I think that a defining characteristic of many nerds is their tendency toward fixation. Simply put, we get to be a little bit obsessed about the nerdy things we love. Like Julia and her wolves. Man, that girl... obsessed. Haha, joking of course, as I am the queen of nerdy fixations. Take my current music obsession, for example.
Oh, Brandi Carlile, I have an absurd amount of love for you. Watch these videos, and you may fall in love with her too.
04/19/09@ The State Room (First time I saw her live- SO AWESOME- though this video is not mine.)
This is one of the most sad, beautiful songs I have ever heard. Love it.
Read the article, but this gist is this. Wolves are, in fact, a key part of the ecosystem in Yellowstone and the surrounding areas. (Imagine that!) Without them, there is literally less water. Fewer wolves mean more elk. More elk mean over-grazed willows. Fewer willows mean fewer beavers. Fewer beavers mean fewer dams, fewer dams mean fewer wetlands, fewer wetlands mean fewer fish, birds, bugs, and amphibians, as well as less water distribution. You push that first domino, and the whole bunch topples.
Wolf reintroduction wasn’t a scheme designed to undermine vacationing elk hunters or harass ranchers who graze their cattle on public lands. It wasn’t done to please some cabal of elitist, urban environmentalists eager to show rural rednecks who’s the boss, though out here in the West that interpretation’s held sway at many public meetings called to discuss wolf reintroduction.
Let’s be clear then: the decision to put wolves back in Yellowstone was a bold experiment backed by the best conservation science available to restore a cherished American ecosystem that was coming apart at the seams.
When wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone in the mid-nineties, the ecosystem bounced back. They were taken off the endangered species list, and hunters were free to shoot to kill. In August of this year, they were put back on the endangered species list by the federal government. There are, of course, objections from local farmers and hunters, and the article addresses them well. But ultimately, nature knows better:
Think of wolf reintroduction, then, as a kind of hinge-point between the two paradigms. After centuries of not leaving the natural world’s order to chance, micro-managing wherever we could, we are now encouraged to take a chance on Nature, to trust the self-organizing powers of life to heal ecosystems we have wounded....We now understand far better the many ways in which nature’s living communities are astonishingly connected and reciprocal. If we could only find the courage to trust their self-organizing powers to heal the wounds we have inflicted, we might become as resilient as those Yellowstone wolves.
I just searched google images for "wolf hunting." Don't worry, I covered my eyes before any actual tears fell, but needless to say, I'll never do that again. I did find this gem, though: Oh, buddies.
Nerds love sharks. Hell, even non-nerds love sharks! Why? Because they are awesome.
Dating back to more than 420 million years ago (yeah, that's right, before dinosaurs), there are now 440 known species of sharks, with at least one species found in each of the world's seas. The smallest known shark is the dwarf lanternshark; at its largest it is only 6.7 inches long. The Whale shark, at the other end of the spectrum, is the largest fish in the world, growing up to almost 40 feet long.
Little guy:
Big guy:
Yep, sharks are so awesome that the Discovery Channel dedicates a whole week to them: Shark Week!!! (Sidenote: the Discovery Channel itself is pretty awesome.) With so many great shows about sharks, it could be hard to choose which one to write about here, but for me, the choice was pretty simple.
My favorite shark species is the Great White. They seriously blow my mind. Who needs fictional monsters with these guys around?
Weighing (on average) 1800-2400 lbs and reaching lengths of more than 20 feet, we're talking massive predators here. Now, imagine these guys flying 10 to 15 feet out of the ocean. Seems impossible, right? Oh my friend, you would be wrong.
Haha, just kidding. But really this time:
See how easy it is to choose a shark show? Pick the one with the flying sharks. Like Ultimate Air Jaws, in which "World-renowned shark photographer Chris Fallows uses high-tech cameras to track the incredible agility and velocity of Air Jaws, a flying great white shark. The expedition reveals these sharks spend a lot of time near tourists in South Africa."
This is Shark Week's third Air Jaws special (check out Air Jaws and Air Jaws 2: Even Higher), and they just keep getting better. Using a Hollywood special effects camera that can slow down images up to 40 percent, Ultimate Air Jaws shows spectacular footage of this beautiful, terrifying hunting strategy.
Beginning in the deep, sharks monitor the surface above and launch like a missile when suitable prey enters their range. Reaching speeds of up to 25 miles per hour, these 1 ton fish can launch themselves fully out of the water, up to 15 feet into the air. They are hunting Cape Fur Seals, and though the attack seems like an impossibly fatal blow, the seals have roughly a 50% chance of survival, relying solely on the pressure wave created by the approaching shark to give an advance warning. The population of seals at the False Bay seal island averages around 60,000, and only 600-800 seals fall victim to these shark attacks; approximately 1% of the population.
In Ultimate Air Jaws, not only do you get to see amazing footage of these incredible attacks, but you also get to see the crazy shit that this guy does to get these shots. Seriously, this guy is nuts! I want to marry him.
So, shark nerds and non-nerds alike, tune in to the Discovery Channel to check out Ultimate Air Jaws and the other AMAZING shows that Shark Week has to offer. HAPPY SHARK WEEK!!
Oh, buddies.
