Less Bees, Be ready

http://www.environmentmassachusetts.org/programs/mae/no-bees-no-food

   Less bees is a problem. Bees need to pollinate lots of our food in Massachusetts

It's Over-WHALE-ming!!!

Endangered Right Whales were spotted in huge gatherings near Cape Cod Bay around the spring of 2011. Although this is an amazing opportunity for scientists, what will become of the poor creatures? After all, with all the ships coming and going near the bay, there is a chance these big beings might get hurt, and cause chaos all around. However, we must be gentle with the whales, because at that time, there were only about 450 left whales as the population recovered since commercial whaling was banned. Save the Right Wales! They are always right!

Sources/Links:

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/species-information-and-conservation/rare-mammals/

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/22/massachusetts.whales/

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/04/21/endangered_whales_gathering_off_cape_cod_in_record_numbers/

http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20130428/NEWS/304280343

New England Slit Snail Soon to Derail

http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dfg/nhesp/species-and-conservation/nhfacts/floridobia-winkleyi.pdf


The New England Slit Snail is a beautiful creature, with it's glossy spiral shell. Unfortunately for these majestic creatures they are going extinct. The slit snails generally live in slightly salty coastal water. Toxic substances from drainage systems are harming these snails. This article is from 2008...

The Yeoman of Beetles

     The American Burying Beetle almost went extinct in the 1980's. In multiple states, including Massachusetts, there is a re-introduction program to save this species that we take for granted. The ABB is a scavenger, meaning that it eats dead things, or carrion. Without these scavengers, we would be knee-deep in rotting flesh and bones. The main reintroduction program is located in Providence, Rhode Island, led by Lou Perrotti. No one really knows why they began to decline, but on the other hand, the breeding program is going quite well. The species will have its day, and let us make it closer to today.

Below are links about the re-introduction program in Massachusetts: *Some of the links are not all about the Massachusetts program in particular*

http://www.fws.gov/southdakotafieldoffice/BEETLE.HTM

http://www.fws.gov/southdakotafieldoffice/ABBRecoveryPlan.pdf

http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dfg/nhesp/species-and-conservation/nhfacts/nicrophorus-americana-2012.pdf

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/esa_works/profile_pages/AmericanBuryingBeetle.html

As everyone know Boston was hit hard with this years snow storms, two of which made the top ten snow storms in Boston, Juno and Marcus.

Protect Massachusetts Rivers

“The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in pools and eddies to remind you who you are.” -Lynn Noel 
    People in Massachusetts  depend on these rivers. They’re where we love to swim, fish and do many other things. They supply us with clean drinking water, we should be doing all we can to protect them.Polluting companies has put our nation's waters in jeopardy by creating loopholes in the Clean Water Act, leaving 4,200 miles of Massachusetts' streams open to pollution. The miners are dumping toxin chemicals in our clean water. That’s nearly 2 million miles of our streams at risk, threatening the drinking water of 117 million Americans. They also put at risk 20 million acres of wetlands, an area the size of South Carolina and home to millions of birds and fish. 

http://www.environmentmassachusetts.org/issues

http://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/loopholes_in_the_clean_water_act#.VUOQxNrBzGc

Good Morning Bulldogs.

Good Morning Bulldogs
     We are so excited to have you part of this Massifornia Blog Project.  Due to the number of authors, we had to create two separate blogs:
 1) http://massifornia.blogspot.com/
 2) http://massafornia2.blogspot.com/

No worries.  Give us a week or two and Ms. Peters, Ms. Costello, Ms. Sprague & I will work out the glitches.  So, please post a MA problem that science could potentially solve.  Have a catchy title and provide a link (#CER) with commentary so that my CA kids can start the conversation.

Stay Classy Bigelow,

Mr. Souza