Are the children our future on climate change?

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The phrase, "the children are our future," always sounds like a little bit of a cop-out to me.  Whenever adults have a problem that they're unwilling or unable to solve, they toss it off to the next generation with this handy phrase.  Well, a new study, Do Millennials See Climate Change as More Than Just a Meme?, states that tossing climate change solutions off to the next generation is a pretty bad plan.    By repeating research conducted about 10 years ago, researchers demonstrate these four important findings about millennials' attitudes toward climate change:

• "Overall, Millennials demonstrate similar or less engagement on global warming than older generations. 
• Millennials are less likely to discuss global warming with their friends and family than the older generations (p. 4) 
• Belief in global warming (p. 8), its importance (p. 5), and perceived efficacy in addressing the problem (p. 12) are no greater among Millennials than any other generation
• Liberal Millennials are less likely than liberals of other generations to have thought a lot about global warming before taking the survey (p. 15) and less likely to believe that people in the U.S. are being harmed now by global warming (p. 17)"

(Kuppa, S. (2018). Do Millennials See Climate Change as More Than Just a Meme?. Washington, DC: Johns Hopkins University, Energy Policy and Climate Program)

Menhaden -- little fish with a big impact

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Menhaden are what scientists call a "keystone" species.  As a keystone in an arch holds the entire arch together, keystone species have a larger-than-expected impact on their ecosystems.  Remove the keystone and things start to fall apart.  In March, I wrote that the Virginia General Assembly had refused to implement the menhaden fishing limits required by the management plan published by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).  ASMFC has now stated that Virginia may face fines for lack of implementation.  Remember, these limits only apply to the huge Omega Protein reduction company, not to bait fishermen who use the menhaden to catch other fish.  Check out this latest update on this important Chesapeake Bay keystone species. 

If you take fish oil supplements, the fish oil probably came from menhaden.  How can you help?  Try a vegetarian/vegan supplement that still provides Omega 3.  Here's the one I like:

Mammal Monday -- Asian Black Bears

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As I read through my newspaper this morning, I came across an article about Asian black bears.  The bile from these bears is used in some traditional medical practices, which is bad news for the bears.  What is bile?  Bile is a substance that is produced (in mammals -- humans too) by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and then released into the small intestine to help to emulsify fats.  This process allows the digestive system to better break down fats into smaller, more easily absorbed molecules. 

Unfortunately, for the Asian black bear, this bile is also desired by humans to treat various medical issues.  This is a big business in China, where (according to the Washington Post article linked above) over 10,000 bears are kept on nearly 70 farms. Overharvesting by humans is one of the five top causes of species extinction and endangerment (habitat loss, pollution, non-native invasive species, and climate change are the other four).  But there's good news!  VietNam and South Korea are both moving to eliminate the harvest of bear bile.  Hopefully, the Chinese government will follow their lead.

"Sausage" and peppers!

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Time for my annual post about one of my favorite summertime dishes -- italian sausage and pepper sandwiches. How can a vegetarian greenmomster have all the tastiness and none of the meat? Here’s the vegetarian version; we call it “Italian soul food” at our house!

Ingredients:

• 1 package Smart Sausages Italian Style
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 onion
• 8 tblsp olive oil
• hot dog buns or nice hoagie rolls

Instructions:

1) Slice peppers and onions into long, thin strips.
2) Put 4 tblsp olive oil into each of two frying pans and heat. Fry italian sausage in one pan and peppers and onion in the other (until the pepper and onion are very soft)
3) Place sausage into hot dog bun and top with peppers and onions. Enjoy!

How's our National Bird doing?

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For Memorial Day, we’re going to take a look at an endangered species success story – the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)! Who doesn’t love seeing our national symbol (since 1782) flying majestically through the skies? I know that one of the high points of our recent visit to Chincoteague NWR was seeing the beautiful bald eagle fly above us as we biked the island. But views of bald eagles weren’t always so common. According to National Geographic News, there were only 417 nesting pairs in 1963. Many attempts were made to try to protect bald eagles, including the 1940 Bald Eagle Protection Act and listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, but it was the banning of DDT that really helped the recovery of these birds.

