Penguins, People: "You're not alone."

King penguins walking; available on a refrigerator magnet from SGHT! Holiday cards, too, are in the giftshop online.

I've changed my morning and evening reflections lately, to try to include the welfare of people in the war zones of Iraq and to appreciate warmth and safety. Although I treasure solitude, especially here in the hills of Vermont, in the most important ways I know that I am not alone. I ride "Spaceship Earth" with so many other humans and species that the "I" begins to seem very small after all!

Looking at the newest newsletter from the South Georgia Heritage Trust (pick it up at http://www.sght.org/sites/default/files/SGHT%20NewsletterOct%202011_0.pdf, as a PDF) reminds me that penguins are not the only species here that are fascinating, inspiring, and that can benefit from our care and attention. Discovering the article on the beaked whale lit up my afternoon.

But I have to say that what made me grin (and shiver!) was the photo of the swimming penguins in here -- why is it we so often see pictures of penguins walking on land (where their movements can seem awkward and "cute") and rarely the ones of penguins deftly at home in an ocean? Thanks, SGHT!

Interested in assisting human survival, as well as penguins? "Tis the season." Here's a letter from Partners In Health that reminded me of the "long tail" of disasters that strike the poorest regions. I've left a pair of live links embedded in it, in case you're in the mood to jump over to the PIH donation site.

It's been a year since cholera arrived on Haiti's soil. Today it is the largest cholera epidemic in the world.

In one year, it has infected 455,000 people -- a staggering 5% of Haiti's population. More than 6,500 people have died.

Today a heavy rainfall has more control over cholera in Haiti than those of us desperately seeking to stem its tide. But the truth is we know precisely how to control the cholera epidemic in Haiti.

We need your help to save lives in Haiti -- make a donation now.

Here's what needs to happen to bring cholera under control.

Short-term -- Help people NOW who are sick or threatened by:

1. Finding cholera victims where they live and treating them at well-equipped, well-staffed facilities;
2. Giving people the information they need to protect themselves, to know when they've been infected, and when, where, and how to get treatment;
3. Providing emergency access to clean water and sanitation (latrines) to communities in most dire need;
4. Launching a vaccination program that will save lives immediately and complement essential but longer-term efforts. (One estimate shows that 30% vaccination coverage in Haiti would decrease cholera cases by 55%.)

Long-term -- Demand that the international community and the Government of Haiti create lasting change by:

• Guaranteeing clean water by digging wells, capping springs, and building safe water systems on a national scale;
• Treating waste through widespread access to latrines and waste treatment facilities.

So what's stopping us? For one thing, there are fewer of us helping the sick.

In January 2010, the United Nations counted 128 national and international organizations responding to cholera in Haiti. In July 2011 that number dwindled to just 48. Worse, this reduction coincided with a quadrupling of cholera cases. In July, Zanmi Lasante treated 12,629 cholera patients. That's in addition to 1.8 million annual patient visits for births, malnutrition, pneumonia, cancer care, mental health, and other services that ZL provided even before cholera arrived on Haitian soil.

This is why I'm asking for your help.

The cholera epidemic demands response. So too does the misery of Haitians living in poverty and dying of preventable causes. Conscience demands that we respond to both. And we CAN.

If each of us steps forward to help, we can treat cholera, AND launch a vaccine program, AND continue providing the comprehensive health services on which millions of Haitians rely. We CAN do all these things and give Haiti the time it needs to make lasting change, but to do them we need your help.

Most Numerous of the 17: Magellanic Penguins. And a bit of Albert Einstein.

Magellanic Penguins. Photo by, and courtesy of, gatomato

I particularly like this photo of three magellanic penguins because it shows the texture of skin, feet, face -- not fluffy or feathery, but adapted to life along the coast of Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. In the Falklands, the population of this 4-kg penguin is at about 20% of its 1990 population, due to commercial fishing. But for the magellanic penguins in Argentina and Chile, life hasn't been so terrible. Except when there are oil spills, which are deadly to this bird. (For the range of threats, click here.)

