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Tag Archives: nature

Monday, 2 January, 2012

Buddhism Dharma Mind Map

From Mind map

Original pen version

Tags: spiritual, compassion, meditation, mind, equanimity, honesty, impermanence, joy, karma, love, nature, peace, Buddha, mind-map


Posted in Personal , Buddhism


Posted by skyleecm at 12:24 PM no comments

Wednesday, 5 May, 2010

Will oil deal final blow to besieged marshland

From Will oil deal final blow to besieged marshland? (Field Notes - msnbc.com)

"Every inch of this habitat has something living on it," says environmentalist John Lopez. This marsh not only supports dozens of endangered species, says Lopez, director of sustainability at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring and preserving the water quality, coast, and habitats of the salt water estuary. It is a nursery for the Gulf.

"Sixty to 70 percent of the commercial (fish) species in the Gulf depend on the Louisiana wetlands," he says.

Even if this area dodges the immediate threat of an oil invasion, the marsh is in a precipitous decline, and the oil industry is one of the key reasons, according to Lopez. Oil companies have carved canals through the marsh over the decades to make way for drilling rigs and pipelines, splintering a cohesive ecosystem, he says. That has changed the flow of water, the types of plants that can survive and the ability of the area to protect the mainland from hurricanes.

From 1932 to the present, the Louisiana wetland has lost about half of its total area – a football field of area every 45 minutes on average. The oil industry is believed to have caused 30 to 40 percent of the total loss of marshland, according to Lopez. "It’s hard to quantify, but we know (the oil industry) had a big impact," he says.

Projects to control the Mississippi River and hurricanes have also contributed to the loss of wetlands, he says.

Tags: environment, pollution, nature


Posted in Science , World


Posted by skyleecm at 05:36 AM 16 comments

Sunday, 12 July, 2009

A blade of grass a drop of water


Japanese Zen master Gisan was taking a bath. Because the water was too hot, he asked his disciple to add some cold water.

The disciple brought the water and after cooling the bath, poured the remaining water on the ground.

Gisan scolded: You dunce! Everything can be put to good use. Even trees like to have water, there is life in water. Why didn't you give the rest of the water to the plants? What right have you to waste even a drop of water?

The disciple became awakened in that instant. He changed his name to Tekisui, meaning "a drop of water".


commentary：
All things have their uses. However humble its origin, every little thing has a place in nature.


仪山禅师有一天洗澡的时候，因为水太热了，叫一个弟子用冷水把水调冷一些。
年轻的弟子奉命提水来，将洗澡水调冷以后，顺手把剩下的冷水倒掉。
仪山责骂： 笨蛋！大小事物各有用处，何不活用？给树树也欢喜，水也活着。 何不拿去浇浇花草？你为何要浪费寺里的一滴水？
那年轻的弟子当下开悟，于是他取法号为“滴水和尚”。

评注：
万物皆有所用，无论生为多么的卑微，都有自己的一片天空，自己的一席地。
 


蔡志忠动画禅说滴水和尚成佛- 视频- 酷6视频

Tags: video, book, nature, dualism, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Posted by skyleecm at 12:09 PM no comments

Saturday, 28 March, 2009

50 New Species Discovered in Papua New Guinea

From thedailygreen.com. (photos)

Funded by Barrick Gold, Conservation International leads expedition to find new frogs, geckos and jumping spiders.

Related:
24 New Species Found in Suriname.

Tags: nature, wildlife, Photos


Posted in Animals , Photos


Posted by skyleecm at 05:49 AM 1 comments

Monday, 23 February, 2009

Rare Jaguars Spotted in Arizona and Mexico

From livescience.com.
The once-common jaguar has become a rare sight in North America, thanks to hunting and habitat fragmentation.

Now two were spotted in exceedingly rare and unrelated events this month.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department caught and collared a wild jaguar in Arizona for the first time, officials said Thursday. While a handful of the big cats have been photographed by automatic cameras in recent years, the satellite tracking collar will now help biologists learn more about this animal's range.

..
In 1997, a team was established in Arizona and New Mexico to protect and conserve the species. The Jaguar Conservation Team (JCT) began working with Mexico two years later, recognizing that the presence of jaguars in the United States depends on the conservation of the species in Mexico.

Interestingly, the project set up to do all this is funded by Arizona Lottery ticket sales.

..
"The photographs provide information about new recording sites, and allow us to deduce that the area where the animal was observed may be a corridor connecting jaguar populations," Monroy-Vilchis said.
..
Jaguars can live in several types of forest, grassland and dry habitat. They prey on a variety of animals, including fish, birds and reptiles. The largest contiguous area of habitat now remaining for jaguars centers in the Amazon Basin.

Related:
Amur Leopard Near Extinction.

Tags: extinction, nature, Photos


Posted in Animals , Photos , Science


Posted by skyleecm at 16:25 PM no comments

Monday, 9 February, 2009

The great ocean migration of stingrays


From dailymail.

Taken off the coast of Mexico's Holbox Island by amateur photographer Sandra Critelli, this breathtaking picture captures the migration of thousands of rays as they follow the clockwise current from Mexico's Yucatan peninsula to western Florida.

Measuring up to 6ft 6in across, poisonous golden cow-nose rays migrate in groups - or 'fevers' - of up to 10,000 as they glide their way silently towards their summer feeding grounds.

These cow-nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) have distinctive, highdomed heads, giving them a curiously bovine appearance.

But even equipped with this powerful poisonous stinger, cow-nose stingrays are shy and non-threatening in large 'fevers'. Even when isolated, they will attack only when cornered or threatened.

Unlike other stingrays, they rarely rest on the seabed (where unsuspecting humans can step on them) and prefer to be on the move.

They migrate long distances, and can be found as far south as the Caribbean and as far north as New England.

They use their extended pectoral fins to swim, and often turn upside down, curling their fin tips above the surface of the water - leaving terrified swimmers convinced that they have seen a shark. :)

Their flexible fins also come in handy when rustling up food. By flapping them rapidly over the seabed, they stir up sand and reveal crabs, shellfish and oysters, which they then feed on using their powerful, grinding teeth.

Their particular fondness for shellfish has made them public enemy number one with oyster fishermen.

But despite this, their numbers are exploding, thanks in part to rising sea temperatures. They mate every winter, and females produce a litter of five to ten young.

Critelli said: ' It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.'

- shared by Swee Fun.

Tags: Fish, nature, wildlife, Photos


Posted in Animals , Fish , Science , Photos


Posted by skyleecm at 16:53 PM no comments

Thursday, 5 February, 2009

Many New Species Discovered In Hidden Mozambique Oasis With Help Of Google Earth

From ScienceDaily.

Space may be the final frontier, but scientists who recently discovered a hidden forest in Mozambique show the uncharted can still be under our noses. BirdLife were part of a team of scientists who used Google Earth to identify a remote patch of pristine forest. An expedition to the site discovered new species of butterfly and snake, along with seven Globally Threatened birds.

The team were browsing Google Earth – freely available software providing global satellite photography – to search for potential wildlife hotspots. A nearby road provided the first glimpses of a wooded mountain topped by bare rock. However, only by using Google Earth could the scientists observe the extent of woodland on the other side of the peak. This was later discovered to be the locally known, but unmapped, Mount Mabu.

Tags: Google, nature, wildlife


Posted in Animals , Science , Technology


Posted by skyleecm at 15:13 PM no comments