The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Category: Science

  • This week in STEM Oct. 16

    This week in STEM Oct. 16

    By | Bryan Donoghue

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    Doomsday theorists may start gearing up for the coming of the end as Yellowstone National Park’s super volcano could erupt a lot earlier than predicted. A group of scientists from Arizona State University analyzed incredibly old ash from 630,000 years ago, and found that based on the timeframe from the last explosion, we may be close to another one. It won’t happen for the next few decades at minimum, but when it does explode, the ash would cover most of the United States and the Earth would go into a volcanic winter.

    Source: National Geographic, New York Times, New York Post, Reddit (for doomsday theorists)

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    Forget crop circles, a mysterious hole called a polynya was spotted near Antartica by researchers earlier this week. National Geographic reports that it’s the size of the state of Maine, around 30,000 square miles. Another gigantic hole was also found near Antartica last year, though it was smaller. It is still unknown what this polynya means for Antartica’s oceans and climate.

    Source: CBS, USA Today, National Geographic

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    We’re all just people, so the notion of race based on skin color is truly outdated. Researchers from University of Pennsylvania have found eight genetic variants within four regions of the human genomes that influence pigmentation.     These special cells in the skin called melanosomes that act as pouches to hold pigment molecules. This essentially means some skin is just darker or lighter. Humans genetically develop colors just like other mammals through evolution. A researcher on the study says this discovery helps dispels the biological concept of race.

    Source: University of Pennsylvania, Science Magazine, New York Times

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    There are worm like creatures under the sea known as bryozoans, and they might just be the medicine we need. A compound known as Bryostatin 1, which is found naturally in the bryozoan Bugula neritina, has been studied for decades as a potential drug for cancer, HIV, and Alzheimers. Its supply is severely limited, and finding a way to recreate the compound in a lab setting has been difficult. Researchers at Stanford University have been able to successfully recreate 2 grams of the compound so far, and they plan to continue research on benefits of the drug.

    Source: Stanford, Science News, Chemical and Engineering Magazine

     

  • Voices of Student Science

    Voices of Student Science

    By | Kyra Skylark

    Casey Goldberg
    Casey Goldberg, is in her first semester at HSU and is loving her first botany major class. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    Casey Goldberg, a freshman in her first semester at HSU is just getting to know the HSU community and campus. Yet, in her first few months of being here Goldberg has made strong connections.

    “I hope to keep the ties that I’ve made with friends, I’ve met a lot of cool people here so far,” said Casey Goldberg.

    As a Botany major Goldberg, appreciates being surround by nature on campus.

    “I really like that in Botany I can go out into the forest and I know exactly what is going on inside that tree or like, I know what kind of bush that is,” said Goldberg. “It’s pretty cool.”

    Kayla Grove
    Kayla Grove is Kinesiology major who hopes to use what she is learning to improve peoples lives. "I just want to give back to the population, to use all the things I've learned about exercise and health promotion and educate people on it," said Grove. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    Kayla Grove is studying Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science and Health Promotion. From Ventura county, Grove was drawn to HSU by the beauty of the campus’s environment.

    “The trees, definitely the nature, I was never exposed to that growing up so I fell in love with it as soon as I visited,” said Kayla Grove.

    In her fourth year at HSU, Grove has taken many classes that have greatly influenced what she wants to do after she graduates.

    “It’s all still coming together for me from each class, I’m just piecing it all together,” said Grove.

    One class that she is currently taking has helped give her an idea of the kind of career she’d like to pursue.

    “Right now I’m taking a Structural Kinesiology class with Justus Ortega, and we’ve been talking a lot about the forces of muscles and the biomechanics of muscles,” said Grove. “I think I’m leaning towards working with older people and that’s what he [Professor Ortega] specializes in too, so he talks about it a lot and how it relates to our field.”

    While it is not always considered the most glamorous of careers within exercise science, working with older individuals is what really speaks to Grove.

    “They’re facing a lot of health problems usually, specifically exercise issues, like they need more exercise in their life and they don’t know how to go about it,” said Grove. “Sometimes they will do something that is too much on their body or not enough for them.”

    Grove wants to teach others to live their lives in a healthy, happy body.

    “I just want to give back to the population, to use all the things I’ve learned about exercise and health promotion and educate people on it,” said Grove. “I want people to live longer healthier lives.”

    Ariel Robinson
    Ariel Robinson a mathematics major has found a community in Humboldt. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    Also looking for a change from the environment, as well as the social scene in Southern California, Ariel Robinson is a mathematics major. In her fourth year at HSU, Robinson has gone through many math classes and is working on understanding the smaller intricacies of some subjects.

    “I would really like to be a teacher at a collegiate level so I’m hoping this stuff really sticks with me,” said Ariel Robinson.

    Not only is Robinson learning mathematics, but she is also learning teaching habits from her professors. As a future teacher herself, there are certain things from her own learning that she plans to take with her and use in her own career.

    “I’m really happy with the way I have been treated by a lot of my math professors, they understand that I’m coming at it from a new point of view,” said Robinson. “That’s really one of the things that I’d like to carry on, this sense of understanding that we are all just learning something new, and that we can all help each other to learn something new.”

    The communication and understanding Robinson has experienced in her classes and on campus have made her happy to be an HSU student.

    “A lot of people down south don’t really understand the different struggles people have to go through and are really self centered,” said Robinson. “But up here I feel like it’s more community oriented and people really care about those around them.

    Robinson hopes to carry the sense of community and understanding she found at HSU wherever she goes after graduating.

    “Really just the overall attitude that people have here, that differences are accepted and that anybody can have a chance, that was really the most heartwarming thing when I came up here,” said Robinson.

  • Rising Tides

    Rising Tides

    Transitioning into college as a freshman can be tough, especially if you are new to the surrounding area. Place-based learning communities at Humboldt State University strive to ease this transition by providing social and academic aid for incoming science students.

    A new place-based learning experience is expected to take off in the fall semester of 2018 and will be available to Marine Biology and Oceanography freshmen. The Rising Tides program will be overseen by HSU Botany professor, Frank Shaughnessy.

    Two communities already implemented on campus include Klamath Connection and Stars to Rocks.

    Shaughnessy has been involved with Klamath Connection since its beginning in 2015 and says it served as a model for the following place-based communities on campus.

    With only 14 percent of incoming HSU freshmen being local, many struggle to adapt and settle into the new environment away from home. Shaugnessy says through place-based learning, freshmen build connections before their semester even begins and learn to “survive and adapt.”

    As part of a place-based learning community, students can choose to live with other freshmen in the program who share similar interests as them. Students also collaborate on a year-long linked project.

    Shaughnessy says the main reasons for student success in Klamath Connection and Stars to Rocks has been the social peer support system these programs help set up.

    The new Rising Tides program will focus on exploration of marine life and science in the outer coast Trinidad and compare it to that of the inner coast of Humboldt Bay through field study. The program also includes explorations of Native American life in these areas.

    Currently, the program has close to 20 faculty and staff members on board and is working on developing close working relationships with the Wiyot and Yurok tribes of Humboldt County, as well as the Trinidad Rancheria.

    Approximately 50 students are expected to take part in Rising Tides in the fall of 2018. The program begins with a 5-day summer immersion before the semester and introduces freshmen to fellow students, professors and faculty on campus.

    Despite the programs being science-oriented, they are cross-disciplinary and implemented in students’ classes outside the science field.

    Two more project-based learning communities are planned to roll out within a couple years.

     

  • Garden Reclamation

    Garden Reclamation

    By | Michelle N. Meyers

    The CCAT garden’s are moving and bending in shape, forever changing with the seasons, through the helping hands that come and go. The folks at CCAT are welcoming these changes of seasons with open arms. Rows upon rows of seeds have been planted and now they wait patiently for their chance to peek through the top layer of soil to greet the moist air. Yet, it’s still just too early to see what lies within these carefully raked piles of soil. It’s fall in Humboldt, the height of the rainy season will soon be upon us, and outside the rain gently flutters across the terraced gardens, over the open grass, and trickles down the windowed walls of the CCAT greenhouse.

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    CCAT herb garden. | Michelle Meyers

    Inside the greenhouse, Austin Anderson, Co-Director at CCAT is hard at work, re-treating its wooden floors in order to limit wear and tear and slow weathering, so that the floors stand strong, hopefully for many seasons to come.

    In regards to the greenhouse, CCAT volunteer coordinator Natalie Rynne says, “The thing that everybody is most excited about, is the hydroponic system.”

    The new system is intended to reduce water usage by controlling the amount of water that goes into the plants and recycling their runoff. In addition, Rynne says crops that can’t commonly be grown in this climate can now be grown year round inside of the greenhouse.

    Outside of the greenhouse, around the CCAT grounds and gardens, coordinators and volunteers are currently working on revamping these surrounding areas to prep for new, exciting projects.

    “We’re trying to reclaim everything again,” said Rynne. “Clear all the weeds, mulch everything, and build up the soil.”

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    Cob woodfire oven and Compost Demonstration Site. | Michelle Meyers

    One of the many projects underway in the CCAT gardens is the Food Forest. Rynne says the project works to “create a forest of edible plants,“ by creating different gardening areas that all even have different names.

    The folks at CCAT cook with the food grown on the grounds and would like the Food Forest to be a place where visitors can enjoy the ‘fruits’ of the Food Forest as well. Rynne also hopes that the Food Forest can be a place where people come to simply hang out and relax.

    “It smells amazing up there because of the jasmine” says Rynne as she pauses to gaze at the billowing bushes of jasmine blooms.

