TresSugar

Terrible Odds? One of Every Four Mammals Faces Extinction

CitizenSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:55:43 -0700

According a report to be published on Friday in the journal Science, researchers have discovered startling odds on the chances of survival for the world's mammals: 1-in-4. Yikes. Um, aren't humans mammals too. . . ?

The researchers say of the findings, ''We estimate that one in four species is threatened with extinction and that the population of one in two is declining." Did you catch that one? Fifty percent are declining, and the scientists aren't letting us off the hook: ''Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live. We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives.''

To see which mammals are threatened most, read more.

The study was done by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, made up of over 1,000 organizations. This particular study involved 1,700 scientists and spanned five years. With the report, was a "red list," containing 44,838 species in total, 16,928 of which are threatened with extinction. Larger mammals are more threatened than smaller ones as they have a lower population density and require more habitat - the exact ecosystems the researchers point - with problems ranging from deforestation to climate change.

There's a tiny silver lining: five percent of currently threatened mammals are showing signs of recovery. Given controversial plans to move species to save them, and scientists predicting that humans themselves need to prepare for extinction, is this study just another environmental scare that can be explained by the cycle of life? Or are we looking at being faced with the choice: bunny, pony, kitten, puppy - which one are you willing to write off?

View 10 Photos ›

Source

Warming Leaves Us No Choice But to "Prepare For Extinction"?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:00:24 -0700

Top scientist Bob Watson says that we need to prepare for a rise in temperature of 39 degrees Fahrenheit. A jump that big would have catastrophic effects - it means between 7 million and 300 million more people would be affected by flooding and that the water availability in Africa would dry up by 50 percent.

In other words, 4 billion people left without water, 5 billion at risk for flooding, and half a billion left hungry. Some say there's no planning for that coming shift and that humans are staring down the barrel of extinction. Or in the possible words of Chief Seattle, "the end of living and the beginning of survival."

Want more science to hammer that home?

To see how far this process could go, look 55.5 million years to the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, when a global temperature increase of 6C coincided with the release of about 5,000 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere, both as CO2 and as methane from bogs and seabed sediments. Lush subtropical forests grew in polar regions, and sea levels rose to 100m higher than today. It appears that an initial warming pulse triggered other warming processes. Many scientists warn that this historical event may be analogous to the present: the warming caused by human emissions could propel us towards a similar hothouse Earth.

Are we the new dinosaur?

Source

Bananas!? 70 Percent of Asia's Primates Are Endangered

CitizenSugar — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:00:35 -0700

Whether or not you think this guy is your long lost relative, it's a mixed barrel of monkeys out there. First, the bad: an IUCN Red List of Threatened Species shows that 48 percent of the world's primates are facing extinction. That number includes the fact that 70 percent of Asia's primates (as high as 90 percent in Cambodia) are listed as endangered.

What's behind the loss of monkeys? Loss of habitat, mostly through the burning and clearing of tropical forests, as well as the hunting of primates for food. IUCN's primate specialist says, "In many places, primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction." Sadly, because primates live a long time, reversing the trend will take a long time.

View 5 Photos ›

But I promised good monkey news, too. To see what it is, read more.

Deep in the Republic of the Congo, a newly discovered secret ape wonderland houses 125,000 western lowland gorillas. If the finding is confirmed, it will double the amount of the species worldwide. The gorillas have lived happily thanks to remoteness, lots of food, and 20 years of conservation efforts in one of the world's poorest countries.

Saving endangered species? Now that's no monkey business.

Source

Moving Endangered Species To Save From Global Warming?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:56:40 -0700

The biological community is facing global climate change with a radical plan to create a sort of Darwin-assisted species-triage program: moving threatened species to safer locations. As we heard in Al Gore's big global warming speech yesterday, warming is huge - and one of the effects is that many species are now facing extinction as the weather shifts, leading some to ask if a big move can lead to the salvation of a species.

Ten years ago, this idea was wildly opposed when it was introduced into the scientific community as data on global warming began mounting. Now, as warming becomes more acute, scientists and conservationists are seriously considering the idea of providing a one-way ticket to disappearing species.

View 10 Photos ›

Radical ideas are tricky, and this is no exception. There are two major sticking points. To see what those problems entail, read more.

The first hitch is, as any biologist will tell you, if you move any species from one environment to another it might not survive - or worse - it may fare entirely too well and destroy its new neighbors with impunity. If one of the newer kids on the endangered block, the Polar Bear, were moved to the only other environment in which it might call home – Antarctica – the penguins would most likely go extinct very quickly having no natural defense against the new predator, Marching, no more.

The second dilemma is what to save and what to let slip away into the oblivion of eternal death. Stanford biologist, Terry Root, says: “Ultimately the decision about whether to actively assist the movement of a species into new territories will rest on ethical and aesthetic grounds as much as on hard science.” And there's a cute factor? Would the more precious like the baby Siberian Tiger pictured above get preferential treatment over the Oahu tree snail?

No matter what scientists decide to save and what to let go extinct, there are those that simply have no alternatives. The native endangered species of the Sky Islands in Arizona and New Mexico have such specific survival environments that can not be found elsewhere. Root is objective about such fates: “Those species are functionally extinct right now. They’re toast.”

