Owls Original Crafts

Sun Bear 17 California

2010-08-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

Ancient Bison Kill Site Uncovered In Montana

Browning Mont. Archaeologists working on the Blackfeet Indian reservation in northwestern Montana say they have uncovered a vast former hunting complex where bison were stampeded over a cliff at least 1,000 years ago.Researchers say the 9-mile-long area contains a well-preserved "drive line" system used to funnel bison to their deaths, along with bison bones and the remnants of campsites with hundreds of tepee rings.The site is on a remote plateau overlooking the Two Medicine River. Researchers say it could become one of the largest and most significant Blackfeet heritage sites in the region. Plains Indians harvested bison hundreds of years ago by stampeding them over cliffs. John Murray, the Blackfeet Tribe's historic preservation officer, say research at the new site will help members better understand their history.

Global Warming And Changing
Part 12
Los Angeles Nears Water Rationing
February 2009

With a recent flurry of winter storms doing little to dampen California's latest drought the nation's biggest public utility voted on Tuesday to impose water rationing in Los Angeles for the first time in nearly two decades.Under the plan adopted in principle by the governing board of the L.A. Department of Water and Power, homes and businesses would pay a penalty rate-nearly double normal prices-for any water they use in excess of a reduced monthly allowance. The five-member board plans to formally vote on details of the measure next month.The rationing scheme is expected to take effect in May unless the City Council acts before then to reject it-a move seen as unlikely since Mayor Antonio Vilaraigosa called for the measure under a water-shortage plan last week. The only other time such penalty pricing was imposed to force conservation in the nation's second biggest city was a rationing put into effect for a year starting in March 1991, at the height of California's last statewide drought. That measure cut citywide water use by 26 percent, DWP spokesman Joseph Ramallo said.The DWP board also voted unanimously to restrict lawn sprinkler use to two days a week, as urged by the mayor. Outdoor irrigation for 40 percent of residential water use in the city, DWP officials say.The agency is the largest municipal utility in the United States, supplying water and electricity to some 3.8 million household and businesses in Los Angeles. San Diego and others cities throughout California are weighing similar measures to cope with a water shortage that is adding to the woes of a state beset with rising unemployment, high mortgage foreclosure rates and a budget crisis. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, one of the state's chief sources of fresh surface water, is far below normal, and reservoirs fed by Sierra runoff are badly depleted as well, due to a statewide drought now in its third year. State water managers have said the current dry spell could prove to be the worst ever in California owing to rising demands from steady population growth. Recent heavy rains, and mountain snowfall have provided a welcome respite from California's driest January on record, but "this latest set of storms did not get us out of the woods by any means." water manager James McDaniel told the DWP board.Complicating matters are federal court restrictions on water that can be pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in northern California, which furnishes much of the state's irrigation and drinking supplies, in order to protect endangered fish species.As a result, state water managers have cut the amount of delta water they provide to irrigation districts and cities around the state to 15 percent of their usual contracted allotment for the year and may curb those deliveries further. Another major source of imported water to Southern California,the Colorado River basin, is emerging from an eight-year drought, but its reservoirs remain low.

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Unseed Powers

2010-07-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

I know that our people possessed remarkable powers of concentration and abstraction, and I sometime fancy that such nearness to nature as I have described keeps the spirit sensitive to impressions not commonly felt, and in touch with the unseen powers. I am glad for my ancestors who they are and I am grateful for what they taught me.We come into our own when we can see the gifts our ancestors have been for us.

Owl's Original Crafts

2010-07-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Owl's Original Crafts are collectible, authentic, original art in which you can discover the power and freedom of the designs, symbols, and artifacts, and you can capture for the first time in a replica that is hand crafted in the family heritage style.You will get a feel for the transforming role as unbound spirits soar through your home or office.Rare and unusual of long ago is the collection of this day. Picture how dramatic each art piece will look on your wall, on your kitchen table, on your office desk, or on you, from Owl's Original Craft's ancestors. Don't miss any of my collection from the past from Owl's Original Crafts.