    Near the jasmine bushes, the folks at CCAT have also recently constructed by hand what are called Cob structures. Everything that went into these structures was derived from all organic or reused materials, such as clay, straw, sand, newspaper and a natural plaster, used to coat the structures. This form of building has proven to be incredibly versatile, hearty and efficient.

    Anh Bui
    Anh Bui, NRG and ETaP grad student. | Michelle Meyers

    So far they have constructed Cob benches so people have another place to sit and enjoy the scenery, Cob terraces, in order to provide homes to a variety of plants, and even a wood fire Cob oven, which allows them an opportunity to prepare meals outdoors. Due to Cob’s heat retention properties, it makes to be an incredible oven explains Rynne.

    Over the years, CCAT has come a long way. They began their journey in 1978, and since then coordinators and volunteers have been hard at work, addressing issues in the local and global environmental community, hosting sustainability centered workshops and also working the property itself, installing sustainable technology such as a composting bin, solar hot panels, and wind turbines.

    The Buck House itself has undergone immense change over the years. It’s seen repairs, improvements, and new sustainable innovation come and go, such as the addition of a new roof, an entire ground floor and the installation of a Graywater catchment system used to recycle used dish, shower, laundry and hand-washing water.

    A new season has just begun and there’s still lots of gardening and more to be done at CCAT.

    TO GET INVOLVED:

    The Campus Center For Appropriate Technology is located on the Humboldt State University campus near the Redwood Community Forest.

    To learn more about CCAT and to keep up to date on all of the happenings at CCAT, click here.

    Head over to their Facebook page under Campus Center For Appropriate Technology

    To contact CCAT

    (707) 826-3551

    Email: ccathsu@gmail.com

    CCAT Upcoming events:

    Open Mic Night

    Oct. 13 at 7:00pm

    Herbalism Workshop with Loba Loca

    Oct. 18 at 5:00pm

     

  • Voices of students in science

    Voices of students in science

    By | Kyra Skylark

    Margaret Peck
    Margaret Peck, a Biology major with an emphasis in ecology and evolution, moved to Humboldt this past June. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    Margaret Peck, a Biology major with an emphasis in Ecology and Evolution, moved to Humboldt this past June. While drawn to the school’s Science department, Peck found great value in a class outside her major.

    “My Native American Studies course, I want to go into land management and a lot of that is working with the tribes of an area to get them back on the land,” said Peck. “To give the land back to them and have a kind of co-management. So I’m learning a lot of techniques to better understand where they are coming from and learn more about their history. So much of their history is not actually taught to us in our education or if it is taught to us, it is not anything remotely true or factual about what actually happened to them.”

    Learning history and communication skills in addition to her core science classes helps prepare Peck for possible career opportunities in the future.

    “I wanna help get people on the land and I really just want to be outside, that’s where I’m happiest,” said Peck.

    Darrian Francki
    Darrian Francki, a second year Forestry major with a concentration in Wildfire has changed his original goal since taking a variety of classes here at HSU. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    Darrian Francki, a second-year Forestry major with a concentration in Wildfire has changed his original goal since taking a variety of classes here at HSU.

    “When I first started at HSU I was thinking more of [a career in] national parks, but now that I’ve learned more, I’m open to anything within my major,” said Darrian Francki. “Whatever comes my way.”

    Cindy Luke
    Cindy Luke, an Environmental Science and Management major just started her second semester. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    Cindy Luke, an Environmental Science and Management major just started her second semester.

    “What brought me here was knowing that this was such a good place to be for environmental studies,” said Cindy Luke.

    Focusing specifically on Environmental Education and Interpretation, Luke hopes to teach individuals of all ages the value of being outside in nature.

    “Teaching all people in general, it’s important to start when they are younger, but it’s also important to know that they don’t stop learning,” said Luke.

    Luke is excited to be apart of the HSU community,

    “I have always loved the outdoors,” said Luke. “I was a single mom, so I went into accounting and business, payroll, because I already had an associate’s there. But I’ve always wanted to be outdoors and I’ve always wanted to share that love.”

    Conrad Stielau
    Conrad Stielau, a Forestry major in his second year is stoked to be going to school in the redwoods. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    Conrad Stielau, a Forestry major in his second year is stoked to be going to school in the redwoods.

    “It’s the Harvard of Forestry colleges,” said Conrad Stielau. “I’m a Forestry nerd, I deeply care about the trees, and there’s not a better place to learn.”

    Focusing on Wildland Fire Management within the Forestry concentration, Stielau is loving learning tools applicable for his future career.

    “In my Fire Ecology class, we’re understanding fire regimes,” said Stielau. “Basically how fire suppression in the United States has led us to the problem that we are in now, which is why we have more expensive wildfires and more severe wildfires every year.

    Stielau is enjoying all of his classes more than he anticipated.

    “Natural Resource Conservation is very cool, J. Dunks the man,” said Stielau.

    Stielau hopes to use what he leans at HSU to improve the current system.

    “I want to fix the US Forest Service,” said Stielau. “Basically fix America’s forests. I’m a younger generation of educated people in Natural Resource Science, all the people who have been making decisions in the last hundred years are old men. They don’t understand, they don’t think the same way. They still use plastic water bottles or they still drive their car half a block to work, they just don’t understand our sustainability mission.”

    Humboldt State’s commitment to environmental awareness and sustainability is what draws many students to the university, and they carry that after they graduate.

    “To bring a young fresh idea to it, a person like me who gives a shit– I give a lot of shits–it’s something I care about, I’m deeply passionate about Forestry,” said Stielau.

  • Interdisciplinary innovation

    Interdisciplinary innovation

    By | Bryan Donoghue

    When the disciplines of Physics, Chemistry and Geology combine it creates a greater understanding of how the sciences are interconnected. Humboldt State’s professors and faculty understand that, and continue to operate their interdisciplinary program, Stars to Rocks.

    The program is modeled after Humboldt State’s successful pilot program, the Klamath Connection. Katlin Overeem, the HSI STEM lead coordinator said Stars to Rocks is for first time freshman in the Chemistry, Geology or Physics departments. Aside from showing the relations between the three majors, Overeem said Stars to Rocks teaches time management, how to take notes, and introduces students to various resources on campus like the learning center, multicultural centers, and the peer mentoring program.

    StarstoRocks_Web-1.jpg
    Taken from Humboldt State HSI Stem Flickr

    “Students have the tools that they need to know how to succeed as a student at HSU,” Overeem said. “This interdisciplinary strategy creates a more cohesive approach to learning for the student.”

     

    The ability to articulate your science is a crucial skill. Kevin Boston, a Forestry professor with Stars to Rocks is a believer in, “we learn better when we write about it.”

    “I’m teaching this material in critical thinking really about how to think and reply critically to Environmental Science kind of problems in general, that was sort of the approach I was going to take for the class,” Boston said. “We learn to be better writers by being better readers.”

    This is a sentiment shared among other faculty members, like Overeem. Overeem explains one of the components of the program is block scheduling, which means that their courses are already set up for them. Freshmen in the Stars to Rocks programs get to be in the same sections of their courses together, and that allows the faculty of the program to show how a variety of disciplines is needed in order to be a successful scientist. The set of courses are all GE courses.

    “Even if a student decides at some point that Chemistry isn’t right for them, all the courses that we put them into will count towards another degree at HSU,” Overeem said. “The ability to properly communicate your science is a really important component of being a scientist as well. So we’re able to work with these other departments like English and Communication and build these bridges across campus between departments that don’t typically interact.”

    Zane Comden, a senior Physics major at Humboldt State sees benefit in the public outreach the program is involved in, and finds it to be a great way to show how all these disciplines are interconnected.

    “There’s a lot of openings in the field for public outreach and stuff like that, Especially considering that people want to know where their tax dollars are going when it comes to things like publicly funded research,” Comden said. “When it comes to sciences like that, you can’t really have Geology without Chemistry and you can’t really have Chemistry without Physics, and underneath all that you can’t really have Physics without Math.”

    StarstoRocks_Web-3.jpg
    Taken from Humboldt State HSI Stem Flickr

    Aside from the interdisciplinary aspect, Boston finds the program to be a great way for students to stay on a good path.

    “You would see a number of students that’d struggle in their first year. Good students get into bad habits,” Boston said. “The first year experience from high school to college, and the freedom associated with college can effect students differently. Good students in high school can struggle mightily in college.”

    Boston said drugs and alcohol uses can become common in certain students, and that can contribute to performance problems.

    “I think this is an interesting opportunity to address some of those issues for students and make the first year more valuable to them. It’s a very interesting pedagogical approach,” Boston said.

    The program continues to be a success according to Overeem, and will continue next year. For those looking to join Humboldt State University next semester, Overeem will be communicating with Oceanography and Marine Biology professors to pilot Rising Tides, a new interdisciplinary program.

  • This week in STEM

    This week in STEM

    By | Bryan Donoghue

    Elon Musk continues to make new announcements on rockets that will help us travel to far away places, but recently he’s getting in touch with his roots. Rather than 12-meter rockets he’s been wanting to go to Mars with, Musk is opting to launch smaller vehicles that are only about nine meters tall. These rockets can travel up to 18,000 miles per hour, making long-distances shorter. Musk said that any two points on Earth would be less than an hour apart. Buying a ticket for a seat will cost the same as full fare economy in an airplane.

    Source: New York Times

    Our species’ origins are close to 200,000 years old according to some investigators. Through a recent study on a boy who lived in South Africa 2,000 years ago, Homo sapiens may have emerged as a genetically distinct species as early as 350,000 years ago. Researchers retrieved a complete version of the ancient boy’s DNA from his skeleton to compare with DNA from modern people and Stone Age species. The boy’s DNA is not affected by the migrations that occurred 2,000 years ago, so evolutionary geneticist Carina Schlebusch of Uppsala University in Sweden finds it to be the best benchmark so far for gauging when Homo sapiens originated in Africa.

