Garry Rogers's Blog, page 250
July 15, 2013
CorrSyl the Warrior Giveaway on LibraryThing Ended
July 14, 2013
The Green Brain & Me
July 13, 2013
July 12, 2013
Take Action to Save Habitat: #Conservation Lands
This post focuses on habitat conservation. The examples are in the U. S., but there are similar protection efforts in other countries. More are needed everywhere. A first step is to visit a protected area and learn first hand what is at stake.
The major threat to Earth’s plants and animals is direct habitat destruction by humans. Farming, logging, grazing, and construction of houses and roads are the leading types of destruction. Of course, habitat can be destroyed by volcanoes, meteorites, glacier expansion, earthquakes, etc., but none of these can compare to the size and extent of the human impacts.
One approach to the problem is to protect some areas by limiting human access and use. National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and Monuments are examples. U. S. Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt added a new strategy for protecting habitat. Opposition to new national parks and wilderness areas is so well established that those forms of protection are almost impossible to create. Babbitt combined existing regulations and formed policies that allowed for definition and protection of areas of special significance.
“The National Conservation Lands, established by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in 2000, comprise 28 million acres of the most ecologically rich and culturally significant of lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. They are found throughout the West, Alaska and even extend to the East Coast. They are our nation’s newest collection of protected public lands—standing in stature with our National Parks, National Forests and National Wildlife Refuges” (Conservation Lands Website).
Any form of protection is difficult to achieve. Hungry humans ignore such protections, and ambitious individuals see restrictions as threats to the accumulation of wealth and power. No effective steps are being taken to reverse human population growth, and in the U. S., continuous efforts are made by congressional representatives of ambitious individuals and corporations to remove the protections–to build hotels within national parks, to allow livestock grazing in wilderness areas, to increase motorized access, and to build trails through refuges. Many of these efforts succeed.
The U. S. National Conservation Lands include National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Scenic and Historic Trails, and more. The actual degree of protection is quite variable. Many of the units allow continuing livestock grazing and other destructive uses. For most, baseline conditions are poorly documented and there is no system in place to monitor changes. Invasive plants and animals, accelerated soil erosion, increasing air and water pollution, and spreading disease can go unnoticed for years. Ignored, such changes can destroy the habitat value of the Lands.
What to do
This summer, visit a reserved land unit. In the U. S., visit one or more of the sites on the map above. You can call the U. S. Bureau of Land Management office in your state or region for maps and site descriptions. Ask about ‘friends’ groups. You can probably join a hike or attend other programs led by local specialists. See for yourself what the Lands offer and what they need for better protection. Then write to political representatives calling for more and improved protection.
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Filed under: Endangered Animals, Endangered Plants, Human Impacts, Nature Conservation Tagged: Endangered Species, Human Impact, Nature Conservation
July 10, 2013
Florida Panther Good News #Endangered
Florida Panther Kitten
Praise is due to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. An orphaned Florida Panther, raised in captivity and taught how to survive by humans, is released, survives, and now has a kitten.
This much concentrated effort is very expensive. As human numbers grow without restraint and natural environments dwindle, more such efforts will be required.
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Filed under: Endangered Animals, Mammals, Nature Conservation
June 30, 2013
#CorrSyl #EcoSciFi Giveaway on Goodreads Has Ended
The Goodreads ‘giveaway’ for Corr Syl the Warrior has ended. Twenty-one copies will ship to readers in Australia, Brazil, Canada (3), Denmark, Great Britain (4), India (2), Mexico, Portugal, and USA (7) during the next week.
The book may be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Independent Bookstores everywhere. An eBook version for Kindle is available from Amazon.
About #CorrSyl
A beautifully written YA novel that will captivate environmentalists and sci-fi fans of all ages. Kirkus Reviews (starred review).
On an Earth on which intelligence evolved long before humans appeared, tensions are rising between humans and the ancient multi-species Tsaeb civilization. When an armed human patrol crosses the border into a small neighboring Tsaeb district, the district council asks a young Tsaeb warrior named Corr Syl to investigate and prepare a response. Corr learns that spies have infiltrated his district, and he realizes that many lives are at risk. He catches a glimpse of something truly evil, and with no time to spare, works out a response that will end the immediate dangers, but that might start a war.
Click here for more about the book.
Send email to Garry Rogers.
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Filed under: #CorrSyl, #EcoSciFi, #GarryRogers, Fiction, Science Fiction, YA Tagged: #CorrSyl, #EcoSciFi, #GarryRogers, Fiction
June 19, 2013
Giveaway Ended: #CorrSyl Free on Goodreads
Win Corr Syl the Warrior on Goodreads. Twenty-one paperback copies of my debut novel will ship to winners in early July. After you sign up, send me a friend request so we can share our book ratings and reviews.
Entries for #CorrSyl close in just a few days, so sign up now!
A beautifully written YA novel that will captivate environmentalists and sci-fi fans of all ages. Kirkus Reviews (starred review).
On an Earth on which intelligence evolved long before humans appeared, tensions are rising between humans and the ancient multi-species Tsaeb civilization. When an armed human patrol crosses the border into a small neighboring Tsaeb district, the district council asks a young Tsaeb warrior named Corr Syl to investigate and prepare a response. Corr learns that spies have infiltrated his district, and he realizes that many lives are at risk. He catches a glimpse of something truly evil, and with no time to spare, works out a response that will end the immediate dangers, but that might start a war.
Send email to Garry Rogers.
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Filed under: #CorrSyl, #EcoSciFi, #GarryRogers, Book Promotions Tagged: #CorrSyl, #EcoSciFi, #GarryRogers, Science Fiction
#EcoSciFi –A Hashtag for Speculative Fiction with an Ecology Theme
June 17, 2013
Hashtags: #CorrSyl, #TheTsaeb, #RhyaBright, #GarryRogers
Hashtags help us sift through internet communications to find information on the topics we like. When you see an interesting hashtag on Facebook or Twitter, click it to see more posts that include it.
Upon the advice of Laura Pepper Wu, I am introducing four hashtags for my fictional world of the Tsaeb. The first, #CorrSyl, is pretty obvious. It relates to the published book “Corr Syl the Warrior” and to the book in progress, “Corr Syl the Terrible.” #TheTsaeb is cool because it refers to the fictional world of #CorrSyl, #RhyaBright, and many others. Of course, #GarryRogers is there to catch comments on my writing.
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Filed under: Writing Tagged: #CorrSyl, #RhyaBright, #TheTsaeb, facebook, garry rogers, Hashtags
