Crazy Gator

I took these pictures on a walk in the wetlands behind my house a few days ago. The light was failing on my way back, the bottom two pics are a few pretty neat images I managed to get. It was very cool, and a little disconcerting, as the images here are exactly what I was seeing through the viewfinder of my camera.

BUMP - I am bumping this up for my nephews in Alabama. Hi boys, we miss you! ;~)

Compare the Poles

Here is a nifty (... can I still use that word??) site I came across - Click: Polar Discovery. It is a great education site with everything from a side by side comparison of physical features of the two poles to the difference in seasons & weather and plants & wildlife.

Also within this site is - Click: Live from the Poles. This portion of the site is designed to give you an in-depth inside look at four major scientific expeditions to the south and north poles. They record their experiences - even what they eat for lunch, according to the site- through a tw0 person media team, a photographer and a science writer. The updates will consist of daily writings and photo essays documenting the expeditions experiences, from how they are keeping warm to the scientific findings and the tools used to obtain them. Two of the expeditions have passed, a third (to Antarctica) will start November 26th, 2007 and run through December 23rd, 2007. It looks to be an interesting experience for readers, I will definitely be checking in.

Update - The expedition has begun, to follow the journey click - To the ice at last

The New Black

TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - Global warming may not only affect climate and the environment, it will also have an impact on clothes and fashion, according to design and retail experts.

..."With Seventh Avenue proclaiming that 'green is the new black,' we can expect a surge in fashion innovations in response to climate change," said Jo Paoletti, a professor at the University of Maryland and an expert in design and fashion.

It will mean not only debates about the benefits of cotton versus polyester or other fabrics, but likely future innovations such as smart clothes that monitor and adjust to body temperature to reduce the need for air conditioning and heating, she added. Click: Green is the new black for savvy consumers, retailers

It is so encouraging to see environmentalism and climate change going mainstream. There is so much attention paid to the latest "in" thing, even if it is simply fad for most, it should leave an impression on all.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have been busy with the holiday coming, and will be for the rest of the week. I will be back Monday, I hope eveyone has a safe and wonderful holiday :~)

Africa

OSLO (Reuters) - Africa is the "forgotten continent" in the fight against climate change and needs help to cope with projected water shortages and declining crop yields, the U.N.'s top climate change official said on Sunday.

... "Africa is not getting a lot out of climate change policy at the moment," he [Yvo de Boer, head of the Bonn-based U.N. Climate Change Secretariat] said. "But climate change will affect Africa very severely."

The U.N. climate panel's final 26-page summary report, released in Spain on Saturday, says that Africa, the Arctic, the deltas of major rivers in Asia and small island states are likely to be especially affected by climate change. Click: Africa "forgotten continent" in climate fight


TUNIS (Reuters) - African nations must forge a united front at climate negotiations next month to win help to protect millions from the harm warmer weather is expected to bring, experts say.

Tens of millions of Africans face increasing water scarcity by 2020, posing potential food shortages and a rise in disease, scientists say, and Africa must push hard for the finance and expertise to enable it to devise regional solutions, they say. Click: Africa needs united action on climate


JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Africa's coastal infrastructure faces increasing danger of erosion from rising sea levels caused by climate change, the head of the U.N. Environment Program said on Thursday.

Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP, told a news conference that port facilities, refineries and expensive private properties were already degrading as a result of global warming. Click: Rising seas threaten Africa's coastline

New "green-credit policy" in China

BEIJING (Reuters) - Twelve polluting enterprises have had crucial bank loans recalled, suspended or rejected as China's new "green-credit policy" kicks into action, Friday's China Youth Daily said.

Decades of heavy industrialization have made water from some of China's lakes and rivers so polluted it is no longer usable, with untreated waste from factories and other enterprises pumped directly into water sources. Click: China pulls bank loans to 12 major polluters.


I am happy to see this; where these polluting companies seemingly have no moral concerns about what they are doing, they most definitely have concern when it comes to their fat wallets. Hit 'em where it hurts 'em, it's well deserved.

LOL

Carma

What is CARMA? CARMA reveals the carbon emissions of more than 50,000 power plants and 4,000 power companies in every country on Earth.

Click: Carbon Monitoring for Action

This is a great site that just went live this week. Notice the map and legend on the home page, the large red dots indicate a plant that produces a lot of electricity and a lot of CO2 while the large green dots indicate a plant that produces a lot of electricity and almost no CO2. There are no large green dots... [EDIT- Upon reloading the Carma page I had a few orange dots show up that were not there before and it was incredibly slow to load, so maybe there are green dots and they are just having trouble at the moment]


Input your zip in the text box on the right ride of the page to see your local results.

90% of all living things remain unknown

BRONX, NEW YORK--Most people can tell the difference between some types of berries, or bugs or trees, but much of the planet's life remains unnamed and unseen.

..."We live, in short, on a little-known planet. When dealing with the living world, we are flying mostly blind," Wilson said. "When we try to diagnose the health of an ecosystem, such as a lake or a forest, in order to save and stabilize it we are in the position of a doctor trying to treat a patient, knowing only 10 percent of organs." Click: After 250 Years of Classifying Life, 90 Percent Remains Unknown

... interesting, in this "information age", to really comprehend how far we still have to go to be truly informed.

The techie geek in me

This is one of my all time favorite net videos. It has been around awhile now, but I wanted to share it with those of you that have not seen it. It is not environmental, it satisfies my techie side (although you definitely do not have to be a tech of any sort to find it appealing ;~)).