Another detail about the magellanic penguins: They are the ONLY penguins that live in burrows. That's a point that the International Penguin Conservation Work Group (the IPCWG) wants us all to notice -- because this group has a penguin adoption program. And it's illegal to mark the bird you're adopting (of course!) so the IPCWG puts a sign with your name on it at the bird's burrow. A little corny maybe, especially since you get to specify the name you're going to "call" your adopted penguin! But very sweet. And, more to the point, helpful, since the US$55 adoption fee goes almost entirely to penguin conservation. (Ready to consider adoption? Or to give this as a birthday, holiday, or sympathy gift to someone? http://www.seabirds.org/adopt.htm.)

The IPSWG is legitimate, with a 2009 appearance on BBC. And what I like best about its adoption program -- besides the clever twist that mean almost all of the money you send really goes to helping the group help the birds -- is that with your payment, you get an electronic version of Dr. Mike Bingham's book Penguins of the Falkland Islands. Here's the detailed scoop on the 17 penguin species: the real thing.

No, the "real" penguins probably don't seem as cute or cuddly as the plush ones at the toy store. (Same applies to most people, doesn't it?) But reality rocks. And that's my mantra for the day. Make it real.

A little side note about checking sources and information: A few weeks ago, I ran across an "Albert Einstein" quote that I thought of using here -- one phrased in several versions like, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that was used when we created them." I couldn't verify that Einstein said or wrote this, so I bought a copy of a 2011 book, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, collected and edited by Alice Calaprice with a forward by Freeman Dyson and published by the Princeton University Press. The quote I'd sought turns up in a final chapter of the book, one that deals with words circulating on the Internet and in other public places and being called Einstein's. Calaprice doesn't find any evidence that Einstein actually said this one! But she suggests two other morsels that he really did say: "A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels" (1946), and "Past thinking and methods did not prevent world wars. Future thinking must."

Reality rocks.

Just One Little Degree -- Actually, One-Fourth of a Degree -- Means Danger

King penguins

Global climate change is complex, and global "warming" doesn't happen everywhere. But when it happens in penguin territory, it's big trouble. Science Daily reported that just a quarter of a degree of ocean surface warming affects the reproduction of king penguins. These live on the islands off the coast of South America -- like the Falklands and South Georgia Island -- and are the second-largest penguin type. But look at this info from the Science Daily article:

The first observation is that warming of the sea surface near Crozet in the summer leads to an immediate drop in the breeding success of the king penguins. This worrying phenomenon can be explained by the fact that a higher temperature hinders the development of marine organisms, which can only prosper at a narrow range of temperatures. When king penguins bring less food back to their chicks, they have reduced chances of survival.

The second observation, this time during winter, is that an increase of only 0.26°C in the ocean surface temperature, at the edge of the ice sea, leads two years later to a 9% drop in the probability of penguins’ survival. This too is a result of a decrease in marine resources, most probably of krill, which is at the bottom of Antarctic food chains, and which the king penguins need for survival.

In other words, if we want this species to survive with us, we need to pay attention.

This sign is one of my faves for sorting out "important" from "urgent" -- better to do the important stuff, even if it's less urgent. (Let the phone message take care of itself, while I create a new recycling structure here at the house.)

The problem is, of course, that -- as far as we know -- the penguins don't plan. That part is (gulp) up to us.

***

Here are Episodes 2 and 3 of Sanam Erfani's penguin epic. I'm excited to show these here; it's their first publication. Thanks, Sanam!

