Fitchia mangarevensis was endemic to Tarvai in the Gambier islands of French Polynesia. It was described by science in the 20s and studied through the 50s, but hasn’t been seen since. The Gambier islands have a long history of human environmental destruction. While the Gambier islands once had a population of thousands, they can now only support a few hundred. Many Tarvai villages are abandoned or very small – the wikipedia article is a bit unclear, but there may only be 3 residents of the entire island.
Taravai
There isn’t a lot of information about Fitchia, though research articles in the 50s suggested it could be useful for learning about vascular and floral evolution. Considering that F. mangarevensis was key to that research and at least 3 of 8 known Fitchia species are threatened, we’ll probably never be able to answer all of our questions about the evolution of this genus.
Not just hunter-gatherer bands but also groups and nations at the level of high civilization are prone to adopt animal species as totems to reflect the qualities they most value in themselves. American football fans, having at last found a way to form their own Paleolithic tribes, cheer for the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, and Chicago Bears.
Compared with the employer-coverage group, peoplein the Medicare group report fewer problems obtaining medicalcare, less financial hardship due to medical bills, and higheroverall satisfaction with their coverage.
Conservatives freaked out about Obama’s speech encouraging kids to work hard in school, calling the action “unprecedented.” I guess they weren’t paying attention during similar speeches given by Reagan and George H. Bush. (Though perhaps if they’d paid better attention in school they would have developed some critical thinking skills and we wouldn’t have to deal with their craziness.) I think the response of the right in this situation is very telling – they disagree with Obama, so they won’t listen to anything he says. This is why Republicans have blocked health care reform at every turn, why Republicans have become the party of “no.” I’m reminded of a child being told something she doesn’t want to hear who covers her ears and yells.
Whether families are spending more than they should according to some moral notion—consuming too much of the world’s resources or buying things they could easily live without—is not the issue at hand. These data give us no clue about the right amount of spending. But they give us powerful evidence that excessive consumption is not why families are going broke. There is no evidence of any “epidemic” of overspending—certainly nothing that could explain a 255 percent increase in the foreclosure rate, a 430 percent increase in the bankruptcy rolls, and a 570 percent increase in credit-card debt. A growing number of families are in terrible financial trouble, but despite the accusations, their frivolity is not to blame.
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted about shoes, and now two shoe posts in just one week? I guess cool-weather shoes are more to my taste than summery sandals.
I really like these boots. Unfortunately, they’re over $200 and I really can’t justify buying them.
Lost in the swamp and welter of the pit,
He flounders off the duck-boards; only he knows
Each flash and spouting crash,–each instant lit
When gloom reveals the streaming rain. He goes
Heavily, blindly on. And, while he blunders,
‘Could anything be worse than this?’–he wonders,
Remembering how he saw those Germans run,
Screaming for mercy among the stumps of trees:
Green-faced, they dodged and darted: there was one
Livid with terror, clutching at his knees…
Our chaps were sticking ’em like pigs … ‘O hell!’
He thought–’there’s things in war one dare not tell
Poor father sitting safe at home, who reads
Of dying heroes and their deathless deeds.’
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