Top Ten Climatology Records Tell All

By recent USEE Intern Jesse Peterson.

For some reason, we are fascinated with extremes. Some of the most intriguing are, of course, the various climatological records set across the country. The records in this post are culled from various sources including The National Climatic Data Center, Riskmeter Online, Hurricane City, Weatherpages.com, National Lung Association, and Sperling's Best Places.

In regards to Utah, the state hits only three out of the 27 top ten lists:

It is the ninth most prone state for Earthquakes based upon the number of earthquakes centered in each respective state over the last 30 years. This isn't too surprising, but what might be surprising is that our neighbors, Nevada (4th), Idaho (6th), and Wyoming (7th) all rank higher.

Utah has the 3rd lowest temperature (based on state records) ever recorded in the U.S., a bone-chilling -69.3 degrees Fahrenheit at Peter Sink, UT. Really? This temperature has even been suggested as the second coldest temperature ever recorded. Only two other temperatures exceed this one, Rogers Pass, MT, recorded -70, just one degree more, while Prospect Creek, AK, registered -80 degrees. Peter Sink is located in the Bear River Mountains east of Logan. It is so cold here that no trees grow at the bottom of the sinkhole, and the average amount of time that passes without Peter Sink dropping to below freezing is only four days, even in summer. This area gets so cold because Utah suffers temperature inversions, cold air settles into the sinkhole, and famous Utah powdered snow insulates better than fiberglass and keeps any warmth from the earth interacting with the air.

Weather Observation at Peter Sinks - Image Source

The third, and most surprising is that based on pollen counts between 1999-2002, Salt Lake City was the eighth best city for allergies. Can you believe it? Put that Benadryl down, friend. Of course, looking at the other honorees, one notices that many included in this list are big cities like L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, and Seattle. This causes me to wonder what are the reasons for such a low pollen count. Drought? Lots of concrete and few parks/plants?

Anyways, California wins outright in the number of cities with little to no climate variation. Florida, not Oklahoma or Kansas ("there's no place like home"), is the state most prone to experience tornadoes, with an average of 9.4 tornadoes per 10,000 sq. mi. based upon the years 1953-2004. Though Florida trumps in the aforementioned category, Oklahoma City is the most at risk city for tornadoes and no city from Florida finds its way onto this top ten list.

The hottest temperature recorded, of course, took place in Death Valley (134 degrees), while the second hottest was recorded at the popular excursion destination Lake Havasu, AZ (128 degrees); you might wish to consider going during the fall or spring.

The snowiest city is not where you might think: Blue Canyon, CA with 240.8" of annual avg. snow, a whopping 112.2" more than its direct competitor Marquette, MI. Buffalo, NY is conspicuously absent.

Blue Canyon, CA: Image Source

Chicago, the windy city, is NOT on the top ten list for windiest city - instead, Blue Hill Observatory, MA (is this even a city?) takes the number one spot with Dodge City, KS, taking the number two spot.

Yuma, AZ, is not only the sunniest city, but also the driest and the city with the least amount of rain (only 17 days per year), though in average relative humidity it falls into third place behind Las Vegas, NV, and Phoenix, AZ.

The rainiest city is not Quillayute, WA, but instead, Hilo, HI.

Though dirty here in Utah, Cheyenne WY has the cleanest air in the nation (based on long-term particle pollution).

As far as I have discovered, the U.S. only holds ONE WORLD RECORD in climatological effects. On June 22, 1947, in Holt, Missouri, 12" of rain fell in a mere 42 minutes.

These are pretty amazing facts, and we'd love to hear any more from our readers. So post your comments and tell us what makes the U.S. so climatologically cool...or hot...or wet... or whatever...

Environmental Education Week Ends (but EE lives on)!

To commemorate the end of Environmental Education Week and to usher in Earth Week, the Living Planet Aquarium courteously provided some great ocean facts (and we decided to add some extra fun). As you are aware, EE Week focused upon oceans and our relationship to them, so, enjoy these exciting tidbits of which you might not have been previously aware. Thanks TLPA!

• Did you know that a tsunami is a usually caused by an earthquake, volcanic eruption or coastal landslide and is a large ocean wave that can travel at speeds up to 600 mi/hr?! Most tsunamis happen in the Pacific Ocean, but can occur in any body of water.Here's a somewhat sensationalistic, but powerful video from CBS News showing some of the effects of the recent Tsunami that swept into North-East Japan.

• Did you know that scientists are now looking to our oceans to help solve the problems of climate change? For instance, windmill blades are now being manufactured to mimic the fins of humpback whales in order to increase efficiency.

Images Source

• Did you know that if you like fishing you could turn it into a career by becoming a fishery scientist? Fishery scientists do things like tag sharks and monitor their movements. They also help come up with alternative methods for harvesting seafood and monitor fish populations.

Here's the Fisheries Science Wikipedia Page

• Did you know that about 25% of the creatures in the ocean live in coral reefs? There are 5,000+ species of fish alone living in coral reefs! Scientists consider coral reefs to be the “rainforests of the ocean.”

Even as Rainforests dramatically shrink, Coral Reefs are supposedly disappearing about four times faster.

• Did you know that most of the water that Utah receives as precipitation (rain, snow, sleet and hail) originally comes from the Pacific Ocean? That means that your water could have been the same water a Great White Shark swam through!

The precipitation from the Pacific arrives on one of the two northern Jet Streams. The trajectory is further determined and complicated by the tilt of the earth's axis, rotation, ocean currents, etc. Utah gets much of its water from the Gulf of California.

Image Source

Frog or Toad?

(Photo credit here.)

This can be a confusing distinction.

When it comes to taxonomy, frogs and toads are of the same order (Anura) but different families. True toads are of the family Bufonidae, while frogs belong to the family Ranidae. Some frogs have "toad" in their common name because they may bear some resemblance to a toad, but there are some distinct physical differences between the two.

