The blackbird is back - so with other threatened species

The blackbird is back - so with other threatened species
Dr Abe V Rotor

Blackbird (Martines), Drynaria fern and towering acacia tree make
 an ecological sanctuary, together with a host of other organisms 
that depend on them. Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.

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In less than a human lifetime, dozens of wildlife species have rebounded from the brink of extinction - and are establishing their territory in suburbs.  Here are twenty (20) animals that have made a remarkable comeback.

1. Kiyoaw or Oriole (a family of 4 to 6 members frequent our backyard trees, just outside the La Mesa Reservoir watershed)
2. Reticulated python or sawa (a one-meter baby sawa was ensconced in a burnay or earthen pot.) 
3. Fireflies (They can be observed on empty lots adjacent to the Sacred Heart seminary, Novaliches QC
4. Pipit (popularized ina song of the same title, local counterpart of the huming bird)
5. Tuka'k Ba-ung (bellied frog, long thought to have succumbed to pesticides.  See separate article in this blog) 
6. Skink or alibut Ilk (Twice in ten years I spotted this shiny ground lizard at home near the La Mesa watershed.
7. Gecko Lizard (Tuko or tekka Ilk., hunted for its alleged aphrodisiac value)
8. Atlas moth (biggest of all insects by wing span, threatened by the gradual disappearance of native santol being replaced by the Bangkok variety)
9. Black Bear (Prowler in the kitchen and on garbage when hungry)  
10. Canada Goose (Remember Fly Away Home ?)
11. Alligator (relative of the crocodile, we don't have alligators, instead crocodiles - they are coming back, too)
12. Gray Wolf (found in wastelands and open areas)
13. Deer (rebounded in no-hunting forests and grasslands) 
14. Wild Turkey (particularly in the US and Canada)  
15. Cougar (relative of the wolf in the US)
16. Beaver (natural dam builder of forest streams in temperate countries) 
17. Raccoon (common in North America)
18. Wild Pig (baboy ramo, alingo Ilk, one of the most popular game animals; it is a pest of nearby farms, feeding on root crops and succulents, Our native pigs are the progeny of a cross indigenous and wild genes.)
19. Rhinoceros beetle (appears like Triceratops, with three horns, apparently the male; the female has shorter horns)
20. Wildcat (In China the civet cat, counterpart of our musang, is invading homes.  One reason for its comeback is that it eats fresh coffee bean and defecate the seed which is then ground into a special blend that commands a lucrative price.)  

Garden Skink; Wild Pig (baboy ramo)

This is one for the biologist and ecologist. I say, it's one for the Book of Guinness record.

Up high in a dozen centuries old acacia trees, reaching up to 10 storeys high, their boughs and branches clothed with epiphytic ferns, I found the long lost blackbirds, we callmartines in Ilocano.

I was then in the grade school in San Vicente (Ilocos Sur) when I saw the last martines bird. But here on a Black Friday on top of these towering trees, there is the lost bird, in fact several of them in pairs and families. It is like the Coelacanth, a primitive fish thought to have long been extinct, suddenly rising from the depth of the craggy Madagascar sea. Its fossil in rock tells us it is 40 million years old. And here it is - alive and has not changed! The fossil fish is alive! So with the Martines!

The blackbirds have made the towering acacia trees their home and natural habitat, building their nests on the Drynaria fern. The fern grows on the branches, reaching the peak of its growth during the rainy season when the host tree sheds its leaves, in effect allowing sunlight to nurture the fern.

The fern has dimorphic leaves. The primary ones are long and shaped like stag horn and bear sori or spore sacs, while the other kind is shaped and arranged like shingles, enclosing the fern's rhizome. Like all ferns, Drynaria undergoes alternation of generations - the spore-forming phase and gamete-forming phase. It is the sporophytic or asexual generation that the fern plant is familiar to us. It is typically made of roots, stems and leaves - but never flowers and fruits. It is for this that ferns are classified separately from seed-forming and flowering plants. They belong to Division Pterophyta.

In the dry season, the fern becomes dormant, appearing dry and lifeless from the outside, but shielded by the shingles the fleshy rhizome waits for the rain and sunlight - and the shedding of the host tree. Then almost at an instant the fern springs to life, carpeting entire boughs and branches.

