70 new species were discovered in 2021, both flora and fauna. Scientists say it reveals how much of the world is still unexplored. That’s true of course, but perhaps it means something even more relevant. it also shows a planet teeming with life. It reminds us how varied and beautiful and complex life is. The California Academy of Sciences announced these 70 newly discovered species. They include, 14 beetles, 12 sea slugs, nine ants, seven fish, six scorpions, five sea stars, five flowering plants, four sharks, three spiders, two sea pens, one moss, one pygmy pipe horse and one caecilian. I had to look that one up, it’s a kind of amphibian. A large number of people were involved in these discoveries which took place on five continents and three oceans. They included more than a dozen scientists from the Academy along with several dozens international collaborators who searched ocean floors, forests and deserts. The article I read was all the more striking for the pictures of some of these animals. One new beetle from the mountain top of the Philippines is decorated like an Easter egg. One feature that made it stand out is its bright colors, since most weevils are a single color. The pygmy pipe horse, a cousin of sea horses, was discovered in New Zealand, and the scientist use its discovery to remind us how little we know about the reefs of New Zealand. The Blue Guitar fish comes from Madagascar. It is called guitar because it is in the shape of one, sort of, and is a beautiful bright blue. Because they’re so easily fished and because of their proximity to sharks, these fishes could be endangered. Then there is the bright orange fire sea star from the Indo pacific sea area. It is called Uokeaster ahi, ahi meaning fire in the Rapa Nui language. Sea stars resides in the reefs and scientists explain that they contribute to healthy coral reefs. If they were removed they say, the ecosystem would be out of balance.
March 2022
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Activism and Immigrants
Because I’m an immigrant I know how hard it is to build a new life in another country. And because I was a legal immigrant, I’ve become sensitive to what it means to be undocumented, because from what I’ve learned over the years, their hardships dwarf what mine were. When I read in the Guardian Newspaper a story about illegal immigrants who turned to activism to help others who were undocumented, I had to pay attention. Their names are not famous, but their work speaks to the resilience and courage of the human spirit. There are people like Viri Hernandez and her mother Rita, Reyna Montoya and German Cadenas. Cadenas, for example, came to Maricopa County in Arizona at 15 to visit his father at Christmas and escape the destabilization of Venezuela. When his visa ran out he opted to stay with his father and earn money to send back to his family. He was undocumented for 9 years. Now a citizen he is also a professor of psychology at Lehigh University and has published quite a lot of research on what it means to be an undocumented immigrant. Actually several psychologists have documented the mental health issues of people who are undocumented, the anxiety, depression, PTSD and feeling of low-self-worth they experience. These issues stem from being discriminated against, hunted, detained and marginalized by the view people have of these immigrants. What Cadenas research found, was that something he called critical consciousness, helps people cope with the traumas they have to live with. In plain English he means that when they turn to social activism, their pursuit of social justice and their work to help others is what helps them cope with the hardships, and deal with the traumas.
Millions are living with these mental health issues and because of climate change and political upheavals the numbers are estimated to grow. I hope that the work of people like Cadenas will help increase understanding of the issues migrants face, and that that understanding will make us all a bit more better humans.