What birds see
December 5th, 2007 by admin
The world is getting smaller, with a little help from the internet. Satellite maps, such as Microsoft’s Virtual Earth or Google Maps, give us a birds-eye view of businesses previously hidden behind locked gates, and also provide us with a new perspective on places we may already be familiar with.
The mapping services aren’t perfect. Images are usually at least a year old. Outside of big cities, the images can be blurry and unfocused, and often all we can see are roofs. But despite these limitations, the services are definitely worth exploring. Here’s what we found . . . .
Click here to view the concrete pool at the Miami Seaquarium where the orca “Lolita” has lived since her capture in 1978. It is believed to be the smallest enclosure for an orca in the country. The situation isn’t much better at SeaWorld Orlando (click here to view their tanks).
If you’ve ever driven on Florida’s Turnpike, just south of Orlando, you may have noticed an egg farm just off the road. Click here to view the farm, where hundreds of thousands of chickens live confined in battery cages.
You probably know that the amount of wastewater and manure produced on Florida dairy farms is astounding, but it’s another thing to see the huge lagoons where the manure is collected. Click here to view a McArthur Farms dairy facility in Okeechobee; the five warehouse-sized buildings next to the brown lagoon are where thousands of cows spend much of their lives on concrete.
If you attended one of ARFF’s Fur Free Friday demonstrations last month, thank you! America’s fur farms are located in northern states like Wisconsin or Utah. Click here to sneak a peak at the River Jordan Mink Ranch in Lehi, Utah.
Although Florida doesn’t have any fur farms, breeding monkeys for use in research is big business in our state. Click here to visit the University of Miami’s primate research facility, just west of Miami Metrozoo. Hundreds of monkeys are housed here in corn crib enclosures.
That’s it for now. Let us know if you find something interesting.