Now it's the tree's turn. In summer, while the fern is dormant, it builds a new crown, and together with those of the adjoining trees form a huge canopy that makes a perfect shade. This could be one reason the friars in the 15th century thought of introducing the acacia (Samanea saman) from Mexico to be planted around churches and convents.

Not only that the acacia is the biggest legume in the world; it is self-fertilizing and self supporting, and sharing its resources to countless organisms from earthworm to humans. How is this possible?

The acacia harbors in its roots symbionts - Rhizobium bacteria that convert the element Nitrogen (N) into Nitrate (NO3). Only then can N that comprises 78 percent of the air we breathe can be used by plants to manufacture food by photosynthesis.

And with the deciduous character of the tree, dead leaves form a litter on the ground that makes a good mulch and later becomes compost - a natural fertilizer for the tree, surrounding plants, microorganisms and animals. Then as the pods of the tree ripen and drop to the ground, animals like goats come around to feed on them and in effect enrich the ground. The tree's efficient physiology and symbiotic potential with other organisms make it not only one of the most self-reliant trees in the world, but a miniature ecosystem in itself.

We see today very old acacia trees in these places, just like those around the old St Agustine church in Tagudin built in the 16th century where I found the blackbirds among the Drynaria ferns at their tops. Tagudin is the southernmost town of Ilocos Sur, some 330  kilometers north of Manila - a good five-hour drive. It continues to attract northbound tourists to have a stopover and see this spectacle, among other attractions of this old town, such as its native handicrafts, pristine seashore and progressive upland agriculture.

Going back to the blackbirds, why do we give much importance to them? Well, the blackbirds protect both tree and fern from insects and other pests, and fertilize them with their droppings. They too, are gleaners and help keep the environment clean. Unlike the house sparrow, ground fowls and the crow, they are not nuisance to the place; their presence is barely felt except for their occasional calls which sound quite sonorous but nonetheless pleasant, and their display during flight of a queer pair of white spots on their wings. I developed the liking to watch them for hours - their gentle movement, familial ways, although they do not as gregarious as pigeons, and their glossy black bodies distinct from the surrounding and against the sky. They make a good specimen for bird watching and photography.

Beyond the aesthetics about the bird, I learned from my good friend Dr. Anselmo Set Cabigan, a fellow biologist and science professor, that the martines was introduced from Guam on instruction of a Spanish Governor General to control locust infestation in the Philippines. This is the first case of applying the principle of biological control in the Philippines - and perhaps elsewhere - which was then too advance in its time. Today, biological control is practiced worldwide as part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a holistic approach in dealing with all kinds of pests which include pathogens.

Locust (Locusta migratoria manilensis) is a scourge to agriculture in many countries since prehistoric times. I have witnessed how a swarm of locust devour complete fields of rice and corn, and other crops overnight. During swarming the sky darkens as sheer numbers of these flying insects block the sky. And as they ride on the wind they produce a deafening hissing sound that adds terror to farmers and inhabitants.

And why was the matines bird the chosen nemesis of the locust? It clearly shows the efficiency of this predator. Actually predation is most effective when the locust is still in its non-migratory phase, specifically during the congegans - more so when it is in the solitaria phase. The bird immediately checks the pest before it develops into enormous population - and reach its swarming stage.

I believe that the triad formed by the acacia tree, Drynaria fern and the blackbirds is the beginning of an emerging ecosystem where wildlife and human settlement meet in cooperation and harmony. It is a zone where Nature re-builds spent environments and creates intermediate types, in which the role of man is basically to let nature's laws and rules to prevail. For example, doves and pigeons in public squares and plazas in many parts of the world are learning to trust people, and many people are just too happy to share their homes and other resources with them. They are planting trees and setting up more and wider parks for the wildlife.

For one, Japan now requires the greening of rooftops of buildings through gardening dubbed aeroponics, and by putting up ecological sanctuaries to attract wildlife to settle in them. In Europe on the other hand, miles and miles of hedges have evolved into a unique ecosystem, that one can no longer differentiate a well-established hedge from a natural vegetation. Also in Europe, woodlands which are actually broad strips that serve as boundaries of fields and pastures, are gaining through time higher biodiversity levels, and moving towards dynamic stability, called in ecology as homeostasis.

