In a previous post, I laid to rest some common myths about bats. In another I highlighted a few things that make bats awesome. Indeed, bats are weird and wonderful and rather essential to ecosystems and human wellbeing. But here's the thing. They're in trouble. In 2020, 15 % of [...]
In an earlier post, I addressed myths about bats. Today, in honour of Bat Appreciation Day, I thought I'd write about some of the many reasons to not only learn more about bats, but also, well, appreciate them. TThere are nearly 6 400 described species of mammals living today, divided into 29 separate groups, [...]
No doubt about it, if you ask people to name their favourite animals, very few will answer ‘bats’. Indeed, they’re among the most maligned of all mammals. Many of my fellow bat biologists and I are used to people cringing when they find out that we study (and love) them. There are many myths [...]
Check out my friend and colleague, Dr John Ascher, talking about urban bees in Prospect Park in New York City.
This is part 2 of a two-part blog entry. Click here to read part 1. From the perspective of future motivation to conserve biodiversity, one of the most troubling signs of nature-deficit-disorder (NDD) is our reduced connection with the natural world, which may manifest as a reduction in our ability to identify common species. [...]
This is part 1 of a two-part blog. Urbanisation has been identified by some authors as the top human cause of species endangerments and extinctions. That it has such a large impact on biodiversity is pretty surprising when you realise that cities occupy a very small fraction (estimated at 1.5-3 %) of all the [...]
No doubt, I’m far from the only person thinking about climate change at the moment, what with the Paris Conference underway. Of course, as a conservation biologist, I’m often thinking about climate change (and sometimes driving my boyfriend crazy with my admonishments to turn off lights, water heaters and the air-con and even closing the faucet [...]
This is part 3 of a three-part blog. If you’d like to read part 2, click here. Finally, time for Ms Ervin’s lecture at NUS, to a pretty full auditorium. She started by describing how the term “green building” has evolved. Not so long ago, it might have evoked images of something like the turf [...]
This is part 2 of a three-part blog. If you’d like to read part 1, click here. I spent the day with the Ervins and several other people, most of whom are involved in green building in Singapore. These included representatives from the Singapore Government’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and City Developments Limited (CDL). [...]
Green wall on Blusson Hall, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada Although I was only planning to update this blog perhaps a couple of times a month, I already felt inspired by a recent event I participated in, the 3rd annual Asia Environment Lecture, which is jointly organised by NUS’ Master of [...]
