Halibut Herald May 21

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ALIBUT HERALD May 21, 2009

Above Photo cred: Nicole Cann

Just last week, a true fan happened to make a dedication video of our lovely Laverne! CHECK IT OUT:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4_l8vKYL7k

Interesting Furniture Design (I want one!)

Designer’s block? Guaranteed success: when in doubt, steal from nature. http://www.designboom.com/weblog/read.php? CATEGORY_PK=&TOPIC_PK=2255

Just a Cool Sculpture I Came Across This Week

http://www.ilovebadthings.com/2009/05/gabriel-orozco.html and http://www.whitecube.com/artists/orozco/orozcosculptureone/

Inform Yourself: Are YOU What You Eat?

Missed Last Week’s Lunch n’ Learn:

Worm Composting? Not to fret’ City Farmer posted instructions online!

READ ON & WATCH VIDEO: http://www.cityfarmer.info/cityfarmer-worm-composting-tips/

“If it’s yellow, keep it mellow…” 25 ways to conserve water at home Tap Water vs. Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles

Water Conservation has become an essential practice in all regions, even in areas where water seems abundant. In addition to saving money on your utility bill, water conservation helps prevent water pollution in nearby lakes, rivers and local watersheds. READ ALL 25 WAYS HERE: http://www.eartheasy.com/live_water _saving.htm

READ ON: http://www.metrovancouver.org/region/tapwater/Pages/TapWaterPledge.aspx

The Life Span of Animals - How Long Do Animals Live?

ANOTHER READ: http://www.granvilleonline.ca/gr/tips/ home/2009/04/13/toilet-talkreducing-water-usage

Unusually Large Family of Green Fluorescent Proteins Discovered in Marine Creature

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a family of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) in a primitive sea animal, along with new clues about the role of the READ ON & VIEW COMPREHENSIVE LIST: proteins that has nothing to do with their famous glow. http://www.myuniversalfacts.com/2007/01/life-span-of-animalsREAD ON: http://www.physorg.com/news162053844.html how-long-do.html

Aleut Schoolchildren Pick Names for Vancouver Aquarium's Fur Seal Pups http://www.zandavisitor.co m/newsarticle-1445Aleut_Schoolchildren_Pick _Names_for_Vancouver_Aq uariums_Fur_Seal_Pups

Marine Mammal Rescue Update

The Northern Elephant Seal that was brought into MMR on April 6th will be released on the West Coast of Vancouver Island tomorrow (May 22)! In sticking with MMR's 2009 naming theme of Common Mammal Names, "Cow" was brought into MMR because of a skin condition know as "Northern Elephant Seal Skin Disease". This condition can happen to juvenile elephant seals while they moult and leaves them with painful skin ulcers and lesions. Cow underwent treatment for her skin disease at MMR that included antibiotics and daily baths in her fresh water pool. In her time at MMR, Cow almost doubled in weight on a diet 14 kg of herring Daily! Good luck Cow!! The Marine Mammal Rescue team Photo Credit: MMR Volunteer Sarah Lowe “Cow in her "bubble" bath”

BC Cetaceans Sightings Network

"Grey whales drop by for lunch! This spring the BC Cetacean Sightings Network has received an abundance of grey whale reports from around the Lower Mainland! Greys have been spotted repeatedly in Boundary Bay (some reports are coming from visitors to Ocean Park in White Rock who can see them from land!), Tsawwassen, Richmond/Steveston and even one report from English Bay!!! Grey whales sometimes make pit stops in these sandy-bottom shallow areas to feed during their migration. It is unlikely that the whales spotted around the Lower Mainland travel all the way to the Bering Sea like most other greys; instead these are probably whales that reside in northern BC and Vancouver Island during the summer. Want to know more about grey whales in the Lower Mainland? Check out the news story posted on the Sightings Network webpage: www.wildwhales.org " Photo credit: Doug Sandilands

How to Create Massive Change When It Comes to Climate Change http://planetgreen.discovery.com/feature/earthday/bill-mckibben-earth-day.html

INSPIRE CHANGE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5kg1oOq9tY

LEARN MORE HERE: http://www.350.org/

Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action Thich Nhat Hanh, Daryl Hannah, and Alice Walker are featured in ScaredSacred director Velcrow Ripper's documentary on the spiritual experience of social activism.

Thieving whale caught on video gives rare clues about hunting strategy, sound production These are snapshots from the unique May 31, 2006, sperm whale video off Sitka, Alaska. Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

Watch Trailer Rating: PG Run Length: 97 minutes Genre: Documentary WHERE: http://www.straight.com/timeout/listing/fiercelight-when-spirit-meets-action

We Must Fight the Alien Invasion - For the Sake of Biodiversity Last year, customs officers at the Vancouver airport got a surprise when they checked the luggage of a woman returning from China. They found 70 live Shanghai hairy crabs! Back in Vancouver, if you walk through Stanley Park this summer, you'll come across a pretty spot called Beaver Lake. It's covered in water lilies and is home to red slider turtles and bullfrogs.

