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!

How To Save Randalman Dam

Now ol' Fish Man isn't taking sides on the Dam Scam but as this graph by Greensboro Water Conservation Manager Mike J Baron clearly shows, the City of Greensboro is using a lot less water these days than the City thought Greensboro would be using before the Randalman Dam was built. As a matter of fact, based on the published figures Greensboro has no current need for the Randalman Dam.

But really, isn't that just water under the bridge?

Well. not really. You see, municipal water sales are traditionally the only profit generator most cities have and with bonds coming due in a few years Greensboro's taxpayers are going to be saddled with $Millions upon $Millions in debts and no water sales to pay it off. You see, Greensboro's leaders thought we could attract lots of multinational corporations here if we had lots of water and lots of shovel ready sites and now we have a big hole full of water and lots of empty industrial parks but no multinational corporations. What's wrong with this picture?

But you know what, The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California uses 50,000 gallons of water a day. Yes, they get their water from the ocean but the Greensboro Aquarium would have to buy our water from the Randalman Dam or the City of Greensboro then add the salt and other nutrients. We're even considering building the world's largest freshwater aquarium.

Now granted, evaporation is a bigger concern in Southern California than in Greensboro and we will do our part to conserve water with our own rainwater collection systems but the fact remains a downtown aquarium could very well become one of Greensboro's largest buyers of water.

But it doesn't end there. No sir. Remember that downtown college campus we're talking about putting at the aquarium? That will no doubt use a lot of water, right. And what about all those pharmaceutical companies that locate near aquariums to experiment on sponges and other sea life? Won't they use a lot of water too?

Come on, Greensboro, we're trying to bail you out here. Did I mention 3 Million tourists a year might want water too? And here's an idea: Instead of selling bottled water at the aquarium we can sell locally manufactured refillable water bottles and water refills. You see, as a fish I'm tired of all that plastic trash in Buffalo Creek. Besides, it just makes sense.

Then there's NC A&T University and the Aquaponics program we hope to host both on site and in empty commercial buildings all over Greensboro that will supply jobs all over town and make Greensboro an exporter of food-- something that everybody needs.

Or you can just wait in your performing arts center until the bills for the Randalman Dam come due and figure out how you plan to pay them. Your call.

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.