Where there is money, there is attention

LONDON (Reuters) - Banking group HSBC said on Tuesday it has launched a range of structured products offering exposure to two indexes and a fund that contain firms making their profits from fighting global warming. Click: HSBC launches climate-change structured products


The Wall Street Journal: Investors' Appetite Spurs Area's Growth; Relief From Volatility: A surge in investor appetite for environmentally friendly investment funds is leading investment banks to create special indexes and structured products related to the industry.

Along with derivatives linked to weather, banks are creating new stock indexes of companies that tackle or are affected by climate change, creating a new investment sector that isn't correlated to other asset classes. Click: Climate Funds Get Hotter

Russian Oil Spill

KAVKAZ PORT, Russia (Reuters) - Long stretches of Russia's Black Sea coast face an ecological catastrophe, local authorities said on Monday, after a fierce storm broke up a tanker, disgorging hundreds of tons of oil on to the shore.

..."The damage is so huge it can hardly be evaluated. It can be compared to an ecological catastrophe," Interfax news agency quoted Alexander Tkachyov, governor of Russia's Black Sea region of Krasnodar, as saying.

"Thirty thousand birds have died, and it's just impossible to count the loss of fish," he told regional officials. Click: Oil spill spells catastrophe for Russian coast


Click: FACTBOX: Key facts about oil spills

Click: Slideshow

California to sue EPA - Update

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, demanding a quick federal decision that would allow the nation's most populous state to limit greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

"California is ready to implement the nation's cleanest standards for vehicle emissions, but we cannot do that until the federal government grants a waiver allowing us to enforce those standards," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said.

...Sixteen other states have either adopted or are considering similar emissions rules, and many joined the lawsuit. Click: California, other states sue U.S. on car emissions

California was supposed to file the lawsuit a few weeks ago, but delayed due to the massive outbreak of fires. Click: California to sue EPA for the original post.

And a Bad Thing - Update

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congolese authorities arrested six people in connection with the dumping of tons of highly radioactive minerals into a river near the southeastern town of Likasi, the environment minister said on Friday.

A quarantine zone was also set up around the site, just 10 km (6 miles) from the mining town of 300,000 people, where tests on Thursday revealed radiation levels nearly 50 times the limit for mineral exports from Democratic Republic of Congo. Click: Six arrested in Congo radioactive dumping scandal

See And a Bad Thing for the first post on this.

Hoax

OSLO (Reuters) - A hoax scientific study pointing to ocean bacteria as the overwhelming cause of global warming fooled some skeptics on Thursday who doubt growing evidence that human activities are to blame.

...Blogger skeptic Neil Craig wrote: "This could not be more damaging to manmade global warming theory ... I somehow doubt if this is going to be on the BBC news." Click: Hoax bacteria study tricks climate skeptics

... not funny.

Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Scientists and economists Tuesday warned lawmakers of consequences Florida faces from climate change, including more destructive hurricanes and a rising sea level, but they also said the state could be a leader in reducing global warming. Click: Experts warn Fla. about climate change


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Harmful red tide blooms along Florida's west coast in the fall are spurred when seasonal changes in wind patterns move nutrients east from the Mississippi River, scientists reported Wednesday. Click: Wind patterns spur Fla. red tide blooms


WEST PALM BEACH — The number of loggerhead turtle nests was substantially lower in 2007 than in past years, according to preliminary numbers from scientists statewide.

Scientists found 28,500 nests from 19 surveyed beaches, down from almost 50,000 last year. The number was so low that this could be the lowest nesting year on record for loggerheads, said Blair Witherington, a research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The turtles' nesting numbers have declined in at least four of the past seven years. Click: Fla. Loggerhead Turtle Nests Drop in '07


A few headlines on Florida from the past few days.

Winner of the Peace Primary

True Majority won the $100,000 grand prize in the Peace Primary voting. The campaign raised a total of $326,000 which all twelve groups that were competing will share.

And a Bad Thing

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have launched an inquiry into the suspected dumping of 18 tons of highly radioactive minerals into a river in southeast Katanga province, officials said on Wednesday.

..."The road was blocked. And since they couldn't access (Shinkolobwe), they decided amongst themselves to dump it into the river," he [provincial Mines Minister Bartelemy Mumba Gama] said. "I think they did it by ignorance." Click: Radioactive minerals dumped in Congo

... 18 tons of radioactive material dumped casually into a river...

A Few Good Things

Plantic - A new plastic like material that is biodegradable. It looks like the starting use for this would in food packaging. It looks and feels like regular plastic, but it is made from starch, so you can compost it or simply pour water on it and watch it dissolve. Click: Plantic for more info

Air Car - A zero-emissions vehicle that runs on compressed air. The first model, the OneCat, will be released in late 2008. The OneCat will fit up to 5 passengers, reach speeds up to 68mph, and go as far as 500 highway miles on one fill-up. The car refills by plugging it in at home and the built-in compressor will fill the tank in 4 hours. The company, MDI of France, has plans to release 2-, 4- and 6- cylinder engines at prices ranging from $4,800 to $12,900. While not a cross country traveling vehicle yet, local use seems ideal, especially with its low price tag. Click: Air Car for more info

Smog Scrubber - A cement coating developed by Italcementi that pulls smog out of the air. The material contains titanium dioxide which neutralizes nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide when exposed to light. TX Active, the materials brand name, can be painted on buildings, bridges and streets. Click: TX Active for more info

Another Gorilla Post

What can I say, I have a deep sense of sorrow for these poor souls, both the gorillas and the people fighting to protect them.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the people of Congo save the mountain gorilla, might the gorilla return the favor?

That is the hope of environmental activists, who realize that wildlife conservation and tourism could be the key to survival for people as well as animals in a part of Africa where conflict has been the norm. Click: By saving gorillas, can Congolese save themselves?

