side of the walk.

Poor little worms, my sibling would remark. But, you may also notice more earthworms when you're doing yard work, tilling soil, planting grass or trees or shrubs. Their thick, juicy, moist bodies peak through the soil here and there. You may have also noticed more earthworms following a rain shower. LiveScience.com has posted this great little reader about why
Earthworms come out when it rains.

Enjoy looking out for Earthworms -- the oft overlooked urban wildlife.

photo credit: buntysbanter.sulekha.com

Science.TV

Guess what I just learned about...ScienceTV, an online video-sharing website for people interested in science. It was just recently launched, but it includes channels and categories of science topics and target groups.
It's been a while since I've thougt again about creating a show, but this seems like such a great time to get back in the saddle.

I'll start getting my stuff together.
Wish me luck and I look forward to sharing my Urban Science Adventures with you.

Urban Ecology and wildlife watching in the Big Apple

Okay, think of the most populated city in the United States. What images come to mide? Lots of tall skyscrapers. Millions of people huddled and massed, walking down busy side walks? Lots of cars and trucks honking and blaring 24 hours a day? Hardly sounds like a place jumping with authentic wildlife, does it?

But it is! In fact, the Guidebook to NYC Nature is jammed pack with lots of amazing creatures and natural sites to see and observe. Most of the entries live in parks -- yes, a nother reason why urban parks are SO GREAT. Think of them as little wildlife nature refuges or preserves. And you can go on a Safari anytime -- for free.

What an exciting Urban Science Adventure. Go explore your urban nature preserve, too.

Urban Forestry

Think about your last visit to your neighborhood park. Did you notice the green grass and tall trees? Well, depending on where you live, your park may include many trees scattered across the landscape. Here in the Midwest, tree lined entrances are common and several trees all along the landscape. Unlike the woods or forest, trees in an urban park are often more spread apart from each other with a nicely cared-for lawn. In woods, the trees and saplings are often close together and in the summer time the leaves shade the ground. Typically, grass does not grow in the woods. But urban parks are still very nice places - for people and wildlife.

Though most people don't think about it, cities (like those in the Midwest) were built in the middle of the forest. Buildings were put up and many trees were removed. But from the sky, many cities are really fragmented forests - a patch of trees here, a patch there, and most connected by a few lines of tree-lined streets. Your neighborhood IS a forest -- an Urban Forest.

And like any ecosystem, the habitat will attract certain types of wildlife. Depending on your geographic location, you like have wild neighbors that include raccoons, opossums, squirrels, birds such as robins, mocking birds, crows, starlings, pigeons, cardinals, finches, sparrows, woodpeckers, and doves, insects such as bees, butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, and dragonflies, plus lizards, toads, and frogs. This is a forest ecosystem, but modified because of human occupation. But think about it, we can and do live with the wild creatures and some species are actually very good at living near human populations.

There are things you an do to learn more about the "Forest Where You Live" and help the forest, the wildlife, and the people enjoy it better.

So go on outside and take inventory of your local forest.

Urban Wildlife and Human Interactions

Monday, December 24 2007 USA Today reports:

Anchorage, Alaska - The Army restricted recreational activities at Fort Richardson because of recent wolf attacks on dogs. All training areas west and north of the Artillery Road area are off limits. Three women running with dogs encountered at least seven wolves. A dog on a chain was killed a few miles away. Two other dogs were killed in the area in the past month.

Comment: This are sad and regretable incidents. Wolves are ecologically important creatures. As top predators they serve an important role by keeping populations of deer, moose, and caribou in check. Alaska is a very open and compared to the lower 48 states, is less densely populated. I have a friend and colleague who teaches for the University of Alaska and she says there are parts of Alaska so untouched that some wild animals still haven't really suffered from human interactions. But I do commend the military administrators for taking action. Restricting opportunities for humans (and their companion animals) to interact with wildlife (and I emphasize WILD) is one of the best solutions. Typically, wildlife managers do their very best to avoid a solution that results in removing the problem animals. And by removing I mean relocation or death. And wolf hunting in Alaska is a real and legal activity. I'm not anti-hunting, but I don't like the idea of hunting top predators. I'm biased, I'll admit it. On a final note, I do extend my sympathies to the families of the pet dogs who were killed by wolves. I don't doubt that these animals were trying to protect their families from their wild cousins.

Hartford, Conneticut - Bird lovers are battling over the fate of mute swans in the state. The Connecticut Audubon Society wants the state to remove the swans from critical marine habitats, claiming the graceful birds are invaders that cause environmental harm. But the swans are protected in Connecticut, and defenders say any move against the birds is unacceptable.

