We saw this beauty outside the backdoor window today. It’s a Neon Skimmer (Libellula croceipennis). Ms. Zeta got a good image of it to share. Dragonflies are good guys to have in your backyard–THEY EAT MOSQUITOES. Ours are attracted to our pond where they probably lay their eggs as well. We have quite a few different ones, but this beauty was a new find. Texas has about 160 species of dragonflies. Keep your eyes open to God’s beauty–dragonflies are gorgeous creatures.
As Isaac Newton said, “If I have seen further, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants.” Alexander Humboldt was a giant little spoken of today, but was a man that transformed our views of the natural world. 2019 is his 250th anniversary. Born in Berlin, he mounted numerous expeditions to the Americas where he studied and described their flora and fauna. More than that, he sought unity in nature, reinventing the Greek word Kosmos to represent the diverse relationships between the elements of the biological and physical worlds He was the first person to present the concept of human induced climate change. More species are named after him than any other human. He created the concept of biogeography–that the appearance and behavior of flora and fauna is adapted from their physical environment. Truly, one of the giants of scientific discovery. A pioneer in respect for native peoples, he was true democrat–non-racist and a legacy fit for our times.
In all the daily whining and hand wringing about climate change, we don’t hear much about positive solutions to carbon dioxide levels that don’t involve electric cars, renewables like solar and wind power and getting rid of cows. Most of these alternatives have the dark side of forcing people to do something and may have environmental costs of their own (where are we going to get the materials to make all those electric cars—strip mining???) I’d rather keep our choices open and free– keep all alternatives in play to maintain our economy in a state of growth. One strategy getting increasing examination is carbon dioxide removal from the air by amine trapping. This is an old technology—used for over 60 years Its appeal is that the amines used are recyclable and the carbon dioxide produced could be reduced and used to generate fuels—thus converting hydrocarbons used in internal combustion engines into a recyclable that can be used in our present infrastructure. It directly addresses the immediate problem of the carbon dioxide being produced now by the six billion people crowding our planet.
Certainly, challenges remain for the technology, but large facilities like refineries already use this method. Scaling up to planet size requires investment and some research but is a doable solution available now. It creates a new industry that could produce further benefits as it is developed.
More information here: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/cost-plunges-capturing-carbon-dioxide-air?
and here. https://www.climeworks.com/
Read the story here: https://indd.adobe.com/view/c3e0ea7e-de84-4417-95fc-6d742ccd67c3
I am refreshing the website and will be adding my other writings; microbiological posts, baking and cooking recipes, wine and grape interests, environmental interests, and making the site more encompassing.
As an example, I plan to write about Paella and competing shown in the above photo where our team won 2nd Place in a Paella competition.
It’s not just those waves susurrating by the sea shore. It’s bigger than that. Very cool stuff.
http://www.seeker.com/caribbean-sea-is-a-big-whistle-that-can-be-heard-from-space-1878504244.html?sf29534988=1
Great article in the New York Times with pic and some video by my friend Emma Hickerson of the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary.
Tens of millions of sharks die slow agonizing deaths every year due to shark finning. Do your part and speak up. Find the link for Stop Shark Finning.
To learn the facts, educate yourself,read Bwana Doc’s Stop Shark Finning, an action-eco-adventure with loads of facts woven with fictional characters.
Stopping the Shark Finners a Bwana Doc Adventure and Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal
Finalist 
Reviewed by Peter M. Fitzpatrick for US Review
“The most formidable predator in the fish world is being wiped out by the predator that fears them unnecessarily – man.”
Congratulations to D.R. Schneider and Stopping the Shark Finners a Bwana Doc Adventure for the Montaigne Medal Finalist Eric Hoffer Awards! 
“Everywhere we look at present we see something new trying to be born. A pregnant, swollen world is writhing in labor, and everywhere untrained quacks are officiating as obstetricians. These quacks say that the only way the new can be born is by a Caesarean operation. They lust to rip the belly of the world open” – from Reflections on the Human Condition by Eric Hoffer