Monthly Archives: June 2018

Signs of Summer 4: More on Bees

(Click to access an audio version of this blog!) Neonicotinoids are a group of insecticides that are molecularly similar to nicotine. Nicotine itself is produced by a wide variety of plants including tobacco (in very high levels) and tomatoes and … Continue reading

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Signs of Summer 3: Vagility and Salmon Hatcheries

(Click to access an audio version of this blog) “Vagility” is a word that I first came across in a February 19, 2018 article in the Science section of the New York Times. Its word root, “vagile,” means “free to … Continue reading

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Signs of Summer 2: Our Yard Ecosystems (part 2)

(Click to access an audio version of this blog) Last week we talked about the plant components of our home-ecosystems. Listed in that post were estimates of $30 billion dollars spent each year by Americans on lawns and $14 billion … Continue reading

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Signs of Summer 1: Our Yard Ecosystems (part 1)

(Click to access an audio version of this blog) Each of us who owns a house manages the ecosystem that surrounds it. We make choices about what plants we want to grow in our home-ecosystems, and we make choices about … Continue reading

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