Pelican Island Audubon Society
Serving Indian River County since 1964
Category: President’s Hoot
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The Insanity of our Infatuation with our Turfgrass Lawns. We have a choice: Seagrass or Turfgrass?
The President’s Hootby Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.October 2021 We pay at least 6 different times for our grass lawns! Here is what we are paying for in the US: 1st $$ to clearcut land to take down native trees, then replace them with expensive, non-native turfgrass. 2nd $$ wasted on precious, limited pure drinking water of which 64-88%…
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What do we need to do to Save our Lagoon and Earth?
The President’s Hootby Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.September 2021 Our Earth is undergoing its “Sixth Extinction,” as is Elizabeth Kolbert’s 2014 book title that alerts us to the rapid loss of biodiversity. Nearly 30,000 terrestrial vertebrate species with populations numbering fewer than 1,000 individuals are on the brink of extinction. More than 400 vertebrate species have become extinct…
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Creating a Humane Yard
The President’s Hootby Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.May 2021 Our grass turf lawns are causing Florida and the world a lot of trouble. In the U.S.: 64% of drinking water goes to irrigation (88% in summer) 800 million gals. of gas and oil for lawn equipment 41 billion lbs. carbon dioxide emitted from blowers & mowers …
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“Something wrong is going on from the Earth up to the Sky”
The President’s Hootby Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.April 2021 The above title is one of my favorite folk songs by Bob Rafkin. It implies that our environment and, indeed, ourselves are at risk. Things are going wrong in Florida where we have a new era of red tide on the west coast, coral reefs are dying, over…