Day of the Tortoise

Must have been meant to be: I  had two tortoise issues yesterday. I have a nephew with a pet tortoise that developed a respiratory infection, and the issue of desert tortoises and solar energy fields in California came back up.

A few years ago, I was dating a woman that is the lead logistician for one of the solar fields, and got involved in the issue of desert tortoise habitat vs. solar energy.

I was reminded of this because a friend "liked" a Facebook page on the Desert Tortoise, and saving it. After I read the page I concluded they are more interested in saving the habitat and keeping it pristine.

When I looked at this several years ago, I drew my own conclusions and what I found and decided upon may cloud certain people's view of me when it comes to my environment stance (you know who you are).

After looking at all the information that was available at the time, I came to the personal conclusion that the solar fields are a great way of protecting the desert tortoise, with just a few precautions.... Those seem to have been put in place according to recent readings. The habitat for the tortoise is destined to be developed. It is the nature of man--change and adapt the environment to suit his needs regardless of the current inhabitants or eco-system. If caution is taken in the construction and development of these solar fields, the tortoise will go almost completely unmolested for many years. The cost of the equipment used in the solar fields is so great and it is so vunerable to vandals, that high fences are put up and guards are constantly on duty. Other than a few semi-annual inspections and necassary repairs, there is almost no contact with humans in the perimeter of the field. In other words, this is the perfect place for a desert tortoise to repopulate and a great chance to use a renewable energy resource.

The staunch environmentalists cannot have it both ways. We have to develop alternative energy to escape the hold of fossil fuels...we will have to make compromise in that development. Solar fields being developed under the watchful eye of tortoise biologists, and staffed with further research biologists once operational, appears to me to be a very good example of compromise.

Birds: I have put the first six pair of birds together this weekend. They are primarily my white birds that will be used for wedding and funeral releases. I am starting with breeding into some of my solid racing families with the hope of developing a race-winning family of whites...this may take a few years to accomplish, but allows me to keep a few extra pair to work with in this genetic experiment.

Honey: My wife has developed the label for my Backyard Blonde. Any input??