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Next week could make or break America's climate and energy future. Your calls were crucial to shutting down Senator Lisa Murkowski's attack on the Clean Air Act last month. http://views.washingtonpost.com/climate-change/post-carbon/2010/02/reid_demands_climate_bill.html |
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Over the past 10 months, the Ukrainian government has established 29 new protected areas, bringing the total number of protected nature zones in the country to 38, WWF said in a statement.
"With these additions, Ukraine's protected area system now covers 3.7 million hectares, or approximately 5.5 percent of the country's territory," WWF said.
But the group also warned of "a number of pressures that are threatening even those areas that already enjoy some form of protection, including inappropriate or poorly planned infrastructure developments."
Specifically, the development of a massive ski area in Bukovel in western Ukraine, 
among the 20 largest such areas in the world, is increasingly threatening key wilderness and protected nature parks in the Carpathian mountains, WWF complained.
Another cause for concern was the recent completion of the Bystroye Canal in the Danube delta, WWF said.
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The threat of extinction for the majestic Siberian crane is receding thanks to cooperation among countries including China, Russia and Iran, the UN said Wednesday. The bird, which has pure white plumage and stands about 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) tall, is considered to be in serious danger of extinction with an estimated population of just 3,000 to 3,500 left.
"The future of the Siberian crane is looking brighter thanks to 
the international effort by China, Iran, Kazakhstan and Russia, four countries along the bird's migratory routes," said Claire Mirande, director of the .
The Siberian crane migrates about 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) every year from its breeding grounds in northern Siberia to Iran or southern China. Large parts of the wetlands on its route are being drained for farming.
Mirande was speaking at the annual meeting of the United 
Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on the Indonesian island of Bali.
She said UNEP's crane project in the countries involved has played a key role in boosting the conservation and rehabilitation of 16 critical wetlands over the two main routes flown by the birds.
Consumer goods giant Unilever has told dealers not to source palm oil from Indonesian planter Duta Palma on concerns over rainforest destruction, an Indonesian industry official said on Wednesday.
firms such as Unilever, saying these companies' palm oil suppliers are responsible for deforestation and peatland clearance that can speed up climate change.
staff clearing rainforests for oil palm estates that produce the vegetable oil used in Unilever products such as Dove soap and Stork margarine.
"But it highlights the difficulty of trying to stay green, especially when the Indonesian government is handing out concessions to develop oil palms." (Left: Worker loads palm fruits)
The world's coral reefs will begin to disintegrate before the end of the century as rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere make the oceans more acidic, scientists warn.The research points to a looming transition in the health of coral ecosystems during which the ability of reefs to grow is overwhelmed by the rate at which they are dissolving.
More than 9,000 coral reefs around the world are predicted to
disintegrate when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reach 560 parts per million.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today stands at around 388ppm, but is expected to reach 560ppm by the end of this century.
Coral reefs are at the heart of some of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems in the world. They are home to more than 4,000 species of fish and provide spawning, refuge and feeding 
areas for marine life such as crabs, starfish and sea turtles.
"These ecosystems which harbor the highest diversity of marine life in the oceans may be severely reduced within less than 100 years," said Dr Jacob Silverman of the Carnegie Institution in Stanford University, California.
Coral reefs grow their structural skeletons by depositing aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate, from calcium ions in sea water. As oceans absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide, they become so acidic the calcium carbonate dissolves.
Silverman's team studied a coral reef in the northern Red Sea and calculated its response to increasingly acidic waters. The 
research showed that the ability of the coral to build new structures depended strongly on water acidity and to a lesser extent temperature.
From these data the researchers created a global map of more than 9,000 coral reefs, which showed that all are threatened with disintegration when carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reach 560ppm. Silverman was speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Diego.
In a separate study, Simon Donner, an environmental scientist at the University of British Columbia in Canada, warned that 
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is already at a high enough level to cause devastating coral bleaching.
Corals have a symbiotic relationship with microscopic algae that live on them. The algae give coral reefs their vibrant colors, but are also an important food source for the habitat's marine life. When sea temperatures rise, the corals expel the algae and turn white. Once this happens the coral is deprived of energy and dies.
"Even if we froze emissions today, the planet still has some warming left in it. That's enough to make bleaching dangerously frequent in reefs worldwide," said Donner.
Bleaching had become increasingly widespread in recent years, Donner said. In 2006, severe bleaching struck the southern part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef system in the world. Last year scientists reported that a "lucky combination" of circumstances had allowed the coral to recover from the disaster.
When the news came, animal conservationist Susie Ellis was ecstatic. This wasn't just an extraordinary pregnancy, but hope for the survival of a vanishing species.
of the International Rhino Foundation, based in Yulee, Florida.
habitats and the practice of poaching. Rhino horns are commonly sold to make analgesics in some forms of Asian medicine.