As for the Virunga National Park I have posted on previously, Anderson Cooper with CBS 60 Minutes will be airing a segment about the rangers and their plight. For their posted details on the interview - Click: CBS 60 Minutes Interviews Congo Rangers about Gorilla Crisis

Sherwood Forest

EDWINSTOWE, England - Robin Hood might have a hard time hiding out in the Sherwood Forest of today.

The forest once covered about 100,000 acres, a big chunk of present-day Nottinghamshire County. Today its core is about 450 acres, with patches spread out through the rest of the county.

Experts say urgent action is needed to regenerate the forest and save the rare and endangered ancient oaks at its heart. Click: Robin Hood's forest is in trouble

It seems even our legends are in peril.

Clinton, Wal-Mart

SEATTLE (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton told more than 100 mayors Thursday that stopping global warming depends on them demonstrating that it makes economic sense. He said his foundation is teaming up with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to save cities money on environmentally friendly supplies by buying in bulk.

...Wal-Mart, which has embarked on a broad environmental drive to cut costs and burnish its reputation, is offering to help the mayors as it has met resistance in some big cities, including New York and Chicago, to its plans to expand into metro areas from its rural and suburban base.

Wal-Mart has set targets for reducing energy use and packaging waste and selling more environmentally friendly products. Steps include switching to only concentrated liquid laundry detergent that reduces packaging and water use, converting its truck fleet to use less fuel, and asking suppliers to provide data on their greenhouse gas emissions. Click: Clinton, Wal-Mart Push 'Green' Cities

Wal-Mart being the quintessential corporate bully, hopefully they do more good than harm, but at least it looks like a step in the right direction.

Climate bill seen as sign of political shift

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A milestone, a landmark and "the political center of gravity is finally shifting on global warming."

Those accolades greeted a Senate subcommittee's approval on Thursday of a bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions, mostly because it is the first of a dozen such measures that might have a chance of becoming law. Click: Climate bill

Seeing a lot more forward movement being reported in the press lately, it's a needed shift in the attitude of the masses (read - the press). Happy to see it.

Just in time for Halloween

RIDGWAY, Pa. - It's furry and walks on all fours. Beyond that, about the only thing certain about the critter photographed by a hunter's camera is that some people have gotten the notion it could be a Sasquatch, or bigfoot. Others say it's just a bear with a bad skin infection. Click: Pa. hunter's images stir Bigfoot debate

Happy Halloween!

One more...

Sorry Earth

Ok, so I have a fondness for youtube...

PeacePrimary.org

Twelve groups promoting peace. One will win $100,000 to amplify their message in the 2008 election. You decide. The Peace Primary is your chance to ensure that the peace issues you care about are a priority in 2008.

These are the twelve groups, the voting ends Oct. 31st

American Friends Service Committee

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Citizens For Global Solutions

Faithful Security

Genocide Intervention Network

Global Green USA

National Religious Campaign Against Torture

Peace Action & Peace Action Westtarget

Refugees International

TrueMajority

Union of Concerned Scientists

Women's Action For New Directions

There are three that deal specifically with environmental issues - Click: Organizations focused on: climate change. I know this is a late posting, it is very close to the deadline. Vote now, $100,000 is a nice sum for one of these orgs!

Pollution & Birth Defects in China

BEIJING (Reuters) - Birth defects in Chinese infants have soared nearly 40 percent since 2001, a government report said, and officials linked the rise to China's worsening environmental degradation.

... China's coal-rich northern province of Shanxi, a centre of noxious emissions from large-scale coke and chemical industries, had the highest rate of defects, Xinhua news agency said in a report carried by Monday's Beijing News.

"The incidence of birth defects is related to environmental pollution," the newspaper quoted An Huanxiao, director of Shanxi's provincial family planning agency, as saying. Click: China birth defects soar due to pollution: report



Those are alarming statistics in the article, a 40% jump in birth defects in 6 years. What I find just as alarming is the rather generous amount of air pollution they are sharing, as demonstrated after the click in this NASA Earth Observatory picture - Click: Pollution over China Blows out to Sea

small follow-up on 2008 Olympics post

Children kept indoors as Beijing fog turns to smog - BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's weather office warned children and the elderly to stay indoors on Friday as heavy fog blanketed the host city of the 2008 Olympics, exacerbating its chronic air pollution, Chinese state media reported.

You should check out the picture accompanying this article. Click: *cough* *gasp* ugh...

Primates in danger of extinction

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Almost a third of all apes, monkeys and other primates are in danger of extinction because of rampant habitat destruction, the commercial sale of their meat and the trade in illegal wildlife, a report released Friday said.

...Habitat loss due to the clearing of tropical forests for agriculture, logging and fuel wood continues to be the major factor in the declining number of primates, according to the report.

In addition, climate change is altering the habitats of many species, leaving those with small habitat ranges even more vulnerable to extinction, it says. Click: Report: Primates in danger of extinct


To read about the plight of the Mountain Gorillas click here: Gorilla Protection to view the blog from Virunga National Park, ICCN Rangers reporting on their daily fight to protect the imperiled Mountain Gorillas. They have a vital need for our monetary support also. 100% of donations, minus bank transfer fees, go directly to the field. There are very few donation opportunities where you can make such a direct impact as this one. You can donate by simply following the Gorilla Protection link and filling out the form on the right.

2008 Olympic Games & Questionable Air Quality

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's air pollution remains a concern for the 2008 Olympics, even though the city is well on its way to fulfilling the environmental pledges made when it bid to host the Games, a United Nations report said on Thursday.

... "While it cannot be denied that Beijing ... has made, and continues to make, strenuous efforts to improve air quality ... air pollution is still the largest environmental and public health issue facing the city," said the report, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, An Environmental Review

... Of particular concern were the high levels of small particulate matter (PM10), which are sometimes more than 200 percent above recommended safe levels. Click: Beijing meeting pledges but pollution a concern: U.N.


