Vaqueirinho, Serra da Lousã, Portugal, Vaqueirinho Republic!

13/06/2023

first ever ranking of beneficial garden biodiversity

1. Lichens

2. Native ladybirds

3. Pollinators

4. Solitary bees (aculeate Hymenoptera)

5. Sulphur tuft fungi (Hypholoma fasciculare)

6. Slime moulds

7. Rose chafer beetle (Cetonia aurata)

8. Ink cap mushrooms (Coprinoids)

9. Hoverflies (Syrphidae)

10.Social wasps (Vespidae)

1. Topping the list are lichens, which can often be found growing on trees or shrubs. Lichens provide food for other garden wildlife and create new habitats by providing shelter for invertebrates and nesting materials for birds and mammals.

Lichens are often associated with good air quality. They carry out photosynthesis to capture atmospheric carbon, and certain lichens also absorb atmospheric nitrogen compounds, which are common pollutants. Lichens regulate water and humidity levels by soaking up moisture during wet weather and then slowly releasing it as water vapour.

2. Ladybirds primarily eat aphids, so have long been considered a friend of gardeners. It is said that a single ladybird can eat 50 aphids a day, or around 5,000 in a lifetime!

(...)

Sources/Links:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/articles/2022-beneficial-species

https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/ladybirds

https://www.rhs.org.uk/wildlife

https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/plant-health-in-gardens

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03/06/2023

25/05/2023

Country Overshoot Days 2023

A country’s overshoot day is the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in that country.

Let’s take Swiss Overshoot Day as an example. Its 2023 overshoot day is based on the latest (2018) available results from the 2022 edition of the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts:

The Ecological Footprint of Switzerland is 4.35 global hectares (gha) per person (in 2018)
Global biocapacity is 1.6 gha per person (in 2018)

Therefore, it would take (4.35/ 1.6) = 2.75 Earths to support humanity if everyone on the planet lived like the Swiss.

Sources/Links:

https://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/

http://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en

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22/05/2023

Earthshine tonight:

You may have noticed the Moon exhibiting a ghostly glow lately, where a subtle light is illuminating the usually unlit portion of the lunar surface. This is a phenomenon called Earthshine, and it can be a spectacular sight, not to mention a great opportunity for lunar photography.

Weather permitting, you can see Earthshine this evening, 22 May, after sunset (8:56pm BST in London, 8:13pm EDT in New York City).

Earthshine is visible in the mornings a few days before the new Moon, and in the evenings a few days after the new Moon. You might have already glimpsed it before sunrise on 17 May during the waning crescent phase, but if you didn’t fancy dragging yourself out of bed at that hour, we have another chance during the waxing crescent Moon phase.

Here are the next opportunities to see Earthshine:

21 May: 3.9 per cent illuminated waxing crescent Moon

22 May: 8.9 per cent illuminated waxing crescent Moon

23 May: 15.5 per cent illuminated waxing crescent Moon

What exactly is Earthshine?

Earthshine appears as a soft, subtle glow on the unlit, or ‘night’ portion of the Moon during specific phases. This is when a delicate, but somehow ghostly, shape of the full Moon is nestled in the arc of the bright crescent Moon, and it’s a beautiful sight for these early summer nights.

Sources/Links:

https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/earthshine-may-2023/

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13/05/2023

Electromagnetic fields disrupt the pollination service by honeybees

Sources/Links:

https://elpais.com/ciencia/2023-05-12/los-campos-electromagneticos-de-las-torres-de-alta-tension-estresan-a-las-abejas.html

& also here

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09/05/2023

Europe Day

Europe Day held on 9 May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic 'Schuman declaration' that set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe's nations unthinkable. Schuman's proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.

Sources/Links:

https://europeday.eu/

https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/history-eu/1945-59/schuman-declaration-may-1950_en

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