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10 Species You Can Kiss Goodbye
Think the polar bear has it bad? Here are 10 critters who are even worse off than our favorite threatened Arctic resident. Listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List as critically endangered, meaning they face an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future, these animals may not live to see the end of the next decade without the a similar effort of human intervention that brought them to the brink in the first place. Think the polar bear has it bad? Here are 10 critters who are even worse off than our favorite threatened Arctic resident. Listed on t... more
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Frogs on the verge of a major extinction
Lots of amphibians (a third to a half of all species) are dying, and their deaths are the breaking-edge of what many scientists are calling the first mass extinction since the dinosaurs checked out 65 million years ago, researchers say in a new paper published online in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists are not sure when this extinction crisis began—it could have started 10,000 years ago, or during the industrial revolution, or this century. But we are definitely seeing an extinction “spasm” right now, say the Berkeley scientists, especially among our clammy, froggy friends. This extinction is unlike the five that came before it, according to the paper’s authors from UC Berkeley, because it has nothing to do with any asteroid impact, or volcanic surge, or great sea cooling. Instead, it may have almost everything to do with us. Amphibians made it through last time, when the dinosaurs disappeared. But with new, people-driven pressures on biodiversity, the survivors are now some of the most vulnerable.
Almost 200 amphibian species have gone extinct in the last few decades alone, with several pressures adding to the crisis. One is a fungal skin disease called chytridiomycosis, which has been implicated in mass frog deaths in Central and South America, and is claiming species almost everywhere else on earth, according to the paper. Scientists believe the disease spreads on amphibians introduced by humans into new environments. Climate change is also implicated, possibly as a trigger for chytrid infections, but also as a force of its own. Many amphibian species are adapted to live only in a small temperature zone, and montane species are particularly vulnerable to temperature shifts that can shrink the small slice of mountainside they inhabit down to nothing.
Habitat loss is another important player, impacting 90 percent of the amphibian species the IUCN lists as at risk of extinction. Warming (and the weather changes that go along with warming) shrinks habitats, as does humanity’s constant bulging expansion over more and more of the earth. Research into treatments for chytrid is ongoing, with new results with beneficial skin bacteria, but with human-caused climate change progressing, and habitats shrinking, the papers authors close their report with the worry that we may not be able to make a dent in this latest mass extinction, and even if we can, we have very, very little time to do so. Lots of amphibians (a third to a half of all species) are dying, and their deaths are the breaking-edge of what many scientists are ca... more -
The devastation of the rain forest
About 22% of the earth's original forest coverage remains. Western Europe has lost 98% or so of its primary forests; Asia 94%; Africa 92%; Oceania 78%; North America 66%, and South America 54%. Approximately 45% of the world's tropical forests, originally covering 1.4 billion hectares, have disappeared in the last few decades.
One and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second with tragic consequences for both developing and industrial countries. Rainforests are being destroyed because the value of rainforest land is perceived as only the value of its timber by short-sighted governments, multi-national logging companies, and land owners
Nearly half of the world's species of plants, animals and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter century due to rainforest deforestation.
Experts estimates that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. That equates to 50,000 species a year. As the rainforest species disappear, so do many possible cures for life-threatening diseases. Currently, 121 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources. While 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less that 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.
There were an estimated ten million Indians living in the Amazonian Rainforest five centuries ago. Today there are less than 200,000.
The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.
More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. One-fifth of the world's fresh water is in the Amazon Basin.
At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews.
The Brazilian government is currently trying to protect its section of the rainforest, but it can not stop huge multinational companies from coming in a doing illegal logging. About 22% of the earth's original forest coverage remains. Western Europe has lost 98% or so of its primary forests; Asia 94%; Af... more -
Species extinction underestimated: species could be wiped out 100 times faster
Endangered species could become extinct 100 times faster than estimated. According to scientists, methods previously used to predict when species will die out are not accurate and dramatically underestimate the speed at which species become extinct.
Species such as the western gorilla, the Sumatran tiger and the Malayan sun bear may become extinct much sooner than feared. According to ecologist Brett Melbourne, "some species could have months instead of years left, while other species that haven't even been identified as under threat yet should be listed as endangered."