START YOUR COLLECTION TODAY!

Sun Bear 16

2010-07-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

July 11-2010

STORY 2

I'd like to tell this story to the children:

When I was a little boy, about once or twice a month, Strange
Horse, Jay, John, Running Deer, Paul, William, Weasel, Vic, and some of the men from the boothills in Missouri gathered their dogs to run foxes, and each man had his own dogs to see who had the best dog in the front, and each man knew the sound of his dogs. They picked a spot in the woods and built a fire; there they turned the dogs loose to chase the fox. They shouted out who is the best dog and who is ahead of the others. One night the dogs were having a hard time finding the fox, when Old Mack, a Walker dog, made a long howl which means the fox trail is cold. Jay said, "Well, that trail is too cold, it will be a while for the dogs to find another fresh fox trail. The men got out the hot dogs and buns to cook on the fire. Weasel went over and got two hot dogs and buns and came over to me and said, "I will cook you a nice hot dog." I went over to a big red oak stump and sat down to wait for him. Weasel came over and sat down beside me, and we ate our hot dogs. Weasel began to take out his flute from his flute bag and began to play his flute slowly. As he went on, then he began to play a litter faster, then he said, "The fox sees the rabbit!" Then Weasel played faster and faster and faster, then he said, "The fox and the rabbit went through the bushes and around the rocks and through the grass and through the bushes again." Weasel played faster and faster and faster, then he began to slow down. Then he said, "The rabbit went in the hole; Weasel played slower and slower and slower and then stopped. Then he said, "Now, Owl, you don't want to be like the rabbit, eventually it will get caught by the fox." Then Weasel said, "Owl, when you go out in the outside world, don't play around with the foxes like the rabbit did, you will get caught!! Stay away from the foxes!!

The moral of this story is: There are people like the foxes who take advantage of other people, or there are people like the foxes who take money from people for their living.

Sun Bear 9 - Global Warming and Changing

2010-07-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

Global Warming and Changing
Part 3
Herbal Tea Ingredient Helps Beetle-Plagued Trees.

Grants Pass,Oregon--Would a dose of herbal tea slow the march of beetles killing millions of acres of pine trees across the West?

sort of.

But instead of brewing up a cup,U.S. Forest Service scientists found that sprinkling tiny flakes containing the pheromone verbenone over lodgepole pine forests cut the number of trees attacked by bark beetles by two-thirds.Verbenone is found in rosemary and walnut husks and is approved for use in herbal teas.It also resembles a pheromone the beetles give off to tell one another that their tree is getting crowded,and it would be better to pick another one.Forest Service entomologist Nancy Gillette,lead author on the study,said scientists have known for a decade that when bark beetles smell verbenone they tend to disperse.The problem has been to find a cheap and effective way of distributing it,and Gillette says sprinkling flakes from helicopters is the best way yet.It costs about $110 an acre,compared to $1,000 an acre or more for thinning.
Insecticides are also expensive,and kill lots of beneficial insects.Gillette said she could foresee the technique being used around campgrounds,visitor centers and ski resorts,where it would be desirable to save trees.Andy Stahl,director of Forest
Service Employees for Environmental Ethics,said it would be fruitless to use across large areas,because the beetles infest only mature tress weakened by factors such as drought,and the infestations are part of a natural cycle that replaces lodgepole pine forests every 100 years. "All you are doing is saving(commercially) worthless trees in order that they burn next year," he said.The beetles have killed millions of acres of pine forests,touching every state in the West.Warming temperatures have meant winters no longer get cold enough to routinely kill the insects,so more of them survive to bore into trees,which fight them off by oozing sap.In Colorado alone,a survey found nearly 2 million acres of forests killed by beetles.The biggest outbreak in North America is in British Columbia,where 23 million acres have been killed.