    Source: Science News

     

    Animals travel the world’s oceans on makeshift rafts, whether they’re synthetic or natural. The 2011 Japanese tsunami caused a mega-rafting event and objects from Japan traveled as far as 7,000 km. The tsunami transported hundreds of species to the United States and Canada. Researchers have documented animals on 635 debris objects such as docks and buoys. There were 279 living Japanese invertebrate and fish species, with about 20 species together in each piece of debris. As the world population grows, the amount of waste entering the ocean will rise. Due to this, in the future of our coasts could become a lot less diverse.

    Source: Science Magazine

     

    Cells can be reprogrammed using mixtures of DNA, RNA and proteins. The most popular method uses viruses as a delivery vehicle—although they can infect unintended cells, provoke immune responses and even turn cells cancerous. Now there’s another process known as tissue nanotransfection, which involves a chip holding an array of tiny channels that apply electric fields to individual cells. This gives the chip the ability to convert or reprogram cells into other types, which has raised hopes for regenerating damaged limbs and organs. Researchers used the chip to restored the legs of injured mice and claim the technique is developed enough to test on people.

     

    Source: Scientific American

  • Divesting for a sustainable future

    Divesting for a sustainable future

    Years ago, the movement to move away from fossil fuels was at the forefront of the public eye. Marchers organized and protests took headlines, screaming for change citizens demanded organizations eliminate their support for unsustainable energy practices.

    In the spring of 2013, a group of Humboldt State students approached Craig Wruck, the Vice President of the HSU Advancement Foundation, to discuss eliminating the university’s investments within the fossil fuel industry and other concerning sectors.

    “Four years ago, the students came to us, and it was during the whole run up to the fossil fuels divestment movement,” said Craig Wruck. “Humboldt State has been very good about socially responsible investing since the foundation was reconstituted, so we never had separate investments and we had never owned separate stocks. It would have been easy for us to say, ‘Good news, we’ve already divested, we don’t own any Texaco stock, because that was literally true.”

    Yes, HSU was not directly invested in fossil fuels. However, indirect mutual funds held ties to the fossil fuel industry. This is what the students wanted to change.

    “Our endowments as of the end of last year totaled about 30 to 31 million, and those are contributions over the last thirty years or so. They are then invested, and they are invested in what are called institutional funds, but are actually mutual funds. That’s not unusual for an endowment of our size. We just aren’t big enough to pick individual stocks, we get better diversification and lower costs if we invest in these institutional funds.”

    Sorting through the details of the institutional funds was not an easy decision at first.

    “It was a real risk for the foundation board, because they’re programed to get the best return they can,” said Wruck.

    It took over a year to compromise and for the board to begin the process of divesting from the mutual fund investments that had ties to fossil fuels. The Advancement Foundation and the students worked to find the best compromise environmentally and financially.

    “It’s an interesting argument. Whether the best way to force change in the corporate world, in terms of utilities and energy production, is to stop investing in it,” said HSU President Lisa Rossbacher.

    Rossbacher was also a member of the Foundation board, and debated the next step in divesting from fossil fuels.

    “Do we stay invested and use the fact that we are shareholders to argue from within, or do we make an even more dramatic statement and divest,” said Rossbacher. “We are in the process of divesting.

    The board decided, at the encouragement of the students, to look into the indirect mutual funds and their ties to fossil fuels.

    “We, [the Advancement Foundation] decided to take on the more complicated work of looking into the investments that the mutual funds own and trying to figure out how to green those up,” said Wruck. “Nobody had done that before.”

    According to an article written by Annette J. Penny, a HSU grad and one of the students who originally approached the foundation about divesting, they were finally able to agree on the next steps towards divesting in late 2014:

    1. “To create a new SEROP fund in which donors can rest assured knowing their donation is being invested only in portfolios that align with their own personal Environmental and Social Governance Criteria views.
    2. To move 10% of the existing $26 million portfolio (so $2.6 million) within 12 months of SEROP fund implementation into funds guaranteed to not have holdings in any of our concerning sectors. (HSU’s definition of “concerning sectors” was expanded to include all energy and utility stocks rather than just fossil fuels in order to steer clear of any unintentional fossil fuel investments. Under this definition, 7.5% of HSU’s portfolio is invested in concerning sectors.)
    3. To create a SEROP Investment Challenge which involved massive fundraising for increasing divestment capacity. For every $500,000 that is raised into the SEROP fund, another 10% will be moved. And once we’ve raised $5 million, HSU may be able to go completely Fossil Free!”

    From there, things began to move faster and the Humboldt State Investment pledge was created. Below are the ten agreements stated in the pledge, provided by the 2014 press release on the HSU Investment pledge:

    The Humboldt State University Advancement Foundation will:

    1. Define Socially or Environmentally Concerning Sectors (“Concerning Sectors”) in a broad, bold way so as to include:

    • Energy – extraction, distribution, refining and marketing (i.e. Oil, natural gas, coal and related/supporting industries);
    • Utilities – electricity generation (i.e. Utilities utilizing carbon-based fuels);
    • Aerospace/Defense, Alcohol, Tobacco, Gaming and Casino industries. Revisit definition and revise as appropriate over time.

    2. Continue to abstain from any direct investment in Concerning Sectors.

    3. Monitor and report on the value of indirect investments in Concerning Sectors.

    4. Make reasonable attempts to reduce the size of indirect investments in Concerning Sectors, provided any divestments are consistent with the Foundation’s fiduciary requirements.

    5. Define Socially or Environmentally Responsible (“SER”) organizations, projects or assets initially as ones which are environmentally friendly (i.e. reduce the levels of atmospheric C02) or improve the health and well-being of our community members. Revisit definition and revise as appropriate over time.

    6. Actively seek offsetting investment opportunities in SER organizations, projects or assets.

    7. Invest directly in SER organizations, projects or assets provided that:

    • Investments meet the Foundation’s fiduciary requirements and policies.
    • Investments support the stated HSU mission, vision and values.

    8. Monitor and report on the value of direct investments in SER assets and active investments in SER organizations or projects.

    9. Monitor and report on the value of obvious indirect investments in SER organizations, projects or assets.

    10. Create a SEROP Fund (with appropriate policies) and actively seek donations of funds and assets that could be used to support Humboldt’s SEROP Pledge.

    Since the Humboldt Investment pledge was created, HSU has taken actions to be more sustainable and environmentally responsible.

    “The Humboldt Investment pledge does a couple things,” said Wruck. “We define socially concerning sectors much more broadly than anyone else. So we have always tried to minimize our investments in alcohol, tobacco, firearms, gaming, that sort of thing. We decided to add the entire energy sector and the entire utilities sector.”

    Eliminating investments in both the energy and utility sectors was a huge step for the university.

    “As we debated it we realized, ‘What’s the point of divesting in fossil fuels if you still own utility stocks that have power plants that burn coal,’” said Wruck. “So we decided to just eliminate both of those sectors. That has an impact on investment return, although we are three years in now and our investment return is as good as it’s ever been.

    Deciding to divest from the energy and utilities sectors was not the easiest decision, but it was the next step in the university’s commitment to environmental accountability.

    “A lot of schools have said, ‘Well you know, we’d love to step away from investing in petroleum and other fossil fuels, but we’re worried about what the impact of that would have on our endowment holdings,” said Rossbacher. “Our job is to increase those resources, that then can help the university. We divested and [still] have a really strong return on investment.”

    The endowments the university receives funds numerous programs on campus, in addition to providing individual scholarship funds to students.

    “Endowments are created by donors who give us money, and their direction to us is that we are to invest it and distribute the investment profits, but try to maintain it as a permanent fund,” said Craig Wruck. “So we try to maintain a little bit for inflation each year and then make distributions off of that.”

    There was the possibility of having a much weaker investment return after divesting.

    “They (financial advisors to the foundation) advised us that we would probably suffer about a 10th of a percent loss because we were going to pay attention to these sectors,” said Wruck. “It didn’t work that way, we have had our second best year ever as of June 30th.”

    Since this process began in 2013, the foundation has made significant progress in divesting from concerning sectors.

    “The portfolio itself is totally divested, the equity portfolio has totally divested about a fifth of it. It’s a balance, you don’t get as good investment return if you exclude utilities and energy, so we want to protect the investment return and continue to green up the portfolio.”

    Another main focus for Wruck and the Advancement Foundation is to invest more in environmentally sustainable practices and programs.

    “About a year ago the board members decided to raise money for what they called a ‘Go Green fund,’ to support students working on projects that contribute to a sustainable environment, and they just met their goals,” said Rossbacher.

    During the first few weeks of the semester, the Go Green fund’s reached its goal, and the fund was considered successful enough to continue.

    “We are just this year launching the Go Green interns,” said Wruck. “That’s money that the foundation raised, it’s a little over $100,000, and it’s being used to employ students to do sustainability work on campus.”

    The Climate Action Plan was also fully completed last year, planning out the next steps to create a more sustainable campus. A group of students have been chosen to work on the project alongside the newly formed campus-wide Sustainability Committee.

    “Working through the Office of Sustainability, [the students] are getting paid for their work and their job is to implement the campus’s sustainability plan, [also known as the Climate Action Plan,]” said Wruck.

    Students took the initiative, first bringing the question of divesting to the foundation in 2013. Since then, numerous actions have been taken to carry out the ideas originally

    “We wouldn’t have done this if the students hadn’t brought it to our attention. We were doing good, we were doing socially responsible investing the right way, but we wouldn’t have taken this extra step had the students not encouraged us to do that,” said Wruck.

