The Tennessee Valley

 

Today in the valley, expect a high of 56 degrees...

Not bad...  for a little past the middle of February, especially when our neighbors in the North are experiencing temps much, much colder...  and, our neighbors in Canada are buried under snow and expecting more...  however, if you travel a few hours to the south of us, the temperatures increase 10 degrees or so and by the time you get the the Gulf of Mexico, the temps will be approaching 70 degrees today...

Many of us in the Valley today will be walking around in shorts spending time outdoors since the sun is out and there are no clouds in the sky at all and none are expected.  While it is a little to cool to work on one's suntan, it is still a nice enough day to spend the majority of it outside experiencing the beauty of nature that has been so freely given to us.

As the figure above demonstrates, the Tennessee Valley is nestled between a plateau on the west and a range of mountains on the east.  The state appears to be landlocked as it does not border any oceans like the Atlantic, Pacific, or Gulf of Mexico, yet it is blessed with an abundance of rivers that flow along its western border like the Mississippi River and a plethera of smaller rivers like the Buffalo River, Clinch River, Cumberland River, Duck River, Elk River, Hatchie River, Hiwassee River, Holston River, Obion River, Sequatchie River, Tennessee River and Wolf River.

Obviously, there are numerous places in Tennessee to camp, fish, hunt, look at the landscape, take photographs, or simply experience the beauty of nature as you walk along the many nature or manmade paths that meander through it wilderness.

Sixth Mass Extinction Underway

Bruno Kelly REUTERS


It is no secret that extinctions have been happening at an alarming rate in recent decades with human involvement and climate change blamed for creating habitats unsuitable for many species of wildlife.

Even more worrying is the findings of a major study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and BirdLife International which found that the earth may be on the brink of a mass extinction event.

Worldwide it is thought that more than 500 species of land animal are close to extinction and could be lost within the next 20 years. The report was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and studied 29,000 species of land vertebrate. They estimated that the number of extinctions expected in the next two decades would likely take thousands of years if not for the negative impact of humanity.

What is a mass extinction?
Scientists estimate that 99% of all living organisms that have ever lived on earth are now extinct. The planet’s natural ecosystem is constantly evolving and as the environment changes certain older species will begin to fade away.

However there are some points in the earth’s history when the gradual evolution has become more of a sudden revolution and a majority of the planet’s living species are wiped out in a relatively short space of time. In the last 500 million years, there have been five occasions when 75-90% of all species have gone extinct, in what is called a mass extinction.

It should be remembered that the ‘short period of time’ is described in geological terms, dating back across the vast period of time since the start of life on earth. With this in mind, Earth.org explains that a mass extinction event can take anything up to 2.8 million years.  READ MORE...

Remove Your Bird Feeders

Several state wildlife agencies are urging residents to take down their bird feeders as a mysterious illness continues to spread among songbirds.

The illness was initially reported in late May in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. More recently, reports have come in from Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.

Birds like common grackles, blue jays, European starlings, American robins, house sparrows, Carolina wrens, and other songbirds have been affected.

Sick birds may present neurological symptoms like dizziness, tremors, or falling over. Their eyes may be swollen and have discharge or crust on them.

Though researchers have been studying the birds to find out what exactly the illness is, they don't have an answer yet. 

They have ruled out a few common pathogens, like Salmonella and the avian influenza virus, both of which have not been detected in the sick birds.

There is an investigation to see whether Brood X cicadas are somehow involved with the illness, but it seems unlikely that there is a connection, ornithologist Allysin Gillet told Indiana Public Media. 

"There are so many things out there that could possibly be causing this," Gillet said. "I think mystery is a good term to use for this because we really need to look at all the different angles of this disease."  READ MORE