Indie's New Writeupshttp://everything2.com/?node=New%20Writeups%20Atom%20Feed&foruser=Indie2001-07-14T21:26:43Zbiogeography (idea)http://everything2.com/user/Indie/writeups/biogeographyIndiehttp://everything2.com/user/Indie2001-07-14T21:26:43Z2001-07-14T21:26:43ZThe study of the past and current distribution of a given animal or plant species.
<p>Examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>Tigers are not found in Africa at all, they are native to Asia only.
<li>While the <a href="/title/Polar+Bear">Polar Bear</a> could probably survive in Antarctica, it's only found in the Arctic. Penguins are never found in the Arctic region.
<li><a href="/title/Douglas-Fir">Douglas-Fir</a>: "Its growth range includes southwestern Canada and the northwestern United States, but extends down
through the Rocky Mountains as far as Mexico. It grows at altitudes from sea level to well over 10,000 feet."
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<p> The distribution can be at different scales - global, by region, or by landmass. </p>
<p>This would include <a href="/title/evolutionary+pressure">evolutionary pressure</a> on individual <a href="/title/species">species</a> and the <a href="/title/Biological+Species+Concept">Biological Species Concept</a>. These pressures can be as a result of <a href="/title/natural+selection">natural selection</a> or as a result of new competition from <a href="/title/Invasive">Invasive</a> species such as <a href="/title/weeds">weeds</a>. It also includes <a href="/title/population+control">population control</a> and <a href="/title/effective+population+size">effective population size</a>. What is an optimal <a href="/title/population+density">population density</a> for a given area. See: <a href="/title/speciation">speciation</a></p>old growth forest (thing)http://everything2.com/user/Indie/writeups/old+growth+forestIndiehttp://everything2.com/user/Indie2001-06-30T04:41:14Z2001-06-30T04:41:14Z<p>A <a href="/title/forest">forest</a> is a complete <a href="/title/ecosystem">ecosystem</a> consisting of many <a href="/title/species">species</a> of plants and animals. Immature forests usually consist of <a href="/title/pine+trees">pine trees</a> and small shubs since the <a href="/title/soil">soil</a> is shallow. The Pines contribute <a href="/title/organic+matter">organic matter</a> to the soil and making it possible for <a href="/title/hardwood">hardwood</a> trees to finally take root. The ecosystem gets more complex over time as more and more species find a <a href="/title/niche">niche</a> in the complex system. Ultimately it reaches a level referred to as a <a href="/title/climax+community">climax community</a>.</p>
<p><a href="/title/Logging+companies">Logging companies</a> love to harvest old-growth forests because the girth of the trees is much greater and the financial rewards much higher than when harvesting more immature stands. However the highly evolved ecosystem that is the old-growth forest is completely dismantled by the <a href="/title/clearcutting">clearcutting</a> technique favored by the loggers.</p>aquatic plant (thing)http://everything2.com/user/Indie/writeups/aquatic+plantIndiehttp://everything2.com/user/Indie2001-06-23T10:53:48Z2001-06-23T10:53:48Z<p>Any plant growing in or closely associated with water such as <a href="/title/Riparian">Riparian</a> or <a href="/title/Wetlands">Wetlands</a> areas. Also known as a <a href="/title/macrophyte">macrophyte</a>.</p>
<p>Examples include:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="/title/Water+Lily">Water Lily</a></li>
<li><a href="/title/Lotus">Lotus</a></li>
<li><a href="/title/Water+Hyacinth">Water Hyacinth</a></li>
<li><a href="/title/Moss">Moss</a></li>
<li><a href="/title/Cattails">Cattails</a></li>
<li><a href="/title/Bulrush">Bulrush</a></li>