    Students are the ones who prompted this change, and they did so simply because they cared about the environment and the university. In the article Annette J. Penny released back in 2014, she explains why she needed to fight to divest.

    “So why did I push so hard,” wrote Penny. “Because prioritizing the people and planet over profits is always the right thing to do. Because “Green Funds” are up and coming, allowing for quick growth in fund diversity. And because I can’t stand the thought of one day telling my daughter that I didn’t do everything I could to keep the planet healthy and alive for her to enjoy like we are lucky enough to do today.”

    She was right to push. Since the issue was first discussed we have begun the process of divesting, the Climate Action Plan was created, the Sustainability Committee was formed, and the target for the Go Green Fund was met.

    “We can do both, we can support the green efforts that are so aligned with the values of this institution and still increase the rate of return on our investments,” said Rossbacher.

  • Voices of Student Science

    Voices of Student Science

    Parisa Ghaffari, Senior, Biochemistry major—

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    Photo credit: Bryan Donoghue

    Q: Where are you from?

    A: I’m Persian, and I’m from Iran. I’ve probably been here since junior high, my family moved here to Humboldt.

    Q: What are you studying?

    A: I like chemistry, so I decided to major in Biochemistry, because I like biology too.

    Q: What are you planning to do with your degree?

    A: I’m planning on working in a research lab or something. Just for now, I was thinking biomedical engineering.


    Nicholas Hernandez, Senior, Physics major—

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    Photo credit: Bryan Donoghue

    Q: Where are you from?

    A: I’m from Long Beach, California. Humboldt was literally the farthest away from LA that you could get that you still get in-state tuition.

    Q: What are you studying?

    A: Right now, I’m doing gravitational research with C.D. Hoyle, a professor here in the Physics department. We’re researching novel tests of gravity below 50 microns. So I’m doing some research with the Physics department.

    Q: What are you planning to do with your degree?

    A: I’ll hopefully go to grad school, and get into the academia life.

    Bryce Baker, Junior, Physics major—

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    Photo credit: Bryan Donoghue

    Q: Where are you from?

    A: I’m from Fortuna, I’m a local. I grew up here. I still live with my parents, and I’m still living out of Humboldt. I always take a bus here everyday, an hour and half bus ride. It’s a bit of a travel. The reason I chose here and not to go all the way across the country is that it’s home, it’s cheap, it’s what I wanted to do so I could do grad school and afford grad school.

    Q: What are you studying?

    A: I’m more looking into sustainable energy and renewable technology type of stuff. Right now, I’m working on a research project with Dr. Ruth Saunders, a teacher in the Physics department, looking at zinc oxide nano-rods and what I’m specifically doing is looking at how they grow and trying to create a proper growth model for comparing their radius of growth to their height.

    Q: What are you planning to do with your degree?

    A: I’m not exactly sure, I could see myself going in a lot of different directions. I know immediately after HSU though, I do plan on going to a grad school, and I do plan on looking for those opportunities. What I want to do is sustainable energy, though.

  • Benefits of being outside

    Benefits of being outside

    By | Bryan Donoghue

    Being outside rejuvenates our bodies. Geneviève Marchand, a Kinesiology professor specializing in outdoor recreation notices that many students come here and take opportunities to get to know the community of outdoor recreation, but that there are also some students who do not. This point of curiosity led to a study, if participation in the outdoors near Humboldt State helps students feel more connected to their campus community.

    “My hypothesis is that it is and that students that actually either have opportunities to go outdoors or take the time to go outdoors feel more connected to Humboldt State.” Marchand said. “I’m really interested to find if that works and if that makes a difference.”

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    Gold Beach, Oregon Photo credit: Iridian Casarez

    The outdoors provide a variety of different benefits under a cluster of different weather conditions and locations. Although, being outside in nature like we have in Humboldt stays consistently beneficial in how it effects our bodies and mind.

    The cooling air is helpful with refreshment, acting as a stimulant of sorts that wakes up an individual, specifically someone who has been fatigued.

    “When I’ve been at the gym all day, it’s nice to just walk outside and feel the cool air and just kind of chill for a second,” said Madeline Hatch, a sophomore kinesiology major at Humboldt State.

    This sentiment aligns with Marchand’s research. According to Marchand, just being outside reduces our stress levels.

    “We basically just go outdoors, and somehow being that it’s nature, that open space, being in green, the sounds and the smells, it all reduces our stress levels.” Marchand said. “There’s actually evidence of it reducing your heart rate, and calming your breathing.”

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    Grants Pass, Oregon Photo credit: Iridian Casarez

    It’s not just feeling exhausted physically, after spending a while studying, sometimes the brain needs a breath of fresh air to be woken up as well.

    “I definitely notice that when I get bogged down with studying, if I take my reading outside, it kind of wakes me up a bit,” said Kindall Murie, a senior marine biology major.

    There’s evidence that the outdoors helps plenty psychologically. According to Marchand, it reduces mental stress and gives just a better mental wellbeing overall.

    The outdoor environment of Humboldt County is something to be grateful for according to Steve Bell, an assistant supervisor at the Student Recreational Center at Humboldt State.

    “You have to stimulate yourself. This is a natural way to get what’s available out there.” Bell said. “So that’s what we’re doing. We’re making the most of an opportunity to be out here, by being outside today. I was just telling my daughter here that you really need to thank God for the opportunity.”

    To enjoy the benefits of being outside, you have to put the effort in. Make that first step. The benefits will follow.

    “I was telling my daughter, we are going to get a lot more out of this than what you put into it.” Bell said. “You don’t only reap what you sow, you reap more than you sow. We’re doing it by faith, and we’re basically sowing the seed today to reap the benefits of another time.” 

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    The top of the sky trail at Trees of Mystery. | Photo by Iridian Casarez

    According to Marchand, there’s evidence we learn best about ourselves, and potentially about how to work with other groups in outdoor settings that are challenging us.

    “In the end, nature takes care of letting them know if they did a good job, or not.” Marchand said. “I think they learn about themselves, and become better and more in tune with themselves as human beings.”

  • This week in stem

    This week in stem

    By | Bryan Donoghue

     

    Ancient feathered ostrich-like dinosaurs laid clutches of blue-green eggs just like the traits of robins from today. The eggs are thought to have camouflaged themselves in forested environments, and they were in open nests dug into the ground. Using chemical analyses, scientists were able to detect traces of two pigments, biliverdin and protoporphyrin, which are commonly found in modern bird eggs. According to David Varricchio, expert on dinosaur reproduction at Montana State University, “The discovery highlights how much our thinking has changed about dinosaur preservation and how much more we can learn about the original animal.”

     

     

    Source: National Geographic

     

     

     

    Known as the “cradle of humanity”, Africa is from where our earliest human ancestors spread across the rest of the world some 50,000 years ago. Africa is also where people—ancient and modern—are most genetically diverse. Harvard University evolutionary geneticist Pontus Skoglund and his colleagues obtained DNA from 15 ancient Africans from between 500 and 6000 years ago and found ancient genomes and evolutionary adaptations. This has been the first big effort to sequence ancient African DNA and reveal how early humans swept across the continent.

    Source: Science Magazine

     

     

     

    For a long time, scientists have been left wondering if jellyfish can fall asleep. Three Caltech graduate students found that at least one group of jellyfish, the Cassiopeia xamachana or upside-down jellyfish, does get some shut eye. To prove that jellyfish sleep, the students had to demonstrate that they fulfill three behavioral criteria. First, the animals must undergo a period of diminished activity. Second, the animals must show decreased responsiveness to stimuli while sleeping. Three, the animals must show an increased need for sleep if they are kept from it. The upside-down jellyfish fit all these criteria, and thus can be considered sleepy. In addition, the researchers also demonstrated that jellyfish get sleepy when exposed to melatonin, just as humans do.

    Source: New York Times

     

     

     

    High energetic particles called cosmic rays were found by scientists to come from outside of our Milky Way Galaxy. The ray’s journey possibly starts from a black hole in the center of a distant galaxy. Trying to identify which galaxies and seeing if there is any pattern linking them are the next steps for researchers. That research could help narrow down the processes that can accelerate cosmic rays.

    Source: Science News

  • The storm is here

    The storm is here

    Hurricane Maria claimed its first fatality as it passed through Guadeloupe this past Tuesday. The category 5 storm wrecked the local communities and left almost 40 percent of the island without power. Hurricane Maria is expected to only do more damage over the next couple days. Almost immediately after Hurricane Irma devastated communities in the Caribbean, Maria seems to be following a similar path towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

     

    For those of us in Humboldt, situated along the Pacific, it may be easy to overlook the disasters occurring elsewhere in the world. But after a series of five hurricanes over the last few months and the recent earthquake originating near Mexico City, we have to get involved. Natural disasters that don’t hit us still affect us.

     

    Thomas Perez, a Business Marketing major here at Humboldt State, believes that anyone and everyone can make a beneficial impact.

    Thomas Perez: Natural Disaster
    Thomas Perez, a business marketing major, has friends in Texas that were evacuated after hurricane Harvey. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    “As simple as it is, donating money to relief efforts would be great,” said Thomas Perez. “If we could donate, whether it’s our time, our money, or even ourselves promoting them, I’m sure that awareness could be a great help [to areas impacted].”

     

    While Hurricane Harvey made its way through Texas, Perez had a personal investment to stay updated on the storm.

     

    “I have some long standing friends that went to the University of Texas and also to Houston, they had to be evacuated from their homes and I don’t know if they will be able to return anytime soon,” said Perez.

     

    Perez has been keeping in contact with his friends in Texas, so he wasn’t too worried about how they were doing physically. They were all evacuated before the worst of the storm hit and are currently safe, but Perez was able to hear first hand accounts of what was happening.