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Sun Bear 6 - Return of the BUFFALO NATION

2010-07-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

In the summer of 1994,on the Heider farm in Wisconsin,a white buffalo calf came into the world.Because Plains Indian people revere white buffalo,the Heider family named their heifer Miracle.Native people came to see Miracle and rejoiced.No pure white calf had been born since 1933.Some saw in her an omen that White Buffalo Woman herself would soon return.Others saw a portent that the prayer of the Lakota Ghost Dance of the 1880s was about to be answered--that the buffalo would return to the great plains.Later another white calf was born May 22,2004, 12 AM Saturday at Flagstaff AZ.The story of this will be sent with the newsletter.Now signs abound that the latter promise is being realized.Almost extinct a century ago,buffalo are making a remarkable comeback.Nearly a quarter million graze today on private ranches,most of them on the Great Plains,and 200,000 more in Canada.Public lands such as national parks are home to about another 25,000.Dave Carter,Executive Director of the National Bison Association,the advocacy for commercial growers,says,"The market for buffalo is strong.Meat sales are up.We need more people producing buffalo." Since about the time Miracle was born,American Indian tribes have also been exerting their own muscle to bring the buffalo back.Their motives run less to profit and more to the physical,emotional and spiritual health of their people.Buffalo have made this continent their home for several hundred thousand years,and two of the original six species are still with us.Once they ranged over all of North America,but they thrived particularly on the Great Plains.The Native people there held them sacred.Buffalo are part of the Lakota(Sioux)creation story,in which the people followed Buffalo out of Wind Cave into this world.Many tribes held ceremonies to honor the buffalo.At the forefront of this movement are members of the InterTribal Bison Collective,consisting of 57 tribes in 19 states.Due to the recent drought,which has made grass scarce,herd numbers are temporarily down,but ITBC Executive Director Jim Stone(Yankton Sioux)estimates that the tribes have 10,000 to 15,000 buffalo.The ITBC provides grants to tribes for all infrastructure required to maintain a herd---including fences,corrals and water---and the buffalo are provided for free by the National Park Service.The tribal herds are put to various uses.Most tribes gave away or sold meat to their members,nine tribes offer hunts,at least eight provide public tours to view the herds,four sell meat to the public,and one teaches hide tanning.Though there are plans to offer bison arts and crafts,none are available yet.Alvah Quinn,the manager of the buffalo herd of the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe,runs what Stone calls a model program.The tribe started raising buffalo in 1992 and now has a carrying capacity of 350 head.DNA testing has demonstrated that the herd is one of eight in the U.S. that is 100 percent buffalo,with no cattle blood.When they get too many buffalo for the available grass,they sell them to tribal members for $350 per animal,far below market price.Quinn says the purpose of creating the herd is to give animals to tribal districts for powwows and other ceremonies,and to give meat to elderly members and those with diabetes.All killing is done in a ceremonial way."The guys won't do it otherwise," Quinn says.Spiritual leaders are on hand to sing the old songs that consecrate the death,and these leaders also encourage the participants in the ceremony to create new songs, "which will be the old songs of tomorrow." Buffalo meat has a small fraction of the fat of beef,is high in protein and is dense with nutrients like iron and essential fatty acids.Stone's experience working with the Yankton tribal herd indicates that a buffalo can be raised to three years old,and be made available to tribal members for about two dollars a pound."It's much better meat than they could get at a supermarket." Stone suggests "marketing buffalo meat not to expensive restaurants,but to the daily plates of tribal people.Our health problems can be solved by what we eat.Once we had a good diet based on natural foods,We need to get back to that." In 1987 professors Frank and Deborah Popper published a paper imagining that the Great Plains might return to a form resembling its past.Manos of GPRC embraces the Poppers' vision wholeheartediy.He seeks to put together enough land to create two separate 1-million acre buffalo ranges in the near future,one around the Pine Ridge(Lakota)Reservation and one in West Texas and New Mexico.Ultimately,over several decades,he hopes to create a 10 to 20 million acre corridor of Great Plains land for buffalo,prairie dogs,and their plant and animal neighbors.A vegan,his goals emphatically omit raising buffalo for consumption.He hopes "to see the buffalo die of old age,"but other Buffalo Commons supporters see the need for limited hunting to keep the herd numbers stable.Beau LeBeau, a Lakota man from Pine Ridge, has helped make a start around Pine Ridge.The tribe is in the process of reacquiring the South Unit of Badlands National Park,and the tribe and the GPRC are trying to buy 4,600 acres on the north side of the park.They also hope to convert some tribal lands now used for cattle ranching(by Anglo ranchers) and secure cooperation of other nearby public lands:the Buffalo Gap National Grassland,the Oglala National Grassland and Fort Robinson State Park.Manos thinks his million acre dream for that area is within reach.What is the future of buffalo on the Great Plains?Frank Popper believes a resurgence is underway."The 19th century was terrible for buffalo,as was most of the 20th.But early in the 21st,the buffalo are coming back and a Buffalo Commons is forming."That can only be good for native people.Two species still populate North America:the plains buffalo and the wood buffalo.Both male and female develop short,curved horns.At the hump the male may be up to two meters tall and weigh up to one ton.The female is about half that size.Life expectancy is 2 to 40 years.In the wild,buffalo cows generally gave birth every other spring,a single red or yellow calf.On modern ranches they bear offsping every year.Historically,buffalo thrived on buffalo grass,a thick-growing turf about eight inches high.Partly because it made excellent sod for pioneer houses,the buffalo grass has mostly disappeared,and the buffalo now feed on various grasses.