Odd time we live in, eh?

California to sue EPA

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California will sue the Environmental Protection Agency next week in the state's bid to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Saturday. California will file a lawsuit against the EPA demanding the right to set its own limits on vehicle emissions that are stricter than national standards, spokesman Aaron McLear said. Click: California to sue EPA next week on emissions waiver

California has waited almost two years for a waiver that will allow the implementation of a law passed in 2005 that would require new vehicles to meet more stringent standards for greenhouse gas emissions. It is very sad when you have to SUE the federal government in order to enact your own, state inclusive and more ecologically responsible, requirements for emission standards. Surely this has nothing to do with the undue influence of vehicle manufacturers...

Climate change growing threat to peace

A few interesting political dynamics in the climate change crisis:


BERLIN (Reuters) - Climate change is a growing threat to world peace and has led to rival territorial claims in the Arctic that could turn into a Cold War, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Tuesday. Click: Steinmeier: climate change growing threat to peace.


The New York Sun - America is on a collision course with its close ally and northern neighbor, Canada, over who has access to the Northwest Passage, which has become open to sea traffic...

...Canada claims the passage as its own; America, backed by the Europeans and others, says it is open sea and therefore a freely navigable international waterway. Click: Strife Looms Between America, Canada Over Route.


THIRD WORLD TRAVELER - It's official: the era of resource wars is upon us. In a major London address, British Defense Secretary John Reid warned that global climate change and dwindling natural resources are combining to increase the likelihood of violent conflict over land, water and energy. Click: The Coming Resource Wars By Michael Klare


Foreign Policy - Corrupt, tyrannical governments—not changes in the Earth’s climate—will be to blame for the coming resource wars...

...Yes, climate change is a serious problem that must be addressed, and unchecked environmental degradation may lead to intensified competition over scarce resources in certain regions. The good news is that the future is not written in stone. How governments respond to the challenge is at least as important as climate change itself, if not more so...

...If the grimmest scenarios come to pass and environmental change contributes to war, human rights abuse, and even genocide, it will be reckless political leaders who deserve much of the blame. Click: The New Myth About Climate Change By Idean Salehyan

back

Sorry for the sporadic updates in the past few weeks, I will get back to updating more regularly now. :~)

Winners of the Friends of the Earth best One-minute green film award

Official Jury First Place Winner: The Plastic Battle



Peoples Choice First Place Winner: Change


Click here: Friends of the Earth to see the runners up and the shortlisted videos the winners were chosen from.

Invasive Species - Blog Action Day

Currently, more than 1,000 nonnative plant species have become established in Florida and constitute at least 25% of the total flora of the state. In some cases, nonnative plants do not pose a problem at this time, they are merely weeds and flora that are kept in check. In other cases, invasive plants such as melaleuca, Brazilian pepper, water hyacinth and various vines crowd out native plants and animals, reduce biodiversity and destroy ecosystems.

In the top picture is water hyacinth overtaking a pond in my area wetlands. They create something called a mono-culture, if left unchecked they will continue to grow until they are the only plant left and the pond can no longer sustain new life. These plants reproduce at an alarming rate. In the picture you can see the dead water hyacinth that has been sprayed, the small patches of green dotted around the brown patches is new growth. They uptake oxygen from the water, leaving little for the fish to survive. When the fish are gone, the birds will leave the area in search of new food sources; this will no longer be a sustainable ecosystem. It will be an ecosystem destroyed.

The bottom picture is Brazilian pepper in my area hammocks. These peppers have already taken over this area. They, like the water hyacinth, create a mono-culture. There should be native oaks, sabal palms, wild coffee and other natives vital to the balance of our ecosystem. The Brazilian pepper offer very little to our existing habitat; they produce red berries that are toxic and they do not provide the shelter our various fauna need. And they are taking over everywhere. Where is our native flora and fauna to go?

We are introducing new species to our specialized ecosystem consistently. What will be the next massively destructive invasive? We must regulate what is coming into our state better, and think more clearly about what we do allow in. We do not have the winters that keep many introduced plants in check in their natural native areas and we also do not have the proper predators to keep their numbers down. What you loved back home may not be healthy for where you are now. We have an amazingly unique environment with distinct needs and diversity; every environment is unique, please help keep it that way.

Blog Action Day

Bloggers Unite - Oct. 15th, 2007

"What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices." - from Blog Action Day

This year the chosen topic is the environment. They ended up with 15,861 blogs signed up with a total rss reach of 12,697,713. There is a large variety in the types of blogs signed up, with a mixture of languages as well. These are the officially supported charities for Blog Action Day - Greenpeace International; The Nature Conservancy; National Wildlife Federation; The Sierra Club; The Conservation Fund


Today is the day, get blogging! I will post again later.

Al Gore and the U.N. climate panel

Al Gore and the U.N. climate panel won the Nobel Peace Prize today for their work in raising international awareness to global warming and calling for strong action "before climate change moves beyond man's control".

This is a fantastic step in the right direction for all of us, increasing the validity of the cause tremendously. Hopefully it will raise pressure for all nations to step up efforts and implement mandatory measures to reduce their carbon footprint.

Click: Reuters Article

Ashton Hayes

Their aim: The Cheshire village of Ashton Hayes (pop. 1000 approx.) is aiming to become the first small community in England to achieve carbon neutral status. We want our children and future generations to know that we tried to do our bit to stem global warming and encourage other communities to follow suit. - from: GoingCarbonNeutral.com - Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project

This is a 16 minute video on their journey so far. I know it is a bit long for an internet vid, it's worth the watch though.