     

    “It’s terrible that they are going to lose so much of what they’ve had,” said Perez.

     

    Perez is not the only one who knows someone who was impacted by the storms.

     

    Cassandra Wages, a freshman starting her first semester at HSU, also has family and friends hit by the hurricanes.

    Cassandra Wages: Natural Disaster
    Cassandra Wages’s aunt lost her property in Florida due to damages from hurricane Irma. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    “In Florida, my great-aunt has family there, and all those people had to be evacuated, and she’s losing her property that’s there,” said Wages.

     

    Like Perez, Wages says that donations are helpful to rehabilitate people. While not everyone can physically help the communities hit by natural disasters, donations are a simple aid.

     

    Kianna Rodriguez, a Communications major, strongly believes that donations are the way to help if you can’t physically set aside the time.

    Kianna Rodriguez: Natural Disaster
    Kianna Rodriguez, a communications major at HSU, believes unity in the aftermath of a disaster is essential. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    “As much as people want to help and want to be doing things for people that are suffering because of these natural disasters, sometimes our resources aren’t enough,” said Kianna Rodriguez.

     

    “One of the biggest things is staying on top of what people actually need, that’s one of the biggest things that I’ve been concerned about,” said Rodriguez. “If there is something I can do, I’m a college student I obviously can’t do a whole bunch, but donating money [could help], not necessarily clothes or blankets, cause maybe they don’t need that stuff.”

    Craig Mitchell, an Environmental Science and Management major, says that donations can help, but there are other ways to benefit recovering areas.

    Craig Mitchell: Natural Disaster
    Craig Mitchell, an Environmental Management transfer, is a member of the coast guard reserve and Mitchell was almost sent to hurricane Harvey. Photo credit: Kyra Skylark

    “I’m actually in the Coast Guard reserve and I almost got deployed to Harvey,” said Craig Mitchell. “I spent six years on active duty in the Coast Guard and I have friends that are now stationed down their.”

     

    Luckily, Mitchell was not deployed and was able to transfer to HSU this semester. Mitchell believes that small changes, driving less when possible, choosing sustainable products, and other everyday decisions we make, influence the devastation the storms are causing.

     

    “I feel like global warming has something to do with it,” said Wages.

    Hurricanes are caused by low-pressure weather systems and sustained winds of above 74 mph according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). An increase in the global temperature, resulting in an increase in the ocean’s temperature would influence the size and number of tropical storms in a given area. While there has not been any confirmation relating these recent natural disasters to climate change, the general belief on campus seems to be that climate change is impacting the storms.

     

    “It would be natural if there weren’t so many, it’s just that three to four hurricanes in one season is a little ridiculous,” said Perez. “Normally this is the time for hurricane season, but just one and not that big, it all seems a little unnatural”

     

    Whether or not we are influencing the intensity of the hurricanes through climate change, this is still a worldwide issue. If one area is hit by a devastating disaster it is up to us, all of us, to help them.

     

    “Seeing the people that are going out with boats and stuff helping families is so incredible,” said Rodriguez. “It’s been nice to see unity when it comes to these situations, because there hasn’t been in the past. Its nice to see that people are stepping up now, and even going out of their own state to travel to these places to help other people.”

     

    Some natural disasters can not something be planned for. We can prepare, with prepared supplies and plans for various disasters, but we never really know when, where, or how the next natural disaster will occur.

     

    “It’s time for everyone to step up and try help each other, even when times of crisis are happening,” said Rodriguez.

     

    What if a hurricane hit where someone you love lives. Or if an earthquake, like the one that just hit outside of Mexico City, shook Humboldt instead. A natural disaster is bigger than one individual’s story or one communities hardship. A hurricane does not target people for a reason, the environment doesn’t care where you’re from, what you look like, or how much money you have.

     

    “I have family in Texas, and it’s kind of scary knowing that someone you know, possibly might not be here any more,” said Rodriguez.

     

    Hurricanes have done immense damage this year, and thousands of people have been displaced because of the series of storms. Many others have lost their lives. This is not a small issue, if natural disasters are increasing in strength and frequency, the worldwide effects will only get worse.

     

     

  • Burning State

    Burning State

    By | Michelle N. Meyers

    A thick, grey haze blankets the state of California. People everywhere are being evacuated from their homes, while thousands of wildfires burn across hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Firefighters and emergency personnel from different towns, cities, states, and even countries have been fighting the California blazes for months.

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    (Photo: Ian T.)

    This year to date, 6,744 fires that have burned a total of 731,260 acres according to Cal Fire. Currently, there are 35 wildfires burning statewide according to the Incident Information System, InciWeb. In order to battle the blazes, there have also been some 21,000 firefighters assigned to fires in 10 Western States. (NIFC)

    “We have a lot of dedicated men and women out there working to put this thing out,” says Shawn Compton, Orleans Complex Information Officer and firefighter since 1993

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    (Photo: Ian T.)

    In addition, the NIFC states that the National Preparedness Level for wildfires has been elevated to National Preparedness Level 5 as of August 10, 2017, the highest level since august of 2013. Preparedness Levels are established by The National Multi-Agency Coordination Group (NMAC) throughout the year to ensure that firefighting resources are prepared to respond when incidents arise. According to the National Park Service, Preparedness Level 5 is a situation in which several geographic areas that are experiencing major incidents that have the potential to exhaust all resources.

    With so many fires going on this season at such high intensities, firefighters have been strapped for resources.

    “It doesn’t help right now with all the hurricanes going on either,” says Compton. “When you have no more resources nationwide, it’s really hard to find them.” The scarcity of resources makes it much harder to respond to these fires. With so much going on at one time, there are only so many resources to go around and Compton says it ultimately comes down to “what fire is more important to the other.”

    While this season proves to be a difficult one to manage, Curtis Coots, The Orleans Complex Incident Commander says that, “When it comes down to it, life and property, that’s always the focus.”

    But what’s going to stop the blazes? While manpower alone can redirect and slow down the progression of fires, it isn’t manpower that’s going to stop these high intensity fires.

    “You can put 1000 firefighters in front of a crown fire, its not going to stop it,” says Compton. “A season ending event, that’s what’s going to put the fire out.”

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    (Photo: Ian T.)

    California Fire Map as of Sept. 13, 2017

     

    Spotlight On The La Tuna Fire

     

    Some say the La Tuna Fire may be the largest fire in Los Angeles’s history. So far, it has scorched some 7,194 acres of land, obliterated 4 homes, and prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency. Yet, as of now, The La Tuna Fire is 100 percent contained.

    On Sept. 4, 2017, while fighting the perimeter of the La Tuna Fire, Torrance Firefighters came across the Theodore Payne Foundation For Wildflowers and Native Plants in Sun Valley. When they saw it, they fell in love with its beauty and its mission, and they felt that they couldn’t let the place go up in smoke.

    After fighting fire around the parameters of the foundation, the firefighters slept on their picnic tables over the night. The next morning, Foundation Director of Horticulture Tim Becker and Foundation Executive Director Kitty Connolly were relieved to find a large fire engine in their parking lot with four firefighters standing by.

    “We were really happy that they were here,” says Connolly.

    After being evacuated several days earlier, they were on pins and needles that all would be lost in the fire, and it nearly was.

    “They stopped the fire right at the edge of our property,” says Connolly, “their skill is incredible.”

    All surrounding areas of the foundation have been burned.

    “It’s just heartbreaking to come down the canyon,” says Connolly, “it’s just black.”

  • Voices of student science

    Voices of student science

    By | Bryan Donoghue

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    Samuel Vassallo, sophomore, Wildlife major Photo credit: Bryan Donoghue

    Samuel Vassallo, sophomore, Wildlife major — “I hope to work outdoors and possibly for government agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the park service, or the U.S.G.S., or any of the state agencies that are equivalent to national agencies like those. I could work for a nonprofit like the World Wildlife Foundation, or Nature Conservancy, or I could work for a company that needs to do environmental impact and see if there are any endangered species on their property, so if they could log or mine. Probably not as much into working for a private company, I would like to work for the government. I love the classes, it’s great. When I chose this major I just thought it sounded cool and looked at the course list and chose it. You had to pick a major as a freshman to be in the Klamath Connection, which was a program I was in. We show up a week early to school and meet our professors, and I just picked Wildlife because it sounded cool and when I got here I’ve been loving every minute of it, so I feel like I’m in the right major, it’s pretty lucky.”

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    Romeo Javier Dominguez-Rameriz, recent graduate, Criminology major Photo credit: Bryan Donoghue

    Romeo Javier Dominguez-Rameriz, recent graduate, Criminology major — “I’m doing an extra semester to see what I want to do with my graduate program. Right now I’m looking into international relations, so I’ve been looking in to see what programs I can go into that are in Germany. Nothing set in stone or anything. Personally, I love it up here. I’m from the SoCal area, the main reason why I came here was because of the environment and everything and I pretty much enjoy the people and environment like I hoped I would. The staff from my department is pretty rock-on, so I’m most fortunate for our faculty.”

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    Jade Simms, senior, Engineering major Photo credit: Bryan Donoghue

    Jade Simms, senior, Engineering major — “I’m hoping to get a job. I think it would be cool to work in river restoration, but we’ll see who wants to hire me. I think the Engineering department is a very supportive department, I’ve been given a lot of opportunities to learn what I want to learn. For future Engineering majors, do it! Don’t be afraid. I’ve talked to a lot of people, I know women especially are a little intimidated, but screw it, just do it.”

  • The enemy that sweats

    The enemy that sweats

    Breathing in the Arcata air, you can feel the humidity invading your lungs. The usually crisp forest air has been exchanged for a hot, humid mugginess.