Frogs live in wet environments, around water. Because of this, they have smooth, wet (or slimy) skin, and large web-footed back legs for jumping and swimming.

(Pictured: Relict Leopard Frog, via CNAH.)

Toads, on the other hand, live on dry land, so they have dry skin that is rough and "warty." Toads also have stubby back legs more suited for walking.

(Pictured: Great Plains Toad, via CNAH.)

Frogs have teeth, and toads do not. Frogs lay their eggs in clusters in the water, while toads lay eggs in long chains on plants that grow in the water. Some frogs have poison glands, but all toads have poison glands.

The Center for North American Herpitology has recently made available a checklist of all amphibians, reptiles, and turtles in Utah, found here. This checklist contains taxonomic information, photographs, and common names for all of these animals. The checklist will also help to standardize the common names of these animals, to avoid confusion and maintain consistency as taxonomic information changes.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Image source

We have all heard about Phil, the groundhog, or have seen the movie Groundhog Day, but what is the Groundhog Holiday all about? I did a little research on the observance and here is what I was able to find out. Information taken from http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/groundhog-day. Teachers, be sure to check out the links below for activities and lesson plan you might want to use in your classroom!
Background

Thousands of years ago when animalism and nature worship were prevalent, people in the area of Europe now known as Germany believed that the badger had the power to predict the coming of spring. They watched the badger to know when to plant their crops. By the time the first German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania they probably understood that this was not true but the tradition continued.

Unfortunately there were not many badgers in Pennsylvania so the groundhog substituted the badger. Tradition has it that if the groundhog will sees its shadow on February 2 it will be frightened by it and will return to its burrow, indicating that there will be six more weeks of winter. If it does not see its shadow, then spring is on the way.

Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the United States in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was made on February 2, 1887. It is said that Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog) was named after King Phillip. He was called Br'er Groundhog prior to being known as Phil. Canada also celebrates Groundhog Day.

Current Observation

Groundhog Day is a popular observance in many parts of the United States on February 2 of each year. Although some states have in some cases adopted their own groundhogs, the official groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, lives at Gobbler’s Knob near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The town has attracted thousands of visitors over the years to experience various Groundhog Day events and activities on February 2.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club plays an important role in organizing Groundhog Day in the town. Club members, news reporters, locals and visitors meet at Gobbler’s Knob on February 2 each year to await Phil’s appearance and his weather prediction. Pennsylvania’s governor has been known to attend Groundhog Day ceremonies. Many weather researchers questioned the groundhog’s accuracy in predicting the weather but some of the groundhog’s fans may not agree.

The Groundhog

The groundhog, also known as the woodchuck or marmot, is believed to make weather predictions relating to winter and spring according to superstition. Movies, advertisements, cartoons and other media have portrayed the legendary role of the groundhog in popular culture. The term “Groundhog Day” is a phrase that is sometimes used to express if the same events or actions occur repetitively for a period of time.

Teachers, Check out the Links below for activities, lesson plans, etc.

Groundhog Activities
Groundhog Lesson Plans
Groundhog Poetry


More Fun Groundhog Facts

• The average groundhog is 20 inches long and normally weighs from 12 to 15 pounds. Punxsutawney Phil weighs about 20 pounds and is 22 inches long.
• Groundhogs are covered with coarse grayish hairs (fur) tipped with brown or sometimes dull red. They have short ears, a short tail, short legs, and are surprisingly quick. Their jaws are exceptionally strong.
• A groundhog's diet consists of lots of greens, fruits, and vegetables and very little water. Most of their liquids come from dewy leaves.
• A groundhog can whistle when it is alarmed. Groundhogs also whistle in the spring when they begin courting.
• Insects do not bother groundhogs and germs pretty much leave them alone. They are resistant to the plagues that periodically wipe out large numbers of wild animals. One reason for this is their cleanliness.
• Groundhogs are one of the few animals that really hibernate. Hibernation is not just a deep sleep. It is actually a deep coma, where the body temperature drops to a few degrees above freezing, the heart barely beats, the blood scarcely flows, and breathing nearly stops.
• Young Groundhogs are usually born in mid-April or May, and by July they are able to go out on their own. The size of the litter is 4 to 9. A baby groundhog is called a kit or a cub.
• A groundhog's life span is normally 6 to 8 years.
  

Facts taken from http://www.groundhog.org/groundhog-day/fun-facts/

Where do Honey Bees go in Winter?

As I was walking from my house to my car on my way to work this morning, I noticed a honey bee lying on my sidewalk. Two days previous, I had seen a dead honey bee on the window sill right above this spot on the sidewalk, so I checked to see if maybe this bee had fallen from its perch. It had not. The bee on the window sill and the bee on the sidewalk were both honey bees, and both had met their demise near my front door.

This got me to thinking. Where do honey bees go in the winter time? Why had these bees unfortunately strayed too far from warmth and safety and perished in front of my home?

It may come as no surprise that honey bees spend the cold winter months in their hives. But what they don't do is hibernate. Instead the bees form what is called a "winter cluster." The worker bees huddle and swarm around the queen bee, who is at the center of the cluster, and shiver in order to keep the center warm. The worker bees move in and out of this cluster so that no bee gets too cold in the outer layers of the cluster. I suppose this is similar to a March of the Penguins style when the males watching the eggs during the coldest months of antarctic winter form a rotating huddle and move in and out of the huddle to keep each other warm.

Studies of over-wintering honey bees have shown that the hive consumes about 30 pounds of stored honey during the winter months. The honey that bees work so vigorously to store during the spring, summer, and fall makes the hive's survival possible. Heat energy is produced by the oxidation of the stored honey and this heat is circulated throughout the winter cluster by the wing-fanning of worker bees. The center of the cluster hovers around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the outer edge stays around 46-48 degrees Fahrenheit. The colder it gets outside, the tight the cluster becomes to keep everyone warm.