Gorilla Warfare

A little history and more elaboration on the post below:

“According to local human-rights workers and renowned paleontologist Richard Leakey, among others, a corrupt mafia of charcoal merchants has recently begun harvesting Virunga’s forests to fuel a $30 million-a-year industry. “These are their oil wells,” Leakey says of Virunga’s trees. If unchecked, the loggers’ activities could decimate the gorilla habitat in a few years….” click: Newsweek article


Click and scroll down just a bit to July 14th for an explanation on charcoal burning: Charcoal Burning


National Geographic video: Gorillas Executed in Congo Park


WildlifeDirect: Congo Rangers fight to ensure the survival of the last remaining Mountain Gorillas in Virunga National Park, this is their blog. The country is in the midst of a civil war, the park is one of its hostages at the moment. This blog is updated at least daily, please follow this link: Gorilla Protection



This is a heart wrenching story that really needs attention.

Congo rebels seize gorillas habitat

KINSHASA, Congo - Rebels have seized an area in eastern Congo that serves as a wildlife habitat for endangered mountain gorillas, threatening one of the last known populations of the animals, conservationists said Sunday.

Shelling and heavy gunfire could be heard from the headquarters of the Virunga National Park ... Only 700 mountain gorillas exist in the world, of which more than half live in the Virunga conservation area, a huge swath of territory at the intersection of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

Click here for the entire story: Congo rebels seize gorillas habitat

Melting ice pack displaces Alaska walrus

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Thousands of walrus have appeared on Alaska's northwest coast in what conservationists are calling a dramatic consequence of global warming melting the Arctic sea ice.

..."It looks to me like animals are shifting their distribution to find prey," said Tim Ragen, executive director of the federal Marine Mammal Commission...

..."The primary problem of maintaining ice habitat, that's something way, way, way beyond us," he said. "To reverse things will require an effort on virtually everyone's part."

Click here to read the entire article: Melting ice pack displaces Alaska walrus

Skeptics

I have been trying to get a happy post out of me, so not feeling it though. Not that I am miserable today, just a little bloggers block. Here's a link to a Grist article: How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic. It is a well done comprehensive list of talking points and scientific information.

Are we crazy?

I just resigned from the environmental committee of my neighborhood. My committee members are fantastic people, it's the Governing Board members we go against that are incomprehensibly stupid. Yes, that dumb, no exaggeration. Why is it so hard to get people to see beyond their own arse?? These people did not want a thing actually done, they just want it to look like they want something done. It seems it is politically incorrect to be indifferent to choking the life out of the habitat you promised to preserve and protect, but also politically incorrect to care too much about said habitat. So they fake it. They fake caring and nod knowingly in a what can you do fashion.

I am extremely irritated, frustrated and saddened. What I am no longer is naive enough to be a part of a completely contrived show to the public while a constant undermining of actual efforts for environmental improvement is taking place! They want their name in the paper for being forward thinking trailblazers for the environment, and they get it, all while they are actually squashing efforts. You know, your wheels are spinning, you're trying to get traction, then you see the very people you are working for holding the grease can. I am rambling a bit, just typing a stream of consciousness while disturbed and so saddened I can not stand it. We try to help, because we really do care, walking cliches and all. Why is it if you truly want to right environmental wrongs, your IQ drops in the minds of others?

I needed to vent... I'll do a happy post tomorrow to make it up.

Friends of the Earth Contest

This is my favorite Friends of the Earth contest entry so far. It's clever and quite cute.

History Repeats Itself?

When tobacco companies first set to work marketing and selling their wares, they were not aware that they were selling a potentially dangerous product. A few decades later, the medical community was facing mounting evidence of cigarettes true harm. A decade later the general public was becoming widely aware of the issue. It was around this time that the tobacco companies first launched the denial campaigns that lasted decades. Their marketing strategies were excellent, they appealed to our egos and to a *more sophisticated* mentality. Doctors touting death by cigarettes were made out as quacks and alarmists. A short time after this, the first government report came out about the health hazards of cigarettes. At no time did the tobacco companies waver in pushing forward in their ad campaigns for more customers, more money. Millions died throughout the 50 year reign of big tobacco.

Now, in the preceding paragraph, please replace these words: tobacco companies and big tobacco with oil companies and big oil; medical community and doctors with scientific community and scientists; cigarettes with global warming. I do not want this to be our story. The video below is a television spot that was aired in May of 2006. I know it's been around for a bit, but it's worth viewing again. The idiocy of this spot astounds me. The Competitive Enterprise Institute produced this video. They receive large portions of funding from big oil companies, and, coincidently, big tobacco as well. Do we really want to play "whoever has the most money wins", again?

Above is an actual commercial from the 1950s, just around the time the tobacco companies were labeling the mounting medical evidence against them as unfounded and alarmist. There were many more advertisements just like this one, both in print and on television. If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Beach Closed

My local beach is closed due to elevated levels of bacteria from fecal matter. Ugh. That's all I can say. And maybe ewww. And please pick up after your pets. I wonder how they let the marine life know to stay away. Ok, I had a little more to say, but to reiterate, ugh.

All Things Considered - Midway atoll

I listened to a piece today on All Things Considered (NPR) about the Midway atoll. This is it in article form: Remote Waters Offer No Refuge from Plastic Trash , it was an interesting bit.

