Rhonna Marsden of Fremont sent me this NationalGeographic video from YouTube showing us how smart ravens are. I’d say they’re pretty smart! /Gary

I just received this information on pets and the H1N1 flu virus from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). This information is frequently updated, so you can keep an eye on things by using the links I provided below. /Gary

American Veterinary Medical Association Updates H1N1 Flu Resources for Pet Owners, Veterinarians

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Nov. 5 – Since the news broke of a house cat in Iowa testing positive for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, pet owners and veterinarians alike have been scrambling to learn more:

Can my pet get sick? What would the symptoms of H1N1 in cats be? How is it identified? How is it treated?
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I wondered if this would pass.That’s good news, especially for cats that don’t want their “fingers” cut off!

I thought the information below might interest you. Just received this press release from the Paw Project, one of the leading sponsors of anti-declawing measures in the state. /Gary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 on Tuesday to make non-therapeutic declawing of cats illegal within the County of San Francisco.  Based on recommendations made by the city’s Animal Control and Welfare Commission and City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee, today’s measure, passed on its first reading, makes San Francisco the third city in California to ban the procedure.

“We are doing the right thing,” stated Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who introduced the proposed measure and has publicly called the practice of declawing “animal cruelty.”
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National Response Corp. workers wipe gooey bunker fuel oil off shoreline rocks at Ballena Bay in Alameda, Calif. on Monday Nov. 2. (Laura A. Oda/Staff)

In response to a bunker fuel spill in San Francisco Bay last Friday that resulted in a mile-long slick, Friends of the Earth renewed its call for a ban on the use of this highly polluting fuel in ships and for other protective measures.

“As Bay Area residents learned in the aftermath of the Cosco Busan spill in 2007, bunker fuel is a filthy sludge that literally comes from the bottom of the barrel when oil is refined,” said Marcie Keever, director of Friends of the Earth’s Clean Vessels program. “We should have learned our lesson in 2007 and moved away from bunker fuel to cleaner fuel. Any further delay is unconscionable.”
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Rubber Dodo

I found the information below in the latest issue, Oct. 29, of the weekly e-newsletter of the Center for Biological Diversity, /Gary

The Center for Biological Diversity today announced the long-awaited winner of their 2009 Rubber Dodo Award:

** Real-estate bigwig Michael Winer.

As portfolio manager for the giant real-estate firm TAREX, Winer is a main man behind the largest developments in California and Florida, which would destroy tens of thousands of acres of endangered species habitat.

In California, TAREX is leading the Tejon Ranch in building two entire new cities, destroying thousands of acres of federally designated “critical habitat” for the endangered California condor.
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