The Philippines is not behind. We have multi-storey orchards in Cavite, Batangas and Laguna that simulate the structure of a tropical rain forest long before the term ecology was coined. And many basins of ricefields and sumps of irrigation systems have become natural ponds.

The 38th parallel dividing the whole length of warring North Korea and South Korea – a strip of no man’s land, twenty kilometers at its widest – has developed, since the armistice in 1958, into a natural wildlife sanctuary. Today it has a very high level of biodiversity and distinct from any reservation on either side of this highly restricted boundary.

These neo-ecological zones are sprouting from backyards, parks, submerged coastlines, denuded mountains, and the like. Even contiguous idle lots – and abandoned fishponds, farms and settlements - are slowly but steadily becoming bastions of wildlife.

Truly, the case of the centuries old acacia trees where the Drynaria and the martinesbirds, and man living with them in peace and in harmony - is a manifestation of Nature's triumph. It is triumph to us and the living world. ~

Grotesque looking acacia tree clothed with Drynaria fern
towers over church and convent in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.

Photographs taken with an SLR Digital Camera with 300 mm telephoto lens

Let us save our deteriorating sloping land

Dr Abe V Rotor

Upland in Silang, Cavite, typical of farms on sloping land. Erosion does not only reduce soil fertility; it strips off the fertile "skin and flesh" of the land permanently. Here the slope has been sliced by rills and gullies, footprints of runoff water. Through years of neglect and mismanagement the land is now marginalized, a step away from becoming a wasteland.   

These are ways to conserve sloping lands. 

1. Don't disturb the natural vegetation that has preserved the state of the land, say forest or grassland, for years if not generations. Nature knows what is best in keeping the land in a state of dynamic balance, which is the key to long term stability (homeostasis).   

2. A slope does not exist as an independent piece of land - it links two terrains, the upper part is usually a watershed that catches the rain, and the lower part which deposits the net runoff in rivers, ponds and lakes. 

Destruction of the slopes leads to desertification (wasteland formation) as the land is stripped of its cover, predisposing it to repeated brush fire and erosion. Below the rivers run dry, so with the ponds, that irrigate the fields. The lake shrinks and form a swamp around it.  

3. The slopes serve as buffer and storage of water and soil nutrients.  If it is destroyed, rainwater will be lost quickly as it rushes down with little amount absorbed and kept for future use specially in summer. 

The aquifers (porous rock layers) will not be filled up to feed the streams and springs. Plants will dry up under the sun to fuel a spark into conflagration as what is has happened to many arid parts of the world - Indonesia, Australia, Green, China, and the Philippines.     

4. In the Cordillera (Mountain Province and Ifugao) terraces have been built on mountain slopes where there is a rock core, on contiguous and graded slopes that span from a cloud rich summit down to rice fields that sustain a community. Ultimately a natural waterway becomes the catchment.  The scenario starts with rain cloud from the summit slowly and continuously moving over the terraces in the shape of a giant funnel. 

Terrace building took centuries, terrace after terrace, linking the generations and cultures, unifying agriculture and ecology, and it is for these underlying reasons that the Banaue rice terraces has gained the prestige of one of the wonders of the ancient world, and today's honor as a UNESCO heritage.  

6. For privately owned sloping areas, if  one wishes to go into farming, say an orchard or woodland (agro-forestry), or as a pasture - or in combination - it is important to consult the present Land Use Policy. Consultation with the DA and DENR is important. 

Typical sloping land farming (Internet)
SALT (Sloping Land Technology) is a program of the government patterned after those of China, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan and many other parts of the world. Author's Note: SALT  has limited applications, typically feasible on gently sloping land, and seldom in areas above 45 degrees.  Where rainfall is limited and irregular SALT is not recommended. SALT is not the answer to wasteland conversion, rather it is a wasteland prevention measure. 