    The weather may be nice for weekend adventures, but trekking up the stairs to Founders Hall has now become a sweaty, smelly challenge for most students. Those returning to the HSU campus are noticing the difference in the weather.

    Kristen VanGilder, a general biology major in her fourth year at HSU, has mixed sentiments on the change in the weather.

    “It’s nice that it’s been so warm, you get to go to the beach and it’s not raining, but walk into classes and you’re drenched in sweat,” said VanGilder.

    “Last year we got buckets, and then so far this year it’s just been hot, really, really hot. Recently it’s also been pretty humid.”

    Jeffrey Kane, a 2008 HSU alum and associate professor in the Forestry and Wildland Resources department, provides some insight into the intense heat and humidity.

    “It seems like there has been a change from wetter to dryer, and now we might be going into a wetter cycle again,” said Jeffrey Kane, “and that seems to be consistent with the ideas of how the climate for California is predicted to change.”

    During the three years Kane was a grad-student, Humboldt State was cold, wet and foggy most of the time. Originally arriving in Humboldt in 2005, Kane has been here during the wet seasons as well as the multi-year drought.

    “I came back in 2012, which happened to be the first year of the drought that lasted up until about last year,” said Kane. “I think last year was a pretty average year.”

    Unlike last year, the last couple months of the summer heat and humidity has been higher than in recent years. While temperatures above 80 degrees are usually rare, this past summer saw temperature frequently in the 80s and 90s.

    “What they’re predicting is increasing temperatures, and what did we have this year? We had 90 degree temperatures here in Arcata,” said Kane. “That was record breaking in some areas and very hot, uncharacteristic I would say.”

    The heat and humidity within Humboldt county is unusual for the area, but correlates with the general increase in temperatures in California and around the world. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, temperatures worldwide are rising.

    Kane said that the increase in temperature here in Arcata is consistent with the ideas and predictions on changing temperatures, “largely attributed to climate change, global warming, and the increase in Co2 in the atmosphere.”

    While the increase in heat has some fun outside benefits, the constant fluctuating humidity is a huge drawback.

    “Precipitation is a little more complex,” said Kane. “What they’re predicting isn’t that we’ll necessarily get less precipitation, but that well get more variable precipitation.”

    Basically the weather patterns themselves have not altered, though the general temperature and climate have changed creating repercussions for the local weather patterns.

    “It’s concerning, but I have hope that it will turn around, and we’ll get some rain,” said VanGilder.

    Rainfall is expected to increase as we enter autumn. However, the heat and humidity may also continue for longer than we have experienced before.

    “We can look forward to dryer drys and wetter wets,” said Kane.

    Jermaine Wilson, a criminology major also in his fourth year at HSU, came to Humboldt to escape the heat of LA, only to have the heat follow him here.

    “It pretty much makes you want to just lay down in bed, in cold conditions,” said Wilson. “It’s to hot to do anything else.”

    We’ll just have to wait and see if the humidity dissipates. In the mean time, drink water, take advantage of the sun, and give yourself enough time to walk to class.

     

     

  • This Week In STEM Sept. 14

    This Week In STEM Sept. 14

     

    Researchers at the International Monetary Fund and Georgetown University announced that more than 90 percent of all passenger vehicles in developed nations could be electric by 2040. Only two million out of more than one billion registered vehicles are electric today, with one million of those being in China. If this prediction proves true, it could reduce oil use by 21 million barrels a day and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 3.2 billion tons a year. That’s equivalent to 60 percent of total U.S. emissions today.

    Source: National Geographic

    Embed from Getty Images As many as one in three parasite species may face extinction in the next century. Researchers from University of California, Berkeley found that global warming will raise the planet’s temperature causing many species to lose territory in which they can survive. Parasites make up the majority of biomass in many ecosystems, and can outweigh predators sharing the environment by 20 to 1. The extinction of parasites may affect entire food webs, which would drastically affect human health in turn. Colin J. Carlson, the lead author of the study, said that parasites control the amount of diseases in wildlife, which indirectly helps humans as well. The estimated extinction of as many as one third of all parasite species would have dire effects.

    Source: New York Times

    Embed from Getty Images An oil tanker sank off the shore of Athens, Greece on Sunday, coating the entire bay in crude oil. Greek officials are calling it an environmental disaster as it’s turning the bay black and affecting the local wildlife. The spill is polluting the waters in a 1.5 km stretch around the island Salamis and will likely take four months to clean. Residents are outraged, coastal businesses have closed and fishermen have been advised to avoid the area. The captain and chief engineer of the oil tanker have been charged with negligence and released on bail. It’s still not clear exactly why the tanker sank.

    Source: BBC

    Beryllium hydride is now the largest molecule a quantum computer has simulated, generating new hope for future drug discoveries. According to Ryan Babbush, the researcher who led the hydrogen molecule simulation for Google, the accomplishment “represents solid progress towards an incredibly important goal.” For practical purposes, however, beryllium hydride is still a tiny molecule, so there is still much research to be done. Many scientists believe that revealing new drugs and materials will be the first significant application of future quantum computers, which are being developed at universities and companies around the world.

    Source: Science Magazine

     

     

  • Smoke on the water

    Smoke on the water

    The worst of the smoke is over and Humboldt can breathe a little easier.

    “We just put out a public service announcement. The Humboldt Bay Air Basin is in good condition over this weekend,” Chrystal Ales, a representative for the North Coast Air Quality Management District said.

    “Monday’s forecast indicate that smoke conditions will be improving. This weekend is predicted to have cleaner air.”

     

    The cleaner air is welcome, as the smoky conditions have made many students sick.

     

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    “I’ve been pretty sick the last couple of days, and I don’t know how much the fires been contained. I know it’s all up and down the West Coast, its bad. I’m sure they’re doing all they can but I wish they would maybe try and figure out how to help with the ash because it’s really been bothering me for the last 4-5 days.”
    -Michelle St

     

     

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    “I think that the wildfire itself is terrible and I don’t like the forest burning, but as far as the smoke goes, I don’t really mind the smoky air or anything. You know, some people talk about the terrible air quality and all that, but I honestly haven’t really noticed or anything. The sun and the moon look pretty cool.”
    -Peter Blickensderfer


     

     

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    “I know it [the smoke] definitely had an effect on how hot it was on that one weekend where it reached up to 90 I think, which is ridiculous. Actually, it kind of hurt to be outside. One of my roommates is getting headaches, but it might have just been sickness, I’m not sure. I’m not used to this sort of thing, I’m used to volcano smog or fog. Not an actual blanketing of smoke, which is ridiculous to be in, and kind of scary.”
    -Kairos Pacheco

     

     

  • Conserve the Birds

    Conserve the Birds

    By | Michelle N. Meyers

    The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act was enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives on July 12, 2017. U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Rob Portman introduced the bill as a reauthorization to The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. The bill is intended to promote long-term conservation of Neotropical migratory birds and their habitats through a grants program, and so far, it is the only federal U.S grant program available throughout the Americas dedicated to the conservation of migratory birds.

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    Projects part of MBACA benefit most of the 386 bird species that breed in the continental United States or Canada and spend the winter in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, or South America. In addition, MBACA works to protect over 4.2 mill. acres of bird habitat, spanning across thirty six countries, according to The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

    The North Coast of California happens to be one of richest areas in the country in terms of avian diversity, between some 300 and 350 species of birds can be found from just offshore, all the way to the first inland ridge-line. Humboldt Bay in particular is a vital stop for birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway which is a route used by millions of birds for migration to wintering and breeding grounds. The Bay’s coastal mudflats support some of the highest densities of shorebirds in California, housing 60% of all migrating Black Brant, 23% of all migrating and overwintering Western Sandpiper, 44% of all migrating and overwintering Dublin, and 3.5% of all Long Billed Curlews, just to name a few, but there are several other species of birds protected under the act that migrate to and through Humboldt County.

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    Great Blue Heron with Mallard Ducks at Klopp Lake. Photo credit: Ian Thompson

    The Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge, located within the Pacific Flyway, serves as a key migratory stopover and/or wintering area for several species of waterfowl and shorebirds. “The purpose of establishing the refuge was to provide habitat for those birds for their Wintering stopover.” said Kurt Roblek of the Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge. “Let’s say for example… Aleutian Cackling Goose, we provide Wintering grounds for that species…whose numbers were very low before the bird was listed.”

    While he was not aware of Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act itself, he says that-

    “We do have projects that will have direct benefits to those species. Such as our White Slough Restoration Project, where we are creating salt marsh habitat along the edges of Humboldt Bay.”

    • How exactly are you creating these habitats?

    “We are actually taking fill material and we are increasing the elevation behind the levees, so when the levees breach, that land will be high enough that it will be salt marsh.”

    • So what happens when it breaches?

    “So once it’s breached… In a few years, through passive and active restoration of that habitat, we will create something that used to exist, but didnt… we’ll bring it back.” Says Robleck. “Pre-human, or pre-white man- In the past, there was salt marsh”

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    Looking out towards Arcata Bay at sunset from the marsh. Photo credit: Ian Thompson

    *

    George Ziminsky of the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center, board member for the Friends of the Arcata Marsh, and graduate of HSU felt similarly about the necessity of our coastal habitats, stating that “Most migrating birds need mudflats for the invertebrates they eat.” Yet, a lot of the other habitats along the Pacific Flyway migratory birds rely on have been compromised, such as “Down in San Francisco Bay, places have been dyked and filled in so what was normally habitat for food for them, just had soil brought in and dumped on top of it.” He stated that over at the Arcata Marsh they are doing what they can to “create a more diverse habitat” and “restore what was taken away.” He also expressed that the city actually has been very involved in their efforts to restore the salt marshes.

