Shared Article Archive
Curious as to how you can make Elk Rapids a greener space? Here are articles that have been passed on by Greener Elk Rapids members for you to read.
Habitat Fragmentation by Mary Halek
Disuniting, isolation, these describe what is currently happening to ecological areas around the world. Habitats are homes for living things, they provide the environmental conditions for a living organism to survive. However, we are tearing apart these homes. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), published a research article on habitat fragmentation. Defined, habitat fragmentation is the process of a habitat that is isolated into a number of smaller separate areas. The habitat is smaller than before and is cut off from its divided pieces by other habitats unlike the original. Habitat loss and changes in its configurations threaten the well being of ecological homes, providing negative effects on biodiversity.
The published article by PNAS shows results that demonstrate species with higher fragmentation are at a greater risk of extinction. The article of 2017 further states, “The diversity of life on earth is jeopardized by human activities and the world’s mammals are at great risk; 27% of mammalian species globally are threatened with extinction and the loss and degradation of habitat has been implicated as a primary threat.” Furthermore, it can be understood that human actions are stepping into the demolition of habitats. PNAS continues, “Fragmentation can create detrimental edge effects along the boundaries of habitat patches, precipitate population decline, restrict animal movement and gene flow, and sever landscape connectivity.” Animals are not able to stay together, are invaded by other species, or not provided with necessities of their lives. Fences, dams, and many other human actions are disrupting species.
Not only are the habitats on land being affected, but aquatic landscapes are threatened as well. According to Impacts of Habitat Loss and Fragmentation on Terrestrial Biodiversity (2018), dynamite fishing, rising sea temperatures resulting in coral bleaching, and even freshwater changing streamflows, are all creating some sort of habitat fragmentation. In all aspects of life globally, paying attention to how actions of industries and individuals affect the connection of an ecosystem are vital. Without careful control, we will successfully strip apart many homes to living organisms. I urge you to educate yourself on the impacts of our choices as a collective planet.
Crooks, Kevin R., et al. “Quantification of Habitat Fragmentation Reveals Extinction Risk in Terrestrial Mammals.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 18 July 2017,
The published article by PNAS shows results that demonstrate species with higher fragmentation are at a greater risk of extinction. The article of 2017 further states, “The diversity of life on earth is jeopardized by human activities and the world’s mammals are at great risk; 27% of mammalian species globally are threatened with extinction and the loss and degradation of habitat has been implicated as a primary threat.” Furthermore, it can be understood that human actions are stepping into the demolition of habitats. PNAS continues, “Fragmentation can create detrimental edge effects along the boundaries of habitat patches, precipitate population decline, restrict animal movement and gene flow, and sever landscape connectivity.” Animals are not able to stay together, are invaded by other species, or not provided with necessities of their lives. Fences, dams, and many other human actions are disrupting species.
Not only are the habitats on land being affected, but aquatic landscapes are threatened as well. According to Impacts of Habitat Loss and Fragmentation on Terrestrial Biodiversity (2018), dynamite fishing, rising sea temperatures resulting in coral bleaching, and even freshwater changing streamflows, are all creating some sort of habitat fragmentation. In all aspects of life globally, paying attention to how actions of industries and individuals affect the connection of an ecosystem are vital. Without careful control, we will successfully strip apart many homes to living organisms. I urge you to educate yourself on the impacts of our choices as a collective planet.
Crooks, Kevin R., et al. “Quantification of Habitat Fragmentation Reveals Extinction Risk in Terrestrial Mammals.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 18 July 2017,
Food Waste by Owen Turick
Every year, about 72 million pounds of perfectly good food goes to waste in the United States, ending up in landfills...
READ MORE...
READ MORE...
Why it’s Worth Buying Sustainable Products by Adrian Noecker
With the growing realization that traditional products we often purchase create a lot of unneeded waste and are not sustainably sourced, there has been a range of new products that have been put on the market as a solution.
READ MORE...
READ MORE...
Cities Connecting Children to Nature Research Highlights
Detroit Waldorf School students play on a fort as their parents help build the school’s outdoor classroom. Photo credit NBC news, Erin Einhorn.
Higher frequency of green schoolyard use and more time outdoors are positively related to higher self-regulations gains in kindergarten students, especially girls, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Aug 2020
The hidden value of in-between spaces for children’s self-directed play within outdoor school environment, Landscape and Urban Planning, Feb 2020
Trees, lawns, and exercise trails, among other features, in urban green space can promote adolescents’ physical activity and health, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Sept 2019
The hidden value of in-between spaces for children’s self-directed play within outdoor school environment, Landscape and Urban Planning, Feb 2020
Trees, lawns, and exercise trails, among other features, in urban green space can promote adolescents’ physical activity and health, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Sept 2019
|
|
10 Nature Activities to Help Get Your Family Through the Coronavirus Pandemic
If the coronavirus spreads at the rate that experts believe it will, schools, workplaces and businesses will continue to close. Here’s a thread of silver lining. We’ll have more time for each other and nature. And, at least so far, nature’s always open.