7. Where agriculture is not feasible, sloping lands should be preserved as ecological sanctuary, to compensate for the shrinking natural habitats of wildlife. Ecology tourism is a boost to such areas.  More and more tourists are coming out from cities at weekend, and tourists searching for the richness of tropical greenery, the famed setting of John Milton's sequel - 
I saw Paradise Lost and I Saw Paradise Regained. ~

UST-AB DevCom Assign: Reasons I love the Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut)

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog 
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio, 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

What is the relevance and application of this lesson to the calamity areas - Zamboanga (rebellion), Bohol-Cebu (earthquake) and Leyte-Samar (Typhoon)? (Bond handwritten). 

 Bahay Kubo interpreted in painting by AVR

Bahay Kubo is an enduring symbol of food self-sufficiency, indigenous biodiversity, simplicity and quaintness of living and natural beauty.

Bahay Kubo (My Nipa Hut) is one of the most loved traditional songs. All kids in my generation learned it by heart in the elementary.  Not so many kids today are familiar with it.  It is good to rediscover the beauty and lesson of the song.   

Bahay kubo, kahit munti,
ang halaman duon ay sari-sari.
Singkamas at talong,
Sigarilyas at mani.
Sitaw, bataw, patani.
Kundol, patola, upo't kalabasa.
At saka meron pa,
Labanos, mustasa.
Sibuyas, kamatis,
Bawang at luya.
Sa paligid-ligid ay puno ng linga.

These are main features of the song.

·         There are eighteen (18) plants, which are indigenous, mostly native varieties. (biodiversity)

·         Many of the plants have medicinal values and are effective home remedies for common ailments (luya, sibuyas, bawang).

·         The four kinds of vegetables are represented: leafy (mustasa), fruit (kamatis, talong, kalabasa), root (labanos, singkamas), seed (linga, patani, mani).

·         Spices and condiments are included in the list (linga, luya, bawang)

·         The plants have different planting and harvesting schedules, thus enhancing whole year round supply of vegetables, and the use of resources and family labor.

·         The plants have different growing types or habits which means they occupy specific places and have space allocations. (viny, herb, bush).

·         Nutrition-wise they provide the basic requirements for growing up and good health.

·         The ambiance projected by the scene is green, tranquil, clean, shady and cool (environment-friendly).

·         The garden exudes a feeling of self-sufficiency and offers a potential for livelihood.

·         Simplicity is the key to a contented life (with least energy consumption, and amenities).

·         Such a scene expands the imagination to include a backyard fishpond, chicken coop, orchard trees and ornamental plants, among others – all of these contribute to the enrichment of the Bahay Kubo, without modifying its basic concept and structure. 

  Cozy native home in Floridablanca Pampanga

Folk wisdom tells us how good it is to live simply and naturally, eat properly, stay young, healthy and active, save and earn money, depend less on energy and imported goods, and enjoy being at home with the family. Bahay Kubo takes us closer to nature, to appreciate our culture, and leads us to the inner calling for peace, quiet and joy.~  

Develop your NATIVE INTELLIGENCE. Here is a checklist for self-evaluation.

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature - School on Blog 
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio, 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Native Intelligence list

1. Animals are uneasy before an earthquake. They can sense the preliminary vibration before the final snap (tectonic break).

2.    Don’t gather all the eggs from the nest.  Leave some, otherwise the laying hen will not return to lay more eggs. (Applies in cottage poultry raising)
 Frogs croak for rain. Mating calls are heard at the start of the rainy season (habagat)
3.    Thunder and lightning spawn mushroom. Join the mushroom hunt a day or two after, in banana groves, termite mounds, haystacks.   

4.    Corn silk tea is good for the kidney. So with the pinaglagaan – water left in boiling green corn.

5.    Kapok laden with pods means there’s going to be a poor harvest. Kapok has shallow root system vulnerable to insufficient water.  

6.    Rub table salt on the cut stem of newly harvested fruits to hasten their ripening.
Also prevents rotting.

7.    Choose pakwan (watermelon) with wide, well-spaced “ribs.” It is sweeter and fleshier. Fruit has reached full maturity.  
 