According to the U. S. government, an astonishing 50 tons of plastic arrive in Midways waters every year. If you can visualize this, the atoll is over 1,000 miles from the nearest city, has no infrastructure, and only a few dozen people living there. It is also a National Wildlife Refuge. And 50 tons of plastic is directed its way each year. Most of this plastic, approximately four-fifths, comes from the lands all around the Pacific Ocean. This is our trash from our streets, washed into our storm drains, washed into our watersheds and out into the ocean. And that's just the waste we can physically see, imagine if we could see the pesticides, fertilizers, pet waste and all of the other toxins that get washed into our watershed as well. The rest of the waste comes from cargo containers spilling out in stormy seas and from synthetic floats and other gear that is jettisoned illegally to avoid the cost of proper disposal in port. Midways' most copious resident, the Laysan albatross, pays a high price for this human ignorance. Of the 500,000 albatross chicks born there each year, approximately 40% die, mostly from dehydration or starvation. A two-year study funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that chicks that died from those causes had twice as much plastic in their stomachs as those that died for other reasons. The picture above is the stomach contents of ONE dead Laysan albatross chick. Anyone who says we can't make a difference in the pollution problems of this world should think again. We DO make a difference, evidenced by 50 tons of trash rushing toward a small atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Let's make it a positive difference instead, though.

Superfund365

What is Superfund? The EPA states that: "The Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country." As of September 2007 there are 1,315 final and proposed sites on the National Priorities List (NPL), but thousands more wait for approval. Here is the wiki on Superfund for further explanation: Wikipedia - Superfund

What is Superfund365? Superfund365 is an online data visualization application with an accompanying RSS-feed and email alert system. Each day for a year, starting on September 1, 2007, Superfund365 will visit one toxic site currently active in the Superfund program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). - description from Superfund365 website.

One of the goals for Superfund365 is to raise awareness of the expiration of this: Polluter Pays Fees. With the expiration of this fee, innocent Americans are picking up the bill instead of the polluters who need to be held accountable. Go here: Safe From Toxics and find out how to contact your U. S. Representative to encourage them to support H.R. 3584, a bill that would restore polluter funding for toxic waste cleanups by reinstating Superfund’s polluter fees.

Virgin Trains new ad campaign

These are hilarious, I rolled laughing at this series. There are 7 of them on YouTube, these two are very funny. Really the funniest one, in my opinion, I just can't post here. It's dirty, but brilliant, if they clean it up more I'll post it then. If you're curious and looked a bit, it wouldn't be hard to find, but my sense of humor might be off, so please don't blame me...

Do Something

Do Something is a fantastic organization challenging young people to change their world for the better. For the month of October, Do Something is holding the Environmental Sustainability Competition, open to all schools in Boston, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. There is a $1,000 prize for the winners. I knew of them before I had heard about this competition and have always thought it was a good organization, so I am very happy to help spread the word. They really believe in our younger generation, and run a great campaign letting them know that. If you, or someone you know, are in the participating areas please find out more and get involved.


"Each school or club must initiate a project in the month of October to taking action to save energy, reduce waste and getting as many people as involved as you can to make reduce the environmental impact of your school and school population. Each school will report through an online submission form at the end of October the actions they took during the month to save energy, reduce waste and an estimate of how much energy they saved, waste reduced, people involved/impacted." - from Do Something


Even if you do not live in the competition area, it would be worth your time to visit their site. There is quite a bit of information to browse through, as well as a great search feature with a huge range of volunteer opportunities in your area.

Food Chain

Our world economy is generally made up by you personally feeding small to medium businesses, who in turn feed big business, who in turn feed bigger corporations, who in turn feed colossal corporations. Whew. The environmental movements work in the same way, only not always with money do you belong in the chain here. In some instances your time is just as, if not more, valuable. I would like to occasionally spotlight a few of the small to medium organizations, since most are already familiar with the bigger orgs. Edit - I just want to clarify, your monetary contributions are vital to some of these operations. When they are trying to offset the harm those billion dollar colossal corporations are causing, you will be a lifeline. I do not want to diminish the value of financial support. The orgs I will be spotlighting will be a mixture in need.


Eco-Libris

"About 20 million trees are being cut down EVERY YEAR to produce the books sold in the U.S. alone." "Let’s start with the bottom line: we believe in providing people with easy and affordable ways to take responsibility for their actions and go green. We don’t believe in preaching doom and gloom. It’s not our style. We do believe in taking action and in the power of small changes to make a big impact." - from the Eco-Libris website

According to the site, their three planting partners are all non-profit organizations working in developing countries for the benefit of both the environment and local communities in these countries. Sustainable Harvest International; RIPPLE Africa; The Alliance for International Reforestation

I went to all the sites mentioned here, they were all ecologically sensible and worth going to for me. All are working towards making a positive difference in our lives.

A Global Warning...

Excellent video, one of my favorite on Global Warming so far. If you watch it all the way through, it has a great ending too.

STOP TALKING ABOUT TALKING

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world's biggest greenhouse gas polluters -- including the United States and China -- sent envoys to the U.S. State Department on Thursday for discussions on climate change and what to do about it.

... The Washington talks are not formal climate negotiations, but rather an airing of views on greenhouse gases, energy security, technology development and commercialization, financing -- and a daylong closed-door session on "process and principles for setting a long-term goal" to cut the human-caused emissions that spur climate change.

Click Here For The Whole Article


This administration has consistently put on a smoke and mirrors act with environmental issues, especially with our responsibility to reduce emissions. Although I understand there was more to the decision, the main public reasoning for not participating in the Kyoto Protocol was foolish, I can almost see the stomping of feet while whining; China's not included, why are weeeeee?? And what about Indiiiiaaa? It's not fair!

I really want to send them to their rooms to think about the way they're acting. And don't come out until you can apologize and respect others. It is very frustrating.

National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day - September 29th, 2007.

National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy. In 2006, 100,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, planted trees and plants, and removed trash and invasive plants.

Contact your local state park to participate, almost every park should have something planned. In Southwest Florida there is a general theme of removing invasive species such as Brazilian pepper and Carrotwood plants from our public parks. Your local parks will address problems specific to the area. This is definitely a worthy way to spend a day!