Sun Bear 4 June 7 2008

2010-07-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

June 21 is Father's Day.There will be 35% off on all products.The sale will start on June 20 through June 27.
The Irish and Cheyenne celebrated Head Man Day (Father's Day).The
women have a very special meal and very nice handmade gifts.When
the Head Man invites a guest and his family to his home,he welcomes him and his wife and children.The wives and children
all get together, and the Head Men get together and have a
family pipe ceremony.This is the day the Head Man shows what he
has accomplished with his family,land,animals,and fowl.He would do little work that day.

I would like to introduce to you someone who teaches the Native American way throughout the world.KENNETH LITTLE HAWK is a Native American musician,storyteller,keynote speaker,recording artist and actor,descending from the Micmac and Mohawk tribes.He is also a member of Metis of Maine.Touring throughout America over the past 20 years,Little Hawk has performed for over 2 million people at many distinguished locations including Lincoln Center in New York,the Kennedy Center in Washington,and the American Museum of Natural History.His voice and authentic flute music can be heard in such award-winning PBS films as "The West" and"lewis and Clark." He has been nominated twice for best Storyteller of the year by the Native American Music Awards for "Wind,Sun and Stars" and "In a good Way." In 1998,he was invited to meet the president at the White House for a special screening of "Lewis & Clark." Little Hawk played flute with other musicians in the East Wing of the White House and all contributers to the film received a beautiful replica of the Jefferson Medal Of Peace.He is a Native American cultural treasure.Little Hawk believes that all humans need to honor,cherish and preserve the earth. He says,"We must work together to mend the global hoop that encompasses all life." He hopes to leave his audiences with the knowledge that they can make choices to live in harmony with one another and the environment.Little Hawk has put out 5 CD's and two new CD's:The Little Tree, and The Little Hawk Show. Little Hawk and his wife started The Little Hawk Show.The Little Hawk Show logo is a Medicine Wheel design that was created for Little Hawk by a Hopi drum maker in 1993 when Little Hawk was performing in the award-winning play,"Black Elk Speaks." You can visit
Little Hawk's Store online to buy T shirts,hats,and CD's.The money and any donations support the Little Hawk Show and are tax deductible. You can go to http://www.kennethlittlehawk.com

Sun Bear 3 - I would like to tell to the young people a story to remember

2010-07-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

I would like to tell to the young people a story to remember:

When I was a little boy,my grandfathers or father,would go squirrel hunting in the summer.One day after it rained in the morning,Lame Deer had finished his chores and I just got
through milking the cows and started to the house to get water for the women,Lame Deer came to me with his Winchester 22.He said, "Owl,let's go hunting." We walked through the woods,and
for a while we sat down and took turns calling the squirrels.
We got 4 squirrels,then we got up to walk to a different location.Lame Deer stopped to look at the sky and he saw
that the sun was straight up.He said, "Well,the squirrels
are not running,it's too hot so let's go over to that log
and sit down." We sat on the log for a while.Lame Deer got
up and walked over to a very huge white oak tree and put
his hand on it, and said, "Owl,this takes a great warrior
to chop this down." Lame Deer came over and sat by me and told
me, "Owl, I am going to tell you a story that was told to me
by my ancestors about Jumping Eagle.": Many winters ago Jumping
Eagle looked at a very huge pin oak tree where other warriors
had chopped at it and gave up.One day Jumping Eagle walked over
to the huge pin oak with his ax and started to chop it,and each day he would go over and chop on the huge tree.One morning his father (Running Elk) heard a loud boom.Running Elk went out of his tepee and saw the huge pin oak down,and Jumping Eagle beside it.Running Elk walked over to Jumping Eagle and put
his hand on his shoulder, and said, "I am proud of you, son."
Many winters have gone by.Jumping Eagle has become a great
chief.

The moral of this story is: Whatever you want to accomplish,
keep at it,don't give up,and you will accomplish it.This is
called determination.

Starting May 5 through May 11,you will get 25% off on all
products listed on my website:
http://www.owlsoriginalcrafts.com

Memorial Day is coming on May 26.Native Americans celebrate this
special day for those who have given their lives for their country.These are the powwows that celebrate Memorial Day:
15th Annual Memorial Day Powwow May 23--24 2008 Laredo,TX
34th Annual Memorial Day Powwow May 23--26 2008 Carlton PA.
36th Annual Redmoon Memorial Powwow May 24--26 Hammon OK.
At the end of the Powwow there is a Veteran's Dance to honor
all Veterans.

There will be a sale coming for Memorial Day.

Sun Bear 2 - NMAI

2010-07-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my first newsletter about who manages the NMAI.
As you approach the five-story,250,000 sq. ft. building that rises on the 4-1/4 acre museum site,the outside wall is clad in Kasota limestone quarried in Minnesota.Ranging from 4 to 15 inches thick,the textured surface created by this stone highlights the changing beauty of light and shadow during the course of the day and year.Everything on this Mother Earth is round,the Mother Earth is round.Our museum is built round.The most challenging of the museum on the main structure was especially difficult because of the lack of square reference points.There are simply no conventional corners anywhere.This place is also a blend of art and culture all rolled into one.

This is a very special month,Earth Day Month.For the first time,
the Congress are asking the Native American Prophets to advise them about saving the Mother Earth.There are 5 videos.Listen to
them on my website. April 22,2009 is Earth Day, there is a sale staring April 18, 2009 through April 26, 2009, of 35% off on all products.

Sun Bear 1 - Welcome to Sun Bear Newsletter 1

2010-07-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Sun Bear Newsletter.If you want something put in the newsletter,please contact owlj@centurytel.net .We have a beautiful National Museum of the American Indian in Washington,D.C. W.Richard West(Southern Cheyenne)was appointed in 1990 founding director of the new museum,a man instrumental in creating the hemisphere-wide process of native consultation behind the National Mall Facility.Significant cultural and financial input from tribes across the Americas makes the museum a stunning example of cultural celebration.Phyllis Young(Standing Rock Sioux)served as chairperson of the NMAI board of trustees.This museum is about history,but it also establishes the fact that Native peoples have a contemporary role in the 21st century.
Wisdom
The wisest man sees the least.says the least,but prays the
most.Wisdom is about living.It is about things.