8.    Poultice made of moss heals wounds and relieves pain. Antibiotic property.  

9.    Ring around the moon means a storm is coming. It means very high humidity (suspended water vapor).

    10. Red and gray sunsets are signs it’s going to rain.  Or a storm is coming. Rainclouds are forming.

11. Leaves of madre de cacao or kakawate hasten the ripening of fruits. Enclose green fruits in plastic to trap ethylene gas, ripens in a day or two.

12. Smudging induces flowering of fruit trees and protects fruits from pests. Secret of off-season fruiting.

13. Drosophila flies (mannuka) hasten vinegar making. They carry vinegar-making bacteria.

14. Chopped banana stalk makes a cold pack to reduce fever. Radiator principle.

15. Pruning induces growth and development of plants. A must in grapes.

16. To increase corn yield “decapitate” the standing crop. (detasseling)

17. When the leaves of acacia fold it’s time to go home. 

18. .Pinag-aasawa ang bulaklak ng kalabasa. (Pollination)

19. Sukang Iloko (Ilocos Vinegar) is home remedy for sore throat (gurgle), and fever (wipe gently forehead and body). Dilute with equal amount of water.

20. Old folks use garlic as insecticide. Crush and mix, one clove to a litter of tap water, filter and sprinkle on plants.
  
21. Sugar solution extends the life of cut flowers. At 10% for three hours immersion of freshly cut stem for better absorption.

22. Why mungo seeds won’t soften when cooked is due to a spell cast by deities in the field. Immature seeds are caramelized.  

23. Red or brown sugar is better than white or refined sugar. It’s natural with the original nutrients of cane sugar.  

24. It is a common practice of farmers to cover fruits with ash, sand or sawdust to delay their ripening and minimize losses. Controls atmospheric conditions like temperature, sunlight, humidity, microorganisms.  
  
25. Farmers plant tayum (Indigofera tinctoria) to fertilize their field. It is a legume and can fix Nitrogen into Nitrate.

26. Brown eggs are preferred over white eggs, especially in rural areas. Brown eggs are produced by native chicken raised on the farm without antibiotics and other chemicals.
 
27. Water remains cool in earthen pot (calamba or caramba) even in hot weather. Pores of the pot works on radiator principle.

28. Apply lime or alum on the butt end of cabbage to stay fresh and longer in the shelf.

29. To prevent glass from breaking, first put a metal spoon before pouring hot water.

30. Emergence of the June beetle ushers the start of rainy season.  Sometimes in comes out in May, hence also called May beetle.

31.  Dogs eat grass for self-medication, so with parrots eating clay - a biological instinct for survival.

32. To get better harvest, furrows must be parallel with the sun’s movement. Less overshadowing of plants enhances photosynthesis – and good harvest.

33. Ants on-the-move means a strong rain, if not a typhoon, is coming. Cockroaches come out of their abode and seek for shelter outside. They are Nature’s barometer.

34.  Mosquitoes bite more aggressively before rain - in preparation for egg laying.

Aedes egyptii female mosquito 

35. There are persons who are a favorite of mosquitoes. Please check if you belong to the favored group.

·         You don’t take a bath regularly. 

·         You wear dark clothes, especially black. 

·         Your body temperature is relatively higher.

·         Your rate of breathing is faster.

·         Your skin is relatively thin and tender. 

·         You love to stay in corners and poorly lighted places.

·         You are not protected by clothing, screen or off-lotion. 

Applied Multiple Intelligence: Schweitzer, Jung, Mother Teresa, Rizal, others

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog 
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio, 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Here are four celebrated examples of multiple intelligence in action.

1. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the great English explorer and the first white man to penetrate the heart of Africa and establish the first hospital for the natives there, was very effective in his mission not only because he was a good physician, but he was gifted with other talents. He was a minister, a musician, a naturalist and a philanthropist. Although he was criticized by his detractors for his philosophy on “reverence for life,” his outdated medical practices, and racial attitude, he was admired by mankind, and his legacy of dedication to others endures. The world will always have the memory of a giant who tried in his singular way to love as Jesus loved, oddly but honestly lived his beloved song: The deed is everything; the glory naught.