Follow this link - National Public Lands Day - for more information. If you scroll to the bottom, on the right hand side you will find a link to locate your specific area.

Bumping this to the top, it is this upcoming Saturday.

What happens to the rain then?

My 13 year old son has a question, What happens to the rain then? If global warming is causing droughts, but the total water on our earth remains the same, what is happening to the rain? He wants to know where it is going, how is evaporation and precipitation changing? Anyone willing to help give him an answer?

Clarification - I homeschool my 11 and 13 year old sons. I do this partly because I feel our institutionalized world has led to a general disconnection from the "real" world. Society is heavily media driven, even in our schools, media rules with misinformation given as truth. I believe we can recondition our youth into finding truth for themselves, and help foster a reconnection for all of us to our natural world. We realize that we, too, can be the media. You are the media. Person of the year, even.

Today one of my sons chose global warming as his thesis topic. I think it would be great to use this blog and your voices as a resource in his quest for answers. If you are willing to help, it should be a neat experience for all of us.

Old Oil Company Ad

This was a recent Jay Leno bit, I thought it was hilarious.

Someone recently sent me an oil company ad from 1974. It shows a giant glacier dominating a little ship the size of a dime. The ad says, “We produce enough energy in one day to melt this glacier in 11 seconds.” Can you imagine that ad running today? That just killed me. “We can melt this glacier in 11 seconds”—and they’re bragging about it! Now they’re going, “Oh, no, we’re not going near any of the glaciers, no.” - Jay Leno

I looked all over the net for that ad, but I don't think it's going to be found. I would love to see that though, we could blow that baby up and billboard the world, what fun would that be... if anybody does find it, please link!

If the Earth was a village of 100 people

Video by Eco-Eco.Biz



I really liked this video, check it out.

Global Dimming

Someone left me this url - click: Global Dimming - in a comment, I thought it was incredibly interesting and wanted to pass it on. It's curious, I knew that aerosols were damaging and understood the phenomena in a more vague way, but never had I heard this term before. The article basically explains what Global Dimming is and states that its effects had masked Global Warming for years. Kind of a funny at the end of the wiki entry; some scientists suggest reintroducing heavy aerosols into the atmosphere to stave off Global Warming effects... then we're all going to put a bullet in our head to get rid of headaches. I want to post more on this later, after I research it fully. If anyone has any other links to news articles, etc. on this, I would be interested in seeing them.

EDIT - Inel was kind enough to compile a great synopsis on this issue, please read comments for more.

Rising Seas Likely to Flood U.S. History

Ultimately, rising seas will likely swamp the first American settlement in Jamestown, Va., as well as the Florida launch pad that sent the first American into orbit, many climate scientists are predicting.

In about a century, some of the places that make America what it is may be slowly erased.

By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer

Click Here For The Rest Of The Story

I realize that lately we read and hear quite a bit of doom and gloom in regards to the state of our environment, I still wanted to link this story because maybe I/you/we need to listen better. I really, really, like where I live and seeing as I have no scuba gear, please help me save my home.

The article states that the overwhelming consensus among leading scientists is that we can do nothing to stop global warming and its resulting sea level rise. Are these the same leading scientists that denied global warming even existed until the facts became too blatant to refute? They had an overwhelming consensus then too, we need to prove them wrong again. Apathy is never the solution. Perseverance got our world to where we finally admit we have a problem, perseverance now needs to get us to a sustainable solution.

Defining beautiful

Above - Great Blue Heron


Above - Rosette Spoonbill - Threatened Species

Below - Great Egret


Just wanted to share a little bit of my definition of beauty.

Deal reached on cutting ozone-damaging emissions

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Delegates from almost 200 countries agreed late on Friday to eliminate ozone-depleting substances faster than originally planned, the United Nations said.

The agreement was reached at a conference in Montreal to mark the 20th anniversary of the Montreal protocol, which was designed to cut chemicals found to harm the ozone layer. The layer protects the Earth from ultraviolet radiation.

The United States -- backed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) -- had urged delegates to move the deadline for phasing out production and use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) for developed countries to 2020 from 2030 and to 2030 from 2040 for developing nations.

"A deal which UNEP believes is historic has been reached on the accelerated freezing and phase-out of HCFCs," said UNEP spokesman Nick Nuttall.

He said details of the deal would be unveiled at a news conference in Montreal at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) on Saturday.

HCFCs are used in air conditioners and refrigerators. Holes in the ozone layer are blamed for increased risk of cancer and cataracts in humans.

Nuttall said the deal still had to be approved by a plenary session of the conference, adding that he did not expect there to be any problems or delays.

Washington says the faster phase-out of HCFCs would be twice as effective as the Kyoto protocol in fighting climate change.

What's that floating in the water?

This video was produced by It's Your Nature

Arctic Ice Melt Opens Northwest Passage

Click here: Associated Press - for full story.
Click here: European Space Agency - for satellite imagery.

Disposable Work Sites

I need to rant. And cry. And rail against The Oil Man! I was having a conversation with a friend recently in which it took an interesting turn and I want to (need to, argh!) share the story. We were talking about his job, he works in "acquisitions" for one of the biggest oil companies in the world. He travels extensively in his profession and is getting ready to go on another business trip soon, but his trip was delayed due to unsafe conditions in the destination country. As we were talking about the canceled trip and the temporary relief therein, the conversation turned from the personal fear and questionable morality of the job to the environmental destruction and immorality of the big oil companies.