<li><a href="/title/sedge">sedge</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Aquatic plants can also be important habitats for fish, waterfowl, amphibians and mammals alike. Otherwise, they can also be introduced into an <a href="/title/ecosystem">ecosystem</a> where they are not a <a href="/title/native+plant">native plant</a> and then upset the balance by becoming an <a href="/title/invader+species">invader species</a>. They tend to grow fast.</p>algal bloom (thing)http://everything2.com/user/Indie/writeups/algal+bloomIndiehttp://everything2.com/user/Indie2001-06-14T12:38:09Z2001-06-14T12:38:09Z<p>A dense concentration of <a href="/title/algae">algae</a>, also known as <a href="/title/eutrophication">eutrophication</a>, that usually occurring under high nutrient concentrations such as <a href="/title/phosphorous">phosphorous</a> from <a href="/title/fertilizer">fertilizer</a> or from <a href="/title/cleaning+supplies">cleaning supplies</a>, especially <a href="/title/laundry+detergent">laundry detergent</a> as one species becomes so abundant that it obliterates all other species, making the water appear cloudy (often brown, yellow, or pea-soup green). Sometimes causing scum and odor, an algae bloom is often blown into shallow areas; during a bloom each ounce of water contains millions of microscopic algae cells. Although a bloom may indirectly provide food for fish, it is an indication that a problem exists in the body of water, and to solve it the source of <a href="/title/nutrients">nutrients</a> must be reduced.</p>
<p> Such blooms occur in both <a href="/title/fresh+water">fresh water</a> and salt water environments. There are more than one type of algae that can bloom in this manner. They can be minor in scope wherein they are merely a nuisance all the way to highly toxic. In the ocean, the famous <a href="/title/red+tide">red tide</a> is an example of an algae bloom.</p>Long Now Foundation (thing)http://everything2.com/user/Indie/writeups/Long+Now+FoundationIndiehttp://everything2.com/user/Indie2001-06-10T03:12:31Z2001-06-10T03:12:31Z<p>Created in 1996 as a <a href="/title/non-profit">non-profit</a> organization to encourage long-term responsibility. The original co-founders were <a href="/title/Danny+Hillis">Danny Hillis</a> and <a href="/title/Stewart+Brand">Stewart Brand</a>. The original project was the construction of a 10,000 year clock called <a href="/title/The+Clock+of+the+Long+Now">The Clock of the Long Now</a> which was designed by Hillis.</p>
<p>It is the concern of the organization that contemporary civilization is using a very short term view in making decisions. It was their idea to get people to think in longer time frames. Mainly in the interest of the environment. Corporations and even governments tend to think in very short scopes, failing to consider the long term effects of their actions or lack of actions.</p>
<p> On the board of directors are <a href="/title/Peter+Schwartz">Peter Schwartz</a>, <a href="/title/Brian+Eno">Brian Eno</a>, Douglas Carlston, <a href="/title/Esther+Dyson">Esther Dyson</a>, Paul Saffo, Michael Keller, Roger Kennedy, <a href="/title/Mitch+Kapor">Mitch Kapor</a> and Kevin Kelly.</p>Stewart Brand (person)http://everything2.com/user/Indie/writeups/Stewart+BrandIndiehttp://everything2.com/user/Indie2001-06-09T22:56:48Z2001-06-09T22:56:48Z<p>1938- American author and counter cultural gadfly. Graduated from Stanford in 1960 with a degree in <a href="/title/Biology">Biology</a>. He was one of the menbers of <a href="/title/Ken+Kesey">Ken Kesey</a>'s <a href="/title/Merry+Pranksters">Merry Pranksters</a>. Probably most famous for founding, editing and publishing the <a href="/title/Whole+Earth+Catalog">Whole Earth Catalog</a> from 1968 to 1985 and it's offshoot the <a href="/title/Co-Evolution+Quarterly">Co-Evolution Quarterly</a> which later became the <a href="/title/Whole+Earth+Review">Whole Earth Review</a>. He was one of the very early Journalists to see the emergence of the computer culture. He wrote an article in the <a href="/title/Rolling+Stone">Rolling Stone</a> in 1972 titled, "<a href="/title/Fanatic+Life+and+Symbolic+Death+Among+the+Computer+Bums">Fanatic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums</a>". In that article he described students in universities around the US who played a computer game that spanned all the mainframes together. They were thus able to play in the same virtual space. </p>
<p>He attempted to publish the ill fated "Whole Earth Software Catalog" but it seemed the industry was moving way too fast to really take a meaningful snapshot of it. During that time, he organized the first "<a href="/title/Hacker%2527s+Conference">Hacker's Conference</a>". Which is an<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…