So why were there two dead honey bees near my front porch this morning? Honey bees stop flying from the hive when the temperature reaches around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. At this time the temperature gets too cold for the bees to be able venture far from the hive without risking death of exposure. There is also not much reason for the bees to leave the hive because there are no flowers in bloom from which to collect nectar. But the bees still need to be able to eliminate their bodily waste, as bees are very tidy creatures. On warmer days, the bees will venture out of the hive to do this. These flights are very short and the bees generally do not venture far because they can't make it back to the hive if they get too cold.

This must be what happened to my resident honey bees. It did get rather warm on Sunday afternoon and yesterday afternoon and the bees were probably taking advantage of the few hours of radiant sunlight. There must be a hive somewhere near my house, but a bit too far for the bees to make it back safely. Hopefully these two will be the last that make it this far before heading back home to the life-sustaining warmth of their hive.

References:

Bug Info - Where Do Insects Go in the Winter? - text

Dave's Garden - text and hive diagram

Honey Bee Photo

All About Snowflakes

What are snowflakes?
Contrary to popular belief, snowflakes are not frozen raindrops (that is called sleet) even though they are composed almost entirely of ice. A snowflake is a broad term describing individual snow crystals or many snow crystals stuck together. The story of snowflakes goes back to the water cycle. As we all know, moisture evaporates into the air in the form of water vapor from bodies of water, plants, and animals. As air temperatures cool in the atmosphere, water vapor cools and condenses, forming clouds. Water vapor that cools to the point of freezing makes for snowy conditions.

Is it true that no two snowflakes are the same?
Yes, in fact, it is. That discovery is owed to a farmer named Wilson A. Bentley of Jericho, Vermont, who, in 1885, was the first person to photograph a snowflake. Over his lifetime Snowflake Bentley, as he became known, used photomicrography, or photography using a microscope, to record over 5,000 snowflakes.

Teacher Resource
There are a number of ways, from simple to sophisticated, for your class to collect and examine snowflakes.

Simple: Use a sheet of black construction paper to collect falling snowflakes during a storm and examine the flakes with a hand lens. Work quickly and do not expect to document the results very easily. This method works great for younger students and for those simply looking for the experience of seeing the form of a snowflake.

Sophisticated: Collect 1"x2" glass slides, larger pieces of scrap wood or other insulation material, and a clear plastic spray. In a cold place, place many slides upon the piece of wood and spray each slide with an even coating of plastic. Outside, collect snowflakes and leave the set-up in a cold ventilated or covered area for about 15 minutes until dry. The spray will replace the snow, leaving a permanent white plastic snowflake. Examine with a hand lens or microscope. Snowflakes are quite varied and yet individually unique. They can however be classified according to basic structure. The following chart is one of the many classification systems used for snowflakes:

Why the differences?
Air currents (which direction the air is moving)
Humidity (the amount of water vapor in the air)
How long it takes the crystal to fall
Wind speed
Amount of dust, salt, or other solid particles in the air
Pressure form the weight of other snow crystals
Combining shapes with other snow crystals

This article was originally printed in the Bioregional Outdoor Education Project's Fall 2009 newsletter.

Photo Credit

What is an Ox?

I attended the Utah State Fair this past weekend. I love going to the fair to see the pigs, sheep, all of the beautiful vegetables, and even the butter sculpture. I think this year, however, the best part of the fair was by far the giant steer. This cow weighed over 3,000 pounds, stood 5'5" at the shoulder (taller than me!) and can only be described in my mind as a giant, brown elephant cow. The informational sign that hung above this big guy alluded to oxen being regular steers that are trained to work. I got to thinking about this and it begs the question, "so what, exactly, is an ox?"

Essentially, Oxen are mature, castrated males belonging to the domestic cattle family that are trained to work. Sometimes these beasts are also used for meat at the end of their lives. A steer, by contrast, is also a castrated male, but is a younger animal that may not be trained, or may not be strong and mature enough for hard work. In the United States a steer is not considered an ox until it is four years old, by which time it is considered large enough and mature enough for any work required of it. If a steer is taught to work before it is four years old, it is called a "working steer."

Female cattle can also be oxen, but they are generally used more for producing milk and more calves. Steers are often larger and can pull more weight than female cattle. Oxen are generally bigger than most cattle. This is due to the fact that most steers are slaughtered before they reach maturity and their full size, while oxen are live for much longer. This is interesting since steers/cattle are not even considered oxen until reach their full size and maturity at four years.

Oxen also have very large horns compared to many steers. This is also due to the age and maturity of steers vs. oxen - Their horns grow as their bodies grow. Their horns are also useful when working. When people are choosing oxen to use, they look for cattle with horns as their horns keep the yokes on their heads when they back up. Any breed of cattle can be trained as an oxen, but some breeds are better than others and training can take longer depending on temperament and other factors.

I have limited cattle experience. Growing up, one of my best friend's grandfather had a ranch on the Utah Arizona border and I often went down with her family to help them heard the cattle in the spring and fall. Other than that, my only experience with oxen is on the "Oregon Trail" computer game that was all the rage in elementary school. Who knew that they were essentially the same animal?

Photo Credits:

Scottish Highland Oxen
Oxen Munchin

Earwigs!

Photo Credit

During our weekly staff meeting here at USEE, we have an agenda item entitled "Nature Reports". During this time, we go around the room and discuss anything interesting we've seen or experienced in the natural world. Not only is it a good way for our staff to bond a bit, but it also tends to bring up some interesting questions.

This week, Alaina, one of our Interns noted that she's seen many earwigs in her garden and yard. I too have had a lot of earwigs in my garden, as has Jason. We started talking about the origin of the name earwig and realized there were a lot of "urban myths" about it. I don't think I've ever met someone who doesn't dislike the little critters, and part of that may come from their unfortunate name. Here are some of the origins I have heard....

