texascavers Digest 18 May 2013 22:32:27 -0000 Issue 1758
Topics (messages 21788 through 21791):
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] New light source
21788 by: Louise Power
Re: Save Bracken Cave Reserve
21789 by: Louise Power
Re: New light source
21790 by: George D. Nincehelser
Fish email?
21791 by: Heather Tucek
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--- Begin Message ---
I made an oops! A 5-7 hour charge will give you 15 hours light.
From: power_lou...@hotmail.com
To: george.nincehel...@gmail.com
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 13:01:06 -0700
CC: s...@caver.net; texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] New light source
If you read the site carefully, you'll find that 6-7 hours exposure to the sun
will completely recharge the battery for 8 hours use. They also recommend that
before you take it with you or store it that you fully charge it. Further, they
recommend recharging it every 1-2 months to keep the battery operating in
optimum condition. If it were I, I'd leave it out on a window sill periodically.
I can see this being used in caves as one of your three light sources. They
only weigh 3 ounces, so take two. That will give you 16 hours of light assuming
you've kept them charged.
I'm attaching a copy of some information from their website.
Louise
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 14:01:27 -0500
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] New light source
From: george.nincehel...@gmail.com
To: power_lou...@hotmail.com
CC: texascavers@texascavers.com; s...@caver.net
Interesting idea, but the battery bothers me.
The battery only holds a charge for 4 months. Unless you have a way to keep it
charged, you might not have light available at the onset of an emergency. It
would, however, be very useful in the recovery period after a natural disaster.
I'd like to see one with a small conventional battery that would insure you
would get through an initial period of darkness.
Personally, I like to keep a good number of chemical lightsticks around.
Granted, they aren't reusable, and they aren't terribly bright, but they can be
a comfort in darkness and are kid-friendly. I just bought a 10-pack of 12-hour
reds for $7 on Amazon. (I chose red to preserve night vision).
On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 11:35 AM, Louise Power <power_lou...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I'd like to call your attention to an alternate light source I found online
this morning. It's a rechargable, packable source that, when inflated, will
float in water. With everything that's going on weatherwise lately, it might be
a good thing to have. I also thought it might be a good thing to put in your
cave pack in case of emergency.
Apparently it's being used worldwide in emergency situations, e.g., Honduras
and Japan. They also have a "buy one, give one" program which, when you buy one
for yourself, donates one of the lights to one of their emergency programs.
Check this out. They're really inexpensive--less than $20. I think I'm going to
buy at least one for myself since I live in earthquake country.
http://luminaid.gostorego.com/
PLEASE NOTE: Right now, they've gotten so much publicity that they're sold out,
but you can pre-order for shipment in late May to mid June.
_______________________________________________ SWR mailing list s...@caver.net
http://lists.caver.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/swr
_______________________________________________ This list is provided free as a
courtesy of CAVERNET
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
For those of you who are not BCI members, here is a more graphic explanation of
the Bracken Cave issue than the one Frank sent out yesterday. You know what
they say, a picture is worth a thousand bats.
Louise
From: savebrac...@batcon.org
Subject: Save Bracken Cave Reserve
To: power_lou...@hotmail.com
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 14:06:17 -0400
What happens when you put 10,000 people
next to more than ten million bats?
No one knows for sure but, unfortunately,
we may soon find out.
Dear Bat Conservation International Supporter:
I’m the new director of Bat Conservation International and I am writing today
about our Bracken Cave Reserve in the Texas Hill Country.
As you probably know, Bracken is home to the world’s largest population of
bats. The nightly emergence of ten million Mexican free-tailed bats from
Bracken Cave, 20 minutes north of San Antonio in central Texas, is one of the
world’s great natural phenomena, and we need your immediate advice and help.
A San Antonio developer, Brad Galo of Galo Properties, has proposed a
1,500-acre, 3,800-home “Crescent Hills” subdivision to the immediate south of
our reserve, in the twice-daily flight path of these millions of bats. The
development also lies within the sensitive Edwards Aquifer-recharge zone and
puts at risk the many millions of public dollars that have been invested in
protecting the area. Quarter-acre zoning is out of keeping with the large
ranches that characterize the area and the interspersed, one- to three-acre
lots which currently constitute “intensive” development. The Galo property,
like our land and nearby Nature Conservancy property, is also important nesting
and foraging habitat for the federally endangered golden-cheeked warbler (the
yellow circles on the map).
View larger image
Texas law leaves little or no room for consideration of environmental issues.
The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has granted Mr. Galo the water and sewer
hookups he needs for 3,800 homes, but SAWS is not permitted to determine if
adequate water supplies exist or to comment on the wisdom of putting nearly
4,000 homes in the middle of a protected recharge area. This project will
ultimately come before the San Antonio Planning Commission for approval, but
even the Planning Commission lacks the authority to take environmental concerns
into account. In fact, if the Commission does nothing, the development will be
automatically approved after 30 days.
We’ve been told by our attorneys that the San Antonio City Council and Mayor
Castro are our only real recourse, and that our hopes for persuading them to
take action rest in our ability to make this a significant public and media
issue. Aside from the ecological issues, we’re concerned about putting 10,000
people next to millions of building-loving adult bats and millions more
juvenile bats learning to fly that will be attracted to the insects gathering
around the porch and street lights of these homes. Should some poor child or
parent come into contact with a sick bat or a pet that picked up a sick bat and
contract rabies, it won’t matter that the bats have been there for 10,000 or
more years. There will be a growing call for the city health department to
deal with "this threat to public safety."