Sun Bear 15 - 1 Dead,16 Injured As Severe Storms Pelt Ga.,Ala.

2010-07-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

Atlanta-One person was killed and at least 16 were injured when fierce thunderstorms swept Georgia and Alabama,bringing tornadoes,hail and lightning and downing trees and power lines,authorities said Thursday.At least three tornadoes touched down in central Georgia when the storms swept through overnight,
according to National Weather Service teams who rolled out after daylight to determine if twisters had hit based on the damage.The storms gutted homes,and destroyed a nightclub and damaged schools. "It looks like a B-52 bomber went over," Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said. "The buildings are completely disintegrated." In the Hancock County town of Sparta,Johnny Frank Baker was killed when his home was destroyed by the storm,county coroner Alexander Ingram said.Most of the 143-year-old Hickory Grove Missionary Baptist Church,which is across the street from Baker's home,was leveled and nearby graves were uprooted by toppled trees.Kent McMullen,a meteorologist with the weather service in Peachtree City,said one confirmed tornado cut out a 7 mile swath through rural Jasper County with winds of up to 100 mph.At least 10 people were injured and as many as 100 structures were damaged in Jasper County,emergency managers said.Two other twisters touched down in Taylor County and at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins,south of Macon,McMullen said.In Alabama,an apparent tornado uprooted trees in Geneva near the Florida line.No injuries were reported.The storms also damaged at least two schools in Fayette County south of Atlanta.Across Georgia,roughly 13,400 homes and businesses lost power during the height of the storms.Much of it was restored by Thursday morning.The storms might just be a preview of the spring tornado season.A record outbreak of 21 tornadoes struck the state on March 1,2007, wrecking a hospital in Americus and killing nine people.A tornado struck downtown Atlanta on March 14 last year,causing millions of dollars in damage,and some buildings still have broken windows.

Sun Bear 5 - Managing The Bison SUN BEAR 5

2010-07-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone National Park is the only remaining home for truly
wild,genetically pure bison with an unbroken connection to their
native habitat. When the buffalo slaughter of the late 1800s
ended, only 23 bison remained in the wild,and Yellowstone was
their sanctuary. Numbering 4,700 today,Yellowstone's herd has irreplaceable biollgical.cultural,spiritual,and historical value.
Sadly, today we are experiencing a second bison slaughter in
America.Just two winters ago, over 900 migrating bison were stopped at the park's border and shipped to slaughter. This is a national travesty and an embarrassment to the National Park System. NPCA is working to end the annual slaughter through increasing the amount of winter habitat available to them outside Yellowstone. Bison can carry a bovine disease called brucellosis, which poses little risk to them,but can cause cattle to abort. Although there has never been a recorded transmission of brucellosis from wild bison to cattle, the State of Montana claims that bison with brucellosis pose a threat to its cattle. For this reason bison, unlike other wildlife,are not allowed to enter Montana. During the winter and early spring months, when bison exit Yellowstone's boundaries in search of food, the Montana Department of Livestock routinely captures them and sends them to slaughter. Nearly 3,000 have been slaughtered over the past decade,leaving only an estimated 2,300 surviving!
. At the northwest corner in the Horse Butte outside of Yellowstone there are no cattle grazing in the area, isolated from neighboring grazing lands by wide arms of Hebgen Lake,which constitute an effective barrier for preventing any bison-cattle contact. Add to this the fact that many landowners in the Horse Butte area now welcome the bison, and the rancher's arguments become increasingly irrational. About 135 bison were grazing in the area last week, and state officials planned on hazing the bison back toward the park with helicopters to avoid trespassing on land owned by sympathizers.Montana livestock growers deserve to be protected from the threat of wildlife-borne brucellosis.But the real threat comes from elk, not bison. Elk were the suspects in a brucellosis outbreak in a cattle herd near Bridger last year.As winter blanklets Yellowstone National Park, bison and other wildlife begin their ancient migrations out of the snowy high country to the surrounding valleys, se!
eking food for survival.In 2008, this annual migration has once again
led to needless conflict. While elk, moose, and other wildlife pass freely between Yellowstone and the surrounding area, bison are captured and shipped to slaughter by the thouaands or hazed back into Yellowstone's unforgiving high country to face starvation.Separation of Bison and Cattle-Where cattle operations exist, separation from bison is essential.The solution? Make sure bison and cattle aren't in the same place at the same time. Five practical ways are:
1. Use creative fencing and cost-sharing solutions to keep livestock and bison from co-mingling;
2. Alter when cattle are grazing in certain areas;
3. Retire grazing allotments in bison habitat when possible and appropriate;
4. Purchase grazing rights,easements, and land from willing sellers in critical habitat areas.
In other areas the solution is divide the bison with the Native American Indians. In 1924, 14 bison were taken to Catalina Island to make a silent film.By 1980 the herd had grown to 600-- too many to maintain a healthy herd. Over the years some were shipped to auction. So a different solution was to give to the Rosebud Lakota Tribe--keep 150 on Catalina Island and the rest to the Lakota Tribe. The Native American Bison Tranport took the bison from Catalina Island to South Dakota.