* They crawl into your ears at night and nibble away at your brains
* They crawl into your ears and lay their eggs
* They are attracted to the smell of ear wax
* Their wings are shaped like ears
* They like to get into ears of corn (Nicole suggested this one...)
* They'll pinch you (doesn't have anything to do with ears, but it adds to the dislike of earwigs I think)

After looking at a couple websites, I found that all of this information above was basically false. The BBC Science and Nature website gives the following information, so maybe we should show these guys a bit more respect. Its not their fault they got the name earwigs rather than cute-cuddle bugs or something non-chill inducing.

Common earwig
Forficula auricularia Despite its name and threatening appearance, the common earwig is a harmless and interesting creature.

Note:
The name earwig is derived from the old English 'earwicga' which means 'ear beetle'. It was once commonly believed that earwigs would burrow into people's ears at night and lay eggs in their brains. In fact the story still circulates as an urban myth. Earwigs are not parasitic and would rather lay their eggs under a stone. The human ear, though about the right size for an earwig, is not an ideal resting place. So if one were to crawl into someone's ear it would not be typical behaviour but the actions of one very confused and lost earwig.

Statistics:
Earwigs are 8-18mm long.

Physical Description:
A small smooth elongated brown insect with a pair of pincer-like appendages at the end of its abdomen. They have a pair of fan-like hindwings that are normally folded away behind the thorax and hidden under their short leathery forewings. Males and females can be distinguished by their tail pincers, which are more curved in males than females.

Distribution:
They are found all over Europe but have been introduced to many other parts of the world.

Habitat:
Earwigs can be found in damp crevices in houses, gardens and woodland.

Diet:
They feed on decaying plant and animal matter and other insects. (Though, I know they eat my garden plants, and Colorado Extension will verify that as well.)

Behavior:
Earwigs rest during the day inside damp crevices such as under bark or in hollow plant stems. They are scavengers and emerge at night. Their pincers can give a small nip to a human but they are normally used to scare away predators and to help them tuck their wings away.

Reproduction:
The female lays eggs under stones and in crevices and will stay with her eggs guarding them. From time to time she will gently clean the eggs with her mouthparts to prevent fungal infection. She will continue guarding her young, which look like miniature versions of their parents, until they have grown large enough to fend for themselves.

Plant Anatomy 101: Cashews

Did you know that cashews grow on trees? Cashew trees grow in many tropical areas in South America, Asia, and Africa, but are native to Brazil. The trees are medium in size (growing to about 10 to 12 feet) and the flowers on the tree are usually pink to dark red.

Though cashews are usually referred to as nuts in the culinary world, they are in fact fruits. There are two parts to the "fruit" of the cashew tree. The cashew "nut" or kidney shaped seed is the true fruit of a cashew tree and forms first. It is covered with a hard shell and inside there is a single seed, thereby making it the true fruit.

The shell of a cashew has a resin in it that is a skin irritant. The oil contained in the resin is the same as the oil that is found in poison ivy, making the cashews difficult to harvest. In many places the cashew is thrown away and it is the "cashew apple" that is coveted. However, in Brazil they have a highly advanced harvesting industry where the nuts are safely shelled.

What appears to be the fruit is the "cashew apple" which forms in between the "nut" and flower. This apple is known as an accessory fruit, which means that the tissue is formed not from the ovary, like the cashew itself, but from another part of the plant. Other examples of accessory fruits are pineapples, figs, and the fleshy parts of pears and apples. (The core is the true fruit for apples and pears.) In the picture below the cashew apple has been cut open. Notice that there are no seeds in the cashew apple.

Inside of a Cashew Apple
Photo Credit

The cashew apple has a sweet taste and is used in many different ways. The apple and cashew fall from the tree when they are both ripe and the apples must be harvested quickly from the ground as they will spoil within one day without refrigeration. The "apples" are most often used for their juice as the fruit is very fibrous. The fruit is chewed for refreshment and then the pithy residue is discarded. The juice is also used to make a variety of beverages from carbonated drinks to wine and distilled liquors. The cashew apples are most often red or yellow. Some fruits even exhibit both red and yellow colors on one fruit!

Cashew Trees in Florida

Photo Credit

Utah "Blueberries" Discovered on Mars

-by T.J. Adamson

I recently went hiking in Snow Canyon State Park near St. George, Utah. Surrounded by sandstone rocks, the park is perfect for a great hike or scenic drive. My favorite part of hiking the area is finding what I like to call “sand-marbles.” Ranging from the size of a pea to that of a golf ball, these rocks are known as hematite concretions and are formed when underground minerals are precipitated from flowing groundwater. These little rocks are pretty much native to Utah and can be found in many of Southern Utah’s state and national parks including Zion, Capitol Reef, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and in the Moab area.

So why am I telling you this? Well, in 2004, NASA’s Opportunity Rover discovered the same rocks on Mars. They call them “blueberries” because it reminded one of the scientists of blueberries in a muffin. Since their discovery, many geologists and NASA researchers have tested the sediments and formation conditions of the rocks found in Utah and compared them with the rocks found on Mars. Many believe that the discovery of hematite rocks on Mars suggests signs of water and thus possible life on Mars. “On Earth, whenever we find water, we find life — in surface or underground water, hot water or cold water — any place there is water on Earth there are microbes, there is life,” said Bill Parry of the University of Utah emeritus geologist to the UCR-News. “That’s the bottom line: hematite is linked to life.”

Take a look at these pictures. Check out how similar Utah’s hematite concretions, or sand-marbles, are compared to the pictures of “blueberries” on Mars taken by NASA’s Opportunity rover on Mars.