I was introduced to the term "disposable work sites" for the first time. I'll get back to that in a moment. Before he started talking in depth as to facts, he said he had seen things in his career that had made him want to cry, and things that made him feel completely demoralized. I do not believe he said this lightly, I wanted to cry listening to him. And take a shower. I am going to keep him out of the rest of this and just repeat what I was told. He signed a lifetime confidentiality agreement and has not the slightest doubt as to whether they enforce policy. His words were "I'd be a dead man". I am not trying to sensationalize this, honestly it is already sensational enough, I need no embellishments. Some of you will not believe any of this at any rate. Hopefully I do his story justice and do not mangle the intentions.

Back to the disposable work sites. As I understand it, a company would bring its equipment to the arctic work sites and set up after the hard freeze. They need to be out before spring break-up in order to safely, even feasibly, tear down the work site and transport it all back out. It is costly to bring the equipment in and set up, and costly to reverse the process. So sometimes they just leave it. If it is more expensive to tear the job down than the equipment is, the job might run long and make it impossible to get out due to thaw. What are they to do? The government has protocol in place for this "just in case". They must drain all toxins out of the various machinery and a few other measures are in place (I do not know them all), and then they can leave it. The earth will swallow it all down as full spring break-up commences. For this reason, much of the equipment remains unregistered. The government does not want to set a strict leave date because no one can predict the thaw to the day and every day lost is a dollar lost for them. This is tundra, where things take years to grow and everything existing is vital. The impact of ecologically reckless actions is incomprehensible.

There was more to the talk; the big oil reasoning that if the government fines $20,000 to dump here, and it costs $30,000 to properly dispose of toxins... we can guess (and at times see) which they choose. The destruction to the Inuit tribes by oil companies laying waste to their lands. The known probability that the indigenous people, too, can be bought off. I believed that buyout to be rooted in fear that they and their desolate lands will be completely forgotten by the rest of the world.

I can not cite sources, give names or exact dates, nor can I give exact geographical instances. That does not make any of this less true, or less significant. We hear about mass consumption of natural resources so frequently now that there is a tendency to tune out the under current of urgency racing through environmental societies. We need to re-sensitize ourselves, we need to feel the pure outrage the aforementioned harmful actions should incite. Environmental havoc is happening daily, how much longer will people of power and our lawmakers disregard it?

They sacrifice our land, our very future is for sale by men in the present. I read something recently, "nature has no rights today, it exists merely as property"- it resonated in me, something has to change. People rightfully cry out for child rights, for the meek voice to be heard and abuse to be prosecuted. Who will speak for nature, give it a collective voice and prosecute tormentors, simply give rights back to the very thing that gives us life? Us. We are our future. Our Earth can not give voice any louder than it already is, we must listen and articulate in words and action what is already being expressed in the declining health of our every - think of how big a word every truly is- ecosystem. We do have a voice, and in that we have power.

Grist Article

"Consider Using the N-Word Less"

"Voluntary actions didn't get us civil rights, and they won't fix the climate"

Click this: Grist - for the rest of this article, it made me think, which I like ;~)

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11th hour trailer

Blue Man Group - "Earth To America!"

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

I believe educating ourselves and others to be the most important thing we can do to help our environment. If we can learn to be good environmental stewards we can positively change the face of our planet and its outlook. This is a work in progress, my ideas still evolving and my end direction yet to be determined. Please join me for my journey, and feel free to let me know what roads you would like me to explore on the way. My only solid truths right now are that there are many obstacles we face to a healthy environment, and that we must tackle our way of life. Not just one thing but a subtle difference in all things will make a dramatic change.

From the way we consume water (turn it off while you brush your teeth, and did you know water is NOT food for your lawn, drowning it will not make a healthy lawn) to walking our pets (pick up after them, do you really want to swim in that feces after it gets washed into your watershed) to being a responsible oil consumer (plan your trips out) we can make a positive difference with a few responsible changes in our life!

Thank you for being here with me right now, I hope you take something from this site that you can use. Also, if you have something to teach me, please do so!

Your Watershed

How Does Your Community Fit In The Big Picture?

Why is your watershed important?

We all live in a watershed. Watersheds are the places we call home, where we work and where we play. Everyone relies on water and other natural resources to exist. What you and others do on the land impacts the quality and quantity of water and our other natural resources.

Healthy watersheds are vital for a healthy environment and economy. Our watersheds provide water for drinking, irrigation and industry. Many people enjoy our streams, lakes, rivers and coasts for their beauty and for boating, fishing and swimming. Wildlife also need healthy watersheds for food and shelter.

Because we all belong to a watershed, our actions affect the health of our watershed. Common activities like walking the dog, taking care of the lawn and driving the car leave behind pollutants. As rain water moves through the watershed, it picks up bacteria and chemicals, and carries them to our streams, rivers, lakes and coasts. Improper disposal of motor oil, pet waste and overfertilization of a lawn all contribute to this pollution. Because of its many random sources, we all share responsibility for this pollution, it is called nonpoint-source pollution. My watershed is Little Sarasota Bay, find out your own watershed and learn what unique problems you may be facing.

What Can I Do To Help?

Use fertilizers and pesticides sparingly
Extra nutrients in the water supply disrupts the natural harmony between animals and plants of an ecosystem.

Conserve water
Overwatering can damage lawns and plants and places extra stress on our water supply.

Never dump anything down a stormdrain
Stormdrains are channels for rain water to help reduce flooding. Dumped chemicals can find their way deep underground, polluting the aquifer and other water supplies we all rely on.

Pick up after your pets
Bacteria from pet waste can be carried into nearby water bodies and are harmful to fish. Plus, when you go swimming, do you really want to swim in pet feces??


These are just a few of the many things you can do to decrease your burden on our environment. There are numerous other ways you can make a difference, there are so many wonderful organizations out there that want to help you; they are waiting to hear from you!