Buresh Blog: Dry spell... "The Players"

May 9, 2018 — A dry spell looks like it could be coming to an end next week.  Wed. (05/09) was the 16th straight dry day for Jacksonville - the longest since late Oct./Nov.  A weak upper level storm system will meander over or near Fl. & should bring some soaking showers & t'storms off-&-on through a good part of the week.

But before the wetter pattern arrives, warm temps. & mostly dry weather will be the story for "The Players".  It'll be a relatively short turn-around to the next "Players" as the tournament will move to March in 2019.  That's a big change when it comes to weather though the tourney was always played in March from the 1980s through 2006.  March days are more than 90 minutes shorter, it's cooler - can be a lot cooler... there's more wind... & usually more rain.

This week is "Hurricane Preparedness Week".  Always be prepared for the hurricane season which can lead to a more calm approach if/when a storm threatens not to mention much better resiliency after the storm.  The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1st - go to the First Alert Hurricane Center. And plan to attend the First Alert Hurricane Expo June 9th at the Morocco Shrine, Southside from 9am - 2pm.

May skies courtesy "Sky and Telescope":

May 17  (dusk):  The thin waxing crescent Moon joins Venus (6° apart).

May 21  (evening):  The first quarter Moon and bright star Regulus form a tight pair — less than 1° apart.

May 25  (all night):  Spica and the waxing gibbous Moon cross the sky in tandem a little more than 6° apart.

May 31  (all night):  The waning gibbous Moon and Saturn rise 2° apart; the separation grows to 4° before sunrise. 

June 1  (early morning):  The waning gibbous Moon is 3° left of Saturn above the Teapot asterism in Sagittarius.

June 3  (early morning):  Look east-southeast to see the Moon and Mars rising a little more than 3° apart.

June 10  (evening):  Three “stars” form a line in the west: brilliant Venus is on the left, Castor on the right, and Pollux almost exactly halfway between them. 

Moon Phases

Last Quarter       May 7      10:09 p.m. EDT

New Moon          May 15    7:48 a.m. EDT

First Quarter       May 21    11:49 p.m. EDT

Full Moon            May 29,   10:20 a.m. EDT   (Flower Moon; also Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon)

Our own local (Nassau Co. near the St. Marys River close to the Fl./Ga. border) & beautiful wildlife sanctuary - White Oak - has BIG news!:

Yulee, Fla. (May 8, 2018) — White Oak Conservation is pleased to announce that two whooping crane chicks have hatched, marking the first time White Oak has successfully bred this critically endangered species. The family of four eventually will be released into the wild through a partnership with the International Crane Foundation.  

The chicks are mobile and are being reared and fed by their parents, 16-11 and 18-12, at White Oak Conservation, a wildlife refuge in northeastern Florida owned by philanthropists Mark and Kimbra Walter. 16-11 is also known as Grasshopper, and 18-12 is known as Hemlock.

Each parent takes a chick for the day to minimize competition for food, and both chicks return to their mother at night for warmth. The parents feed the chicks larvae, tadpoles, grasshoppers, dragonflies and other insects, increasing their body weight by 10 percent to 15 percent per day. Their special White Oak habitat covers more than an acre and offers two ponds, natural food items, and protection from predators.

Photos and videos were captured by remote camera, as there is virtually no human interaction with these whooping cranes at White Oak.

This whooping crane family is part of the Eastern Migratory Population, one of two experimental release programs  that seek to protect the existence of this endangered wetland bird. Through decades of dedicated research and captive husbandry, the whooping crane has been kept from the brink of extinction. Only 700 to 800 whooping cranes remain in North America because of hunting, power line collisions, habitat reduction and encroachment.  

The adult cranes were introduced for breeding at White Oak in October 2016, and these are their first offspring.  White Oak eventually will release the cranes as a family unit, likely to Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Wisconsin, which is the original home of 16-11, the male. Both of the adult cranes were raised by the International Crane Foundation. The hope is that the entire family will migrate in the fall with other cranes at the refuge.

“Our goal is to create an international model for the humane and effective repopulation of endangered species,” Mark Walter said. “We are optimistic that, working with the other groups involved, we can successfully add the whooping crane to this mission.”

This program is managed and monitored collaboratively by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership whose members include the International Crane Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Operation Migration, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, White Oak, and other partners.

“The International Crane Foundation is very forward-thinking and has been a great partner for us,” said Steve Shurter, CEO of White Oak. “Whooping cranes are a flagship species in wetlands. A thriving whooping crane population means healthy wetlands.”

