Yum Yum Strawberies are Healthy!

I love strawberries. A lot. They are yummy and sweet and refreshing and juicy... and pretty darned healthy, too. Besides just having a bunch of good vitamins and being great jams, strawberries are appearing to be beneficial in another way: boosting red blood cells.

The boost they get is in how responsive they are to anti-oxidants. Oxitative stress (the "oxi" you are trying to "anti") is associated with various diseases.

The study was done by Spanish and Italian researchers. Subjects were given 1/2 kilogram of berries a day or roughly the equivalent of one pound. That's a lot of berry. The pound was spread throught the day and this was done for two week. The results? Blood plasma had increased antioxidant capacity and red blood cells resisted fragmentation.They are now doing the studies with a quarter to half that amount: average strawberry consumption.

How delicious! What a yummy study in which to participate. You can read more at ScienceDaily.

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Oh, Fall!

While I love summer, I think autumn may arguably be my favorite season. You can wear sweaters OR shorts, the mild days are perfect for picnics, the chilly nights are great for campfires or fires of any kind, the breezes are perfect for kit flying, and the colors are spectacular. I wish it could last longer. I live in a place where summer is year round... why isn't there a place with autumn year round?

As much as I would like to fantasize about red leaves and gourd harvests being year round, there is actually a good reason for why it can't last. All those beautiful colors are caused for a very good reason. In the fall, the days get much shorter and the plants have less time to photosynthesize. This is how our plants make food for themselves and what gives them the beautiful green we are used to. The chlorophyll in the plant is what helps this photosynthesis happen. As the plants chlorophyll gets smaller, other pigments in the plants begin to show through, like the reds and yellows you see around you this time of year.

The plants are conserving energy to survive the oncoming winter and then lose their leaves. When the days get longer, the leaves come back, and are green for feeding! This is pretty impressive and makes me appreciate fall all the more.

Happy Autumn!

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The Acacia

Okay, so my post title is vague. Besides a slew of restaurants having this name (including one here in St. Thomas), it is also the genus to a group of plants that covers five different phyla! It's also a common name for tons of different plants, adding to the confusion even more. To attempt simplification, the genus has been split into five genera, but still.

Here on island, people call all sorts of things Acacia (pronounced CASH-ah, locally). Acacia gets its name from the Greek word akis, meaning sharp point. Many of the plants here catch you. This is an acacia of some sort to the right that I am unknowingly riding into. Good shot, Nick! I got a face full of thorns.

So what is the point of all this? Well, in Kenya, they have found a use for one of the native varieties. Faidherbia albida is said to be able to nourish the depleted soils on farms due to the high levels of organic nitrogen the plants leech into the soil. Apparently it is something that has been well studied. Half a million farmers in Tanzania began using the trees for various crops. Maize grown in the canopy of these trees had a 280% increase in yield. That is monumental! It even increased the yields of sorghum, millet, cotton and more. This could greatly affect how much food is grown and really aid in the quality of life for people everywhere.

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Florida Botanical Gardens

Hey everyone! I hope you all have been having a great weekend. Yesterday after work I went on the hunt for that great Botanical Gardens I mentioned in my last post. I did find it and it's so neat. I can't wait to go back with more time so I can get some footage and more pictures. Mom and I got there at around 6:30pm and it closes at 7.

The website for the garden is here. They had butterfly gardens planted as well and I saw lots of really cute bugs and caterpillars everywhere! The plants were marvelous as well and seeing how lovely they gardens were without the use of grass made me dislike lawn grass even more. Besides being a waste of LOTS of water, it's not really useful for any of the wildlife here in Florida.

Fig. 1 Battus polydamus caterpillar on pipevine

The above caterpillar is easily the biggest caterpillar (not longest) I have ever seen. He was fatter than a really big cigar! The common name is the Gold Rim and it is a lovely butterfly. It is the only tailless swallowtail butterfly in North America. The species is also unique in that the chrysalis will be different colors depending on where it pupates. If it pupates near a leaf, the chrysalis will usually be green. If it pupates near a dead leaf or vine, it will usually be brown.

Fig. 2 Southern Lubber Grasshopper Romalea guttata

I also saw this really beautiful grasshopper. It is a flightless grasshopper and also one of the most colorful in Florida. It is occasionally a pest to daylillies and citrus.

I can't wait to go spend more time at the Botanical Gardens. I only went to a very small portion of the 183 acres. Not too much time to see much when you go 1/2 hour before closing. See you guys soon.

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For the Love of Tequila

Blue Agave & Barbed Wire
Originally uploaded by nathangibbs

As many of you may or may not know... tequila comes from a very specific region in Mexico and is made from blue agave (see photo). If it is not made in Jalisco, it is not tequila. This is similar to Champagne being a region in France and everyone else really makes sparkling wine. This is known as a geographical indication in wines and spirits. While this would make it seem like Jalisco must be loaded now, what with tequila's surge in popularity and everything, the exact opposite is happening.

NC State did some recent research pertaining to this devilish liquor. Tequila's geographical indication is a bit unfortunate because it is not sustainable ecologically or socially. The demand for tequila is much higher than it was 15 years ago and has doubled production in less than 10 years. Part of the reason they cannot keep up with the demand is that it takes 6 years for blue agave to reach a harvestable size, but recent pests and diseases are making the numbers of agave dwindle. This has lead some larger companies to plant their own agave, thus taking money out of the local economy and small agave farmers' pockets. This is the social.

It gets better (worse?). These same big companies don't hire workers to hand prune the plants for pests. They are using some serious pesticides not commonly used in this area. That is the ecological damage.

Tequila originated over 400 years ago and has been a legacy to the people in this region since then. Big business is not only destroying the land the people have cultivated the agave on for centuries, but taking their jobs as well.

You can find the source article here.

Photo is protected under Creative Commons.
Blue Agave & Barbed Wire
Originally uploaded by nathangibbs

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A Little More Info....

My dearest mother made me realize that I don't always put things into easy to understand terms or go into enough depth on some of my topics. I guess sometimes I just assume people can read minds... ah well. This post is a short FAQ for the post I did about the Endangered Species Act yesterday.

1) What is the Endangered Species Act of 1973?
This was legislation that was passed allowing a list to be made; prohibiting unauthorized sale, possession, and shipping of endangered species; authority to claim lands for the protection of the species; allows breeding programs; penalizes for violations and offers awards to people who help capture offenders; and prohibits the feds from using authority to reclaim lands.

2) So what is Bush trying to do?
That last part of the legislation is super important. You see, if a group of scientists decides to save an area of land for rare species protection, not even the government can go in and use the land for their purposes. By overturning this last little part, he is allowing the government to, just an example here, drill for oil in Yellowstone if they feel it is necessary for the sake of the USA.

3) How does this affect me?
While some may not see it this way, protected lands are our National Treasure. They are an invaluable source of native plants and animals, many of them symbols of America like the bison, mustang, and bald eagle. These animals are all part of a large ecosystem. Losing one species in an area can cause a great imbalance and throw many things off kilter.


Well, I hope this helps. If you have anymore questions, feel free to let me know!

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