One of the factors overlooked in previous attempts to predict extinction risks is the proportion of males compared with females in a population and the differences in reproductive success between individuals in a group. As soon as these factors were included by scientists, it emerged that the threat of extinction could be imminent. "The older models could be severely overestimating the time to extinction. Some species could go extinct 100 times sooner than we expect," Melbourne said.
According to a 200y IUCN report, more than 16,000 species worldwide are threatened with extinction. An updated list will be published in October. Endangered species could become extinct 100 times faster than estimated. According to scientists, methods previously used to predict w... more -
Oilsands Development: Killing Canada
"We appreciate the fact that Canada's tar sands are now becoming economical and we are glad to be able to get the access toward two million barrels a day."-George W. Bush, March 23, 2003.
Powers in this world are now salivating to be able to tear apart the boreal forest to satisfy their lust for greed. And make no mistake about it, it has nothing to do with caring about the people or other species because if it did alternate sources of energy that are safer for the environment and cleaner and more economical to use would be the order of the day, not the "new world order" of the Bushes of this world that seek only to destroy it for their own benefit. But then, getting his fix seems to be something Bush is accustomed to in his life.
Making crude oil from tar sands is a dirty wasteful business. It takes two tons of oil sands ore to yield ONE barrel of oil. Put that into perpsective of these people wanting two MILLION barrels a day, and then it is not hard to see the environmental degradation this process is causing. The oil sand is composed of silt, sand, clay, water, and bitumen. On average, bitumen contains 83.2% carbon. At two million or more barrels a day burning, you figure out the environmental impact of that. And there are two methods by which this noxious smelling concoction is brought to the surface.
It is either through strip mining it or situ recovery methods which are used to access deeper deposits. It is an arduous process that uses much water, which then results in groundwater being polluted and river water being diverted as large amounts of freshwater are required to flush bitumen from the sand to make crude oil. It also is increasing greenhouse gas emission in Alberta, which are spilling over. It is also such a complex process that I went searching for a source that could explain it all from beginning to end, and I found one. This to me is the most thorough and comprehensive source out there now to describe this process and the environmental and climate change effects it is having on our world. I HIGHLY recommend you read through this:
More at the link. Compare the picture here to the picture on the blog entry to see what they have done to the beautiful Boreal Forest with this wasteful practice. "We appreciate the fact that Canada's tar sands are now becoming economical and we are glad to be able to get the access tow... more -
Celebrities join World Bank in saving tigers from extinction
Hollywood celebrities Harrison Ford, Bo Derek and Robert Duvall on Monday threw their support behind a new global initiative by the World Bank to save tigers from extinction.
While the global development agency's main mission is to fight poverty in developing countries, it has rarely taken on wildlife conservation efforts of endangered species.
The new Tiger Conservation Initiative will bring together wildlife experts, scientists and governments to try to halt the killing and thriving illegal trade in tiger skins, meat and body parts used in traditional Asian medicines.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the decline in the number of tigers was "shocking" from over 100,000 a century ago to currently less than 4,000.
The clearing of large areas of forest land for urban development has added to their decline and disappearance from Central Asia, the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali, and most of China.
A World Bank report warned that "if current trends persist, tigers are likely to be the first species of large predator to vanish in historic times." Hollywood celebrities Harrison Ford, Bo Derek and Robert Duvall on Monday threw their support behind a new global initiative by the Wo... more -
World Bank's commitment to tiger conservation
The 39 member organizations of the International Tiger Coalition (ITC) applaud the World Bank’s announcement today that it will undertake a global joint venture to help reverse the decline in wild tigers — the first-ever species initiative by the Bank.
During the next six months, the Bank promises to hold open and frank dialogues with all stakeholders in tiger range countries—governments and non-governmental organizations—about which tiger conservation methods have worked in the past and which have not. This process is crucial for reversing the damage done to tiger habitat from poorly planned development projects in the past and addressing all major threats facing the fewer than 4,000 tigers remaining in the wild.
“The potential loss of wild tigers is a global problem that requires a global solution," said Judy Mills of the International Tiger Coalition. “The World Bank’s involvement has the potential to catalyze a paradigm shift for wild tigers and their habitats.”