Episode 2 – TownLeader’s Tale

Everyday, TownLeader sat by the White Peak over-looking the dark nightsky, searching for Southern Lights. His light obsession began as a toddguin. He remembered the clank of Mother’s fishfood meal preparations, and how excitedly he awaited Father’s return. “Father’d slip through the door,” TownLeader recalled, “bounding in, robust and tall, sweep me off my feet, and shoo me to the white window where, together with Mother in tow, we’d watch the Southern Lights spiral through horizons line. A kaleidoscope of rainbow shades would speckle the white snow, giving the human’s solar panels hidden beneath the snow a perfect pure haze of LightGlow.”

“Humans use the solar panels to gather LightGlow energy,” Father instructed young TownLeader. “Humans use the light, we live by it. I think our role is to teach the humans about LightSource and all that light creates. Always remember, son, Naturalight is best.”

*~*

“The light can just vanish,” thought TownLeader. “It was written long ago that the SkyLord grew displeased with earthly water waste, and so he hid the light from sight. We must teach man how to make better use of ice and light, not just harness it.”

~TownLeader then heard an echoing bang echo over White Peak~

“Man -- you make loud banging and booming sounds when you feel farther from the light.” TownLeader could feel the dark feed the humans’ growing need for ice and light. As a trained LightGuardian, TownLeader calmly guarded the humans’ secret solar panels with full featheregalia. The solar panels still sat safely behind his Father’s roundice shed. And TownLeader’s big brother, MotorMic, still patiently cleared the device of impediments using old fluffeathers to remove snow, icecakes, brownstones, and other ice debris. The blue sourcepiece on the green solar panels was in tact as a result of TownLeader and MotorMic’s dedication to their LightGuarding duties. TownLeader and MotorMic knew, so long as the piece remained in tact, the Peace remained in tact.

~*~

“Come light. Come from the light. Come light upon light. From Yonder vastness bring on the light. From source to night bring forth the light.”

The chirpchant suddenly came to TownLeader in the exact rhythm his GreatFather had instructed him. As a toddguin, TownLeader received instruction regarding ancient icerites and lightglow. In those babyfeathered times, TownLeader dove into a pool of iceoblivion to discover the truth behind the instructions he received from Father and GreatFather. Everything his Father and GreatFather had taught him rang true at this moment.

“The greatest truth of all,” TownLeader remembered his GreatFather’s instruction, “is that man, when bereft of LightSource, feels too much in the dark. Without the color and play of light, man forgets to move his body (dance or sway), shows his laugh less, and begins to forget Earthness.”

“Bang the drums.” TownLeader’s Father had come to his nightdream the previous eve and calmly said, “bang the drums.”

