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Pioneering Box Turtle Conservation Strategies at McKeever

When the McKeever preserve was founded 24 years ago, no resident box turtle population remained. But octogenarians who grew up on our 200 acres early in the century report seeing box turtles wandering the woods, fields and hedgerows of their childhood. Disappearances of box turtle populations are recalled by "old timers" in most regions of North America. This impression of the species' decline, sometimes dismissed as unreliable anecdote, has been confirmed by many scientific studies that have followed specific box turtle population over long periods. The decline started generations ago as dirt, then paved, roads subdivided the turtles' ancestral habitats. Death along their habitual routes to food, nest and hibernation sites soared as habitat invasion by autos, ATVs and heavy machinery accelerated.

Loans for Education in the USA

The Joint Annual Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Science and the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology tells you about student loans for education in the USA.

These loans are given by banks, credit unions, or other financial institutions that participate in the federal student loan program. The money can be used to pay for tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and other educational costs.

A World Of 7 Billion

Before the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 2011, planet earth will have on board 7 billion humans. Seven billion is so difficult to grasp. The rate of adding people to planet earth is 4 people every second, 262 every minute and 15,735 every hour. There’s no doubt that people have an impact on the planet and its natural systems of life. How we interact with these systems of life directly impacts the very things that support our lives – air, water and soil. Our use of fossil fuel energy has had a tremendous impact on the environment. One only needs to look back at the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Gulf oil spill and most recently the Yellowstone River oil spill.

PA Quiz

Do You Know Pennsylvania’s symbols?

Do you know Pennsylvania's state symbols?

Take this quiz to find out.