Sun Bear 13 - North Pole Summers Ice Free In 10 Years

2010-07-09T08:19:00.001-07:00

The North pole will turn into an open sea during summer within a decade,according to data released Wednesday by a team of explorers who trekked through the Arctic for three months.The Catlin Arctic Survey Team,led by explorer Pen Hadow,measured the thickness of the ice as it sledged and hiked through the northern part of the Beaufort Sea in the North Pole this year during a research project.Their findings show that most of the ice in the region is first-year ice that is only around 1.8 meters (six feet) deep and will melt next summer.The region has traditionally contained,thicker multiyear ice which does not melt as rapidly. "With a larger part of the region now first-year ice,it is clearly more vulnerable," said Professor Peter Wadhams,part of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at the University of Cambridge which analyzed the data. "The area is now more likely to become open water each summer,bringing forward the potential date when the summer sea ice will be completely gone." !
Wadhams said the Catlin Arctic Survey data supports the new consensus that the Arctic will be ice-free in summer within 20 years,and that much of the decrease will happen within 10 years.Martin Sommerkorn of the World Wildlife Fund said the Arctic Sea holds a central position in the earth's climate system. "Such a loss of Arctic Sea ice cover has recently been assessed to set in motion powerful climate feedback's which will have an impact far beyond the Arctic itself," he said. He added: "This could lead to flooding affecting one-quarter of the world's population,substantial increases in greenhouse gas from massive carbon pools and extreme global weather changes." Global warming has raised the stakes in the scramble for sovereignty in the Arctic because shrinking polar ice could someday open resource development and new shipping lanes.The rapid melting of ice has raised speculation that the Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans could one day become a reg!
ular shipping lane.