Comment: This is hard one because it is two important ecological issues that are in conflict with one another. In this situation ecologists are concerned for 2 important matters. Issue 1: Protect at-risk habitats so that the plant and wildlife that call that place home can establish or keep its balance. Issue 2: There are laws that protect some wildlife species. In this case it is the mute swan. Like many other waterfowl there are laws (federal and state) that make it absolutely unacceptable to mess with an animal almost any circumstance. But the problem is the mute swan is an unwanted animal in this at-risk habitat. The mute swan is actually the problem - in this case. Sometimes (and I hope things work out), exceptions can and have been made. There are cases where wildlife officers will demonstrate that they can safely remove animals and certain times of year so that the habitat can be restored and the birds are not harmed. And since the Audobon Society is a well-respected organization and usually does this in the most proper and scientific and legal way, I feel sure they will work toward a feasible solution to deal with both issues

What my name means

Okay, I attended a workshop: Certified Interpretive Guide Training. It is training presented by the National Association for Interpreters. The Association and the training is designed for anyone interested in enhancing their skills to present natural resources or heritage programs for the public. In other words for people who present at museums or national parks or tour guides or even historical re-enactors. I'm interested in environment and natural resources.

Anyway, one of the training program's exercises was to come up with an acronym for your name. I couldn't. But now I have.
DNLEE: Demystifying nature, letting everyone experience.

It's a start.

More on whale ancestry

Here's more coverage about whale ancestors. It's also a quick reader. Content-wise it's better for college students and advanced high school curriculum. This one was posted on the National Science Foundation's News Line. here. The story appears in Nature.

Happy supplemental reading.
DNLee

Fox-sized deer is whale's closet relative

Credit and Larger Version

Okay, I had to share this reader as well. Online (and perhaps print, too) Scientific American announces that the world's largest mammal - the whale - is most closely related to a . No kidding. Check out the quick read here.

Share with others. Perfect for middle & high schoolers - interestning reads OR for college students studying evolution, taxonomy, cladistics, or systematics.

photo credit: upload.wikimedia.org

Nucleus is for Us

Okay, I'm cheesy and nerdy. But I love this one-page reader all about the Nuclues: Journey to the center of the cell. I came across it in Science Magazine. It's a perfect little punch about what the nuclues is. And it gives teasers and links to other research articles that go more in depth about nuclues function.
I recommend the summary for all science educators (high school and college) to share with students. This is a perfect * short * co-curriculum article. And for the college students, the links to the other articles are perfect ways to introduce them to primary literature and encourage them to test out how well they comprehend some key cellular biology vocabulary.

photo credit: www.public.iastate.edu

Social Learning and Promoting Sustainability

I'm sharing information I have come across on ECOLOG - an online ecology listserve.

Dear colleagues,
The policies being used to address ecological issues around the concept ofsustainability increasingly demonstrate how their impact goes beyond theenvironment to influence things such as public health, jobs, workingconditions, and incomes. This means a more multi-stakeholder approach isrequired to the negotiation and implementation of environmental policieswithin and across sectors, and at local, regional, national andinternational levels. Inevitably, the reality is that whatever aims arefinally chosen, implementing the solutions to reach them will involve a longprocess of difficult dealings with a great variety of individuals, groups,and institutions who can make them fail or succeed.

The Learning for Sustainability site - http://learningforsustainability.net- has been substantially revised and updated over the past few months as aguide to on-line resources for government agency staff, NGOs and othercommunity leaders working to support social learning and collective actionaround the environment and sustainability. A central section of this sitelinks the reader to a range of guides, tools and checklists that can bedrawn upon for guidance in this area to address issues such as participationand engagement. Other pages here highlight the lessons that have emergedfrom researchers and practitioners in different sectors. These includelessons from the HIV/AIDS sector, public health, and protected naturalareas. They are shown on their different pages to highlight the fact thateach sector is looking at similar human dimensions practice change lessons,and that the more we can learn across sectors the better. A new page in thissection now covers tools, tips and techniques for facilitators and othersocial engagement specialists.

Other pages provide links to best and emerging practice in social learningareas including networking, dialogue, adaptive management, and knowledgemanagement. Evaluation is given its own section which covers key topics suchas participation, empowerment, logic models and scale. A research methodsand approaches section has links to action research resources, material ondoing integrated and interdisciplinary research, a listing of on-linejournals in these areas, and it hosts the IntSci (Integrated Science forsustainability) discussion network. New pages link to resources onunderpinning social research methods including systems thinking and actionresearch. One page lists on-line resources for both post-graduate researchstudents and their supervisors. Topics include thinking about thesupervisory team, as well as tips for structuring and writing a thesis ordissertation.The The Learning for Sustainability site -http://learningforsustainability.net - also manages additional pages onfinding volunteering and job opportunities in the environment andsustainability sectors. These are directly accessible from the main siteindexing system. As with the rest of the site these sections bring links tolot of on-line resources together in one easy to access site, each link isannotated to provide a guide to its contents.Please feel free to pass this posting on to colleagues and friends who maybe interested in this content.

Regards,
Dr. Will Allen