Mason bees do no produce honey or beeswax, but they are one type of bee that make great pollinators. They are peaceful insects and won’t sting or bother you (unless it’s being provoked).

To encourage Mason bees to pollinate your garden, why not build them a little house?

Here is a good example of a handmade Mason bee house. Looks like a birdhouse filled with bamboo reeds. Photo from Help Save Bees from UK.

If you have a block of wood and some drill bits, you can also make a Mason Bee house. Just drilled short holes in the block and hang them in a sheltered location. For more info and neat instructions on this method of bee house, check out Gardens for Wildlife.

And if you have access to lots of bamboo reeds, you are in luck.  Just take those and cut them about 5-6 inches. There is no need to put them in a house (like in the photo above).  Just gather the cut bamboo reed together, tie them with a string and place them between tree branches.  Especially in fruit trees, soon enough you’ll be rewarded with more fruits!

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In the remote mountains of Indonesia’s Foja Mountains comes frogs, gecko, and even the world’s smallest wallaby. The other recent discovery was of the golden-mantled tree kangaroo out of New Guinea. It’s always good news to hear that scientist have discovered new species.

This cute little guy is the world’s smallest wallaby. Photo by Tim Laman of National Geographic/Reuters

The other new animals discovered by researchers include an oversize yet tame woolly rat, a new bat that feeds on rainforest blossom nectar and a small tree mouse. There is even a new flowering shrub.

This part of Indonesia’s rain forest is very undeveloped and undisturbed without any roads. The elevation and tropical environment also provides much isolation. There are also local forest-dwelling people that depend on this place for resources. And the locals don’t take more then they need from the rain forest.

Bruce Beehler, a senior research scientist at Conservation International said it best, “While animals and plants are being wiped out across the globe at a pace never seen in millions of years, the discovery of these absolutely incredible forms of life is much needed positive news. Places like these represent a healthy future for all of us and show that it is not too late to stop the current species extinction crisis.”

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Living in California has many benefits, one of them being the amount of fresh produce available all year. But behind all this bounty, comes another hit to the environment. Or more specifically, to our water supply.

Nitrates are the most common groundwater contaminant in California. Although other places, such as Chesapeake Bay, has already seen environmental damages. The NY Times reported in November 2008, “As the phosphorous and nitrogen levels in the bay have grown, so have the algae that deplete oxygen needed by other aquatic life.”

A neat row of young corn growing in California. This nice photo is from ex.libris of flickr.

Nitrates are commonly found in artificial fertilizer such as ammonia. Under high temperatures and very high pressures, hydrogen and nitrogen (from thin air) are combined to produce ammonia. This process was invented over 50 years ago by German chemist Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch. Their Haber-Bosch process has often been noted as the most important invention of the 20th century.

Once farmers began using artificial fertilizer, the crop yield improves significantly. The bad part is that farmers often use too much nitrogen than the plants can absorb. The excess nitrogen has now found it’s way to our water supply.

California state law requires public water systems to remove nitrates. But many rural communities, such as those living near large farms don’t have access to the type of treatment systems available in big cities.

Julia Scott of the San Francisco Gate reported, “Nitrates have been linked to “blue baby syndrome,” in which an infant’s oxygen supply is cut off. Statewide, the number of wells that exceeded the health limit for nitrates jumped from nine in 1980 to 648 by 2007. Scientists anticipate a growing wave of nitrate problems in some parts of the state if remedial steps aren’t taken.”

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Earth Day has been held every April 22 nd since 1970. The very first Earth Day led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency
and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

What better way to celebrate Earth Day then to plant more trees? And the Arbor Day Foundation can help. For a 6 month or 1 year membership, you’ll be able to chose 10 free trees. Membership for 6 months is $10 and the 1 year for $15. Last year members planted 8 million trees.

Saucer Magnolia

This pretty flowering tree is available for purchase. Photo from Arbor Day Foundation.

Here are some more nice flowering trees you can chose from: Dogwood, American Redbud, Crape Myrtle, and Goldenraintrees.

Along with the free trees, they also have a variety of other trees & shrubs for sale. The prices are very reasonable. Shipping is a flat fee of $4.95 for your entire nursery order. Unfortunately for me , the Department of Agriculture does not allow any of the retail trees to be sent to California. Other restricted states include Ak, Az, Hi or any U.S. territories. But the 10 free trees are still okay to send out.

In addition to your membership, you’ll also get:

- Receive a 33–56 percent discount on over 100 trees and shrubs. Our selection includes shade, flowering, ornamental, fruit trees, evergreens and more.

- Free subscription to our colorful bimonthly newsletter. Arbor Day is a gardener’s handbook and tree information guide in one.

- The Tree Book is a treasury of genuinely useful guidance about planting and caring for trees in a cheerfully colorful format.

Important Foundation programs are sustained by nearly a million members nationwide. You’ll become part of the Foundation. Together, we’re making a difference.” - Arbor Day.

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Ever since I watched “Who Killed the Electric Car?” a few years ago, I’ve been wondering what’s happening in the electric car industry.  The latest news comes from Nissan with it’s Leaf.  Orders in the U.S. will start April 20th and Nissan is aiming for 25,000 orders by December 2010.

The Nissan Leaf is a four-door hatchback that looks similar to the Toyota Prius and Honda Fit. It is a 100% electric zero-emission vehicle. It can get up to 100 miles with a single charge from home. While the Volt, which can go 40 miles on full electricity before a small gas engine kicks in to provide power.

Here is the new Nissan Leaf.  It looks very futuristic.  And a name that reminds you of Nature.  Photo from Automotive News.

The more car companies get into making an electric car, the more choices we’ll have. And it also helps that the Nissan “Leaf” has a competitive starting base price of $32,780. But buyers can get a $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit. Making it about $25,280.  Still pretty expensive for me.  But the industry also reports electric car prices should go down more by 2015.