Sun Bear 8 - Western Forests Dying At Increasing Rate

2010-07-09T08:18:00.002-07:00

Grants Pass.Oregon--Trees in old growth forests across the West are dying at a small,but increasing rate,that scientists conclude is probably caused by longer and hotter summers from a changing climate.While not noticeable to someone walking through the forests,the death rate is doubling every 17 to 20 years,according to a 52-year study published in a recent edition of the Journal Science.The trend was apparent in trees of all ages,species,and locations. "If current trends continue,forests will become sparser over time," said lead author Phillip J. van Mantgem of the U.S.Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center. "Eventually this will lead to decreasing tree size," he said.This is important because it indicates future forests might store less carbon than present. "Old growth forests,particularly those in the Northwest,store large amounts of carbon, making them a resource in combatting global warming,said Jerry Franklin,a professor of forest ecology at the Univer!
sity of Washington.But as trees die,they decompose and give off carbon dioxide,contributing to the amount of greenhouse gases.Young forests store very little carbon,and it takes hundreds of years to replace old growth,he said.The researchers considered several other possible causes for the higher death rate--air pollution,overcrowding of young trees,the effects of logging,large trees falling on small ones,and a lack of forest fires,which keep forests healthy.But the data showed the trend affected trees young and old,in polluted and clean air,in crowded and sparse stands and at different elevations.The likely cause,they concluded,was warmer average temperature across the West,about 1 degree over the study period,said co-author Nathan L.Stephenson,also of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center.That results in greater stress on the trees from lack of water,leaving them vulnerable to disease and insects.Stephenson said the rising death rate could also produce a cascading d!
ecline in the forests that leads to less habitat for fish and wildlife
,an increased risk of wildfires,and a vulnerability to sudden forest die-offs. "If it's a gradual process,we may be fine," said Mark E.Harmon,professor of forest ecology at Oregon State University. "If it is a real sudden process.it could be problematical. Barbara Bond,a professor of forest physiology at Oregon State who was not involved in the study said, "It would be wrong to definitively conclude that the rising tree mortality was caused by warmer temperatures.An enormous amount of additional work would have to be done before any rational scientist would draw some cause and effect," she said.The geological survey paid for the study,which examined data between 1955 and 2007 in 76 research plots in British Columbia,Washington,Oregon,California,
Idaho,Colorado,and Arizona.The average age of the forest examined was about 450 years,with some as old as 1,000 years.Of the 59,736 trees counted,11,095 died over the study period.The death rate increase varied,with the highest in California's Sierras,from about 0.9 percent in 1980 and rising to about 1.3 percent.

Sun Bear 7 - Global Warming and Changing

2010-07-09T08:18:00.001-07:00

Part 1

Through the times I can see the Changing across the Mother Earth and the Global Warming starting.Things happen that never happened before, weather is more dangerous.Starting when I was a little boy,everyone came onto the land to mark off their land.My mother's family (Henrys) marked off 1200 acres, which is called homesteading.The people built the courthouse.The railroad came in,a company moved in to make handles for tools.There were sawmills through the forests and farms throughout the land.The sawmills made lumber,railroad ties,and staves to take to the depot to be shipped.The farmers took their milk in milkcans and the grains that they harvested to the depot to be shipped.Every August everybody gathered at the courthouse to trade or sell.A family built a grinding mill called Alley Spring.Every September the farmers took their grains to Alley Spring and camped there, waiting to get their grains ground.There was dancing,lots of music,and going to church.A company moved in t!
o make pallets.When the Henrys and the Natives died they were buried on the farm.Later a cemetery was made just east of the farm for more of the Henrys,and the Natives and other people.The Conservation Dept. moved in and took over the river,water fall,and natural pools and made them into parks.The people built a grade school.There are only four Henrys left now, and they decided to sell the farm.In 2000 Ruby and I went to see the farm.The Conservation Dept. had turned the parks over to the Park Rangers.The sawmills were gone and most of the farms were gone.The company that made pallets was gone,the railroad was gone,and Alley Spring became a museum.The trees are small and the forests are dying from global warming.The oaks cannot be cut for lumber because they are full of holes from the bark beetle.No more gathering at the courthouse.The pallet company is gone.The company that made handles for tools is still there.On the farm,an organization bought the center of the farm, and!
the rest of the farm the Conservation Dept. took over.The cemetery on
the farm,all the handmade headstones are gone and the brush has taken over.The cemetery on the east side, all the handmade headstones are gone, but it has been taken care of and a large headstone has been put in the center with some of the names on it from 1800 to 1965.The Carter family have been taking care of the cemetery;no more people are to be buried there.The town has built a large Cemetery where everyone is to be buried.The people have to drive a long ways to work.The town depends on tourists.When the children grow up,they will go to the city for jobs.The county has built a super highway missing the town.The Natives have moved out.The trading post is gone.The grade school is still there.Well, the global warming and changing goes on!

Sun Bear 5 - Managing The Bison

2010-07-09T08:16:00.000-07:00