Endangered Species Coalition wants us to take some time to think about Endangered Species today. Happy to oblige:
Day: March 21, 2010
Grasses
In response to my post the other day about my favorite bat, one of my wonderful students emailed me to say that she didn’t realize that I had a favorite bat. She, too, it seems, is a bat enthusiast.
Among my other enthusiasm is grass. Yes, grass (no, not that kind of grass. You People). I’m a sucker for ornamental grasses in any landscape. So it was nice to read an op-ed in the New York TImes Olivia Judson, quickly becoming my favorite writer in their stable, on grasses:
Evolution by the Grassroots – Opinionator Blog – NYTimes.com
I’ve always rather felt a bit guilty about my fondness for grasses, as trying to maintain a Kentucky Bluegrass yard is a pretty big environmental bad in arid southern California. But there are plenty of grasses that don’t need the water, and many of them are beautiful, as well, and as Judson points out, useful as corridors for wildlife.
The oldest (?) man in New York City and its effort to become elder-friendly
HT to Micheal Leddy at Orange Crate Art.
The New York Times has a article about Carl Berner, believed to be the oldest man in New York CIty:
At 108, Still Pulsing With Vigor – City Room Blog – NYTimes.com
If you navigate the page, you’ll find a story from last fall about Bloomberg’s effort to make NYC friendlier for the elderly. The best initiative in my book? The taxi and van voucher. That could really make a big difference in the lives of the seniors as they get somewhat less able to walk in NYC’s crowded streets. I know: bad me, advocating for cars. But taxis are among the most significant and most overlooked services for those without personal cars, as taxis can fill up the gaps in service hours or spaces where transit doesn’t go. And trust me, as a bus rider, taxis gives some relief to walkers and transit riders on bad days.
So much for The Pogues’ claim that New York is “no place for the old.”