DDT was a commonly used insecticide in the 1950s and 1960s. Insects had the DDT in their systems, and fish then ate the insects. Eagles then ate the fish. As we move up the food chain (insect to fish to eagle), more and more of the insecticide would accumulate in the tissues of each animal (ie. an insect has a little insecticide; fish eat many insects, thus their tissues have more insecticide; eagles eat many fish). This phenomenon is called “bioaccumulation”. DDT caused the eggshells of eagles to soften, so young would not survive. Thanks to the banning of all hunting of eagles and of all use of DDT, we can enjoy seeing our national bird today and everyday!

Bald eagle fun facts:

• The bald eagle is a large bird, weighing between 10 and 14 pounds. 
• Bald eagles can live up to thirty years, reaching sexual maturity at around 5 years. 
• Both males and females share the duty of incubating the eggs (about 35 days)
• Bald eagles can fly at speeds up to 35 mph

Meat-free Friday -- Falafel

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Summertime is a great time for falafel, when you can garnish with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers! I used to cook up the prepared falafel from a local restaurant, but now that I’ve adapted this great recipe (My Favorite Falafel, Epicurious), I like to make my own. I’m providing the version using canned chickpeas. Enjoy!

Be sure to "Like" greenmomster on Facebook for more great recipes!

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 tblsp finely chopped fresh parsley (about 1 tblsp dried)
• 2 tblsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (about 1 tblsp dried)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 – 1 tsp dried hot red pepper
• 4 cloves garlic (or 4 tsp jar garlic)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4-6 tblsp flour
• canola oil for frying
• chopped tomato, chopped cucumber for garnish
• tsatsiki sauce for garnish
• pita bread

Instructions

1. Put chickpeas and onions in a food processor or blender. Add parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Blend until mixed, but not pureed.
2. Sprinkle in the baking powder and about 4 tblsp of flour and continue to blend (If you’re using a blender, I recommend you take the mix out of the blender and begin mixing by hand at this stage). Keep adding flour until dough forms and you can make a little ball without the dough sticking to your hands. 
3. Place bowl in frig and cool for a few hours (this step is optimal, but not mandatory – it just keeps the falafel from falling apart in the oil. If you don’t refrigerate, just use hot oil and be very gentle.)
4. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a deep frying pan. Form the falafel into little balls and fry a few minutes on each side, until golden brown. 
5. Serve in pita with tomatoes, cucumbers, and tsatsiki.

So you slept though science class -- Coevolution

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I love when we get to the topic of "co-evolution" in my biology class.  Hitting that point in the semester means we're going to be leaving organ systems (which can definitely be fascinating -- who doesn't want to know how his or her digestive system or immune system work?) and moving into my favorite topic -- ecology!  Co-evolution occurs when two species evolve together, in the same place and at the same time.  Their interspecific interactions influence the direction of that evolution.  Examples include predator/prey interactions that change the genetic make-up of each species.  This video on the evolution of moths and bats is a great example of co-evolution:

Another example of co-evolution is the development of plants and their pollinators.  In fact, there was a recent surprise in the world of evolutionary science, when researchers found evidence of an insect proboscis occurring long before the presence of the flowers hypothesized to force the evolution of this type of mouthpart.  

So why do we care about co-evolution?  Because the interspecific interactions that have evolved over hundreds, thousands, or millions of years are a very finely choreographed dance.  When one species gets out of step, the entire ecosystem could be affected.  A recent article in Science, reports results that many scientists have expected -- changes in our environment due to climate change will not affect species equally and could very well upset the balance between species that have co-evolved.  Some of the species most hardest hit -- insects.  The insects that pollinate our food supply.  This is yet another reason to get involved in climate change policy at the national, state, and local level.