READ ON: http://www.physorg.com/news162142273.html

Scientists Use Hydrophones To Find Endangered Right Whales Where Presumed Extinct

What's the common thread? It's all about invasive alien species. These are plants and animals that end up in an environment where they weren't previously found – usually with help from humans – typically causing harm to the native species and ecosystems they interact with. READ ON: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/about_us/Dr_David_Suzuki/A rticle_Archives/weekly05150901.asp

Dengue Fever Outbreak Far Worse Than Swine Flu

READ ON: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=09218510 346 LISTEN!: http://www.listenforwhales.org/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/05/18/dengue-fever-outbreakfar-worse-than-swine-flu/

Make a natural, non-DEET bug repellent

LEARN HOW: http://www.granvilleonline.ca/deet-free

ecoAUTO rebate program should return

Chef at Vancouver’s Fairmont Waterfront Hotel Harvests Apples

On March 31 of this year, Transport Canada's ecoAUTO Rebate Program ended. READ ON: http://workcabin.ca/index .php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=1075&I temid=117

Architectural Design Competition Submissions Highlight Urban Agriculture

READ ON: http://www.cityfarmer.info/chef-atvancouvers-fairmont-waterfront-hotel-harvestsapples/

Dragonfly Skyscraper Farm - an urban agriculture proposal for New York City

Form Shift: an architectural ideas design competition READ ON: http://www.cityfarmer.info/architectural-designcompetition-submissions-highlight-urban-agriculture/

Arthur Erickson 19242009 Long before green architecture meant anything other than putting in plants, Vancouver native, Arthur Erickson was integrating water and nature into his architecture. READ ON: http://www.treehugger.com/files/20 09/05/arthur-erickson-19242009.php

Dragonfly, A Metabolic Farm For Urban Agriculture New York City 2009 READ ON: http://www.cityfarmer.info/dragonflyskyscraper-farm-an-urban-agriculture-proposal-fornew-york/

Archival Photo

Library News Get your up-to-the minutes news via RSS feed from the library’s What’s new pages. Currently, there are two What’s new pages running a variety of interesting news feeds What’s New – Animals and Nature – for news about birds, reptiles, marine mammals, and places such as the Arctic What’s New – Business and General – for news about business, finance, tourism, visitor experience and marketing News on Environmental conservation and education will soon be available via the Conservation Current. Did you know that the Library has access to over 100 journals and magazines?? At least 80 of these are available full text online. For a complete hyperlinked list, visit the library journals page on Aquanet: http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/Journals .aspx As well, you can find new books and movies listed on this page of Aquanet: http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/LibraryC atalogue.aspx

Aquarist, Bill Duncan feeding American Alligator, 1958

Classified

Events

http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=431 1 http://www.focuschallenge.org/focus.html

Tap the City’s Art Pulse at Pecha Kucha Night Sustainable cities need a vibrant creative class. So how do Vancouver’s creatives stack up? Find out for a measly $10 at Pecha Kucha Night. Billed as a rousing mix of “show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour,” Pecha Kucha Night offers creative types of all stripes a chance to screen 20 PowerPoint slides of their work. The catch? They only get 20 seconds to discuss each slide – which keeps the show whipping along. READ ON: http://www.granvilleonline.ca/gr/living/2009/05/ 13/tap-city%E2%80%99s-art-pulse-pechakucha-night

http://www.granvilleonline.ca/gr/contests

ARE YOU UP FOR BOOTCAMP? Are you looking to challenge yourself physically? Increase your strength and endurance? Tone up for summer? If so….join us for bootcamp! Program Description : This boot camp is a fun, functional, innovative and interactive workout session. The exercises will challenge one’s strength and endurance, improves general well-being while burning lots of calories. The workout moves quickly going from one exercise to the next with little or no rest. Open to anyone who is interested in achieving their desired health and fitness level. Participants will be taught on how to progress the exercises to meet their fitness level. Program Details : Fee : $40 per month (for group size 6 - 9); $36 per month (for group size 10 - 12) Number of sessions : 8 sessions for 4 weeks ( 2 sessions per week) starting June 2nd. Fitness evaluation booked prior to start. Time : 5.00 – 6.00 pm Day : Tuesday & Thursday Venue : Stanley Park If you would like to join, contact [email protected], ext. 3558 or [email protected], ext. 3587. Equipment Required : Bring your own mat, dumb bells and resistance tube.

2009 Audubon Magazine Photography Awards: Birds in Focus, created to celebrate the beauty and diversity of birdlife through the art of photography, and to honor the exceptional work of talented professional, amateur and youth photographers from all over the U.S. Audubon will be accepting submissions online between May 15-July 15 in three categories: Professional, Amateur, and Youth. Photographers are encouraged to reveal a new angle or perspective in their work. “Think creatively,” advises Audubon’s design director Kevin Fisher, one of the judges. “Originality and drama rank high at Audubon. Include tight shots, such as close-ups of eyes, feathers. We welcome uncommon perspectives.” LEARN MORE: www.AudubonMagazinePhotoAwards.com

More exciting events here: http://www.vanevo.ca /events01.html Check out videos of past lectures here: http://www.sfu.ca/cst udies/science/darwin. htm