    “A Lot of the areas west of I Street was being used for agricultural land, 15 to 20 years ago, and the City of Arcata has removed part of the levee and took out the tide gate.”

    As of now, The Arcata Marsh, includes around 307 acres of mixed habitat and serves as a solid foraging place for birds on their winter stopover. “The shorebird numbers are in the hundred of thousands in the winter” says Ziminsky

    *

    Jim Clark The Redwood Region Audubon Conservation Director and 4 time president, who graduated from HSU some 40 years ago, states that The MBACA is “the key conservation act that dictates everything from development to hunting,”

    Yet when it comes to avian conservation, “A Lot of it is advocacy,” says Clark. “So we look at the act as backups to those principles. We largely are reactionary, we try to be proactive.” He feels that public awareness, “Going beyond just birdwatching, but understanding a need to protect migratory birds.” plays a vital role in habitat and species conservation. His hope is that one day people will see “that little yellowish’ bird with the black top, Wilson’s Warbler, actually migrates 1000’s of miles. I think that would be an outstanding thing if all the people saw it, better understood what it has to go through to have a life.”

    “About 5 years ago we had seeds of varied thrush, and you wonder why this happens” says Clark

    “If you don’t protect the birds, there won’t be any birders, because there won’t be any birds to watch, to put it bluntly.”

    • How can the public get involved in bird conservation?

    “Be aware of what they can do on an individual basis for birds”

    He recommends “putting reflective strips on windows so you don’t get bird strikes.” In addition, he advises that we also not leave garbage out on the street because it’s attracting crows and ravens, which have now become quite a nuisance. He says that “40 years ago when I was going to HSU I had to get in a car and go over the first ridge inland to see one or two ravens. And now their thick because they’ve learned that where humans live, there’s stuff to eat.”

    In regards to what he has done to keep birds coming to his home, he says “in our yard we have planted red alders, it’s a native tree, and they get infected with little leaf hoppers which the warblers love to eat, sparrows love them too, they need them during nesting season.” In addition he states that he’s “planted native grass instead of the typical lawn.”

    We can also do our part by “Carrying out invasive, non native plants, encouraging native plants that provide food for birds at the right time of the year.” On the same note, “rat ladders” as he calls them, in reference to Ivy in particular, he states, “let’s rats go up into the trees and eat birds eggs” says Clark “The rats love Ivy, they love Pampas grass, and they love Himalayan Blackberries. All 3 of those plants are non native invasive plants.” Yet the birds aren’t the only ones affected by the fuzzy creatures according to Clark, “When you consider rats it’s also a public health issue.”

    • What issues do you see having the greatest effect on the community now or in the near future?

    “I think we’re going to be looking in the future to sea level rise and how that is going to affect the natural environment and how we’re going to live with that natural environment when we have to change our urban planning to accommodate that sea level rise, and it’s already happening.”

  • Humboldt State, we are still in

    Humboldt State, we are still in

    On June 1, President Trump announced his intent to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. Individuals all across the U.S. were left to determine how to respond to such an impactful decision.

    Humboldt State President Lisa Rossbacher considered the potential impacts of the decision on the university.

    “One of my immediate reactions was how inconsistent that decision was with the values we have as a university,” said Rossbacher. “The values of Humboldt State and our commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability, just realizing that disconnect between that decision and who we are as an institution.”

    Four days after Trump’s announcement, a coalition of mayors, governors, college and university leaders, as well as smaller businesses and investors, banded together and released a statement expressing their support for the climate action goals in the Paris Agreement.

    According to press release by “We Are Still In” the community will work to “…remain actively engaged with the international community as part of the global effort to hold warming to well below 2℃ and to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy that will benefit our security, prosperity, and health.”

    Since its creation, Humboldt State has joined the “We Are Still In” community as one of the universities working to reduce our carbon emissions and decrease our environmental impact.

    President Rossbacher added Humboldt State University to the statement list soon after its inception. She began hearing about the We Are Still In community statement soon after President Trump’s announcement.

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    President Lisa Rossbacher

    “I immediately started hearing rumblings about the combination of businesses, governments and universities forming a coalition to say, We Are Still In,” said Rossbacher. “It was probably through a publication called the Chronicle of Higher Education, that I saw something about how colleges and universities were starting to individually sign on to this. I found a link online and I went for it.”

    Rossbacher added the university to the list without a second thought, easily deciding that Humboldt State should belong to such a community.

    “The California State University system is incredibly supportive of sustainability and environmental responsibility,” said Rossbacher. “I didn’t hesitate for a second. I didn’t feel like I had to ask permission.”

    Of those listed on the statement, some believe Humboldt State University is doing more to improve their energy efficiency and sustainability than other universities listed.

    Brian Rossignol, a transfer student here at HSU, provides his perspective on our school’s environmental impact.

    “I went to San Diego State, City College, Grossmont, and Cuyamaca College, and this school by far is the most environmentally conscious campus, by far,” said Rossignol. “It’s not even close.”

    The Climate Action Plan proposes numerous advancements and adjustments meant to reduce the school’s environmental impact and reduce the HSU’s emissions.

    To view the complete Climate Action Plan go here:

    https://www2.humboldt.edu/sustainability/sites/default/files/climateActionPlan.pdf

    Another project that Humboldt State is currently involved in that aligns with the goals in the We Are Still In statement is the school’s collaboration with the Blue Lake Rancheria.

    “It’s got a solar microgrid and there are also biofuel backups. So that if the Blue Lake Rancheria were to be completely cut off from any other any energy source, the combination of alternative sources that they have would completely power, the facilities there,” said Rossbacher. “More importantly it’s a red cross emergency site and so it could be incredibly important if we had some regional disaster, like an earthquake.

    Students at Humboldt State are going outside into the community to work with the Schatz Research Center on the Blue Lake Rancheria collaboration.

    “The Schatz Research Center is doing a lot of amazing things that move us forward in renewable energy sources and away from fossil fuels, and of course there are opportunities for students to become involved in those projects,” said Rossbacher.

    The Humboldt State students are all informed of the school’s commitment to social and environmental awareness. Daniel Erb, a student in his fourth year at HSU has been able to watch the progress the school is making.

    “I think that HSU has definitely been doing a great job working toward reducing their carbon emissions and just overall environmental productivity has been really great,” said Erb. “Overall I think the environmental impact that HSU has been going for has really been landsliding, which is great.”

    With all of the new policies and plans the school is creating and implementing, those on campus should expect to see changes over the next few years.

    “I’ve talked to president Rossbacher about it and everything and she seems really into it,” said Erb. “So, hopefully everyone on the HSU campus can get into it.”

    “Hopefully,” said Erb.

     

  • We are still in

    We are still in

    Mayor, governors, college and university leaders, businesses and investors are coming together to declare that they will still support the Paris Climate Agreement to combat climate change. President Trump’s announcement to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement was met with widespread criticism, and local and state governments are taking responsibility to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in response. Susan Ornelas, the mayor of the City of Arcata, gives her thoughts on this growing international community known as We Are Still In. BDSusanOrnelas.jpeg

    Q: When did you first hear of We Are Still In? Was there an envelope in the mail?

    A: No, I came across it on Facebook or the internet. I just saw that, and saw that mayors were signing on and I thought while looking at the Paris Accord, “Well the city of Arcata has internal documents that direct us to do these things already!” So it wasn’t a big decision to have to make, it was kind of like, “we’re in!” We’re already in, and I just thought about the citizens and that they would like to see the city of Arcata on this list. So I just contacted the city manager and Mark Andre (Director of Environmental Services) and said, “yeah, lets sign up, let’s get our name in there.”

    Q: How was it implemented? How did you get your name signed on?

    A: Well we just wrote a letter based on, we have kind of a legislative platform that if things come up that fit the platform that we already approved, the mayor could just send a letter. So I just sent a letter saying the City of Arcata is still in on the accord, and like I said, and internally I knew that our policies were already working towards these things so wasn’t too difficult to do.

    Q: What has the city and university done to contribute to the “We Are Still In” agreement?

    A: The city and the university are working well together right now which is a contribution in itself. We have a lot of good coordination and the university has made some strides I feel like. The city has made strides like years ago and we’re still making further strides into zero waste and understanding that…The university did the whole sustainability analysis of themselves…that whole effort of reducing waste, more sustainable systems, less carbon use, you know. I think as a society many of us are trying to reduce our carbon use. Transportation is one of the biggest challenges for this county.

    Q: Like moving to the autonomous car?

    A: Yeah that will help, although you really have to look at where you’re getting your electricity and is that a good source. Is that a carbon free source, is that non-polluting as much as possible. It’s good that solar has gotten as inexpensive as it has.

    Q: Is that probably going to become the norm at some point?

    A: “Yeah, and then do you know about the Community Choice Energy Program? That’s another thing the city of Arcata is involved in. The whole county is actually involved in this…. So the Community Choice Energy Program is that Humboldt County now runs or purchases its own energy. It’s still run through PG&E but it’s called Community Choice Energy…. But this also goes in with the whole Paris Climate Accord because the county now is choosing more renewable sources of energy and investing in local solar arrays and things like that. So that’s what called a Joint Powers Agreement, a J.P.A., which means the county and the cities have joined together and we all sit on a board, and we’re overseeing this Redwood Coast Energy authority purchasing now energy for the county, and we’re getting it a little cheaper, and we’re emphasizing renewables. So that’s another way that we’re working to sort of you know weave ourselves out of carbon. And then another thing that I would say that the City of Arcata does is we study some carbon sequestation in like marsh lands because that’s another good source of carbon sink. So the City of Arcata is investing in marsh lands now, working with the university, with students doing studies and things of carbon sequestration in marsh lands. That’s another thing that we’re interested in that we work towards. We see the value of them. I mean there used to be people would just drain marsh lands and farmed it, but we see the value in them for bird habitats for ecosystem diversity and…

    Q: Kind of like estuaries?