This, in fact, is the greatest threat to Bracken’s bats.
We need your help to make this case to the city of San Antonio. We are
presenting our concerns to the City Council at their public meeting, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 22nd at City Hall, and we need to fill the room with Bracken
supporters. If you live in the San Antonio area, I hope you will come to City
Hall next Wednesday to stand and be recognized as a supporter of bats and
Bracken. We hope those who come will also engage the media, the Mayor, the
Council and their staff members in side conversations.
Many of you do not live in the area, but you can help us make the case that
Bracken and its bats are a global jewel that must be protected. We need you and
other members to call, write and email the Mayor, City Council and Planning
Commission before and after the council meeting.
If you feel unable to comment on the proposed development per se, it will still
be a significant help to speak to the importance of Bracken and the ecological
and economic importance of bats and the global threats they face. I hope we can
count on you and your family to come to Bracken’s aid. Please come on the 22nd
or contact Mayor Castro and other city decision makers.
Sign our online petition
Bracken Bat Cave is too important to allow such intensive development to occur
along its border. Please help us convince San Antonio that Mr. Galo’s proposed
subdivision is an incompatible use that is sure to put people and bats into
potential conflict, to the harm of both.
Please don’t hesitate to email us at savebrac...@batcon.org or call my
assistant, Shanna Weisfeld at 512 367-9721 x19, if you have any questions.
Thanks very much and best wishes.
Sincerely,
Andrew Walker
Executive Director
P.S. Here is some more information (pdf) regarding this issue.
P.P.S. If you are coming to central Texas this summer or early fall, don’t
hesitate to let us know if you’d like to visit Bracken. We’d love for you to
see it.
Bat Conservation International P.O. Box 162603 Austin, TX 78716 Phone: (512)
327-9721 | Fax: (512) 327-9724 | Email: i...@batcon.org
Privacy Policy | Email Preferences & Opt-out | Donate | Join us
© Bat Conservation International, Inc.
To avoid spam filters, don't forget to add our mailings to your Contacts and/or
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I did read the site carefully, and my concerns remain.
I see this as a poor light to rely on in an emergency. Few people have the
discipline to maintain such charging regimens pre-emergency. These will
most likely be packed away in the dark for years in emergency kits, and
will not be ready for action when a disaster hits.
Worst possible case, the battery may be too-deeply discharged and thus
not chargeable after several years of non-use.
For 3 ounces, I could carry a full set of AA batteries that have a
shelf-life of 10 years. They would power an LED light for a long, long
time.
On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 3:01 PM, Louise Power <power_lou...@hotmail.com>wrote:
> If you read the site carefully, you'll find that 6-7 hours exposure to the
> sun will completely recharge the battery for 8 hours use. They also
> recommend that before you take it with you or store it that you fully
> charge it. Further, they recommend recharging it every 1-2 months to keep
> the battery operating in optimum condition. If it were I, I'd leave it
> out on a window sill periodically.
>
> I can see this being used in caves as one of your three light sources.
> They only weigh 3 ounces, so take two. That will give you 16 hours of light
> assuming you've kept them charged.
>
> I'm attaching a copy of some information from their website.
>
> Louise
> ------------------------------
> Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 14:01:27 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Texascavers] New light source
> From: george.nincehel...@gmail.com
> To: power_lou...@hotmail.com
> CC: texascavers@texascavers.com; s...@caver.net
>
>
> Interesting idea, but the battery bothers me.
>
> The battery only holds a charge for 4 months. Unless you have a way to
> keep it charged, you might not have light available at the onset of an
> emergency. It would, however, be very useful in the recovery period after
> a natural disaster.
>
> I'd like to see one with a small conventional battery that would insure
> you would get through an initial period of darkness.
>
> Personally, I like to keep a good number of chemical lightsticks around.
> Granted, they aren't reusable, and they aren't terribly bright, but they
> can be a comfort in darkness and are kid-friendly. I just bought a 10-pack
> of 12-hour reds for $7 on Amazon. (I chose red to preserve night vision).
>
>
> On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 11:35 AM, Louise Power
> <power_lou...@hotmail.com>wrote:
>
> I'd like to call your attention to an alternate light source I found
> online this morning. It's a rechargable, packable source that, when
> inflated, will float in water. With everything that's going on weatherwise
> lately, it might be a good thing to have. I also thought it might be a good
> thing to put in your cave pack in case of emergency.
>
> Apparently it's being used worldwide in emergency situations, e.g.,
> Honduras and Japan. They also have a "buy one, give one" program which,
> when you buy one for yourself, donates one of the lights to one of their
> emergency programs.
>
> Check this out. They're really inexpensive--less than $20. I think I'm
> going to buy at least one for myself since I live in earthquake country.
>
> http://luminaid.gostorego.com/
>
> PLEASE NOTE: Right now, they've gotten so much publicity that they're sold
> out, but you can pre-order for shipment in late May to mid June.
>
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Has anyone else gotten an email from "Pedro Garcia", trying to sell his
house near Bustamante for stupid cheap?
--
*Go find out!*
-Heather Tuček
UT Grotto, DFW Grotto
TSA Secretary & Membership Chair
NSS 59660
(512) 773-1348
trog...@cavechat.org
--- End Message ---
