Living in the City

I noticed that our kalamansi, and chili plants have insects that resemble waxy and fiber-like appearance on top of the leaves. I found out that these insects are called mealy bugs and that they suck the juices of house-plants and subtropical trees. In our case, they are actively gnawing at the juices of our kalamansi and chili plants to the point of drying out and dropping many of the plant leaves. Arrgghh. "Mealyb ug females feed on plant sap, normally in roots or other crevices. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery wax layer (th erefore the name mealy bug) used for protection while they suck the plant juices. The males on the other hand, are short-lived as they do not feed at all as adults and only live to fertilize the females. Male citrus mealy bugs fly to the females and resemble fluffy gnats". Mealy bugs are considered "serious" plant pests in the presence of their allies - the ants. "Ants protect them from predators and parasites. ...

Concern for the environment had always been instilled in our children since they were old enough to talk. This is one reason why our eldest daughter took up B.S. Biology. Somewhere along the way, her focus shifted to children, taking courses that would later qualify her to teach kindergarten and take her all the way to Jakarta to handle kids of ex-patriates in an international school. Thirty one years old, single, and idealistic as ever, she told us that she didn’t shift her focus; but redirected her efforts to teach younger kids, since they are more receptive to learning – more so about environmental protection. Yesterday being Earth Day, she called us from Singapore where she is staying currently to remind us of certain actions and activities to promote Earth Day. I was concerned about the cost of the call to her budget, but she told me the prepaid phone card she obtained has a very generous offer that would really allow for meaningful conversations with family – at a very afford...

A wee bit of an avocado plant to a now grown one:-) right in the middle of our backyard. My humble contribution to earth day is attested by these photos of fruit trees as we ll as plants I was able to grow in our backyard, s tar ting almo st six years ago. There's the jackfruit tree, photo of which is at the left above this l ine. Then the next is my favorite forget-me not flower plant. Makes me feel like a real mother plant Mom whenever I prune her unwieldy leaves. Then there's our squash plant, where we are now able to harvest its flowers playing its nutritious role everytime we prepare our green salad recipe. Then at the corner of the yard, two other avocado plants, now also fully grown but taller than what we have in the middle of the yard. It feels lovely to see them plants grow each day, pruning and watering them just like you 'do' for a child. Happy Earth Day! Better Late than never. Cheers!

And how are the Americans doing about this thing called recycling ? Here are some of the possible answers: 1. 650 pounds of paper are used annually. If successfully recycled, 100 million tons of wood would b e saved every year. 2. 80% of what’s thrown away in American households are recyclable. 3. 2.5 MILLION plastic bottles are used every hour and not recycled. 4. enormous numbers of glass bottles and jars are thrown every day enough to fill a building like Sears Towers in Chicago . Think - all these jars are recyclable. 5. over 1,000,000 sea creatures are lost yearly due to plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean. Think Great Pacific Garbage Patch . It's twice the size of Texas and is floating somewhere between San Francisco and Hawaii . It's also 80 percent plastic, and weighs 3.5 million tons. Whoa! 6. recycling one ton or about 2,000 pounds of paper can save 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil which is enough to run the average car for 1,26...

Protect Mother Earth through recycling. Here's what they are doing in some parts of the world. 1. In the Bay Area of San Francisco a concept called 'waste-to-energy' is in place in which garbage and other non-recyclable materials are burned in especially designed incinerators while the heat produced runs the steam turbine in an electric power plant. Is the city doing it right? Read their story here . 2. In Ontario Canada residents are recycling 38% of their waste considered far from its 2008 target of 60%. What they have is the landfill system. In Toronto and Hamilton and regions like York and Durham , they have curbside pickup programs. In Nova Scotia , the province “put deposits on virtually every beverage container; required businesses and industry to follow the same recycling rules as residents, offered cash incentives to municipalities to increase recycling – and banned organics from landfills.” Soon, they say “a ban on organic waste in landfills”...

“ Monogamy is the custom or condition of having only one mate in a relationship, thus forming a couple. The word monogamy comes from the Greek word monos, which means one or alone, and the Greek word gamos, which means marriage or union. Serial monogamy is having no more than one sexual partner at a time but allows for multiple partners in a lifetime. In western culture serial monogamy is common with individuals before they start a family, due to divorce rates”. A few insects, a few fish, a lot of birds, and a few mammals are socially monogamous. These species did not inherit social monogamy from a common ancestor. Instead, social monogamy has evolved independently in different species. On the Other Hand, in Ghana , research reveals a surprising risk factor for extinction: monogamy. Large mammals that live in pairs or have small harems are far more likely to die out than those with big harems. "In avoiding extinction, it pays to be promiscuous," says Justin ...

Some of the fruit or vegetable bearing plants you will find in my backyard - avocado, kalamansi or our local lemon, bell pepper,and squash. I also have atis, a local sweet fruit with lots of small black seeds, langka (the english name escapes me at the moment, the malunggay (vegetable,fruit and flowers all edible.