Hematite concretions or “earth Blueberries”,
from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah.
Photo Credit: Brenda Beitler

Marble like rocks, or “Blueberries, taken by the Opportunity rover on Mars
Photo Credit: NASA

Hematite concretions, or “earth Blueberries”, on the surface of

Navajo sandstone at Grand Staircase-Escalante
Photo Credit: Brenda Beitler

Formed millions of years ago, the Utah rocks (left) are similar to “blueberries”
discovered on Mars (right), hinting clues about the history of water on Mars.
Photo Credit: NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Cornell University

My pictures of Snow Canyon hematite concretions, or “Earth Blueberries:”













In this picture, you can see the rocks forming on the surface of the sandstone.

Photo Credits: T.J. Adamson

Plant Anatomy 101: Artichokes!

Have you ever thought about what an artichoke actually is? It's such a strange looking vegetable. A friend of mine once told me that it was a flower, so I wanted to delve into this idea a little bit more and really get at the heart of the matter:

Artichokes originated in the southern Europe, mainly in the Mediterranean region. The plant of the artichoke can grow to be 6 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet tall. Artichokes are also in the thistle family and my friend was partially right when she said that an artichoke was a flower. Artichokes are actually the bud of a flower that has yet to bloom. Inside the bud is the meaty heart, which is protected by rows and rows of petals. The bases of the petals, the heart, and the entire stem are the edible parts of the plant while the rest of the petals and the feathery 'choke' are inedible. If the bud goes unharvested, it will eventually bloom into a purple or dark blue flower, which is also inedible.

The artichoke is definitely one of the most interesting vegetables, or flowers, that we eat! Teachers: visit the California Artichoke Advisory Board kid's corner web page for a fun crossword puzzle to teach your students about Artichokes!



Credits:
Artichokes Photo
Artichoke Anatomy Diagram

Artichoke Flower Photo

Plant Anatomy 101: Sunflowers

This summer I am participating in the Great Sunflower Project and my sunflower seeds finally came this weekend! I am going to plant them tonight when I get home from work. Let the fun begin! Since I will be spending so much time growing, cultivating, and watching my sunflowers I thought I would be a good idea to learn about them a little more:

Sunflowers are annual plants that can grow up to 9 feet tall! They are native to the Americas and were first cultivated in what is now Mexico, New Mexico, and Arizona around 3000 B.C.E. (Some archaeologists suggest that sunflowers were even cultivated before corn by Native Americans.) Sunflowers were used by many indigenous American peoples as a symbol for sun deities.

Sunflowers exhibit heliotropsim, meaning that the flowers and/or leaves follow the sun throughout the day starting in the East in the morning, moving toward the West throughout the day, and then returning to the East at night. Domesticated sunflowers exhibit heliotropism in both the flower buds and the leaves, however they will only do this during the bud stage. This motion is performed by motor cells in the pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud stage ends, the stem stiffens as the blooming stage is reached. Sunflowers in the blooming stage no longer exhibit heliotropism as the stems are "frozen," usually in an Eastward direction. Typically, wild sunflowers do not exhibit heliotropism in their bud heads, but their leaves often do to some degree. During the blooming stage, wild sunflowers will face any direction when mature.

Sunflowers are pseudanthiums. A pseudanthium (Greek for false flower), or flower head, is a kind of plant in which several florets (small flowers) are grouped together to form a large flower-like structure on top of a stem. A sunflower's ray florets on the outside of the flower head are sterile and come in yellow, maroon, orange, or other colors ("petals"). The disc florets (the florets on the inside of the head) are traditionally called sunflower seeds when mature. These sunflower "seeds" however are acutally the whole fruits of each floret (akenes, similar to the fruits on a strawberry). The inedible husk is the wall of the fruit and the seed is inside the kernel.

Photo Credits

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day, celebrated every April 22, was founded in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin. Senator Nelson called for an "environmental teach-in" and envisioned a grass-roots movement to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth. We, here at USEE, have been running around all week attending different events and getting ready for various festivities in celebration of Earth Day. What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?

Taken from the Wilderness Society's website:

Note:Earth Day Founder Gaylord Nelson passed away July 2005 at the age of 89. He believed strongly that education is the key to changing people's attitudes about the environment and he devoted much of his energy to that challenge. In the section below, which he prepared not long before his death, he answered some of the questions he was most often asked about the how he conceived the first Earth Day, why and what his hopes for the observance were.

By Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day

What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.

Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.

After President Kennedy's tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called "teach-ins," had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me - why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment?

I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.

At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office.

Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:

"Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam…a national day of observance of environmental problems…is being planned for next spring…when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'…coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned…."

It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities.

Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

Celebrate EE Week

Don't forget that this years Environmental Education week is focusing on water. Here's a Water Tip of the Day from the National Environmental Education Foundation

Pick up litter in your neighborhood and on your school grounds - everything eventually ends up in a water body.
Source: The Groundwater Foundation

For a list of water facts in English and Spanish, visit our Be Water Wise! Facts page.

Plant Anatomy 101: Carrots

I came across some interesting information about carrots over the weekend that I wanted to explore a little further. This post has more to do with the history of the carrot rather than its anatomy, but we'll go over the basics first:

The part that we traditionally eat of the carrot is the plant's taproot. A taproot is usually a long, somewhat tapering root that grows vertically downward. From the taproot, other small roots grow out horizontally. Taproots are used by the plant for storing sugars (which plays a large role in why carrots are so sweet). This allows the plant to survive through the winter, as the carrot is a biennial plant. For the first spring and summer, the carrot will grow some leaves, but is mostly using its energy for developing a strong taproot in which to store sugars. The carrot lives dormant throughout the winter and then in the following growing season will sprout a flowering stem that grows white flowers. Other common plants that have taproots are dandelions, radishes, parsnips, and turnips.