2. Carl Gustav Jung was a master of the abstruse. His explorations took him through yoga, alchemy, fairy tales, tribal rites of the Pueblo Indians, Hindu mandalas, extrasensory perception, prehistoric cave drawings – and an estimated 100,000 dreams. But when Dr. 

Jung was accused of having left medicine for mysticism, he replied that psychiatry must reflect all of man’s experiences, from the most intensely practical to the most tenuously mystical. If the details of his work were sometimes foggy, his overall purpose was clear: to help man live at peace with his unconscious.

3. Mother Teresa required poverty, chastity and obedience but also a fourth vow, service to the poorest of the poor. More than 3000 sisters of the missionaries of Charity joined her to pursue the religious path, aided by brothers in a separate men’s order and a host of lay 

co-workers. Together Sister Teresa and her followers operate a network of some 350 missions, spread across scores of nations, that administer hospices, food centers, clinics, orphanages, leprosariums and refuges for the insane, retarded and aged. What drove Mother Teresa into this deep dedication? She received a “call within a call” – a special vocation in which she felt God directing her to the slums. Such call is reminiscent of the voice that commanded Joan of Arc to lead the French army against the English. She did not live to see the liberation of her native land.

4. Dr Jose Rizal, our national hero, is perhaps the epitome of multiple intelligence among his people and the Malay race. He prodigiously possessed the eight realms and made use of them exceptionally fruitful within his short life. The ultimate expression of such gift that led him to greatness was inspired by a moth that circled a lamp on his study table - then singed itself suddenly into the flame. It was to become the symbol of his martyrdom.

The most exciting stories in science involve the sudden spark when mundane observation meets sudden inspiration. Such is the case of the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, Galileo watching the swing of a lamp in the Cathedral of Pisa and deduced from it the law of the pendulum, and Sir Isaac Newton watching the fall of a apple and formulating the laws of gravity.
It is as humorous as the sudden realization by Archimedes of the law of buoyancy.

But stories of this sort are not coincidental or incidental; they are deliberate efforts of testing a theory and looking for evidences and application. Such is the story of Louis Pasteur whose discoveries in microbiology led to a new field of medicine which is immunization, Christian Barnard revolutionizing surgery when he conducted the world’s first heart transplant. Such stories continue to amaze us. The Human Genome Project has opened before us a new horizon in medicine heretofore unknown - gene therapy.

Multiple Intelligence
(The 8 Realms of Intelligence)

1. Interpersonal (human relations) - Sometimes this is referred to as social intelligence. Leaders excel in this field. “They exude natural warmth, they wear disarming smile,” to quote an expert on human relations. Name your favorite characters. I choose Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger and our own, the late Carlos P. Romulo.

2. Intrapersonal (inner vision self-reflection and meditation) – Masters in this realm are priests, nuns, poets, yogis. St. Francis of Assisi is a genius in this domain. Didn’t Beethoven compose music with his inner ear and Helen Keller “see” from an inner vision?

3. Kinesthetics (athletics, sports, body language, dance, gymnastics) - Michael Jordan and Roger Federer excel in their respective sports. Now think of your idol in the sports world, or in the art of dance. Lisa Macuja Elizalde is still the country’s top ballet dancer.

4. Languages or linguistics - There are people who are regarded walking encyclopedia and dictionary. The gift of tongue in the true sense is in being multilingual like our very own Dr. Jose Rizal. How fast can you learn the dialect or language of a place?

5. Logic (dialectics, Mathematics) - Marxism is based on dialectics which is a tool in studying and learning social sciences like philosophy. Likewise, this realm includes the intelligence of numbers – mathematics, geometry, accounting, actuarial science, etc. This is the key to many IQ tests. Einstein, Newton, Socrates, Aristotle, Hawkings are popular figures who represent this realm.

6. Music (auditory art) – Frederick Chopin, Nicanor Abelardo, Ryan Cayabyab, Lea Salonga – name your favorite. Johann Sebastian Bach is the genius of all composers. Tchaikovsky is the master of ballet music. Frederick Handel's Messiah, Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Brahms' Lullaby remain unequaled to this day. I like listening Pangkat Kawayan play Philippine music. I cannot miss hearing the Madrigal singers, the Vienna Boys, and the UST Choral Ensemble.

