It is amazing!  I have met Ellsberg at protests at the polluting nuclear weapons plant here in Colorado. The Reveal radio show and transcript shows how Daniel Ellsberg went from a Harvard grad to an on-the-ground-marine; to a top level analyst for the Dept of Defense about the Vietnam war; to an insider who leaked about the lies that the US general Westmoreland and President Johnson were telling about the Vietnamese war. Later , he revealed lies My Lai, Abu Gharaib, etc. The Pentagon Papers: Secrets, lies, and Leaks.

photo credit: Paul J. RIchards/AFP/Getty Images

Sunday March 3, 2019  is World Wildlife Day.  The theme is “Life Below Water: For People and the Planet” .  In order to help wildlife, people are writing to Congresspersons, asking to protect sharks.  Please ask your senators and representative to support he HR 737, which bans the sale of shark fins.
25% of shark species face extinction due to the demand for shark fin soup in Asia.
For more info and to send a letter to your politicians - Link  to AWI page. 
Sale begins Friday March 4 pm and lasts until midnight Monday March 4.  You can save up to 50% with quantity discounts. Ten marine wildlife designs are on sale here. 

On Friday, Sandy Elkins came by and showed me a tree sculpture with hearts that she had made, inspired by the idea of the “Love Grows” t-shirt design. She was playing with a new pen that makes rigid plastic coils. Earlier she been helped by some of the Boulder Junior Park Rangers who put a wet handkerchief around her neck when she overheated.

In gratitude, she made bracelets for them that showed the iconic Boulder Flatirons rock cliffs. She said “It's good to give something to someone for no reason, for no reason at all, other than love."

link The California population has dropped from 10 million in the 1980s to 28,429 last year.

There some risks for farmed salmon.  They may be fed dangerous anti-oxidants and antibiotics.  They may require pesticides, toxic chemicals, and lots of other fish to eat.  The farms may pollute.   This VIdeo shows potentially dangerous antioxidants being added to the feed mix for the salmon. The  Guardian article, talks about the problems of parasitic sea lice and the extreme techniques used to remove the lice.   The  Florida article talks about the risks of farmed salmon.  GMO salmon are used in some salmon farms, and they can esacpe and hybidize with the wild alsmon.  Their farms may also release pollution from the feed , pesticides, and antibiotics.

 Escaped GMO salmon compete with wild salmon for space and mates.  They may spread disease, the way that elk, deer, and cattle ranches do. 

Thomas Emmel, a famed butterfly researcher,  got his start when  he was 8 years old when his father made  butterfly nets for Tom and his brother.  Tom discovered a new species of butterfly in Chiapas, Mexico. He taught zoology and entomology at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He organized surveys, restoration, and reintroduction for the endangered Schaus swallowtail and the Miami blue butterflies. He helped protect the endangered hermaphroditic Stock Island  tree snails.  He also studied the effects of mosquito control pesticides on wildlife and humans. His research prevented the overuse of  pesticides that harm humans and wildlife.  (from Reed, "The Butterfly Effect",  Sept 2018)

Every year there are neat butterfly count walks.  They seem to be on or near July 4th.  Here in Boulder , people of all ages are welcome from children to grandparents.  We spend a few hours chasing, photographing, netting, identifying and releasing butterflies.  

xerces.org/2016/04/21/citizen-science-is-a-wonderful-thing

They can learn about nature and contribute to our knowledge. 

 loupes, magnifiers, bug viewers

www.carolina.com/microscopes-and-optics/magnifiers/pocket-magnifiers/10671.ct

www.carolina.com/butterfly-nets-and-models/net-butterfly-and-grasshopper/651348.pr

www.nature-watch.com/optics-lab-field-aids-c-160_177.html

https://www.nature-watch.com/butterflies-c-160_164.html