OANOKE COUNTYWhen the trees started coming down, Theresa "Red" Terry went up.Now, the 61-year-old mother of three is perched on a platform 32 feet in the air between two oak trees, trying to stop a natural gas pipeline from coming through land granted to her husband's family by the king of England in colonial times.For three weeks, she has endured rain, snow, hail, nighttime temperatures in the 20s and high winds. Her body is stiff and sore. When she huddles under a tarp to stay warm, it's usually too dark to read. She's bored.Ten days ago, police said family and friends could no longer bring her food and water.Officers are waiting at the base of the trees, around the clock, to arrest her when she finally comes down. Her 30-year-old daughter is in another tree, too far through the family's woods to see, also defying police.They're trespassing on their own property.As the stalemate drags on, "I stand with Red" has become a rallying cry for opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a … [Read more...] about Perched on a platform high in a tree, a 61-year-old woman fights a gas pipeline
Trees matter
Tree-sit protests of the Mountain Valley Pipeline pose a new challenge for police
Since tree-cutting began for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, local police have been faced with a new question: What to do when a protester climbs up a tree destined for a chainsaw and refuses to come down?There seems to be no established protocol for such a situation in Southwest Virginia, where the closest thing has been the occasional call for a cat up a tree.But according to law enforcement officials involved in similar standoffs elsewhere, the best response is the one being used here: avoid the use of force and wait the tree-sitters out.In the Kalmath National Forest of Northern California in the late 1990s, several people opposed to logging and timber sales on public land camped out in tree stands for weeks in an effort to block tree-cutting.Jay Power, a now-retired Forest Service law enforcement officer who was involved in the standoff, said authorities cut off the supply of food and water the tree-sitters were receiving from supporters on the ground. Then they shone bright lights … [Read more...] about Tree-sit protests of the Mountain Valley Pipeline pose a new challenge for police
2,000 new trees for San Francisco — and less carbon in the air, too
By Dominic Fracassa Updated 6:00 am, Thursday, April 19, 2018 Photo: Photos By Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle Image 1of/1 CaptionClose Image 1 of 1 Buy photo A lone tree is seen on the 1600 block of Hudson Avenue in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood, an area for planting trees. A lone tree is seen on the 1600 block of Hudson Avenue in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood, an area for planting trees. Photo: Photos By Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle Buy this photo 2,000 new trees for San Francisco — and less carbon in the air, too 1 / 1 Back to Gallery San Francisco officials are beginning to chart an ambitious course to sharply curtail the city’s carbon emissions over the next three decades. The first step: planting more trees — a lot of them. On Thursday, Mayor Mark Farrell will announce … [Read more...] about 2,000 new trees for San Francisco — and less carbon in the air, too
Dr. Zorba Paster: Get outside no matter the weather
Most of us like to be outdoors. That’s why inclement weather, winter winds and cabin fever often take a toll on us.My wife and I were recently in Hawaii at a medical conference. It was a Mayo Clinic conference that always happens at the end of January. We had a choice for the location – Rochester, Minnesota, in winter, or Maui. Not much of a choice, was it?We loved being outside, listening to the birds, looking at the trees, hearing the sound of the ocean, feeling the fine breezes. When we told people we were flying home to Wisconsin, they told us how sorry they were for us. They were sorry that we were going home to such a bleak place.Now, I don’t find it bleak at all because I love winter sports. When we have snow, I love to cross-country ski, snowshoe and downhill ski. I fill my lungs with the crisp air.Do you see a pattern here? It’s all about bonding with Mother Nature. E.O. Wilson, a biologist, naturalist and author, came up with something called the … [Read more...] about Dr. Zorba Paster: Get outside no matter the weather
Lab Report: Gene Researchers Map Out Dog Family Tree
Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. SUBSCRIBE First came working dogs — breeds that could guard or herd livestock. Later came the hunting dogs. And all those cute little fluffballs like Pomeranians and Papillons? Thank a single import of a pug from China for donating its genes for small size. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health spent more than 20 years sampling the genes of 161 breeds of dog, sequencing them and comparing them, and have come up with the most complete and definitive canine family tree. It shows how breeds were mixed and matched to make new breeds, and gives a rough timeline and geographic map of what came from where. Even though the species Canis familiaris includes bassets and Samoyeds, poodles and Weimaraners, they’re all extremely similar genetically, says Elaine Ostrander of the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the NIH. “All these breeds are … [Read more...] about Lab Report: Gene Researchers Map Out Dog Family Tree