The ITC is encouraged by the World Bank’s stated interest in ensuring that its future investments do no harm to wild tigers and hopes that other development agencies will follow suit. The ITC hopes that the Bank’s efforts will call world attention to the need to stop all demand for and use of tiger skins and bones. The 39 member organizations of the International Tiger Coalition (ITC) applaud the World Bank’s announcement today that it will undert... more -
3 species die out every hour
Three wildlife species die out every hour because of habitat destruction and pollution.
An international environment conference opened in Germany today with the grim news that three species of life on earth die out every single hour.
This destruction of the planet's wildlife and habitats is costing £1.8 billion each year.
The report, commissioned by the EU and the German federal government, was presented at the start of the UN Convention of Biological Diversity which began in Bonn and will last for two weeks.
The conference will be told the bleak news that destruction of natural habitats and pollution has created the worst rate of species extinction since the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago.
A report issued by the UN's World Conservation Union says that the endangered list includes:
- one in four mammal species
- one in eight bird types
- a third of amphibian varieties
- 70 per cent of all plant life. Three wildlife species die out every hour because of habitat destruction and pollution. ... more -
Global ecosystems 'face collapse'
"The world’s natural ecosystems are being degraded at a rate unprecedented in human history, according to a report released . . . shows that we are currently using the planet’s resources far faster than they can be renewed."
"The report has shown that between 1970 and 2003 terrestrial species have declined by 31 per cent, freshwater species by 28 per cent, and marine species by 27 per cent. The Living Planet Report 2006 pulls together time series data to compile two indicators of the Earth’s well-being."
"The choices we make might lead to a sustainable society living in harmony with robust ecosystems, or to the collapse of these same ecosystems, resulting in a permanent loss of biodiversity and erosion of the planet’s ability to support people."
The BBC World Service announced the findings of a study today where the WWF, ZSL and the Global Footprint Network uncovered the shocking state of the world’s ecosystems. Apparently this is old news but I heard it on the radio about an hour ago on Southern California Public Radio (89.3 KPCC). "The world’s natural ecosystems are being degraded at a rate unprecedented in human history, according to a report released . . .... more -
Lutheran Bishop inspires interfaith groups to join EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day ...
(Chicago, Illinois) - Faith leaders across eight Great Lakes states are urging their members to participate in an Earth Day 2008 challenge to collect one million pounds of electronics and more than one million pills because trust is needed between all people to stop “an environmental crisis.”
The U.S. EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in high gear with more than 100 projects involving hundreds of communities collecting pharmaceuticals, electronics and household poisons.
An EPA grant to the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) is mobilizing religious communities in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.
A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in numerous interfaith Earth Day recycling projects hopes people of all faiths will help protect the environment.
“We are in an environmental crisis in many ways,” said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). “The Great Lakes watershed is really kind of a mother to all of us" in the Midwest.
Interfaith environment projects like the challenge will help ensure a better future for all humans, Skrenes said, adding “sometimes it's trusting each other that really counts in environmental work.”
“The culture, the society and the environment are now connecting in some fantastic new ways to build relationships between people,” Skrenes said. “We are building trust along and across denominational lines.”
The EHI is a coalition of American Indian tribes and a "partnership of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together and sharing their projects and resources to heal, protect and defend the environment,” said founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
Saying “it’s not your grandfather’s environment movement anymore,” Skrenes said that environmental work is now more mainstream and no longer “an obscure thing for a certain group of people” unlike 40 years ago when he was in high school “and I dare say some of my relatives said it was kind of a hippie movement.”
“The church is called to bring people together to be part of the healing,” Skrenes said. “This interfaith earth healing effort is really a great gift that has been given to all of us."
Interfaith organizations assisting the EHI include the University of Minnesota Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Arrowhead Interfaith Council in Duluth, the Marquette University Ministry outlets in Milwaukee, several Catholic interfaith groups and the ELCA office of Ecumenical Formation and Inter-Religious Relations.
The interfaith EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan including the Earth Keepers, who removed more than 370 tons of e-Waste, pharmaceuticals and household poisons during three Earth Day clean sweeps.
The northern Michigan Earth Keeper project involves the congregations of over 150 churches and temples representing ten faith communities: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and the Religious Society of Friends commonly known as the Quakers.