    A: Yeah kind of like estuaries. You know a marsh land, yeah.

    Q: In your opinion why do you think We Are Still In holds such significance for our community?

    A: Well you know I think because Arcatans really take pride in their environmental stances and they wanted to feel like they supported this. They didn’t want to just give this up after the whole country had, you know, promised to join and then we pulled out, and I think there’s something powerful about all these mayors getting together because the mayors are closer to the people and they’re joining forces and saying whatever is going on at this level we’re still doing this. We still believe that we want to make sure we leave something for our children and things like that. So I think the mayors are speaking more for the people and that’s also kind of heart warming but also powerful stance. I think people liked that too. I think it’s important and people want to feel that we’re not going backwards, you know, I think that would be depressing for people. There’s ways we’re feeling like were watching our society and we are going backwards. But with this particular thing with the mayors coming forward and you know, saying “no, we’re still in”, that at least didn’t go backwards for people.

  • Compassionate Bonds — New HSU Chem Prof Goes Above and Beyond

    Compassionate Bonds — New HSU Chem Prof Goes Above and Beyond

    By Bryan Donoghue

    For many students at Humboldt State University, any chemistry class is on a list of the hardest courses a student can take. Humboldt State has taken on a new temporary chemistry professor whom students are dubbing “passionate,” “exuberant,” “enthusiastic,” and “caring.” Walking into his office, some may mistake him for a student. He’s listening to Selena Gomez, One Direction and country music. But it’s his demeanor, not his music preference, that makes Puminan Punthasee so approachable.

    punthasee
    Puminan Punthasee | Photo Credit: Humboldt State University Chemistry Department

    “I’m not afraid to approach Pete, which I sometimes am with other professors,” said Kathryn Buzanski, 29-year-old student and Marine Corps veteran. “With Pete, I can email him, I can approach him, talk to him face-to-face, and have no worries.”

    Punthasee’s approachability follows into his relationships with colleagues in the chemistry department. Joshua R. Smith, chair of the Department of Chemistry, recalls that the first time he met Punthasee. He found him to be funny and deeply empathetic. But it was his passion for teaching that struck Smith the most in the hiring process.

    “He clearly had a passion for teaching, based on what he wrote in his application, and he clearly got that across during the interview as well,” Smith said.

    This enthusiasm and commitment Punthasee brings to teaching chemistry blossomed long before Humboldt State. Dating back to his high school years in Thailand, Punthasee had to take science courses every semester in high school. Thailand’s education system requires six science courses in order to graduate.

    “I wasn’t really a smart kid, I was slow, and couldn’t grab anything that the teacher taught us,” Punthasee said. “My grades were okay but weren’t as high as I wanted them to be.”

    Before graduating high school, Punthasee discovered his passion for learning, as he found a role model at his tutoring school.

    “This chemistry teacher at my tutoring school made chemistry understandable,” Punthasee said. “And that was the starting point that made me realize that if I could understand chemistry, maybe there’s some other stuff that I can understand as well.”

    Following high school, Punthasee graduated from the University of Thailand, and continued to expand his horizons by enrolling in University of Missouri’s Ph.D. program for chemistry.

    “I was in a Ph.D. program at the University of Missouri, and I hated the program,” Punthasee said. “It’s the nature of the Ph.D. program that makes you do a bunch of research, but I don’t like doing the research, so I found myself looking at the clock every five minutes.”

    Although he isn’t passionate about research, Punthasee found his calling as a teacher. He’s won three awards for being a teaching assistant through his graduate program. He’s been awarded with the Number One T.A. Choice award twice, and has also accepted the Green Chalk award for being an excellent teaching assistant.

    “I bet you that no science teacher does things like I do, not in this state,” Punthasee said. “Only two people follow my “Pete” style. Me, and my role model in Thailand.”

    His efforts to reach out to students outside of the classroom further solidifies their appreciation for Punthasee as well. As a professor, he will send three emails each day on average, all for varying, but positive reasons.

    “Pete really likes to send out encouraging emails,” said chemistry student Kate Panebianco.

    Brooke Holdren, a 20-year-old science and art major at Humboldt State, also expressed how much the emails help her.

    “I’ve gotten both general and personal encouragement emails. He’s really taking the time out to say specifically, ‘You’ve done this really well today’,” Holdren said.

    “He sends the most emails out of any teacher I’ve ever had. It’s really great and encouraging, sometimes a bit over the top, but that just shows how involved he is in comparison to the other teachers I’ve had.”

    What makes Punthasee such a well-liked professor boils down to how relatable he is. He’s just like any regular college student, and he likes to keep things simple because simplicity is easier to understand.

    “It’s just human nature,” he said. “We don’t like complicated stuff, we like fun stuff.”

    Attributing his best quality to being a “tremendously freaking hard worker,” Punthasee said his talent lies in his ability to simplify and socialize.

     

    Buzanski explained this in a way that many of Punthasee’s students can empathize with. “He does want to be our friend, but more importantly, he wants to be our friend while we know he’s our teacher,” she said.

  • This week in science (April 26 – May 3)

    This week in science (April 26 – May 3)

    By Bryan Donoghue

    Graphic | Joe DeVoogd

    Technology – Bioprinted Cartilage

    Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden have managed to generate cartilage tissue by bioprinting stem cells using a 3D bioprinter. Researchers found a procedure that ensured cell survival from printing so they could multiply. This allowed researchers to develop a protocol that causes the cells to differentiate to form cartilage. The bioprinted tissue is not only able to repair cartilage damage, but can be used to treat osteoarthritis, a condition where joint cartilage degenerates and breaks down.

    Source: medicalxpress.com

     

    Graphic | Joe DeVoogd

    Technology – Artificial Womb

    A team of researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have engineered a fluid-filled “biobag” that allows premature lambs to develop in an artificial womb. Alan Flake, a pediatric surgeon and the head of the research team said his goal is to help premature infants with this artificial womb. It may be a while before it’s implemented in hospitals. Flake estimates that human testing is at least three years off.

    Source: sciencemag.org

     

    Graphic | Joe DeVoogd

     

    Space – Cassini to go through Saturn’s Rings

    The Cassini spacecraft, which has been circling Saturn for the past 13 years, skimmed over the planet’s largest moon, Titan, last Saturday. Titan’s gravity will pull Cassini into the narrow gap between Saturn and its innermost ring, a place where no man made satellite has gone before. The spacecraft will enter that gap about once a week until Sept. 15, when it will crash into Saturn and be destroyed.

    Source: nytimes.com

     

     

    Graphic | Joe DeVoogd

    Paleontology – Ancient Humans in California

    An archeological research team headed by study leader and paleontologist at the San Diego Natural History Museum, Tom Deméré, said they’ve found signs of ancient humans in California between 120,000 and 140,000 years ago. This is more than one hundred thousand years before humans were thought to exist in the Americas. If the research team’s findings are correct, their findings at the Cerutti mastodon site could rewrite the history of humankind.

    Source: nationalgeographic.com

  • Restoring the Largest Old Growth Forest in the World

    Restoring the Largest Old Growth Forest in the World

    By Kelly Bessem

    Portions of the Prairie Creek Watershed, one hour north of Arcata, are still being restored 50 years after being clearcut. Proposed restoration plans by the National Park Service (NPS) will make this region into the largest remaining old growth redwood forest in the world. This will be done by connecting 14,000 acres of old growth redwood patches. This designation is currently held by the 10,000 acre Rockefeller forest in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

    Map showing future Prairie Creek Watershed restoration plans that will connect old growth redwood forest. Map | National Park System

    The Berry Glen cut area that’s next in line is will see an estimated 45,000 cubic yards of total mud and gravel removed from the stream channel. That’s equal to approximately 18,750 average US cars. All of this sediment washed down from the hillsides there post clearcutting in 1964.

    Berry Glen played a pivotal role in the original formation of a Redwood National and State Park. According to NPS, this startling clear cut in full view from Highway 101 spurred enough criticism from travelers to warrant the finalization of protections there.

    Removing mud and gravel that chokes stream channels, such as Berry Glen, allows the ecosystem to breathe new life. Thinning the even-age stands of second growth so that light can reach the forest floor is also part of the restoration process. Keith Benson, an NPS biologist of the Orick, California area, explained that freeing watersheds in this way allows restoration to cascade through the whole ecosystem of an area.

    “The food chain cascades out from small stream creatures,” Benson said. “Restoration resets what the area has evolved to in the past, complex redwood forests. Then species composition can restore itself.”

    Benson likened a restored redwood forest to a Costco warehouse for species in the region, versus a uniform second-growth forest to a 7-Eleven convenience store.

    The basics of the ecology behind redwood forest restoration can be understood with a simple equation:

    ↑ Forest Connectivity + ↑ Multi-Layer Old Growth Canopy = ↑ Habitat + ↑ Food Supply = ↑ Higher Populations + ↑ Diversity

    Forest connectivity provides protection for prey while simultaneously providing more hunting abundance for predators. It also allows for easier gene-sharing among species as traveling between areas becomes safer. Increased gene variety creates more resilient species as better traits surface among diverse populations. Having Multi-layer old growth canopy instead of one uniform layer for trees lets in sunlight and increases a forest’s 3D space. This increases the availability of Habitat and Food Supply, resulting in Higher Populations and Diversity since both predators and prey have what they need in the ecosystem to thrive.