Video for a Belgian Bus company on why you should travel in groups.... Carpool. Save the planet and your life!

Here are some fun facts about carpooling taken from Statistic Brain.

Carpool Statistics
Total percent of people who carpool with a family member	51%
Percent of people who carpool with someone that they live with	40%
Percent of Americans who carpool	10%
Percent of people who carpool with just 1 other person	77.3%
Percent of Americans who drive to work solo	78%
Percent of traffic that would die down if everyone carpooled once a week	20%
Total amount of gas saved yearly by carpooling	85 million gallons
Total amount of miles of avoided traffic every year by carpooling	56,000 miles
Total amount of money saved by carpooling every year	$1.1 billion
*Cost estimates are based on AAA "Your Driving Costs 2008" with fuel @ $4.00 per gallon for average vehicle.  Variable costs include gas, tires and maintenance for the actual commute miles driven, but do not include ownership costs such as finance charges, insurance, license, registration, taxes or depreciation.   Ownership costs would typically add about $450 per month to these costs.

Round-trip miles	Cost to drive alone	Cost if 2 people carpool	Cost if 3 people carpool
10	$51	$26	$17
20	$102	$51	$34
30	$152	$76	$51
40	$203	$102	$68
50	$254	$127	$85
100	$508	$254	$169

Human Animal Conflict

Trouble for the Florida Black Bear (Ursus americanus floridanus)

     

      Black bears are resilient food generalists and have adapted to an environment that is increasingly altered and dominated by human use. Black bears in the state of Florida now are forced to live in very close proximity to residential areas. Human—bear conflict is on the rise. According to Siemer, et. al, black bear attacks on humans are rare; however on the rise. These negative interactions have changed bear management actions, which are not always good for the bears.

       According to Defenders of Wildlife, nearly 20 acres (81,000 m²) of wildlife habitat are lost to new development every hour in Florida. Additionally, bears being injured or killed by motorists is another threat to regional populations. Since 1976 there have been more than 1,356 documented cases of bears being killed in Florida. Over 100 bears are killed on Florida roadways each year. Now there is an increased threat from human animal conflict. 

The most recent local example of a human/bear conflict can be seen here. 

References: 

Defenders of Widlife: http://www.defenders.org/press-release/florida-black-bear-danger

 

Siemer, W., Hart, P., Decker, D., and Shanahan, J., 2009. Factors the Influence Concern About Human—Black Bear Interactions in Residential Settings. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 14:185-197. Online. Available through Routledge.

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_Florida_Black_Bear.jpg

professor spotlight

This is a 12-minute, student-made documentary featuring the work of Dr. Jon Moore, Biology professor here at the Wilkes Honors College. The film features his ecological research on the gopher tortoises at the Abacoa Greenway in Jupiter, Florida. The videographer and editor is Nasir Khan, who is working on a masters degree in documentary making at FAU. Honors thesis student, Tokio Sano, is also featured in this film.