For a long time, researchers did not understand the rhinos' breeding mechanisms.
plane, truck and ferry to the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, 250 acres in Indonesia's Way Kambas National Park.
captivity can never be a substitute for protection in the wild, but at this critical point in 50 million years of rhinoceros history, it's essential to keep the species from extinction.
A male Sumatran tiger rears up against the bars of his cage, roaring. Even in captivity these creatures still remind us of their awesome power.
will be closely monitored."A lot of businessmen and top government officials have dead tigers in their houses," he explains.By having the option to care for live tigers Darori says the demand for the ones in the wild
"We hope that this program will eradicate poaching because in Indonesia or abroad a lot of people want to have tigers as pets. But because it is illegal they go and buy the dead tigers."
will decrease and allow that population to thrive.
yet sharp enough to break skin. But by the time they reach nine months they will have turned into fierce carnivores.
tigers is not the solution.
| Send Cabela’s A Hometown Message About Wolf-Killing Derbies
Cabela's has sponsored wolf-killing derbies -- brutal competitions where contestants are awarded cash and prizes based on how many wolves and other animals they can kill.
Or call 1-800-385-9712 to contribute by phone |
We’re turning up the heat on Cabela’s to stop sponsoring cruel wolf-killing derbies and funding anti-wolf litigation. Caring people like you have already sent more than 100,000 messages to Cabela’s urging them to end their support for wolf-killing predator derbies.
But despite the public outrage, the company has yet to act. We must increase media attention and public action directed at them.
Help us get their attention and stop corporate-sponsorship of wolf slaughters. Donate now to help place our powerful full-page ad in the company's hometown newspaper this Saturday.
As I wrote earlier, this major outdoor retailer has been sponsoring wolf-killing derbies -- brutal competitions where contestants vie to see how many wolves and other animals they can kill, with three points awarded for each dead wolf.
Worse, proceeds from these derbies are being used to support anti-wolf litigation to block the restoration of life-saving federal protections for these magnificent animals.
Our hard-hitting full-page ad spotlights the support of Cabela’s for wolf-killing predator derbies in Idaho that have been held by the misleadingly named Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife -- the same group that is also lobbying for the awful anti-wolf bill that we’re fighting in Utah.
With your help, we’re going to run the full-page color ad this Saturday in Sidney, Nebraska -- home of the Cabela’s corporate headquarters.
We’re going to let every manager, receptionist, office worker, accountant and employee at Cabela’s corporate headquarters know that the company's sponsorship of these terrible killing contests is hurting their bottom line.
The ad features quotes from wildlife-loving outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and anglers who have vowed to stop shopping at Cabela’s until the company stops sponsoring wolf-killing derbies.
Please donate now. With your support, we can run our powerful new ad in this Saturday’s edition of the Sidney Sun Telegraph.
And your tax-deductible contribution will do a lot more.
We’re keeping the pressure on Cabela’s with our national activist mobilization. We’re fighting Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife in Utah and in federal court. We’re educating others on the important role that wolves play in restoring the balance of nature. And we’re intensifying our campaign to convince President Obama to restore life-saving federal protections for these long-persecuted animals.
The clock is ticking. Can you chip in to support our vital efforts to save the lives of wolves and other imperiled wildlife?
For the Wild Ones,
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As it turns out, Cheerios may be good for your heart, but not so good for the world's rainforests, communities and the climate. Cheerios, and other favorite General Mills cereals like Trix, Lucky Charms and Wheaties, contain palm oil-derived ingredients that are linked to the destruction of rainforests in Southeast Asia.
General Mills is leaving our children a legacy of destruction with every spoonful of Cheerios. For the forests,
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Greenland’s glaciers are melting faster than they used to, contributing to the rise of sea levels worldwide. While warmer atmospheric temperatures thin all the glaciers from above, scientists have wondered if warmer waters are also melting the many glaciers that flow into the fjords.Two studies published in Nature Geoscience provide evidence that this is the case.
In one study, Fiammetta Straneo of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and colleagues looked at water temperatures and circulation in a fjord in East Greenland that is the terminus of Helheim glacier. They found that the 3,000-foot-deep fjord was continually being replenished with relatively warm (that is to say, 38 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit) water from the sea shelf beyond, driven by winds.
They suggest that this warmer water is causing increased 
undersea melting of the glacier at its terminus and that the same phenomenon could be occurring at other glaciers as well. Atmospheric and oceanic changes are responsible, they say, because they have altered the properties of the shelf water and the wind patterns to cause more and warmer water to enter the fjord.
The second study, by Eric Rignot of the University of California, Irvine, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and colleagues, looked at the rates of undersea melting at four glaciers in West Greenland. This isn’t easy to do: it involves measuring water velocity, temperature and salinity near the glacier front to determine the patterns of mixing and flow, and then calculating melting rates.