“What does he mean?” The drum signals news. An alert. “But I have none to tell. Bang the drums,” TownLeader skwaked aloud.

~~~

WhitePeak was quiet, but for the hissing of wind on the flaring ice, TownLeader calmly sat on his hindfeathers, shut his beady eyes, began the chirpchant, and beat the ground with perfect featherhythm. Per his GreatFather’s instructions, TownLeader beat to the ancient rhythm of HeartBeat.

“Beat the hearth ‘til the dark drops out,

‘til the wind takes the sound of the featherhythm.”

To all penguins, this rhythm creates an instant-uncontrollable feathering motion. The penguins in their icecaves awakened one by one with the overwhelming desire to fly, fluff, shake, move, dive, swim, soar, play, roll, fall.

“Bang the drums,” TownLeader thought again, and shut his eyes. As he sat on White Peak on his hindfeathers and played, TownLeader’s entire body became the rhythm. Rhythm burst from his heart, rolling through icy WhitePeak onto the flat plains of TerraFirma, over the jagged ice valley homes, into the distant Horizon, and the endless night.

Penguins streamed from their homes in ice valley towards White Peak, moving in perfect Jazz riffeather time to the tune and rhythm of TownLeader’s calling drum.

Boom. BoomBoomBoom. Boom. BoomBoom.

“Rhythm and play,” thought TownLeader. The penguins all closed their eyes as they gave into the dance, marching and swaying, stomping their feet, flinging their featherforms into the icewall surrounding White Peak, until enough had gathered to fill White Peak’s plateau.

The humans could be seen coming from a distance. They gathered at the top of White Peak staring down at the penguins on the plateau. TownLeader’s wings beat on through strain and joy. “Light and love from Penguins to humans is a tradition I will not let fall,” he determined.

Episode 3 - GeneralBob

GeneralBob felt the rhythmic sound echoing through his trailer. It felt like rolling thunder or an avalanche; he had experienced both. Either way, something was moving and shaking the whole trailer, the whole mountain for that matter.

“It’s a two-step process,” Bob thought. “Progress is always a two-step process. Start with what ya got staring ya in the face (even if the only one you got lookin’ you in the eye is you).  And step two: decide if what you see is friendly or hostile – this step comes after you recognize the difference between you and the face in the mirror. Whatever the heck is out there is an unknown friend or (more likely) foe.”

Today, the “out there” had awakened him at four-thirty AM with a most annoying constant beat he had ever heard. He couldn’t help but get up. He went to the window. Black. A usual sight for nights in the Arctic. He tried putting his two pillows on his ears after he had stuffed tissues into them. “No escape,” he thought.

The vibration hit every part of his body. No matter what he did, he couldn’t escape the beat. With a single swift hand motion, he pulled his flashlight from his night gear and threw on his zip coats. Goggles fastened as he strode, GeneralBob burst through his door. MajorThom and CaptainFred signaled from the bungalow down below the slanted curve of the hillside. GeneralBob saw their light signal, and reflected back with his Torch that he was safe and heading towards whatever was making that sound.

Solving Problems: Start with One Pebble

A generation from now, it would be great if we could say we'd "solved" the problem of climate change. Since it's really a problem of human life, it may take a lot longer. So ... we might as well start now. There's an Aesop fable I like, about a crow that couldn't reach into a deep and narrow-mouthed pitcher in order to drink from the liquid in it. The crow added a pebble to the pitcher. Then another. With enough pebbles, the liquid level rose to where the crow could drink.

I'm guessing we'll solve "climate change" the same way. Today I'm going to add another one of those strange coiled lightbulbs to the house. Then I'm going to learn another type of penguin -- I'll post that information tomorrow.

I love this story, written by Sanam Erfani, that gives another example of a small and important step forward. Thank you, Sanam. And thanks also to the craft blog Instructables for use of the image that Sanam chose to accompany the story (directions for making this crocheted baby penguin are at that site).

Guinny the Lil'lest PenGuin

Lil'Guinny stood on the podium shaking with trepidation. 

"Everyone. Everybody!" 

The crowd continued to chatter and seemingly ignore Lil'Guinny. She gathered her courage, fluffed her wings with a burst and tried again. "Everyone!  Everybody!" 

The milling adults were not to be disuaded from their conversations. The elder could be heard exclaiming, "...losing the light...darkness...." His words rang out over murmurs, flashes of fearful eyes, gazes, brisk movements and a growing mass of penguins. Lil'Guinny felt electrified by the growing energy. As the buildup grew into a frenzy, more and more penguins gathered in droves, climbing WhitePeak glacier to anticipate the view of the coming lights. 

