Congrats To The North Carolina Zoo

From the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium Facebook Page:

"The North Carolina zoo at Asheboro had a record breaking attendance in 2012. Families with kids flocked from all over to visit the zoo since it is the the only one of its kind for miles around. That's what a great animal facility does for an area and that's what a world class aquarium will do for Greensboro. I learned a long time ago that kids make the world go around. Parents and grand-parents will do anything for kids. Build an aquarium with interactive learning games and great exhibits and you will have millions of people flocking downtown Greensboro every year. New jobs plus conservation and medical research done at the venue will bring high paying jobs to Greensboro, too! Think about the local universities expanding into marine biology and veterinary studies; students from UNCG, A&T and HP University and others will intern and help run the venue. It's a win-win situation if done right.

Help bring a world class aquarium to downtown Greensboro and help make Greensboro a destination for millions of people and not just a pass-thru city. Share the page and invite people to the fan page so the local politicians know that this is a serious idea to be looked at. We do not need a GPAC. Every city around us has a PAC and we already have a PAC (granted not the best around but still very usable). We need to have our own identity and being another city with a PAC is not going to help Greensboro have it. Our neighbors to our immediate north are building a PAC, too. The PAC pie is getting smaller so do we want a sliver of a pie or have our own pie? I say let's have our own pie and along with Aquatic Center we can be known as the Aquatic City of the Carolinas! Let's do it!"

Fish Man agrees!

Save The Frogs!

Fish man found this online today.



But did you know it's not just frogs in Panama that are threatened? Frogs, Salamanders and other amphibians are disappearing from North Carolina at alarming rates. Why ol' Fish Man used to eat frog legs almost every day but it's been so long since I've seen a frog here in Buffalo Creek I've forgotten what they taste like. Here in North Carolina, the Mountain Chorus Frog, Carolina Gopher Frog and River Frog are all considered to be of special concern. Another North Carolina native, the Eastern Hellbender threatened or endangered in all parts of their range.

The Wehrle's Salamander can only be found just about an hour away from Greensboro and it too is threatened. The Junaluska Salamander found only on the North Carolina/ Tennessee border are threatened as well. Or the Weller's Salamander found only near Boone, NC. North Carolina is home to one of the world's most diverse ranges of salamanders and yet many breeds are threatened with extension. If Greensboro wanted to make a difference a Greensboro aquarium possibly could serve as a place for research and breeding of amphibians to replace those who are dying in the wild just as has been done with native trout and other fish for years. Then maybe I wouldn't have to swim as far to get a good meal.

Ever seen a salamander that can disconnect its own tail anytime it wants to? The Four-toed Salamander can do that and it lives right here in Greensboro. But odds are good you'll never see one.

Endangered Amphibians in North Carolina
Green salamander (Aneides aeneus)

Threatened Amphibians in North Carolina
Carolina gopher frog (Rana capito capito)
Eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum)
Junaluska salamander (Eurycea junaluska)
Wehrle’s salamander (Plethodon wehrlei)

Special Concern Species Amphibians in North Carolina
Crevice salamander (Plethodon longicrus)
Dwarf salamander (Eurycea quadridigitata)
Eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis)
Four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)
Longtail salamander (Eurycea longicauda longicauda)
Mole salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)
Mountain chorus frog (Pseudacris brachyphona)
Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus)
Neuse River waterdog (Necturus lewisi)
River frog (Rana heckscheri)
Southern zigzag salamander (Plethodon ventralis)
Weller’s salamander (Plethodon welleri)

Source NC Wildlife Resources Commission

And we could be making a difference.

Is it Outer Space or Underwater?

"Under the Arctic ice is a cosmos of spectacular and rarely seen bioluminescent creatures with an otherworldly quality."

I recommend you watch the following video full screen.



You know, ol' Fish Man isn't a scientist but I'm betting that with some chillers and a few other gizmos, an Arctic exhibition could be made available for viewing at the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium so that marine biologists could study these amazing creatures with access like they've never had before. Who knows, it might even lead to some major scientific breakthroughs right here in downtown Greensboro. That is, if that's what Greensboro decides to do.

So What Else Can An Aquarium Do?

Sure, an aquarium is a great attraction but being the kind of guy who won't plant a flower I can't eat I tend to look at things from a practical point of view. Seriously, I have Rosemary bushes in my front yard and I'm slowly eliminating the grass so I can replace it with Chives, Parsley and other perennial edible plants.

At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland they're doing research in the Gulf of Mexico on the effects of the BP oil spill. Millions, perhaps Billions of Federal Dollars will be spent on that project alone and Greensboro missed the boat. The National Aquarium also works to protect harbors, bays and waterways, wild dolphins, and spotted eagles. Perhaps our aquarium could help protect the Bald Eagles nesting above Greensboro's city lakes. The Bald Eagle is our National bird you know.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is studying the greenhouse gas, Methane, that is rising up from the ocean floor. In case you didn't know, Greensboro has it's own unresolved Methane issues at the old White Street Landfill location.

The Georgia Aquarium seems to concentrate its research efforts on animal conservation. Is there anyone in this day and age who isn't behind animal conservation?

The Vancouver Aquarium has concentrated on marine mammal research since its founding 56 years ago. It also works on killer whales, fisheries, rockfish and lingcod, sea lions and more.

At the New England Aquarium located in Boston-- not our fair city-- they are working on Endangered Species and Habitats, Climate Change and the Oceans, Sustainable Fisheries, Bycatch and Aquaculture, Conservation Medicine and Ocean Health, Marine Animal Rescue and more. These are some of the most important fields of research in the world and there's no reason why some of this research and the economic development it brings shouldn't be done right here in Greensboro, North Carolina.

That is, unless you believe a performing arts center is somehow going to save the world.

And did I mention the City of Greensboro is loosing money because they can't sell enough water from the Randalman Dam? Come on Greensboro City Council, we're trying to bail you out here!

So please, help us work from the bottom up and don't forget to like us on Facebook.