Endangered Species Act at 50

It's the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.  While it's been an unqualified success for some species, notably charismatic ones, I have my doubts about its overall effectiveness.  We seem to struggle to protect specialized habitats for species that have been identified, but we do little to protect large enough contiguous areas to preserve biodiversity in general.  

NatureServe in conjunction with the NM Dept. of Game and Fish has developed an Environmental Review Tool.  One of its layers is Crucial Habitat that focuses on areas that need protection.  Here's the zoomed in view of the area northwest of Albuquerque.

Solstice Thoughts

On the day after the solstice, the sun shines through high thin clouds.  The longest night is past.  

Happily, I see that President Biden has signed a new executive order to protect old-growth forests.  That's a step in the right direction; now if they can slow down logging in mature forests, we'd have a chance at reestablishing some of the forests we've lost in the past centuries and create habitat for wildlife.  

Politically, Colorado has ruled on The Former Guy's eligibility to be on the GOP primary ballot.  A SCOTUS appeal is certain.  

A suggestion on Oprah's inspirational e-mail this morning was to write about what you'd tell your younger self.  Should time travel become commercially available in 2024, I'd like to tell my 18-year old self to always vote Blue and be politically active before and during the Reagan years.  Not only might that msg have kept me in a career in the life sciences, keeping Ronald out of the White House could've derailed the GOP trends that we see fully manifesting today.  

Meanwhile, happy Festivus, everyone.  Don't forget to put up your Festivus Pole, have a wonderful Airing of Grievances, and an injury-free Feats of Strength.