Lil'Guinny tried again, "The rumor is not true!" Lil'Guinny shouted, "The rumor is FALSE!" The voices softened for a moment as the crowd turned their anxious eyes on the littlest member of their community. "I have seen the Southern Lights," Lil'Guinny continued, "I saw them with my own eyes!" 

"When? Where??" The crowd threw questions and a new wave of murmurs arose amongst the crowd. 

She had done it! Lil'Guinny had finally drawn their attention. 

"Everyone, Everybody," Lil'Guinny stutteringly continued, "I went to EastShore yesterday, sorry Momma, and I saw Southern lights flickering." Lil'Guinny risked her mother's disapproval. 

"PenguinaAnnRockhopper! How many times have I warned you about the rabid white seals and sharks on the Eastern Shore," her mother hissed. 

"Beyond the bounds? She's gone beyond the bounds!" Voices murmured in the crowd at their disbelief. 

Lil'Guinny stood frozen. All 500 sets of Penguin eyes were now locked on her singular fresh fluffed form. Some stared with fear, others anger, a few with curiosity, her mother with disapproval, and one set of eyes stared back with sheer delight. 

Lady Carroll looked on from her vantage on the WhitePeak, and as her laser sharp look shifted from Lil'Guinny, Lady Carroll proclaimed to TownLeader, "Send a troop to the Eastern Shore." 

"But we don't even know if the story is true. We need time, research—" 

Before TownLeader could finish, Lady Carroll retorted, "The time is Now!" A silence settled in as Lady Carroll's decree rang into the penguins' hearts. "We must excavate beyond our borders to see if the ice is truly receding. The lights are instrumental to our communities and I will not have us lying in the dark as helpless victims. Let us face our future with dignity and integrity. Lil'Guinny has indeed committed a trespass...but the very law she broke may save us all." Lil'Guinny shook her fluffeathers from the mixture of terror and joy. 

And for the first time, her mother's eyes shone with pride. 

-- Sanam Erfani, (c) 2011

Gentoo Penguins: White Strap; Not Always Gentle!

Gentoo Penguin (photo credit in text)

Today I've been looking at Gentoo Penguins. They grow to nearly three feet in height and have a nifty white strap across the head. The photo is from wwarby and was taken in the United Kingdom.

To see an entire colony of Gentoo Penguins in Antarctica -- and witness a pretty fierce display of next protection! -- check out this video, shot by Lucy Steinitz. Be sure your volume is up, so you can hear the voices!

This might be a good day to add a dollar to penguin egg protection, at the South Georgia Heritage Trust; South Georgia Island isn't far from where Lucy shot this footage. I'm awestruck that the heritage site just completed its first rodent eradication effort in just 28 days -- hurrah! Now it's time to expand the effort to the entire island, to stop the introduced rats from eating the penguins' eggs.

Today's reminder: Wait a few minutes, and things will change. That's a good one to keep in mind when exploring the "Wiinterr's Day" blog, where there are half a dozen webcams focused on penguins in captivity. At first, the images look frozen in place. But it turns out the webcams aren't a continuous feed. So you literally have to wait a bit for the next snapshot. Still ... it's real, and it's live.

It's tempting to fall for the assumption that things stay the same. Reality proves over and over again, though, that change keeps happening. The question is, how can I recognize the best possibilities, as the doors around me open?

Hard-Wired Compassion: Seeing the "Vulnerable"

Today's featured photo -- new knowledge! -- is of Fiordland Crested Penguins in New Zealand, with the image captured by WandrerStefan (thank you). And it's a good antidote to my own earlier belief: that penguins "belong" with snow.  These penguins live in "the cold rainforest," grow to about two feet, and weigh about eight pounds as adults. Curious about more details? Check out this page from PenguinWorld. And here's the Wikipedia photo, which lets you see the crest more clearly. Turns out there are multiple "crested" kinds of penguins! Gotta love it.

Now I'm headed back to yesterday's thoughts about compassion being hard-wired in us. It appears we're wired for tenderness toward vulnerable rounded faces. Notice the emotional difference between how it feels to look at a baby penguin picture (scroll down to yesterday's!) and how it feels to look at the adult Fiordlanders with their pointed beaks and "raised eyebrows."

