March 2011 Archives - Jason Chin

Monthly Archives: March 2011

Mar

2011

Corals: Natures Greatest Builders

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By Richard Ling (Coral Garden) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Photograph by Richard Ling via Wikimedia Commons

Coral reefs are the largest structures on earth that are built by animals. There are reefs that are more massive than the hover dam, the great wall of china and the great pyramids. And what creatures build them? You guessed it: corals.

To understand how they do it, it’s first important to understand what a coral is. Many people mistakenly believe them to be a plants (like plants, they grow in one place and can’t move from that spot on their own), but corals are actually animals. There are two kinds of coral, hard(or stony) and soft corals. Hard corals build reefs, so those are the ones that I am going to write about now.

Hard corals have limestone (calcium carbonate) skeletons that are covered by tiny polyps. I’ll describe polyps in more detail in my next post, but for now you can picture them as miniature sea anemones. The polyps live on the surface of the skeleton, and as they grow, they add more limestone to the skeleton. On hard corals, only the polyps on the surface are alive and the structure beneath the polyps is stone.

When a coral dies, it’s polyps decay, leaving its skeleton, which becomes a place where a new corals can attach and grow. Over time, new corals pile atop old corals and that’s how the reef grows. Over thousands of years, corals build their skeletons, and then die, their skeletons becoming part of the reef structure, and over time an underwater mountain of limestone of formed: a coral reef.

By Hannes Grobe, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

This photo shows the cross section of a coral. The white center is limestone, and the outer edge is where the polyps grow. It has been stained purple by scientists studying its growth rate. Photo by Hannes Grobe, via wikimedia commons.

Category: Coral Reefs Tagged: Coral Reefs

Mar

2011

Cloning Redwoods to Slow Global Warming

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A group in Michigan is cloning extremely large and long lived trees in an effort to curb global warming, according to this AP article. Trees are very good at sequestering carbon–they absorb carbon from the air and that carbon becomes part of the tree for as long as it is living. When the tree dies, the carbon is slowly released back into the atmosphere as the tree decays (or quickly if the tree is burned). Immense, long lived trees, such as Coast Redwoods and Giant Sequoias, can store a lot of carbon for a long time, and this is what the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is counting on.

The mission of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is to clone the largest and longest lived trees–so called “super-trees”–and plant the clones to serve as carbon banks. The group argues that by cloning and replanting the trees with the greatest potential for carbon sequestering, they will get better results than just planting a random tree of that species. The merit of the super-tree method is debatable, according to the article:

Scientific opinion varies on whether trees that survive for centuries have superior genes, like champion race horses, or simply have been in the right places at the right times to avoid fires, diseases and other misfortunes.

But whether or not the science backs the super-tree idea, seems beside the point to me. Planting trees is a small but import step to combat the looming disaster of global warming. Planting a tree that may have the potential to sequester a larger amount of carbon is worth a shot. Below are links to the AP article and to the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive.

Group Seeks Forest Restoration to Cleanse Planet

Archangel Ancient Tree Archive

Categories: Redwoods, Uncategorized Tagged: Environment, Redwoods

Mar

2011

Coming Soon: Coral Reefs

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I’ve just finished work on Coral Reefs, which is slated for publication in Fall 2011. The book is similar to Redwoods (not a sequel, but more of a companion) and I’m really excited about it. Did you know that coral reefs are the largest structures on earth created by living things? Far bigger than the pyramids, the largest sky scrapers, or the great wall, corals literally create mountains of limestone under water.

While I was working on Coral Reefs, I learned many, many exciting facts — far too many to fit into the book. So I’m going to write about them on my blog over the next few months. Hopefully, it will get everyone excited to learn about coral reefs!

Categories: Books, Coral Reefs Tagged: Coral Reefs

Mar

2011

FOCAL Award, 2011

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I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Los Angeles to accept the 2010 FOCAL Award. The award has been given out annually for the past 32 years to an outstanding book with a California focus by the Friends of Children and Literature (which is associated with the Los Angeles Public Library). Prior to the event, I visited three wonderful schools in the LA area: Dana Middle school, Palms Middle School and the Paseo Del Ray Natural Science Magnet. I owe a big thanks to the fabulous teachers and librarians that made them possible.

The awards event was a luncheon at the excellent Border Grill, in Downtown LA. Prior to the event, students participated in essay contests, the winners received a personalized copy of Redwoods. I also sat with them at the luncheon and we talked about writing, illustrating and our favorite books. Following lunch, I gave a short presentation and accepted the award — a beautiful puppet of the main character from Redwoods! There are two copies of the puppet — one for me and another that will reside permanently in the LA Public Library; how cool is that? It was an honor to receive the award and I am especially thankful to FOCAL for arranging for my trip, and each of the school visits.

Categories: Books, Press, Redwoods Tagged: Redwoods

Mar

2011

Painting Process Step Four: Layering Color and Adding Detail

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To begin with, I apologize to anyone who read about the first three steps in my painting process and has been waiting to read about the final step for a full year. I’ve been distracted from blogging this year, but I’ve finally found time to write the final post in this series. So without further ado, here is the final step in my painting process:

At the end of step three, I left off talking about building up layers of paint. As I add layers of color, I also add more and more detail. The painting begins with with blocking in large areas of light color (see step three) and slowly adding in darker and darker colors, in more and more detail until I’m satisfied.

When the painting is nearing completion, I remove my frisket masks. In this painting they were on the the girl, crab and ceiling. I paint the previously masked areas in carefully, paying careful attention to the edges. With friskets, it’s easy for the masked off portion to have a “cut out” feel, so I usually soften the edges slightly by rubbing over them with a damp brush, so that the girl looks like she belongs in the painting. When all the areas are painted in, it’s time to add the finishing touches . I darken the darkest darks (the bars in the window, and the deep shadows) and lighten any areas that I feel need it by wetting an area and using a towel or q-tip to pull out the paint (the beam of sunlight coming through the window). I use white gouache to cover some areas that need to be very light, like the highlights on the puddles of water. When I’m satisfied, I get to do my favorite part: remove the tape that I used to mask off the edges of the piece, and voila, a nice clean edge on the finished painting.