From the category archives:

Issues

Thumbnail image for Give Wildlife a Break: Plum Solutions

Give Wildlife a Break: Plum Solutions

August 29, 2010 Give Wildlife a Break

I’m staying with friends in Seattle while we get situated in our new home — which really means we have yet to find a home. The two of us and our kitty are tucked under acrylic-mink blankets in a daylight basement we call our “spa” — owing to a mock rain showerhead and feather bed. [...]

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Seeking Justice for a Sea Otter: It’s a Small World

July 22, 2010 Endangered Species

I received a notice tonight from Defenders of Wildlife, asking for help in finding the killer of a young sea otter. The female otter was found along Morro Strand in June of this year — slain illegally, with the post-mortem revealing a shot to her head. In seeking additional information on this case, I landed [...]

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Creative Commons and the Ripple Effect

July 7, 2010 Pelicans

The Creative Commons license is sometimes a contentious designation in the world of art and creation. The type of Creative Commons license applied to a work further complicates the issue of copyright, fair use and commercial exploitation. For various reasons, I’ve retained the Attribution license on most of my Flickr photos . . . despite [...]

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Plenty to Squawk About

June 24, 2010 Birds

Pictured: Captive Macaw – ©ingridtaylar I was just turned on to this article through our local dove-and-pigeon rescue group, Mickacoo. Mickacoo’s dedicated and superhuman founder, Elizabeth, helped mentor me in the ways of rescuing and caring for domestic birds — a learning curve still in progress. Although I’ve worked with animals most of my life, [...]

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Graphic Video: Heavily Oiled Birds

June 4, 2010 Disasters

I truncated this post to give you the option to view or not view the graphic images in this video. Although I hope everyone sees and is moved to action by these nightmarish depictions of oiled birds, I understand how a sensitive soul might be affected by the suffering here. There’s a reason I’m up [...]

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Coming to Terms With the Gulf Oil Disaster

May 20, 2010 Pollution & Trash

The truth is, I can’t. I cannot reconcile what’s happening in the Gulf right now when I read the reports . . . when I consider the gusher of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and moving into the loop current . . . and when I understand personally what clean up and wildlife [...]

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She Comes in Colors

May 14, 2010 Non-Native Species

Have you seen her all in gold Like a queen in days of old? She shoots colors all around, Like a sunset going down, Have you seen the lady fairer? I know

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Simple Things Do Help Wildlife

May 3, 2010 Give Wildlife a Break

Whenever I get into bantering with people who disagree with me about animal issues, invariably, the last offensive (before the ad hominem attack) is suggesting that no one can fully prevent the harm or death of animals . . . that no matter what I do, my lifestyle is as harmful to wildlife as is, [...]

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Wildlife Rescue in Gulf Oil Spill

April 30, 2010 Featured Post

Wildlife oil spill experts are on the scene in Louisiana, setting up emergency centers and assessing the damage from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

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Spotted Towhee in Berkeley

Of Towhees, Tripods and Trust

April 18, 2010 Ethics

I’m extra cautious out there as a photographing fool. I feel I owe the animals my respect when they allow me into their inner sanctum to photograph them …

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All Right, Mr. DeMille . . .

April 6, 2010 Non-Native Species

This umbrella was left behind in a park where some of San Francisco’s wild parrot flock was foraging for dropped fruit in the grass.

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Blog Trail: Howling for Justice

April 1, 2010 Blog Trail

I have a history and a breadcrumb trail, but I’m still not sure how I ended up at Howling For Justice. I’m glad I did, though.

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Plastic Bag: A Low-Density Resin Love Story

March 24, 2010 Pollution & Trash

In the short film below, Ramin Bahrani and narrator Werner Herzog anthropomorphize a plastic bag. But it’s more than that…

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Squirrel Girl & The Cherry Blossoms

March 23, 2010 Humane Solutions

Squirrels don’t win popularity contests with gardeners and bird feeders. Tree squirrels, agile and clever, have been known to outsmart even the toughest mazes designed to thwart them. In fact, if you never saw the 1990s British documentary Daylight Robbery, check out the video clip at the end of this post. From there you can [...]

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Jean-Michel Cousteau Speaks Out on Captive Orcas

February 28, 2010 Animals in Sport

Just saw this video from Jean-Michel Cousteau who, in the aftermath of the SeaWorld incident, implores us humans to rethink our misguided ideas about captivity for marine mammals. Couldn’t agree more.

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Helping Humans and Non-Humans in Haiti

January 16, 2010 Disasters

Years ago, Hugh and I trained with EARS — Emergency Animal Rescue Service — part of United Animal Nations (UAN). The training prepared us to deploy in the event of natural disaster. That’s my disclaimer, there’s a slight conflict of interest in linking out to an organization of which I’m a part. But it’s one [...]

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Videos: Changing Our Cultural Views of Pigeons

January 8, 2010 Doves & Pigeons

This video is about people who’ve cared enough for pigeons to effect positive, cultural change on their behalf. There are humane ways for humans to cohabit with urban pigeons.

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Ahimsa at the Tidepools

November 16, 2009 Ethics

I swear, if I have to ask one more kid to stop throwing rocks at animals . . . It was an imperfect plan to begin with: super-low tide on a Sunday at the gorgeous but hardly-secret Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. I’ve been waiting for a daylight minus (-) tide for a few months. I’d even [...]

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A Turkey-Friendly Thanksgiving

November 11, 2009 Agriculture

A few years ago, Hugh and I started our new Thanksgiving tradition of adopting a turkey from Farm Sanctuary. We can’t, of course, house a turkey in our one-bedroom flat without significant lifestyle changes. A pigeon rescue is about the most we’ve been able to handle in person. But Farm Sanctuary offers remote adoptions of [...]

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[Not Quite] Deja Vu – Oil Spill on San Francisco Bay

November 1, 2009 Pollution & Trash

Almost two years to the day after the Cosco Busan spill, hundreds of gallons of bunker fuel leaked into San Francisco Bay on Friday morning. As with Cosco Busan, details changed as the day went on, with reports ranging from five gallons to 100 gallons. Today’s news reports don’t add any clarity, although the best [...]

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