Getting outside — but at a safe distance from other people — can be one way to boost your family’s resilience. If you spend too much time indoors, “your vitamin D level goes down,” advises John de Pluma, MD, a board-certified internist and proponent of food-based health practices and nature therapy. De Pluma points to research suggesting an association between visiting forests and improving immune responses. Keep in mind that the research he cites is specific to forests outside of cities. But an increasing body of scientific evidence does associate Vitamin N (for Nature) with reduced stress, better mental and physical health and greater cognitive functioning. Connecting with animals (wild and domestic) may also offset the downside of social distancing.
So, here’s a sampling of activities (borrowed from Vitamin N, Our Wild Calling, Last Child in the Woods and other sources) to help your family make the best of a tough situation. These activities all depend on availability of outdoor spaces, and thinking this through for all of us reminds us of the inequity of park and outdoor space distribution in the United States. Something to take action on after the pandemic lifts.
Pick a “sit spot.” Jon Young, one of the world’s preeminent nature educators, and coauthor of Coyote’s Guide, advises children and adults to find a special place in nature, whether it’s under a tree at the end of the yard, a hidden bend of a creek, or a rooftop garden. “Know it by day; know it by night; know it in the rain and in the snow, in the depth of winter and in the heat of summer,” he writes. “Know the birds that live there, know the trees they live in. Get to know these things as if they were your relatives.” Doing so can reduce our sense of isolation, our species loneliness. In addition, building a fort, den, or tree house can help children with problem-solving, creativity, planning and a sense of security and place.
READ MORE..
Getting outside — but at a safe distance from other people — can be one way to boost your family’s resilience. If you spend too much time indoors, “your vitamin D level goes down,” advises John de Pluma, MD, a board-certified internist and proponent of food-based health practices and nature therapy. De Pluma points to research suggesting an association between visiting forests and improving immune responses. Keep in mind that the research he cites is specific to forests outside of cities. But an increasing body of scientific evidence does associate Vitamin N (for Nature) with reduced stress, better mental and physical health and greater cognitive functioning. Connecting with animals (wild and domestic) may also offset the downside of social distancing.
So, here’s a sampling of activities (borrowed from Vitamin N, Our Wild Calling, Last Child in the Woods and other sources) to help your family make the best of a tough situation. These activities all depend on availability of outdoor spaces, and thinking this through for all of us reminds us of the inequity of park and outdoor space distribution in the United States. Something to take action on after the pandemic lifts.
Pick a “sit spot.” Jon Young, one of the world’s preeminent nature educators, and coauthor of Coyote’s Guide, advises children and adults to find a special place in nature, whether it’s under a tree at the end of the yard, a hidden bend of a creek, or a rooftop garden. “Know it by day; know it by night; know it in the rain and in the snow, in the depth of winter and in the heat of summer,” he writes. “Know the birds that live there, know the trees they live in. Get to know these things as if they were your relatives.” Doing so can reduce our sense of isolation, our species loneliness. In addition, building a fort, den, or tree house can help children with problem-solving, creativity, planning and a sense of security and place.
READ MORE..
Source: Children and Nature Network. by Richard Louv | Mar 16, 2020 | The New Nature Movement - Columns by Richard Louv
MANY AMERICANS OPEN TO PLANT-BASED DIETS, NEW STUDY FINDS
Americans are open to plant-based diets — but they don’t know where to start.
That’s according to a new report, “Climate Change and the American Diet,” published this morning by Earth Day Network and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
The report, which surveyed 1,043 American adults, found that more than half of Americans are open to eating more plant-based foods, but they don’t know what to buy. Additionally, that same number said they’d eat more plant-based foods if they better understood their meals’ environmental impacts...
READ MORE..
Source: Earth Day. Author Brandon Pytel - February 13, 2020
That’s according to a new report, “Climate Change and the American Diet,” published this morning by Earth Day Network and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
The report, which surveyed 1,043 American adults, found that more than half of Americans are open to eating more plant-based foods, but they don’t know what to buy. Additionally, that same number said they’d eat more plant-based foods if they better understood their meals’ environmental impacts...
READ MORE..
Source: Earth Day. Author Brandon Pytel - February 13, 2020
Meet the Bird Medics of New Delhi
Two brothers have given everything to treat raptors injured by a popular pastime.
Photo: Saumya Khandelwal
NEW DELHI — Sitting in his basement, below the crowded dirt roads of Wazirabad village, Mohammad Saud leaned over the body of an injured black kite.
The room was cramped, its walls chipping blue paint, the noise from the streets above drowned out by the whir of a fan. Mr. Saud stared at the bird in front of him for a couple of seconds, then gently folded its wing over with a gloved hand. At least two bones, four tendons and two muscles had been snapped. The bird’s head tilted back limply, eyes cloudy. Mr. Saud adjusted his glasses with the crook of his elbow, then stated the obvious: “This is a gone case. Nothing can be done.”...
READ MORE..
Source: NY Times. Author Oliver Whang - February 7, 2020
The room was cramped, its walls chipping blue paint, the noise from the streets above drowned out by the whir of a fan. Mr. Saud stared at the bird in front of him for a couple of seconds, then gently folded its wing over with a gloved hand. At least two bones, four tendons and two muscles had been snapped. The bird’s head tilted back limply, eyes cloudy. Mr. Saud adjusted his glasses with the crook of his elbow, then stated the obvious: “This is a gone case. Nothing can be done.”...
READ MORE..
Source: NY Times. Author Oliver Whang - February 7, 2020