7. Spatial intelligence (drawing, and painting, sculpture, architecture, photography) - The greatest contemporary artist, Pablo Picasso, was robbed in his studio. Hog-tied, he carefully studied the robber, the way an artist studies his model. After the incident he sketched the face of the robber and gave it to the police. The police made a hundred arrests without succeeding in pinpointing the culprit. The sculptor Rodin wanted his subject to look as if it were melting, like clay softened by rain. What could be a better expression of poverty for his masterpiece, The Burghers of Calais?

8. Naturalism (Green Thumb, relationship with the Natural World) - There are people who are said to have a “green thumb”. Their gardens are beautiful even with little care. There are those who can predict weather, fishermen who know when a fish bites, farmers who pick the reddest watermelon, fullest macapuno nuts, just by feel and sound. Good doctors, I am sure are not only good because of high scholastic records, but have the green thumb as well.

Here is a simple exercise to find out how you fare with Multiple Intelligence. With a piece or paper,  list down the eight realms on the left column. Through self-analysis score each realm using the Likert Scale of 1 to 5, where five is very good (VG), and 1 is very poor (VP); 2 is poor (P), 3 is fair (F) and 4 is good (G). Work on this exercise individually and quietly. It usually takes 10 to 20 minutes.

What is your top three realms? Can you see their inter relationships? Relate them with your strength. On the other hand, in what ways can you improve on the other realms with lower rating? Now relate your score with your present work, your family, and community.

Yes, you can be a Schweitzer, Jung, Mother Teresa, Fleming, Darwin, Rizal, Magsaysay, et al in your own right. And, remember there are early and late bloomers. ~

Biology: Here's a Self-Administered Test

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog 
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio, 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Dr Anselmo S Cabigan lectures on natural history at the St Paul University Museum QC. The Museum is one of the accredited museums by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. It is also a member of the Museum Association of the Philippines. It was established in 1994.

1. Going back to nature” means we have to live the lives of our ancestors and renounce our modern living.

2. We can actually transfer genetic materials from one organism to another irrespective of species or class or subkingdom by means of genetic engineering, resulting in the formation of what we call as GMO.

3. Genetic engineering actually started with Gregor Mendel, the father of the science of genetics and heredity nearly two hundred years ago.

4. There is no question about a human clone of not having a soul because, the soul of the parent transcends to offspring which is the clone.

5. We live under different ages all at a given time - atomic age, computer age, age of genetic engineering, and space age – all rolled into what scientists called the age of postmodernism.

6.Man is a recent creature on Earth. If the 5 billion years of the earth’s existence is compared to a calendar (365 days), man came into this world only in the eve of December 30. Man is only one-day old on earth.

7. Toxic metals abound on land, sea and air – from kangkong to tuna to fowls – unless we control the emission and spread of these toxic metals.

8. Even without the human species, Planet Earth will continue to “go round” so to speak in the same way as it did in the last 5 billion years – and perhaps go on for another 5 billion years.

9. Penguins and white bears are drowning in the Arctic region because of the melting of ice.

10. The least sprayed vegetables – that is, vegetables that do not necessarily require the application of pesticides – are those that grow wild.

11. Converting corn into ethanol requires more energy in the process than the net energy output/ produce.

12. Cicada or kuliglig emerges singing on trees at the start of the amihan.

13. The name Rachel Carson rings every time we talk about pollution, a subject in her book, “Silent Spring”.

14. When you introduce a new plant in your garden – a plant that has not been tried before – you are sure it is virtually free of pests, firstly because it did not bring with it the pests from its origin, and second, the local pests would take time to develop the taste for it.

15. Homeostasis means dynamic balance – Nature’s way of renewal, renaissance, seeking stability as continuing goal. The coconut crab is the biggest crab in the world.

17. The whale has a good memory. Beware if you injure a whale; it may have its revenge someday.

18. Chicken soup is best for convalescent.

19. Banana with freckles and discolorations means it is sweet.

20. Pulling out a gray or while hair will cause ten more to grow in its place.

Put a check on the correct answers, and X for the wrong ones. Count the number of correct answers and rate it accordingly.

ANSWERS: False: 1,3,4,12,14,19,20,22; other items are True.

