Behold The Earth » Scientists

Behold Earl

davidconover — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:43:18 +0000

Another blog entry from Eleanor…

“As the sun rose red this morning on the eve of an approaching hurricane that is making its way up the edges of the Eastern seaboard, I am reminded of the feeling of the familiar “calm before the storm,” and the anticipation of the violent weather that might follow.

While today I look to the concrete weather models and primarily recognize storm systems as scientific acts of nature, in 1620 William Bradford looked elsewhere for understanding. He recorded how after one particular storm subsided, “the lord filled their afflicted minds with such comforts as every one cannot understand, and in the end brought them to their desired Heaven, where the people came flocking admiring their deliverance.” Bradford’s Mayflower crew saw the weather on their Atlantic crossing as an act of God.

Perhaps it is in the eye of the storm that I have the potential to be humbled by the experiences of my forbearers, experiences that were carried out not on the faith of forecasts but on faith alone.”

Sungolds

davidconover — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:00:38 +0000

Considering the workings of dialogue among those people who work with the new biology and those of faith, while preparing the soil for this season’s family vegetable garden. Last year, a blight took out the tomato crop. This year I imagine the sungolds from years past.

Sunday Screening at Smithsonian

davidconover — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:09:20 +0000

I will be screening clips and speaking about this work-in-progress BEHOLD THE EARTH on Sunday at 2:45pm, at the Baird Auditorium of the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History. Please come if you are in the Washington area this weekend and curious to learn what the production is all about.

The talk and screening is part of the US Environmental Film Festival, in its 18th year. For those of you who are enthusiasts for films about the people/nature connection, there are 155 diverse films screening between March 16th and 28th. Special programs exist for children and are marked by a family-friendly symbol in the festival program.

Chill of November

davidconover — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:11:46 +0000

Beholding the earth in November and early December has become a chilly task here on the Maine coast.

Especially for my son Will. He stuck his fingers deep into the soil of the garden and successfully dug out this spectacular parsnip for the Thanksgiving table.

Passed my local dragonfly consultant Bob Grobe on November 23rd in the market parking lot. He reported a sighting -on the previous day- of a male Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) dragonfly basking in the sun along the Megunticook River, despite the 48 degrees Fahrenheit temperature. It may be a record for the last living dragon in these parts!

November is a restless month. I often recall that this is the month that inspired Melville’s Ishmael to leave the farm in the late 1800’s and head to sea.

Leaf by Leaf, Page by Page

davidconover — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:49:17 +0000

Lately, I’ve found myself noticing the “layers” of the outdoors. Like the accumulated rippling form of a tree fungus in my photograph below. Or a sea shell’s calcifications. Or the rings of a recently cut white pine tree trunk. Ring around ring. Leaf by leaf. Layered like pages of a book. I never really thought about reading the natural world -literally and figuratively- like a book, until I spoke with Cal DeWitt. His two-books theology refers to his two most significant books. One is the Bible. The other is what he calls “the book of Creation.” He spoke to me of the peat that lies at the base of his marsh. Layers upon layers of peat, like pages of a book stretching back in time, recording the stories of history. Each page to be read and studied in much the same way he studies the bible, chapter and verse. Unlike Cal, for me the pages of Creation are not directly connected to the pages of the Bible other than through the people who have discovered, considered, and sustained rich meaning in both. I want to learn more about this meaning, an integral part of American identity with layers all of its own. How is it part of our divorce -and our connection- with the outdoors in the past, present, and future?

Dragonflies at 120 frames/ sec

davidconover — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:11:21 +0000

We achieved decent results with the RED camera, and its maximum frame record rate of 120/ sec. I am looking to bump this frame up to 1,000 or more, when we have access to dragonflies again. At this latitude, we are well past that point. Our next dragonfly shoot will be with a PHANTOM camera and lots of sun. We now know our subject. More from Cal DeWitt on the dragonflies of his marsh in the next post.

Safina on the word Creation

davidconover — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:18:36 +0000

Words matter. Learning to say hello in the native language of a country that you visit matters. A matter of connection, of civility, of grace. Sometimes the word environment suffers from misuse, and may not be the best word of hello among scientists and people of faith. I remember an older Russian fellow and his translator who I once traveled with in Kamchatka. We were part of the first western expedition allowed into this formerly restricted land. After lunch one day, we were sitting on the hot stones of a remote riverbed, amidst resting monarch butterflies. We got into one of those conversations about language that happens when alert translators are around. Together, the Russian and his translator remarked that the word environment is very different from the world wilderness, because environment refers exclusively to what surrounds humanity (environs). Wilderness is more boundless, untied to us. This difference in meaning exposes how environment measures the world on the basis of people. As Carl eloquently expands upon in the video clip below, creation has bigness and mystery. Perhaps creation captures more of the world beyond man’s measure? Perhaps it is a graceful way of saying hello amidst fellow travelers?

This word, the Creation

davidconover — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:26:19 +0000

Ever consider the meaning of the word creation? What does it mean to you? I asked this question of Cal DeWitt, who considers its meaning in the context of his faith. His reply in the video clip below. I’ve also asked the question of E.O. Wilson, and most recently of Carl Safina, who each replied in the context of their secular world-view. Safina’s reply will be featured in my next blog entry.

In Flight, Who eats Who

davidconover — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:53:29 +0000

Working out how to capture the wonder of dragonflies. This still was pulled from yesterday’s work at the pond outside our barn studio.

It is amusing that so many natural history sequences in series like PLANET EARTH or even our own SUNRISE EARTH focus on “who eats who,” but the fact of the matter is that this sensibility is central.

Carl Safina – Matters of Morality

davidconover — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:00:57 +0000

Simply noticing and recording the disturbing trends of a degraded world is a virtue of science and all those practicing it. The process reveals a lot of information about the world around us. But information alone is not enough to mobilize action on the scale required to make that world a healthier and more desirable place for our children. A set of political relationships with this, that, or the other political party is not enough. Nor are relationships in the marketplace. Nor a broad appeal to beauty. In the video clip below, the writer Carl Safina speaks about the kind of relationship he believes is required.