Posted 24 Apr 2015 / 0
Since I began teaching Ecology at Pratt, I have used the re-introduction of wolves to Yellowstone as the cornerstone case study of my community ecology lessons. Using material originally developed by my colleague Damon Chaky for the Ecology for Architects course, I ask my students to use ecological theory to explain some of the changes that Read More
A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Biodiversity Loss, Community Ecology, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Interactions, Keystone Species, MSCI-270, Ecology, MSCI-271, Ecology for Architects, Predation, Public Policy
Posted 15 Apr 2015 / 0
Today this site topped over 75,000 page views, an accomplishment that took just short of four years. And the number of spam comments that have accosted the site so far? That would be 125,651! So, you have that correct: for every time a person views a page on my site, my site is attacked by Read More
A Minor Post
Posted 23 Feb 2015 / 0
According to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, it appears that February 2015 will be the month in which the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere exceeds 400 part per million: Various sources have been predicting that we would soon reach this symbolic milestone, and it appears that this will be the month when it Read More
A Minor Post, Climate Change, Human limits, Sustainability, Web
Posted 20 Feb 2015 / 0
National Geographic News “Is Pollution Weakening Polar Bears’ Ability to Mate?” This sounds like fodder for a late-night television laugh line, but this is a pretty scary example of how bioaccumulation of toxins can have important conservation consequences. From a conservation perspective, there is nothing worse than a ubiquitous pollutant reducing the ability of a Read More
A Minor Post, Pollution, Sex and Reproduction, Web
Posted 08 Sep 2014 / 0
As you can probably see, this new thematic presentation of my site is nearly finished. I have a lot of cleaning up to do, but my former student and generous web designer Olivia Hu has gotten the basic platform of this theme up to an amazing level. Thanks so much to Olivia for all her Read More
A Minor Post, Web Design
Posted 28 Aug 2014 / 0
If you have read my posts on Open Information Environments, you know that I think that we should no longer be teaching (or expecting) our students to memorize things. With all of us carrying around smartphones or tablets that allow us to look up anything anytime pretty much anywhere, our brains are free to be Read More
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Education, Higher Education, Information Literacy, Teaching
Posted 13 Aug 2014 / 0
Unfortunately Olivia and I have had to pause on the implementation of the new theme for this site. Some technical problems were making live development really difficult, so I am back — for now — to the old theme.
A Minor Post, Web Design
Posted 12 Aug 2014 / 0
NPR Morning Edition “In Time Of Drought, Arizona’s Alfalfa Exports Are Criticized” There are so many interesting aspects to this story. First and foremost, it illustrates that “tragedies of the common” are entirely, well — common — in modern economies. The rules of resource use dictate whether that resource will be over-exploited: if there are Read More
A Minor Post, Climate Change, Cooperation, Deserts, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Ethics, Radio & Podcasts, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Agriculture, Water Supply
Posted 11 Aug 2014 / 0
If this site seems a bit different today than it was yesterday, that is because I am working with a former student (Olivia Hu) to develop a theme that better serves the needs of this site. Put more accurately: Olivia is providing all the design understanding, know-how, and work, and I am making minor suggestions. Read More
A Minor Post, Web Design
Posted 03 Aug 2014 / 0
My good friend, artist Ben Knight, has created a nice chart that captures the difference between two different theories of macroevolution: phyletic gradualism and punctuated equilibrium.
A Minor Post, Art & Design, Divergence, Evolution, Information Design, Macroevolution, Science in Art & Design, Speciation, Web