So it takes a different internal effort to see adults as deserving our care and attention, doesn't it? These Fiordland Penguins are doing pretty well, all things considered in the modern world: Although their population is small, they are only considered "vulnerable," the mildest rating on the scope of endangered creatures.

I suppose the same word could be said for the population of Haiti: vulnerable. In a location where storms have stripped away the protections that used to exist, things are still tough. I'm expanding my knowledge base today, considering this letter that arrived recently from Partners In Health:

Dear Elizabeth,

As you may be aware, a second wave of cholera is battering Haiti. What you may not know is just how severe it is. The numbers are dramatic:

In April, the cholera clinics we support treated 3,932 patients.
In June, these same clinics treated 14,425 patients.

The reason for this spike is simple. Flash floods—a side effect of the rainy season, deforestation, and decades of ineffective foreign aid—have spread the disease among water sources. In the absence of water and sanitation systems, or in many cases even basic latrines, cholera runs unchecked.

Faced with a crisis that strains their capacity to the breaking point, the staff of Zanmi Lasante, Partners In Health’s Haitian sister organization, continue to demonstrate astounding stamina and strength. In a recent message posted on the PIH blog Dr. Louise Ivers, who has long helped lead our efforts in Haiti, underscored the urgency:

“The Mirebalais cholera treatment center saw five times as many patients in June as in May. Alerts are the norm again—with emails and text messages reporting areas with minimal access to services suffering from high numbers of cases. Zanmi Lasante’s community teams are on high alert—spending hours on foot to reach difficult, isolated places, providing oral rehydration solution, training community health workers, distributing water purification tablets, disinfecting houses—but it is never enough. The cholera treatment centers were overwhelmed last month and although staff are dedicated, hardworking and committed, it is never enough. Once again, Zanmi Lasante is back in crisis mode, doing whatever we can to address the issues at hand, but it is never enough.

Since last year, we’ve been advocating to use all of the possible tools against cholera in a complementary and comprehensive way to reduce deaths and to minimize the impact of the disease…We are delighted that our proposal, in collaboration with GHESKIO (a Haitian, Port-au-Prince based NGO), to pilot the use of cholera vaccine in Haiti was supported last week by the Pan American Health Organization. Now we have to set about securing doses of the vaccine and implementing the project with the Haitian government.”

Today, I’m writing to ask for your help in raising public awareness of this crisis.

PIH/ZL cannot end the cholera epidemic alone. But with your help we can ensure that Haiti stays in the hearts and minds of the United Nations officials, international donors, and the millions of Americans who donated following the January 12, 2010 earthquake.

Learn more about cholera in Haiti and how it can be stopped:

http://act.pih.org/choleraupdate

Sincerely,

Andrew Marx
Director of Communications
Partners In Health

Penguins, people, vulnerability, compassion. That's a lot to think about for one morning. "Wear the world like a loose garment." Sometimes it's "enough" to simply absorb more information. For me, this is a day for learning more.

Getting to Know the Emperor Penguins

Young Emperor Penguins; photo credit below.

"Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice," wrote Anton Chekhov. So today, I'm adding some extra knowledge to my practice of penguinistics. I want to be able to name the kinds of penguins. The darling photo here, taken by Martha de Jong-Lantink, convinced me that I might as well start with Emperor Penguins; here's a page from Fotopedia that the photo illustrates. Of course, these are youngsters; adult Emperor Penguins have pale yellow chests and bright yellow ear patches, like this (this photo is also by de Jong-Lantink):

Emperor Penguin family (photo credit above).

Emperor Penguins grow to about 4 feet in height, and weigh 50 to 100 pounds.


Now, a very different sort of knowledge of the self. Notice the difference in reaction to the images of penguins when they are small and "cuddly" or tall and "sharp-beaked"? Author David G. Myers in his book Exploring Psychology points out that "We perceive adults with childlike facial features (round face, large forehead, small chin, large eyes) as having childlike warmth, submissiveness, and naiveté" (p. 252). Taking this even further, an article in the online Frieze Magazine, on robot design, notes that "A child-like appearance inspires nurturing." 

In other words, we look at young penguins and we're inspired to ask, "How can we help you?"

I'm intrigued as I notice that caring about these penguins is apparently hard-wired into how we see the world.