The EHI is coordinating the same interfaith relationships. For more info call 906-401-0109 (Chicago, Illinois) - Faith leaders across eight Great Lakes states are urging their members to participate in an Earth Day 2008 chall... more -
Share Your Ride This Earth Day
Of the 241 MILLION motor vehicles are registered in the US. Transportation is the fastest-growing source of US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the largest end-use source of C02, the most prevalent greenhouse gas. [Source: DOT – Federal Highway Administration, October 2006]
Based on current GHG emission reporting guidelines, the transportation sector directly accounted for 33 percent of total US GHG emissions in 2006, the most recent year of published documentation. This represents a 14% increase from 1990. [Source: EPA – 2008 Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 – 2006, March 2008]
The average greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) resulting from energy released by one automobile per year is 12,100 POUNDS or 12.1 TONS from driving an average of 231 miles per week. [Source: EPA – Climate Change – Greenhouse Gas Emissions, February 2008]
Ridesharing just one day a week for one year would result in saving the planet 1.7 TONS of C02. Now imagine 10 people saving 17 TONS, 100 people saving 170 TONS, 1,000 people saving 1,700 TONS, 10,000 people saving 17,000 TONS, 100,000 people saving 171,000 TONS, 1 million people saving 1.7 MILLION TONS.
About GOHOV
GOHOV.com is a social networking tool that allows registered users the ability to create and share rides with friends and the GOHOV community. Whether you’re seeking a lift to a concert or sporting event, a ride back home for the holidays from college, a designated driver for the night, or a way to save money on gas, GOHOV.com will help you safely and easily find the right ride.
GOHOV.com provides today’s savvy internet user an easy way to connect through ridesharing. The site features viewable user profiles and a user ride-rating system, giving the GOHOV community the ability to review potential passengers or drivers and decide on whom it’s best to ride with. Of the 241 MILLION motor vehicles are registered in the US. Transportation is the fastest-growing source of US greenhouse gas (GHG) em... more -
EPA challenges Great Lakes residents to do their part on Earth Day 2008
EPA's Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge: a prescription for healthy Great Lakes
Release date: 03/13/2008
Contact Information: Phillippa Cannon 312 353-6218, cannon.phillippa@epa.gov
Chicago (March 12, 2008) -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes region invites the public to join the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge to collect at least 1 million pounds of electronic waste and 1 million pills.
EPA is encouraging organizations, businesses and communities in the Great Lakes region to protect the environment by sponsoring collections of unwanted medicines and electronic waste around Earth Day, April 22.
The Great Lakes are an irreplaceable treasure.
They are the largest source of fresh drinking water on earth and are vital to commerce and recreation in the upper Midwest.
Responsible recycling and disposal of unwanted electronics and medicines will prevent contaminants from polluting the Great Lakes basin.
"Last summer, there was an outpouring of support from thousands of people in the Great Lakes area to protect this national treasure," said EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager Mary A. Gade.
"Participating in the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is a simple way for individuals to take action to protect the lakes. I'm asking people to clear out their desk drawers, medicine cabinets and basements and properly recycle or dispose of their old and unwanted cellphones, computers, TVs, and medicines at a local collection."
EPA has partnered with the nonprofit group Earth 911 to launch an online clearinghouse of collection events that will be held between April 19 and 27.
As dates and locations for events are confirmed they will be added to the clearinghouse at:
http://www.earth911.org
"EPA is pleased that Earth 911 volunteered to work with us on this important project and we welcome other organizations that may wish to join us by sponsoring or publicizing collection events," said Gade.
Participating organizations should register their events at:
http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/earthday2008
The Web site includes a "Plug-In to E-cycling" tool kit to help plan collection events.
For more information or technical assistance on planning an event, call EPA's toll-free Earth Day Challenge Hotline at 866-575-8543. EPA's Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge: a prescription for healthy Great Lakes Release date: 03/13/2008 ... more -
One million pills, One million tons of electronics targeted for Great Lakes 2008 E...
Numerous faith communities, American Indians tribes and many others being recruited to volunteer or participate in large eight-state Earth Day 2008 events across the Great Lakes Basin.
Collections sites will accept old/broken computers, cell phones, TVs and other electronics to be recycled, and old/unwanted medicines to be properly disposed during the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
The EPA is awarding grants to some of the collection sites where residents can drop off e-waste and old/unwanted pharmaceuticals. The new Earth Healing Initiative will be organizing faith communities
For more details read the article or check out these links: Or call Greg at 906-401-0109.