Carrots have been around in human history for thousands of years. It is thought that the wild ancestors of carrots originated in Afghanistan, but then were brought to other regions through trade. The carrots have been found in the tombs of Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs (thought by historians to be purple varieties) and were probably thought of as an aphrodisiac. Wild carrot roots had a very woody texture and a bitter taste and therefore weren't eaten until about the 16th century when the Romans ate both cooked and raw carrots. These were not the sweet orange carrots we are familiar with today. Before that, the leaves and stems were used by the Greeks for medicinal purposes. In the 13th century carrots started being cultivated in Europe, again as a medicinal plant. Carrots were more known back then for their aromatic seeds and leaves. Today, we still grow carrots for some of these aromatic purposes like parsley, fennel, dill, and cumin.

In the wild, carrots come in a variety of colors from white and yellow to purple and black, but ironically, not orange! By the 16th century, carrots were a well known plant in Europe. In France, carrots traditionally came in red and purple and in England there were red and yellow varieties. It wasn't until the 17th century that orange carrots appeared. The Dutch crossbred red carrots with yellow carrots to make orange carrots for the royal family and The House of Orange. After that, orange carrots gained popularity quickly and were further developed to be the sweet, crunchy vegetable we know and love today.

Credits:

History
Wild Carrots photo
Flowering Carrot photo
Colorful Carrots photo

Backyard Composting

Many people that I know have a lot of questions about composting. Does it stink? How do you do it? How much space do you need? etc., etc. Spring is in the air and it's the perfect time to set up a backyard composting pile as the gardening season begins. If you're thinking about starting a compost pile, there are some basics you should know before getting started.

Here are some tips from Utah State University Extension:

"Composting is the aerobic, or oxygen-requiring, decomposition of organic materials by microorganisms under controlled conditions. Bacteria start the process and are responsible for much of the decomposition work. Their metabolism creates the heat of the compost pile. Fungi, protozoans, earthworms, centipedes, beetles, and millipedes assist the bacteria in breaking down plant tissues."

USU Extension recommends 7 steps to consider when starting and maintaining your compost pile:

"Step 1 - Select Composting Site: A good location is helpful for a successful compost pile. The compost pile should be exposed to at least six hours of sunlight each day. The location should not detract from the landscape. Water should be readily available. Good drainage is important; otherwise, standing water could impede the decomposition process.

Step 2 - Select Compost Container: Many containers are suitable provided they are accessible, resist decay, and allow air flow. How do you decide which container will work best for you? Consider the amount of time and space you have, and the quantity of materials you will be composting. For fast, hot compost, the ideal pile size is one cubic yard (3 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet). This volume effectively retains the heat generated by the bacteria. The volume of a single pile should not exceed two cubic yards in order to maintain proper ventilation of the pile. If space is a limiting factor, the pile sides can be insulated so that higher temperatures can be maintained in a smaller volume.

Heap It (no cost, good if you have ample space) Simply pile your materials in heaps, ideally at least one cubic yard in volume. If well constructed, heaps are good for “no turn” composting. Just leave the pile for several months or more.

Hoop It (low cost, tidier than heaps) Woven wire mesh or fencing make good enclosures and keep the pile tidy. If you secure it with hooks or twists of wire, you can undo the hoop, set it up next to the pile, and turn the pile back into the hoop in its new location.

Box It (looks good, easy to cover, low to moderate cost)
You can use almost any type of scrap or new lumber, bricks, or cinderblocks to build an attractive and functional bin for compost. Make sure to leave spaces in the sides for air to get through, and make the front removable for easy access to turn or retrieve the compost. Construct several bins side-by-side to facilitate turning of the compost.

Barrel It (good for limited space, easy turning, moderate to high cost) If you don’t have enough space for piles or elaborate bins, a modified 55-gallon drum can work very well. By perforating the drum with air holes and cutting an access hatch on the side you can create a system which will compost small amounts of material quickly. Usually these systems are equipped with a stand and rollers to facilitate turning, although some people just roll their barrel around the yard to achieve the same effect.

Step 3 - Select Raw Materials: Almost all natural, organic material will compost, but not everything belongs in the compost pile. Some wastes attract pests; others contain pathogens that can survive the compost process. Acceptable raw materials would be: Grass clippings, Leaves and weeds, Manures, Coffee Grounds, Wood chips and sawdust, bark, stems, stalks, gardening and canning waste, fruits and vegetables. Do not put the following items in your compost: Meats, bones, large branches, dairy products, synthetic products, plastics, and pet wastes.

Step 4 - Aerating the Pile: Aerobic composting consumes large amounts of oxygen, particularly during the initial stages. If the supply of oxygen is limited, the composting process may turn anaerobic, which is a much slower and more odorous process. Oxygen levels within the windrows or piles may be replenished by lifting and turning the materials with a pitch-fork or by means of a mechanical turner. Try to put the outside, drier materials in the center of newly-turned piles. Turning a pile weekly can produce compost in one to two months with the right combination of materials and moisture level; monthly turning will produce compost in four to six months. Without turning, composting may take six months to two years. Aeration is generally the main factor affecting the time necessary to produce finished compost.

Step 5 - Keeping the Pile Moist: Moisture is necessary to support the metabolic processes of microorganisms. Composting materials should be maintained within a range of 40% to 65% moisture. As a rule of thumb, the materials are too wet if water can be squeezed out of a handful of compost and too dry if the handful does not feel moist to the touch. If the compost pile is too dry, the process slows down. If the compost pile is too wet water will displace much of the air in the pore spaces of the composting materials which limits air movement and leads to anaerobic conditions. Moisture content generally decreases as composting proceeds; therefore, you may need to periodically add water to the compost.