RATING:
19 – 20 Outstanding
16 - 18 Very good
13 – 15 Good
10 – 12 Passing

10 Frankenstein monsters roaming in our midst

Dr Abe V Rotor

Also visit my other Blog:
[naturalism - the eighth sense] 
Living with Nature - School on Blog 
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio, 

738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

 

 

Hiroshima, aftermath of the first atomic bomb

 

 Holocaust, Nazi Concentration Camp in Auschwitz

Scene of Dr Frankenstein and the monster he created (Wikipedia),
based on the celebrated novel by Mary Shelly in the 19th century

Anyone who has read Frankenstein cannot forget the frightful scenario of a monster created in the laboratory that eventually turned against his master and terrorized the world - a reminder of the unpredictable consequences of science-on-the-loose.

We have revived the Frankenstein monster in many forms, such as these.

1. The invention of the atomic bomb and its subsequent progeny - hydrogen bomb, neutron bomb and cobalt bomb - that are far more deadly and destructive, and their stockpiling into a power keg that still exist today even after the Cold War has ended in 1989.

2. Medical breakthroughs in saving lives and extending life span contribute to the population explosion and demographic imbalance where societies are burdened by too many young who are unproductive and highly dependent, and elderly group, with increasing healthcare-dependent members.

3. Organ transplantation and replacement which is leading us farther and farther to a new frontier called bionics; a combination of the rational being and the robot, natural and artificial intelligence.

4. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) whereby it is possible to combine genes  of organisms outside their kind, irrespective of species - or kingdom, for that matter. Bt Corn carries the gene protein of a bacterium - Bacillius thuringiensis - that parasitizes caterpillars that feed on corn crop. New strange life variations are sprouting defying identity and classification.  They are nameless like the monster created by Frankenstein.   

5. Mega-industrialization that has resulted not only to the demise of natural environments (ecosystems) and many species of organisms, but the destruction of the ozone layer and the gradual and steady buildup of atmospheric gases and temperature known as global warming. Global warming has alarming effects in changing climate patterns worldwide, spawning more frequent and more destructive force majeure from drought to flood to  typhoons and tornadoes.  

6. Urbanization leading to the growth of megacities which continue to destroy the homeostasis of rural-urban relationship, spawning poverty and leading to the degradation of human life at the source of migration on one hand, and at the burgeoning centers on the other.

7. Population explosion setting a record of 7.7 billion people today and doubling in less than fifty years if left unchecked - indeed a grim reminder of the ghost of Malthus two hundred years ago (Malthusian Theory), and a proof that the natural laws that govern survival has been radically changed.

8. Consumerism on which capitalism flourishes in the guise of progress and the good life, but in effect creates imbalance of the economy of nations, dividing them into power-wealth categories, and have and have-not, loss of values, and abusive exploitation of resources at the expense of Planet Earth.

9. Gold rush syndrome resulting in the Tragedy of the Commons, a principle that is based on Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale, a story that illustrates that greediness and wanton destruction has always a tragic end, as evidenced today by the declining fish catch in the ocean, dwindling freshwater supply, logged over forests, spent farms and pastures, near exhaustion of fossil fuels, and the like.

10. While ecumenism bridges religions, cultism is divisive and segregative. There is a rise of the so-called hybrid religions which have lost their dogmatic identities, and are gaining popularity as a kind of religious liberation. On the other hand, more and more people around the world are drawn into the world of nones (people who have lost faith in organized religions) - if not the atheism, particularly those overwhelmed by the influence of postmodern living.~

These ten attributes of a modern Frankenstein haunt modern man and his society today exacerbated by his aim at globalization. The shrinking of the planet into a global village so to speak, through scientific breakthroughs, expansion of commerce and industry, opening of new frontiers of human settlement and habitation which sooner or later include the building of cities under th sea and in space, and the proliferation of multimedia making information accessible anywhere in any place of the globe - all these make the avenging monster closer to his creator, and therefore making him vulnerable to its evil intent. Such is the story of Mary Shelley's fiction that has a tragic ending - the destruction of both monster which never bore a name, and its creator - the young genius, Frankenstein. ~