Category: Parott

Day 3-Whimsy Windy Wednesday and Wind Power

“Large-scale wind farms are connected to the electric power transmission network; smaller facilities are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines. Wind energy, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation. However, the construction of wind farms is not universally welcomed because of their visual impact but any effects on the environment are generally among the least problematic of any power source.” Definition from wikipedia

Portsmouth Company Blows Away its Electricity Bill

By FRANK CARINI/ecoRI staff — “PORTSMOUTH — With an electric bill fast approaching $100,000 a year, the U.S. Department of Energy predicting that fossil-fuel energy costs will increase 5.3 percent annually for the rest of time and federal stimulus money available for renewable-energy projects, Rick Hodges did the math. It added up to a 225-kilowatt Vestas wind turbine.

With the installation of the nearly 100-foot-high turbine expected before the end of the year, the president of the Hodges Badge Co. anticipates Rhode Island wind soon will produce nearly all of the 45,000-square-foot facility’s electricity.

Last year, the family-owned and operated business used 451,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Hodges said he expects the soon-to-be-installed wind turbine to produce 450,000 kilowatt-hours of power a year.” … whole article  http://eco-ri.squarespace.com/green-business/

More in New England –

“Mass Megawatts Wind Power, Inc. (OTCBB: MMMW) is a leader in the development of a revolutionary wind power technology, bringing a product to the renewable energy marketplace capable of producing electricity at a cost 30% lower than other wind power equipment. Designed on a paradigm that ‘lower height, lower wind speeds and lower costs equal higher profits’, this technology puts MAT electricity generation on a competitive footing with fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas.” http://www.massmegawatts.com/

and… from points further away …
As Japan’s nuclear crisis unfolds, Europe takes a fresh look at wind

“In the search for ways of changing how the French obtain their electricity, Mr Sarkozy has turned to a source of energy that is free and in plentiful supply: wind.

Soon after being elected president in 2007, he set himself the target of changing the balance of supply so that renewable energy would provide for 23 per cent of France’s needs by 2020, with 8 per cent coming from wind turbines on land and at sea.” The whole article

Help for Japan:
Donate to the Red Cross http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main
Donate to Doctors without Boarders: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/overview.cfm


I bet you can't regulate your body temp by your nose – a Toucan can!

FUN FACTS FRIDAY!

Since Mimi is a parrot – our fact this week is about Toco Toucan! Yes, I know a Toucan not a parrot – but hey they look sort of alike!

“A toucan is not a parrot. Toucans, or ramphastids are a family of birds in the order piciformes. Woodpeckers, and barbets are also in the order piciformes. Parrot actually refers to an entire order of birds, the psitticiformes, and since toucans are piciformes rather than psitticiformes they are not a parrot.” from Answers.com

http://www.animalfactguide.com/animalfacts/toco-toucan/

Photo from Animal Fact Guide

Toco Toucan

Ramphastos toco

Measuring 63.5 cm (25 in.) in length, the toco toucan is the largest of all toucans. Its black body and white throat are overshadowed by its most recognizable trait: a large colorful beak.

The bright orange beak is about 19 cm (8 in.) long – one third of the bird’s total length. But despite its substantial size, the beak weighs less than you may think. Composed of the protein keratin, the structure of beak incorporates many air pockets allowing for a very low mass.

Furthermore, recent research has concluded that toucans regulate body temperature by adjusting the flow of blood to their beak. More blood flow means more heat is released. When toucans sleep, they tuck their beak under their feathers to keep them warm.

Toco toucans also use their beaks to pluck and peel fruit, their main source of food. In addition, the beak houses a flat tongue of the same length, which helps the toucan catch insects, frogs, and reptiles. Toco toucans also occasionally eat the eggs of other birds.

Although they spend much of their time in trees, they are not very good at flying. Toucans mainly travel among trees by hopping. When they do take flight, they flap their wings vigorously and glide, traveling only short distances.

Toucans nest in the hollows of trees. They often move into cavities created and abandoned by woodpeckers. Several toucans live together in a single hollow.

It is in these hollows that they lay their eggs, generally two to four a year. Both parents incubate the eggs for 16-20 days. Once the chicks hatch, both parents continue to care for the young. Baby toucans are not born with an excessively large beak; the beak grows as the birds develop.

Native to South America, toco toucans inhabit a range of habitats including tropical forests, savannas, and shrubland.

Conservation Status

Because toco toucans can live in a variety of habitats, they are not as susceptible to rainforest destruction as other species. Their population has not been determined, but it is thought to be large due to the frequency of sightings within their range. As such, the toco toucan is listed by theIUCN as being of least concern, and there are no specific efforts to protect the species.

What You Can Do to Help

Although toco toucans are not considered threatened, you can still help protect their habitat. Avoid buying products made from rainforest wood and help raise funds to help protect the rainforests of South America.

Native to South America, toco toucans inhabit a range of habitats including tropical forests, savannas, and shrubland.

A Bird in Ireland?

So the new Wildlife in our case was bird or bird like.  If we play with the word “bird” – it means Attractive Female. I would say that BOTH girls fit that discretion. Mimi in a more traditional sense and Maddie is a little more of a funk/individualistic look!

Just for fun, and since we are playing with words…. Vaboom (remember she is the New Word Tracker) looked up and thought about the word Bird!

Here are some definitions she found.

–noun

1.any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard-shelled egg.
2. a fowl or game bird.
3. Slang . a person, especially one having some peculiarity: He’s a queer bird.
5. Informal . an aircraft, spacecraft, or guided missile.
6. Cookery . a thin piece of meat, poultry, or fish rolled around a stuffing and braised: veal birds.
7. Chiefly British Slang . a girl or young woman.
8. an obscene gesture of contempt made by raising the middle finger.

Oh – and by the way – Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Bettcha did not know that there is a whole site for Irish Birding! http://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web. Our girls are not from Ireland but still fun!

The Key West Girls come to town!

Mimi- the parrot. Mimi has taken the shape of a Parrot to bring to awareness the birds of the tropics and how endangered many species are. 85 of the 340 living species of parrots in the wild are endangered… Mimi was inspired by Nancy Forrester and The MANA project (www.mamaproject.org). Mimi is created from all Key West flowers in Nancy’s Secret Garden. She is flamboyant and beautiful wanting to be noticed!  If she is able to help save the parrots she will be a happy bird herself!

Madelyn: (Maddie for Short) comes up from Key West- she is a Beach girl and it is fitting her role is “Beach Conservation.” She roams the beaches, keeping her eyes on erosion, pollution, marine life and beach fun! She keeps her trusty water bottle with her at all times so she stays “hydrated” and ready to go. Beach Conservation also means trying to keep the very fragile Dunes healthy. Dunes act as dikes and reservoirs to replenish the beach. It’s all-important stuff and Maddie wants you to know about it.

Maddie is from plants at The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden. “The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden is the only “frost-free” botanical garden in the continental United States. A tropical environment with ample rain allows most trees to retain their leaves in the dry season (December through late May). It is home to many endangered and threatened flora and fauna. Tropical forests of the world hold at least half of all the variety of life on Earth. Moreover, the species found with the Caribbean are among the richest in plant and animal life on the planet.” http://www.keywestbotanicalgarden.org