Step 6 - Keeping the Pile at the Proper Temperature: Composting will essentially take place within two temperature ranges known as mesophilic (50-105 degrees F) and thermophilic (over 105 degrees F). Keeping temperatures between 110o and 150o destroys more pathogens, weed seeds, and fly larvae in the composting materials. If the temperature of your compost pile is in the mesophilic range, try mixing the pile. If the temperature still does not reach the thermophilic range, review the steps described above to determine whether one or more of the essential factors is limiting the composting process. If you are still unable to increase the compost’s temperature, the active stage of composting is complete.

Step 7 - Curing: Finished compost is dark, crumbly, and has an earthy and non-offensive odor. Pile temperature in finished compost may still be slightly higher than ambient air temperature. Most finished composts will benefit from an additional curing phase. Curing refers to leaving finished compost in a pile undisturbed for up to one month to allow any final chemical and decomposition reactions to occur and stabilize the compost. Improperly or incompletely composted materials may release ammonia and other gases, or continue to heat upon application to soil, damaging plants. Curing ensures that the composting process is indeed complete and that these potential problems are minimized. View the curing phase as extra insurance against problems arising from using compost." (For more information and other USU Extension Composting tips, visit their Composting in Utah page.)

Some other things to consider: Do compost piles stink? No. A well-maintained compost pile will smell earthy and rich, but should not stink. If it does, something is wrong and the materials may not be breaking down properly. Also, if you don't have a large yard or perhaps live in an apartment or have organic waste in the office, one this to consider would be using a worm-bin, otherwise known as vermicomposting. For more information and ideas for composting, visit Wasatch Community Garden's blog.

Credits:

Heap Compost
Hoop Compost
Box Compost
Barrel Compost

Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes

Yam or sweet potato, which is which? This is something I've wondered for years. Many people use these terms interchangeably both in conversation and in cooking, but they are really two different vegetables. The information below is taken from Home Cooking, on the about.com website.

Sweet Potatoes

Popular in the American South, these yellow or orange tubers are elongated with ends that taper to a point and are of two dominant types. The paler-skinned sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin with pale yellow flesh which is not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato. The darker-skinned variety (which is most often called "yam" in error) has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a vivid orange, sweet flesh and a moist texture.

Current popular sweet potato varieties include Goldrush, Georgia Red, Centennial, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and Velvet.

Yams

The true yam is the tuber of a tropical vine (Dioscorea batatas) and is not even distantly related to the sweet potato.

Slowly becoming more common in US markets, the yam is a popular vegetable in Latin American and Caribbean markets, with over 150 varieties available worldwide.

Generally sweeter than than the sweet potato, this tuber can grow over seven feet in length.

The word yam comes from African words njam, nyami, or djambi, meaning "to eat," and was first recorded in America in 1676.

The yam tuber has a brown or black skin which resembles the bark of a tree and off-white, purple or red flesh, depending on the variety. They are at home growing in tropical climates, primarily in South America, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Yams contain more natural sugar than sweet potatoes and have a higher moisture content. They are also marketed by their Spanish names, boniato and ñame.

So which will you be having for dinner? Yams or Sweet Potatoes?

Zebra Mussels in Utah

This text is from a Division of Wildlife Resources news release (dated 11/18/08).

Zebra Mussels Found in Electric Lake

A small, high-mountain lake in southeastern Utah is the first body of water in Utah to test positive for zebra mussels.

Electric Lake is in Emery County. The lake is the headwater of the Huntington River. It’s also the water source for Rocky Mountain Power’s Huntington electric generation plant and the primary source of water for the Huntington-Cleveland Irrigation Company.

“These mussels will harm the lake’s fishery,” says Larry Dalton, aquatic invasive species coordinator for the DWR. “They also have the potential to damage the electric generation plant and the irrigation systems by plugging up their pipes.”

Facts about zebra mussels.

– A single zebra or quagga mussel breeding pair can produce 1 million young in a single breeding season.

– Adults are about the size of your thumbnail (15-20 mm), surviving for 3-7 years.

– In the lower Colorado River, mussels can grow one millimeter each month. They’re capable of breeding when they reach four millimeters in size, which is about the size of a sunflower seed.

Impacts of zebra and quagga mussels.

Industry: Electric generation plants: Mussels can completely plug pipes in water circulation systems; cause headgates on dams to become too heavy to lift; and cause water control structures to malfunction by fouling the tracks the structures move on.

Irrigation systems: Mussels can completely plug irrigation pipes; reduce the flow in canals; and affect irrigation control structures so they won’t regulate water.

Recreation: Fishing: Mussels filter zooplankton out of the water. Zooplankton is an important food for fish.

Boating: Mussels can plug the water circulation systems in your boat, which can ruin the engine.

Decreased enjoyment: Millions of mussels can grow in an infested water. When mussels die, they smell bad. Their sharp shells can also line the beaches and make walking bare-foot difficult.

Early detection.

The DWR and its partners worked diligently to keep quagga and zebra mussels out of Utah during the 2008 boating season. Early-detection monitoring was part of that effort.

After sampling water in lakes and reservoirs statewide, the DWR sent 54 samples to an independent lab for microscopic analysis. Preliminary test results indicated several waters might contain microscopic veligers, which are the early-life stages of zebra and quagga mussels.

Electric Lake is the first Utah water where results from tests done under a microscope have also been confirmed by two different DNA tests. The labs are still performing DNA tests on the other suspicious waters.

“The DNA tests the labs are doing are on the cutting edge of science,” Dalton says. “In addition to providing the test results, we’ll do our best to keep people informed about how the science is changing.”

Efforts in 2008.

During the 2008 boating season, DWR biologists contacted more than 50,000 boat owners to learn if they had been boating on a water outside of Utah that had quagga or zebra mussels in it. If they had, the biologists then questioned them to learn whether their boat had been properly decontaminated.

DWR biologists and their partners decontaminated about 800 boats after learning the boats had not been decontaminated properly.

What you can do! Proper decontamination.

