By now you might have heard (especially if this is not the first post you are reading on this blog) about how White Nose Syndrome has been gradually decimating bats across the U.S. since 2006, as it expands throughout bat hibernacula. Recent bat surveys suggest that the mortality rates are as high as they have ever been, around 83% to 94%. The news about the devastating effects of the wildlife disease have even reached the cast of the upcoming Batman VS. Superman film. You can read about this in more detail on the Care2.com coverage of this but make sure you check out the bat houses that they re-purposed from set materials and that were built by the cast and crew on set. Their goal is to provide small, yet vital, new bat habitats so that they do not end up in attics where they are considered to be a pest. I think it is unlikely that this will reverse the declining trend of bat populations but it is a great awareness campaign, especially when you read a quote by Ben Affleck saying: “Essentially these bats are on the verge of completely dying out,” and Zack Snyder, the director of the movie, commenting that they “actually eat lots and lots of bugs.”
You can head over to their eBay store and contribute your share towards a new real estate bubble.