Earth Healing official website::
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
EPA Press Release on challenge:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/D48F2AD96EC6...
EPA GLNPO Official challenge link:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/index.html
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/events.html Numerous faith communities, American Indians tribes and many others being recruited to volunteer or participate in large eight-state E... more -
2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit at Northern Michigan University: Proposal deadlin...
Call for Proposals: NMU 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit
EXTENDED DEADLINE!
Northern Michigan University is seeking presentation proposals for the 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit to be held at NMU April 22-23.
This summit is made possible by the Center for Native American Studies, the Environmental Science Program and the Office of International Programs.
This summit will function as a call to action on Indigenous environmental issues in the Great Lakes area, on Turtle Island and around the world.
An Aboriginal Australian delegation from the Traditional Knowledge Revival Pathways project will be featured as keynote presenters and will provide musical entertainment.
http://www.tkrp.com.au
Presentations should ultimately include ideas on how to address Indigenous environmental concerns. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following.
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge (T.E.K.)
- Education and Indigenous environmental concerns
- History of industrialism, industrial threats, Indigenous peoples and the Earth
- Economic globalization and Indigenous peoples
- Indigenous languages and the Earth
- Solutions in Indigenous cultures to environmental problems
- Indigenous subsistence rights and protection of sacred land
- Global poisoning and the impact on Indigenous peoples
- Climate change and its impact on Indigenous peoples
A variety of presentations are encouraged (music, art, films as well as papers and panels).
Activists, Native elders and Native community members are strongly encouraged to submit proposals.
Proposals should be 150-300 words in length. Deadline for submissions has been extended to Monday, March 17, 2008.
Send to:
cnas@nmu.edu
(attachments should only be in Microsoft Word or as a PDF)
Subject line: Indigenous Earth Day Summit Proposal
-or-
Center for Native American Studies
Northern Michigan University
1401 Presque Isle Ave
Marquette, MI 49855
For more information call 906-227-1397
http://www.nmu.edu/nativeamericans Call for Proposals: NMU 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit EXTENDED DEADLINE! ... more -
Hareless: Yellowstone's Rabbits Have Vanished
Bees, birds, rabbits... A pattern?/////////excerpt////////A new study by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society found that jack rabbits living in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have apparently hopped into oblivion. The study, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Oryx, also speculates that the disappearance of jack rabbits may be having region-wide impacts on a variety of other prey species and their predators.
According to the study, historical records from more than 130 years ago indicate that white-tailed jack rabbits were once locally abundant in Greater Yellowstone, a 60,000 square kilometer (23,166 square mile) ecosystem that contains both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. However, the WCS study found that no jack rabbit sightings could be confirmed in Yellowstone since 1991 and only three in Grand Teton since 1978.
No one knows what caused the rabbits to disappear, according to the study's lead author, Dr. Joel Berger, a Wildlife Conservation Society conservationist, and professor at the University of Montana. "It could be disease, extreme weather, predation or other factors," Dr. Berger said. "Since the rabbits blipped off without knowledge, there has simply been no way to get at the underlying cause."/////////end of excerpt. Bees, birds, rabbits... A pattern?/////////excerpt////////A new study by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society found that ... more -
Is It Getting Too Warm For Penquins?
King penquins may be the next species to go extinct due to anthropogenic global warming/climate change.//////Excerpt://////Sitting near the top of the food chain, the king penguins are useful markers for the health of the rest of the Antarctic ecosystem. If global warming means they're not getting enough food, the conditions below the penguins could be even worse. Temperature rise due to climate change is occurring quicker at the poles than the rest of the planet — on the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures have risen five times faster than the global average over the past 50 years. Even if we can manage to slow the growth in carbon emissions, the poles will likely continue to warm. Though the species that have evolved to survive in harsh Antarctic conditions are necessarily tough, they're also delicate. They're built for the snow and ice — change those conditions, and you take away their habitat and their food supply. Extinction comes next, and nothing can stop it./////end of excerpt.////////Shame on us. King penquins may be the next species to go extinct due to anthropogenic global warming/climate change.//////Excerpt://////Sitting nea... more
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Species Loss