Typically, quagga and zebra mussels travel from one body of water to another on boats and equipment used by recreational boaters and anglers. They also travel through water distribution systems.

For boaters, there are two fairly simple decontamination options: do-it-yourself decontamination or professional decontamination. To protect Utah’s waters from quagga and zebra mussels, Utah boaters must make the following practices a routine part of their boating experience:

Do-it-yourself decontamination

Complete all three of the following steps to decontaminate your boat and equipment:

1. Clean all plants, fish, mussels and mud from your boat or equipment before leaving the water body area (discard unused bait in the trash where you fished).

2. Drain all water from your boat (equipment storage areas, ballast tanks, bilge, live wells and motor) before leaving the water body area.

3. Dry your boat and equipment at home or in a suitable storage area before you launch it again. (Drying times are a minimum of 7 days in the summer, 18 days in the spring and fall, and 30 days in the winter. Temperatures that stay below 32 degrees for at least 3 consecutive days will also kill the mussels on your boat or equipment.)

Professional decontamination

Contact a professional to apply scalding water (140 degrees Fahrenheit) to your equipment, boat and trailer. Make sure the professional flushes your boat’s equipment storage areas, ballast tanks, bilge, live wells and motor or other raw-water circulation systems.

Either of the above decontamination methods will kill both quagga and zebra mussels. They will also kill other aquatic invasive species that pose a serious threat to Utah’s ecosystems.

Be conscious of these invasive species, and do your part to keep them in check!

Where do Spiders go in the Winter?

Inspired by Andree's Tarantula siting, and as the weather is turning chilly, I wonder where do spiders go in the winter time? Do they hibernate?

Yes and No. Spiders, as well as all other arachnids, are cold blooded. Their body temperatures are the same as the environment around them and cannot regulate their body temperatures themselves as warm blooded animals do. This means that in the winter time, as the air begins to chill and the ground freezes, spiders' body temperature gets cold, too. This accounts for the influx of spiders found in our homes as they search for warmer environments to keep their bodies warm. But many spiders simply die in the winter, leaving behind their egg sacs to hatch when the weather gets warmer in the spring. This also means that most spiders only live for less than a year. But what about the spiders that live for longer?

Female tarantulas have been documented to live 30 or 40 years! It usually takes about 2 to 5 years for most tarantula species to reach sexual maturity, but in some species it can take up to 10 years! The males usually only live for about 1.5 years after reaching sexual maturity and then spend their lives finding a mate. This makes the more susceptible to predation as they search for potential mates while females generally stick to the safety of their burrows. If these spiders can live for so long, how do they survive the winter cold?

Tarantulas hibernate in the winter, as do many other spiders, by hiding beneath tree bark or under rocks, leaves, and other types of insulating debris. Some spiders will spin a winter nest around themselves under loose bark to insulate themselves in and keep warm. Most spiders however, including tarantulas, don't enter a true hibernation, but remain more in a sedate state where on warmer and sunnier days they emerge to hunt prey that is easy to catch in their dormant state. They will leave their hibernation when the weather warms up and the warm air unlocks their muscles from their dormant state.

Sources:

• http://www.spiderzrule.com/answers.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula
  

Plant Anatomy 101: Pumpkins

In light of the season and changing colors, I thought we could explore a Halloween staple: Pumpkins! Actually, in the office today we were talking about melons. Watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew melons, winter melons, muskmelons. Andree' was cutting up a cantaloupe this morning and noticed that the stringy attachment pattern of the seeds, sticking to each other and to the fleshy area of the melon, quite resembled a pumpkin. We all went on to speculate that both cantaloupe and pumpkin seeds are similar in shape and color and when carving pumpkins, the seeds are most readily located in the center and attached with slimy strings to the "guts" inside. Which begs the question: Is there a relationship here? If so, what is that relationship?

Pumpkins, being a gourd, are typically defined as culinary vegetables. Cantaloupes, and other melons, are generally referred to as culinary fruits. But, we have already learned in other Plant Anatomy 101 installments that anything with seeds are, botanically, fruits. So cantaloupes, as well as all melons, and pumpkins, as well as all gourds, are fruits.

As it turns out, Andree' was dead on in her supposition about pumpkins and cantaloupes. Both of these fruits belong to the plant family Cucurbitaceae. This plant family includes melons and gourds. So all melons, cucumbers, and gourds (which includes pumpkins, squash, zucchini, etc.) are all related and in the same genetic family. This makes sense since these fruits all have similar structures with fleshy parts beneath the skin, or rind, and seeds that are centered in the middle. Even cucumbers have their seeds all in the very center, which is squishy and has the harder part of the fruit around it. Also, all of these fruits grow on vines, and their flowers are usually a white or bright yellow.

Another fascinating discovery that I made investigating pumpkins is a plant called the luffa. You know those scrubby spongy things that you can use in the shower? Originally, these come from the luffa plant, which is also in the Cucurbitaceae family. Luffas are cucumber-shaped fruits that are popular vegetables in Asia and Africa, but also can be turned into a luffa sponge by peeling the luffa, removing its seeds, and drying it out.

Since this is supposed to mostly be about pumpkins for the fall harvests, here are a few suggestions of what you can do with pumpkins this October, besides carving them up for Halloween.

Cocoa Pumpkin Brownies: I haven't tried this one yet, but I love brownies and it sounds good to me! If you give this one a try or have had it before, let us all know how it went.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds in 3 Ways: Don't throw out those seeds! Here are three new and different ways to spice up those toasted pumpkins seeds: Sweet & Spicy, Curry, or Black Tea & Butter. Yum!

Homemade Pumpkin Pie from a Real Pumpkin: What is October and November without a pumpkin pie? I have always used canned pumpkin to make my pumpkin pies, but this one looks really fun to try using a real pumpkin.

Photo Credit

Pumpkin photo credit