ANALYSIS by Glynn Wilson Another elected Democrat jumped ship and switched to the state Republican Party this week, another sign that the new leadership at the broke and busted Alabama Democratic Party is having a hard time stopping the bleeding from the devastating losses in the election of 2010. The party’s new executive director, Bradley…
Monthly Archives: February 2011
Scientist Riki Ott Says Dispersants, Bacteria Being Used Illegally in the Gulf
Dr. Riki Ott, a marine biologist, toxicologist, and author of Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, says chemical dispersants and genetically engineered bacteria are still being used in the Gulf of Mexico illegally, contrary to what the U.S. EPA is telling people, according to an interview…
Earth Day 2009: A Bluebird Feeding Show
Glynn Wilson Valentine’s Day marks the time each year for the beginning of Eastern bluebird nesting season in the Southeastern U.S. I caught these shots just in time for Earth Day 2009, when this beautiful couple picked one of our houses to nest in. Glynn Wilson The male with what looks like a cricket… Glynn…
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime
The Big Picture by Glynn Wilson About the time for Sunday breakfast, the digital mercury crested 60 degrees — and the bluebirds showed up at the birdbath. Watching the blue male angle for the best perch to get at the water, I had an epiphany of sorts. Sometimes, to get a better perspective, it is…
Video Contradicts BP Ads Claiming Gulf Beaches Are Clean, Seafood is Safe
Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen took a walk along the beach with his video camera on Feb. 9, 2011. Incensed at the BP ads placed on TV and news outlets all over the world proclaiming, “The oil is gone and our beaches are clean,” Wathen said. “That’s not true.”
Americans Name Unemployment as the Number One Problem Facing the Country
Thirty-five percent of Americans name unemployment as the most important problem facing the country, the highest percentage since the economic slowdown began and higher than at any point since October 1983, according to the latest Gallup Poll on the subject. The economy in general was named second and the lack of health care third. From…
Bird Pics in the Snow for February 2011
Glynn Wilson An American goldfinch [spinus tristis] braves the snow and the camera’s glare to visit the dogwood tree bird feeder Thursday, as this part of the South was blanketed in one to three inches of the white powder overnight. Glynn Wilson A dark-eyed junco [junco hyemalis] also joins the usual suspects in a feeding…
Snow Balls or Cotton Balls?
You Decide, but Watch Your Step New Bird Pic Photo Essay here… Glynn Wilson Cotton Balls? The snow balls look almost like cotton balls on the azaleas, which must be looking forward to spring about as much as the occupants of the house they decorate. Thursday’s weather forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies in the…
Rare, Endangered Whooping Crane Found Shot in Alabama
A $6,000 Reward is Offered to Catch the Killer The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the shooting death of a whooping crane reported by an Alabama conservation officer at Weiss Lake, in Cherokee County Ala., on Jan. 28. The lake is located midway between Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga. The male whooping crane, designated…
New States of Denial Website Tracks Lawmaker Attacks on Workers
Across the country, state politicians are in “States of Denial,” according to the AFL-CIO. “Instead of creating jobs and solving the problems of middle-class working families, newly elected Republican legislators and governors are pushing legislation to cut good jobs and benefits, lower wages, threaten job safety and weaken unions,” the union says in a press…
Here We Go Again: More Snow Expected Across the South
Glynn Wilson Always the stars of any suburban yard, the Northern Cardinal [cardinalis cardinalis] is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird The forecast for Middle Alabama calls for cloudy skies Wednesday with a 20 percent chance of rain and snow late in the afternoon, according…
Gas Industry Goes on the Attack Against Oscar Nominated Film Gasland
Trailer The Gas industry is attacking the Oscar nominated film “Gasland” which features interviews with ordinary citizens whose lives have been irreparably altered by hydraulic fracturing. The industry is targeting scientists such as Wilma Subra, a chemist for the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and MacArthur “Genius Award” fellow, who warns of the dangers of arsenic…
A Juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk Hunting Along Village Creek
Glynn Wilson I think this is a juvenile, female red-shouldered hawk [buteo lineatus]. Glynn Wilson It was hunting along Village Creek on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011.
Democrats React to Republican ‘Empty the Clip’ Comment
The blowback came swiftly for another loaded example of hate speech from an Alabama Republican that traveled around the world over the Internet this week. The Alabama Democratic Party issued a press release Tuesday challenging Republican Senator Scott Beason of Gardendale’s remarks at a Republican Party event in Cullman over the weekend. During a speech…
Fish and Wildlife Service Approves Return of Whooping Cranes to Louisiana
OperationMigration.Org Thirteen whooping cranes follow an ultra-light through West Jefferson County as they passed over Alabama Power’s Miller Steam Plant on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has cleared the way for the reintroduction of endangered whooping cranes to Louisiana later in February, a half century after…
Americans Show Democratic Sympathies Toward Protesters in Egypt
Americans View Political Changes Good for Egypt and the US ANALYSIS by Glynn Wilson The vast majority of Americans support the Egyptian protesters calling for a change in leadership there, with 82 percent reporting sympathy with the vocal opposition and 42 percent who say they are “very sympathetic.” Only 11 percent stand unsympathetic, according to…
Nominations Now Being Accepted for Smokey Bear Awards
The nomination process for the prestigious Smokey Bear Awards is now open but the deadline for entries is Feb. 17, according to the U.S. Forest Service. “In the world of wildfire prevention there is no greater honor than to receive the national Smokey Bear Award,” the service says in a press release announcing the award…
Kayakers Brave the Cold, Fast Water of the Locust Fork River
Locust Fork Invitational Kayak and Canoe Race 2011 Glynn Wilson The water ran high, cold and fast this weekend for the Locust Fork Invitational Kayak and Canoe Race of 2011 Glynn Wilson Bennett Smith in the Locust Fork River at King’s Bend See more of the series below…
Could Sunday’s Super Bowl be the Last?
Protest CBS Decision to Ban Player’s Ad Did you know this year’s Super Bowl game might be the last professional football game we see for a year or more? Owners of the National Football League pulled out of the collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association two years before it was due to expire,…
Republicans in Congress Attempt to Roll Back Air Pollution Laws
Earthjustice Urges the Public to Get Involved Congressional cronies of the nation’s biggest polluters are at it again, according to the environmental non-profit law firm Earthjustice. “They are hard at work authoring a wave of bills aimed at exempting their dirty energy friends from strong air pollution limits,” according to a press release. “This league…
