Today we are joined by Susan Chadwick of Save Buffalo Bayou for a discussion of our local area, its history, the importance of natural creeks and bayous, what you can do to keep things wild and natural, and the natural beauty around us. Enjoy! (Oh, my cat Prince adds some dialogue, too!)

About Susan: Susan Chadwick, a writer and journalist who grew up on Buffalo Bayou, is the president and executive director of Save Buffalo Bayou. She was the art critic for the Houston Post from 1985 until it closed in 1995.

More about Susan, her work, and her contact info, at:
a. https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-chadwick-66502a3b/
b. www.SaveBuffaloBayou.org
c. https://www.facebook.com/SaveBuffaloBayou/

Contact Michael:
1. ccerppodcast@aol.com
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Show notes:
1. Buffalo Bayou:
a. http://www.savebuffalobayou.org
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bayou
c. https://web.archive.org/web/20130403174413/http://www.hcfcd.org/L_buffalobayou.html
d. http://www.savebuffalobayou.org/?page_id=4850

2. Cypress Creek
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Creek_(Texas)
b. https://web.archive.org/web/20130403160508/http://www.hcfcd.org/L_cypresscreek.html

3. Braes Bayou (aka Brays Bayou)
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brays_Bayou
b. https://web.archive.org/web/20130403125818/http://www.hcfcd.org/L_braysbayou.html

4. Native plants
a. Purple Passionflower: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PAIN6
b. Prairie Nymph: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HELA6
c. Natives database: http://www.txsmartscape.com/plant-search/
d. Native and adapted: http://counties.agrilife.org/harris/files/2011/05/houstonplants.pdf

5. Aristotle
a. "To summarize: Aristotle’s philosophy laid out an approach to the investigation of all natural phenomena, to determine form by detailed, systematic work, and thus arrive at final causes. His logical method of argument gave a framework for putting knowledge together, and deducing new results. He created what amounted to a fully-fledged professional scientific enterprise, on a scale comparable to a modern university science department. It must be admitted that some of his work - unfortunately, some of the physics - was not up to his usual high standards. He evidently found falling stones a lot less interesting than living creatures. Yet the sheer scale of his enterprise, unmatched in antiquity and for centuries to come, gave an authority to all his writings.

"It is perhaps worth reiterating the difference between Plato and Aristotle, who agreed with each other that the world is the product of rational design, that the philosopher investigates the form and the universal, and that the only true knowledge is that which is irrefutable. The essential difference between them was that Plato felt mathematical reasoning could arrive at the truth with little outside help, but Aristotle believed detailed empirical investigations of nature were essential if progress was to be made in understanding the natural world. " Read more: https://galileoandeinstein.phys.virginia.edu/lectures/aristot2.html
b. "The Greeks cast their science from first principles, without troubling to examine the natural world. Aristotle changed everything." Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/02/the-lagoon-armand-marie-leroi-aristotle-review
c. Great BBC show about the book:
i. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN8ortM4M3o
ii. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e12pbSHrzAs

6. Gabe Brown
a. the 8" figure: https://social.shorthand.com/PaintedMtCorn/jCPnGp7QYM6/plant-and-grow-rich-chapter-2
b. his book Dirt To Soil: https://www.amazon.com/Dirt-Soil-Familys-Regenerative-Agriculture/dp/1603587632
c. In episode 63 of the Peak Human Podcast, Gabe says his soil can infiltrate 30” of rain in one hour!! Listen here: https://overcast.fm/+Na3jvm6yM/40:10 (Or find the episode here: https://www.peak-human.com/ and tune in at about 40 min 10 sec.)

7. Wolves and the Lamar River in Yellowstone: https://www.pbs.org/strangedays/episodes/predators/experts/yellowstonewolves.html

8. All about Alligators
a. https://www.zooamerica.com/animals/american-alligator/
b. https://wildlifelearningcenter.org/animals/northamerica/american-alligator/
c. https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/alligator.htm
d. https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/American-Alligator

9. Brazos Bend State Park -- where you can see Alligators! :)
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/brazos-bend

10. No, Alligators are not that dangerous to humans
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_alligator_attacks_in_the_United_States
b. http://crocdoc.ifas.ufl.edu/publications/factsheets/Alligator%20Attack%20Risk%20Comparison%202019.pdf
c. "The total number of alligator deaths per year in the U.S. is unclear, according to alligator experts. However, it is thought to be far smaller than the toll from spiders, which kill around seven people each year in the United States. Cows kill about 20. Dogs, known as "man's best friend," kill an average of 28. " (from https://mashable.com/2016/06/15/alligator-attacks-florida-orlando-rare/)
d. "[F]rom 1999 to 2014, 921 people died in the United States from encountering hornets, wasps or bees, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During that same time span, nine people died from crocodile or alligator attacks, and 78 people died from attacks by other reptiles. ...Meanwhile, 486 people died from dog attacks and 1,163 people died from attacks by other mammals, such as cows or horses. About 4.5 million dog bites occur each year." (from https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/17/health/animal-attacks-statistics/index.html)
e. "Alligators are opportunistic carnivores, preferring to go after readily available and easily overpowered prey. The reptiles generally don’t attack for reasons other than food and rarely pursue humans. ... In fact, alligators tend to be naturally afraid of humans, but they may lose that fear—and associate humans with food—when people feed them. For this reason, it’s illegal in the state of Florida to feed wild alligators." (from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/06/alligator-attack-toddler-disney-world-grand-floridian/)

Bio and image courtesy Susan Chadwick.