“We are delighted to be working with White Oak, a great new partner for whooping crane reintroduction. The fact that 16-11 and Hemlock were paired so successfully in captivity and have now hatched two chicks is evidence of the care and dedication White Oak has given these special birds,” said Rich Beilfuss, President and CEO of the International Crane Foundation.

Hawaii has been in the news recently - volcanoes & their priceless coral reefs.  Let's begin with the Kilauea volcano.  This volcano has been active since 1983.  In fact, were it not for volcanoes, the Hawaiian islands would not exist at all.  The archipelago is made up of underwater volcanoes or "hot spots" that push magma to the ocean floor then erupt while the tectonic plate slowly moves west/northwest.  So the older islands are to the west, younger ones to the east.  Great up to date info. - here - from the USGS.

On the environmental side.....

Hawaii became the first state to pass a bill banning the sale of sunscreen containing chemicals believed to harm coral reefs, environmental guardians are hailing Raw Elements for its role in the bill’s passage. This legislation prohibits the distribution of sunscreens containing the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate that scientists have found contributes to coral bleaching when washed off in the ocean. The new rules will go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.

Raw Elements has been a major player in the movement to push bill 2571 along in Hawaii. The company championed education and change on this issue in Hawaii, making the environmental hazards of sunscreen it’s top priority and corporate mission since 2011. 

Brian Guadagno, a 20- year Ocean Rescue Lifeguard, was searching for a natural alternative to chemical sunscreens and resolved to create his own certified natural sunscreen. It uses a sustainable, recycled, Non-Nano, uncoated Zinc Oxide as the sole Active Ingredient and is a gentle, Certified Organic ingredient, Eco-Safe, Reef-Safe, Leaping Bunny - Cruelty-Free certified, Non-GMO Project Verified, NPA Certified Natural formula.

Adventure Film Maker Alison Teal of Alison’s Adventures, who lives in Hawaii, says, “Growing up in a small fishing village in Hawaii I have seen the devastating direct effects toxic sunscreen has had on our Hawaii reefs. “We are at a tipping point now since research shows we have lost almost 50% of our Reefs since 2011 And Hawaii is a sort of indicator island for the rest of the world,” Teal adds. “Coral reefs are like the rainforests of the sea and provide much of the world’s oxygen. We can stop the total destruction of our underwater world, and the human survival, if we act now!” 

An estimated 14,000 tons of sunscreen is believed to be deposited in oceans annually with the greatest damage found in popular reef areas in Hawaii and the Caribbean. In 2015, the nonprofit Haereticus Environmental Laboratory surveyed Trunk Bay beach on St. John, where visitors ranged from 2,000 to 5,000 swimmers daily, an estimated over 6,000 pounds of sunscreen was deposited on the reef annually. The same year, it found an average of 412 pounds of sunscreen was deposited daily on the reef at Hanauma Bay, a popular snorkeling destination in Oahu that draws an average of 2,600 swimmers each day.

Raw Elements Founder/CEO Brian Guadagno says, "Hawaii State legislators passing the first bill to ban the sale chemical sunscreens killing their coral reefs is a huge victory. So many individuals, groups, scientists, industry and elected officials came together and worked hard to accomplish this.”

Guadagno adds, “Most importantly, the spirit of the Hawaiian people demonstrated that the natural health of their islands are paramount and they are standing up in defense of that.”

Here are some of the ways in which Raw Elements has contributed:

·        Founding member of the Safe Sunscreen Coalition.

·        Wrote numerous letters to legislators to support the bill.

·        Attended and promoted the sunscreen rally on 4/18.

·        Sponsored the production and distribution of the film "Reefs at Risk."

·        Supported and attended the water sampling event with Dr. Downs in 2017.

·        Continue to share and educate the evolving date from Dr. Downs & science community.

·        Continue to educate the public on sun safety and the importance of quality, reef-safe ingredients.

·        Sponsored sunscreen trade-ins and beach cleanups with various organizations throughout the islands including Friends of Hanauma Bay, Sustainable Coastlines, Waikiki Aquarium and more.

·        Engaged in educational partnerships with major thought-leading companies in the tourism and hospitality industry to enact change.

“This is an incredible example of an action that hopefully will pave the way for other states and communities to adopt,” Guardagno adds. “We are honored to be one small part of so many in this movement."

Teal concludes, “Body health and planetary health go hand and hand and Raw Elements has both covered! Let’s protect our planet one sunscreen application at a time.”

Cox Media Group