Catalina Clams in Baja, Mexico

Sometimes an Earth Minute is right at your feet.

I recently traveled to San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Along the shores of the lagoon there were mounds and mounds of shells.

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Catalina clams were over harvested here in the last century. The clams were sold as food and millions of their shells were sold in the U.S. for decoration. The mounds of shells piled up in the desert are a testament to the enormity of the over harvesting. Similar mounds can also be seen of pen scallop shells.

Protection of numerous shellfish species over the past few decades has made a difference. Species like the Catalina clam and pen scallop are making a come back. Today fishing combines with tourism to support the local economy.

I went to San Ignacio for the whales. Earth Minutes with gray whales are coming!

Other Earth Minutes with protected species
Meet An Island Fox
Protected Island Fox
Meet a Dugong
Meet a Platypus 
American Bison
Snowy Egret 
Saltwater crocodile
How Tall is a Redwood Tree
California desert tortoise
Great Barrier Reef 

Visit TheEarthMinute.com for weekly natural experiences.

Pouring Rain in California 2017

It's true. When it finally rains in California, it pours.

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Thursday, Feb. 16th, we had our first big rain storm in years. No post because our electricity went out.

Soaking rains over the previous month have made a huge difference for the hillside. This rain is soaking in before running off. No mud flowing.  Two inches fell before noon, a total of four and a quarter inches for the day.

Spring flowers are already emerging and the plum tree is about to burst into bloom.

Have to love the rain.

Rain Earth Minutes:
Rain in New York's Central Park in Fall
Listen to a Rainstorm Approaching Kakadu National Park, Australia
How Do Trees Dream? 
Illinois Butterflies After the Rain 
Great Horned Owl Takes Shelter

TheEarthMinute.com your 1-minute weekly escape

Do Raccoons Come Out During the Day?

Here is your answer. This Earth Minute is brought to you by Bodie the dog and the neighborhood canines.

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Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are abundant in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California. For the last two nights we have heard two raccoons making their chittering talk at night. It isn't often that we see them in the middle of the day, but today was the exception.

This adult raccoon might have gotten hot in its daylight retreat. The weather was unusually warm today. Traveling along the fence top, the neighborhood dogs spotted it and sounded the alarm. Bodie is big enough that the raccoon took to the tree for protection.

A half hour of contained dogs and the raccoon had moved on. It'll probably be back in the early morning to explore the backyard mud for grubs and other morsels.

It's not often that a large mammal makes an unexpected visit. It's nice to have a moment with wildness here in the heart of Los Angeles. 

Other Earth Minutes with Bodie
A Romp at the Beach
Yellowstone Bison Jam
Morning in a Habitat Yard

Other Backyard Visitors in Los Angeles
Alligator Lizard
Family of Ravens
Bewick's wrens build a nest
Watching Lizards in LA Yard
Cooper's Hawk and Raven
Valley Carpenter Bees
Anise Swallowtail
Red Jumping Spider 
Ring-necked Snake
More CA Animals

Visit TheEarthMinute Weekly for a New Minute with the World

Walk with us The Women's March in Los Angeles, January 21, 2017

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles on January 21, 2017 for The Women's March in Los Angeles.

It was the most diverse, inclusive and uplifting march and civil protest we have ever seen.

 

See and Hear the day in LA.

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The subway system from Universal City to Pershing Square was overloaded ...

 

... but once we realized that if you "Go North it Turns Around", we packed ourselves in.

It was an honor to have been able to join in voicing our concerns for the full rights of all people.

 

Support and defend your first amendment rights and the rights of others. 
Support and defend our earth.

Hear our voice.

"This Is What Democracy Looks Like" !!
 Join us at TheEarthMinute.com

Saved By The Endangered Species Act

Human survival and well being depends on a healthy robust environment. We know what works.


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Channel Island foxes were headed toward extinction in the year 2000. Seventeen years later, because of the Endangered Species Act and active conservation efforts from a broad range of government agencies, private and public conservation organizations, and community members, island foxes are thriving again.

Positive change and clean-up takes much longer and is far more financially expensive than prevention. Forests can not regrow overnight. Cleaning-up coastal waters takes decades. Bringing a species back from the brink of extinction is difficult.

We are going to hear a lot about "common sense" regulation in the next four years. Whether we like to admit it or not there are people who place their own personal gain over the health and well being of other people and the planet. The Environmental Protection Agency, Justice Department, Interior Department, Department of Health and Human Services, and Energy Department are supposed to act on behalf of the least represented, to protect those with the least-heard voice.

What good is military might if we poison ourselves with chemical-laced water and toxic air?

If you stood under a clear blue sky today, thank the Clean Air Act and continuing updates of vehicle emissions standards.

If you could drink your tap water, thank the Clean Water Act.

If you saw a bird fly overhead that was something other than a starling, European house sparrow, or a feral rock dove, thank the Migratory Bird Conservation Act.

If, in the last five years, you saw a bald eagle, brown pelican, elephant seal, California sea lion, sea otter, grizzly bear, gray wolf, American bison, sandhill or whooping crane, peregrine falcon, gray whale, Florida key deer, or a Channel Island fox, thank the Endangered Species Act.

We've made too many positive steps toward a cleaner, safer planet. Let's not let it slip away.

TheEarthMinute.com 

because we are part of the Earth's community.

Watch a Winter Sunset in Williamsburg, Virginia

Beautiful clouds scudded across the sky as we came out of the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum at Colonial Williamsburg, VA.

Spectacular pink clouds were moving below the higher dark grey layer directly above the entrance to the former Virginia Public Hospital of 1773.
Watch the sunset! HD
The Museum is located at 326 West Francis Street, Williamsburg, Virginia.

For another look at Virginia
Visit TheEarthMinute.com

Take an 18th Century Carriage Ride Through Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

 

Take an 18th Century Carriage Ride Through Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

On the morning of December 31st, we took a ride back in time.
A carriage ride through Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. 

We bundled up a into our open carriage and took a tour along the streets where only foot traffic and horse drawn vehicles could go.

Take a minute and come back to the 18th Century with us!

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Listen to The Earth Minute in an Antique Clock Shop - Pacific Grove, CA

Stroll Kew Gardens, London (Palm House) 

Walk Back in Time, Seoul Korea (palace and gardens)
 
New Year's Torch Parade, Snow Summit, Big Bear CA