The researchers say that cold melt water from underneath the glacier combines with rising warmer, saltier water from the 
depths of the fjord. This rises along the underwater face of the glacier, melting it. The mixed waters then flow out into the glacier in a plume. They calculated the rates of undersea melting to be up to two orders of magnitude larger than surface melting rates.
Taken together, the two studies suggest that fjords play an important role in the changes taking place in Greenland’s glaciers.
Mining and drilling for oil, gas and coal will be banned in the Canadian portion of the Flathead River Basin, under a new partnership with the state of Montana announced Tuesday in British Columbia's Speech from the Throne, an annual address that identifies the Province's legislative priorities for the coming year. British Columbia Lieutenant Governor Steven Point declared, "A new partnership with Montana will sustain the environmental 
values in the Flathead River Basin in a manner consistent with current forestry, recreation, guide outfitting and trapping uses. It will identify permissible land uses and establish new collaborative approaches to transboundary issues."
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BC Premier Gordon Campbell, left, greets Lt. Gov. Steven Point at the entrance to the BC Legislature. February 9, 2010. (Photo courtesy Government of British Columbia) |
"Mining, oil and gas development and coal bed gas extraction will not be permitted in British Columbia's Flathead Valley," said Point.
Conservation groups, led by Earthjustice in the United States and its Canadian counterpart Ecojustice, petitioned the United Nations in 2008 to investigate mining activities proposed in the Flathead Valley that could devastate a national park and a World Heritage site spanning the U.S.-Canadian border.
The groups argued that proposed mining and drilling projects in the headwaters of 
the Flathead River, located in the southeast corner of British Columbia, threaten the ecological health of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site straddling the Alberta-Montana border that became the world's first International Peace Park in 1932.
The Flathead River Valley, in BC's southeast corner, adjoins the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. 
Last month, a United Nations committee delivered a report to the governments of Canada and the United States in response to the petition, recommending a ban on mining in the Flathead Valley and the development of a conservation and wildlife management plan for the Waterton-Glacier park.
Canadian and U.S. conservation organizations praised the decision.
"Today's announcement marks an important step forward to protect the last undeveloped low-elevation valley in southern Canada, where grizzly bears, lynx and wolverines still roam beside pure waters that nurture rare native trout," said Tim Preso, staff attorney for the public interest law firm Earthjustice.
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The Flathead River in southeastern British Columbia has never been dammed. (Photo by Troy Colautti) |
"We are pleased that British Columbia now recognizes what the UN World Heritage Committee recently reaffirmed - the wild Flathead Valley is a treasure more precious than coal or gold," Presco said.
"People in the Flathead Valley place a very high value on Glacier Park and clean water," said Dave Hadden of local conservation group Headwaters Montana. "The BC government announcement represents an important opportunity for Montanans to work with BC to protect the entire North Fork Flathead watershed, including unfinished conservation on the U.S. side of the border."
The Flathead is British Columbia's last unsettled low elevation 
valley, offering a rare convergence of multi-colored wild flowers on its slopes and an unparalleled refuge for carnivore species like mountain lions, grizzlies, lynx and wolverines, says the Sierra Club of British Columbia. The Flathead River, a free-flowing waterway that has never been dammed, is one of North America's last wild rivers.
"This is a great first step," said the Sierra Club's Sarah Cox. "We hope the government will continue to listen to British 
Colombians and take steps to permanently protect our world-class Flathead River Valley in the form of a National Park and Wildlife Management Area.
Until very recently, the Flathead was spared development by the quirk of fate that Canada's national railway line was forged through the adjacent Elk Valley, discouraging Flathead settlement.
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Until today's announcement, the Sierra Club explains, the Flathead's wildness was under siege by mountaintop removal coal mining and coal bed methane development near the river's pristine headwaters.
"Supporting new coal and coal bed methane developments that will increase greenhouse gas emissions simply does not make sense, especially given that the BC government has legislated new CO2 carbon emissions reduction targets," says the Sierra Club.
Cline Mining's proposed Lodgepole mountaintop removal coal mine would see nearly 20 tons of tailings dumped onto the headwaters of the Flathead River each year.
BP Canada Energy Company, a subsidiary of British Petroleum, had plans to extract coal bed methane from an area 
greater than 500 square kilometers, straddling the Flathead and Elk watersheds. British Petroleum's proposed Mist Mountain project would have industrialized the pristine air, land and water of the Flathead with an expansive network of wells, roads, pipelines and compressors.
Together, the conservation groups warn, these industrial threats pose the threat of irreversible damage to one of southern Canada's last unprotected wilderness jewels.
"As the world's first international peace park, Waterton-Glacier is more than just a national park," said Will Hammerquist, Glacier Program Manager for the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association. "It is an icon of international cooperation, peace between nations, and the special relationship between Canada and the United States."
"Today's announcement honors this vision, and is an opportunity to begin a new era of transboundary cooperation in the Flathead Valley and surrounding Crown of the Continent ecosystem."