Other electric cars in the market is the Toyota Pruis and Honda Insight. Chevrolet will also introduce the Volt sometime later this year. Even Tesla (Roadster) of Silicon Valley is in the electric car market with their $100,000 sports car.

If I was in the market for a new car, I would want an electric car. But I don’t know if I want a 1st generation car. Then again maybe the first model out is well built. But I would like to see if there are any problems other consumers may encounter. And just like Apple’s products, the next generation model may have more to offer.

Either way, getting an electric car would be a good purchase. Both for your pocketbook and the environment. No need to help OPEC get rich anymore or having to pump gas at the station and smelling gasoline fumes.

Here’s a little FAQ from the Nissan Leaf:

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When I first started making soap in 2008, I bought palm oil without knowing much about it’s source.

Palm oil has desirable qualities which include producing a mild and hard bar that lathers well.  From my own experience, I’ve found other good substitutes such as olive oil, rice bran, and coconut oil to be just as nice.

It wasn’t until recently that I knew about the environmental and social implications of using palm oil.

As for the social impact, forests are usually cleared in large tracts of land through burning and clear cutting. This has alienated communities and created tension between locals and the company executing the project.

For the environmental impact, large areas of Indonesian and Malaysian rainforest have been cleared to make way for palm plantations. The spaces used to expand palm plantations are often created by draining and burning peatland, which sends carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

The removing of rainforest is also effecting the orangutan population that dwell in the forest. It is estimated by Borneo Orang Utan Survival Foundation UK that orangutans can disappear in five years. But there is still hope.

Indonesia’s Center for Orang Utan Protection has rescued many baby orangutan orphaned by palm oil companies. As many of the orangutans are seen as pest and are killed off. The center to protect orangutan ask that we use orangutan friendly palm oil (from sustainable palm oil farm) in our food and household products.

This baby orangutan (photo above) seem to be having fun.  Image source.

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One of the cutest animals in the world has to be the Nigalya Ponya (which is the Nepalanese word for “eater of bamboo”).  But they are commonly refer to as Firefox and Red Panda besides the other creative names.  Scientific name: Ailurus fulgens.

Red pandas are native to mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar (Burma), and central China.

Red Panda have this cute round face with dashes of white markings that give them an interesting expression.  Image source.

They are the size of cats and have ringed tails like raccoons. And like giant pandas, they have an extended wrist bone that functions almost like a thumb and aids with gripping. The red panda has been classified as a relative of the giant panda, and also of the raccoon. It wasn’t until recently considered members of their own unique family - the Ailuridae.

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In the eastern Himalayas, between India and China, there is a place that hasn’t been explored very much. And now a  decade of research done by scientists have discovered 353 new plant and animal species.  From a flying frog to the world’s second smallest deer.

In 2005 they discovered this bird. It was located south of the Tibetan border in Burma’s Kachin State. They call it the “Naung Mung scimitar-babbler” (Jabouilleia naungmungensis). The midsize forest bird uses its big bill to scratch the ground in search of food. It’s like a cross between a small bird and the New Zealand Kiwi.

This little frog has a giant pair of mesmerizing golden eyes, it was discovered in 1999.  It is 1 of 5 new frog discoveries in the Indian state of Assam. It measures just a few centimeters.  Reminds me of the tree frog, but not so green.

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I picked up my latest issue of the Smithsonian magazine and just learned about the narwhal.  Narwhal are considered to be the unicorn of the sea because of their spiral tusk (which is really their teeth).

Image source:  National Geographic

I was surprise that after all these years I’ve never heard about narwhals.  M said he found out about narwhals when he saw the cartoon drawing on a skateboard deck.  He couldn’t believe narwhals were real and thought it was a joke made between a small whale and a unicorn.  But he soon confirmed that narwhals are real and that they live in the Arctic.

In the past, European fisherman would catch and kill narwhals just to collect and sell the tusk.  And many people (in those days) believed the tusk were magical.  It was used to make a “powder” wonder drug.  Members of the royal family would carve the tusk into their thrones and other royal objects.  Some of them can still be seen in Norwegian museums today.

All that killing and hunting for the tusks put narwhals in risk of becoming extinct.  This also reminds me of what is happening with the elephants.  But presently, both the hunting of tusks for elephants and narwhals are illegal (at least illegal to be imported to the U.S.).  So that is a good sign going in the right direction.

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This year California may be facing a severe drought. Our heavy rain season starts around autumn and continues through spring. I can say this year’s rainy season was not so good. I think we had some cloudy winters, but not much rain. Mostly fog in parts of northern California.

Concerned homeowners and avid gardeners may want to look into finding ways to conserve water. But I have mostly desert plants that are in pots, so it won’t be much of a problem for me. My mom said she may cut down on what she will be planting this year too. The latest idea suggest replacing the common lawn and yards with native plants. This idea is termed “naturescaping”. These two front yards are good examples of naturescaping. Photos were taken by City Steward of Portland, Oregon.

There are many benefits for naturescaping and to growing native plants. A great landscape design practice also located in Portland, Oregon named Plant Native gave us 6 good reasons. They are listed below:

1. Low Maintenance - Native plants evolved to grow in local conditions and to predictable sizes. They do not require watering (except during establishment), chemical pesticides and fertilizers, or frequent cutting.

2. Public Health (lowers cancer rates) - Traditional landscaping uses large amounts of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, some of which are suspected carcinogens. During rains, these chemicals often run off into public water supplies. Traditional landscaping also contributes to air and noise pollution.

3. Saves you Money - The cost of maintaining a naturescape is dramatically less than that of a traditional landscape because a naturescape essentially takes care of itself. Naturescapes also save you time - and how valuable is your time?

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