Hopefully the new homes won't be on the list of endangered places . . . but is moving species the solution? Should endangered species pack their bags?

Source

Not the Greenest President: Bush's Environmental Sins

LibertySugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:30:00 -0800

Even some conservatives believe that the US President-elect should put the environmental crisis at the top of his presidential to-do list, because addressing that crisis has bipartisan approval. Yet despite an apparent citizen yearning for leadership on green issues, President Bush has neglected the topic during his eight years in the White House.

Salon put together a list of Bush's seven environmental deadly sins. The authors argue that Bush made a mockery of the US's environmental laws and values. Here are the seven pieces of supporting evidence for their indictment:

Blew hot air on global warming: Bush refused to agree to mandatory greenhouse gas emission reductions, thus erasing any credibility the US had to persuade China and India to cut their emissions and also leading to a rise in CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.
Failed to regulate greenhouse gases at home: Bush vowed to veto any bill that would limit greenhouse gases. He also refused to regulate CO2 as a pollutant, even though the Supreme Court ruled it was a pollutant and said he could regulate it.
Failed to develop clean energy sources: While doing nothing to further renewable energy, Bush gave regulatory support to polluting industries like coal, oil, and gas.
Abandoned endangered species: The only additions to the endangered species list, such as the polar bear, came from private parties who sued the government. The administration also tried to build roads without considering harm to these species.

To see the rest, read more.

Carved up the American West for oil and gas excavation: Bush leased combined public lands bigger than the state of Kentucky for oil and gas onshore drilling, even though already leased lands have not been developed.
Not seeing the forest or the trees: The Bush administration tried to subject forests to "thinning" aka cutting down tress for logging or in order to build roads.
Choked clean-air standards: The Bush administration weakened clean-air standards and is currently working to permit more pollution near national parks and allow power plants to increase emissions without adding pollution controls.

If you check out the entire piece, it offers a mission for Obama for each specific sin. Which problem would you like to see the new president atone first?

Source

Pope Condemns Consumerism, and Earth Scarred, Squandered

CitizenSugar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:57:34 -0700

Internet porn, greenhouse gases, and shopping could be the new scourge of the Earth. Pope Benedict addressed a huge gathering of young people in Sydney, Australia, today and said that that they were inheriting a planet whose natural gifts have been "scarred" and "squandered" to fuel insatiable consumption.

His latest environmental plea to save the planet for the young, was aimed at about 150,000 of those youth in Sydney after a "Pope on a boat" ride through the harbor. The sentiment maybe delivered to the right audience: Australia is one of the world's highest per capita greenhouse emitters stemming from coal-fired power stations, combined with the worst drought the country has seen in 100 years and an endangered river system that feeds the nation's food belt.

View 5 Photos ›

The Pope's words did not stop at the physical pollution of belching coal - the world is facing a spiritual pollution of sex, drugs, and shopping sprees as well. He said:

Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises.

TV and the internet were top on the list of sins. To see what he may have been aiming directly at Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, read more.

The Pope aimed his focus at TV and the internet for glorifying sex and violence as entertainment. He said:

I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation explain that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely entertainment?

Troubled though our planet and species seem to be, the Pope still managed to see the holy. The beauty surrounding him in Sydney, and the scenery he passed on his journey inspired this:

It is as though one catches glimpses of the Genesis creation story - light and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters, the earth and living creatures.

Is the Pope's focus on modern problems like exploitation on the Internet and of natural resources exactly right? Does acknowledging these temporal problems enhance the Church's relevance? Is there still a bit of Eden left on Earth?

Source

President Bush Wants to Pass Global Warming Initiative

LibertySugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:00:50 -0700

President Bush may ask Congress to consider legislation to combat global warming as early as this week. An unmanageable web of US regulatory law, as well as upcoming meetings with world powers, has motivated Bush to take action.

Currently businesses must follow three pieces of complex legislation: the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Clean Air Act. Apparently, Bush wants to make it easier for corporations to assess and uphold what is required of them. But, according to the Washington Times, some Congressional Republicans fear runaway legislation and think Bush is making a mistake.

A debate in Congress about global warming will likely heat up in June, prior to the G-8 conference in July. We might get a preview this week, as US officials will be in Paris to meet with other world economic powers. All three presidential candidates want to increase action by the federal government. Specifically, they all endorse a cap-and-trade system similar to Europe's. It is unlikely that Bush wants to go that far, but it is still unclear what he has in mind.

What action would you like to see the US federal government take to cut greenhouse emissions and combat global warming? Do we need to streamline regulations to save the planet?

Source

Ferret Caught Red-Handed

GiggleSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:00:00 -0800

This ferret better watch himself. According to CNN, this species is one of the most endangered animals in North America. But he's not doing himself any favors by getting his crimes caught on tape. At least he makes a fast getaway.

Saturday Morning Cartoon: The Superficial Friends

GiggleSugar — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 08:00:00 -0700

It's the Adventures of the Superficial Friends, starring animated versions of Paris, Nicole, Lindsay and the Olsens, "the most self-important celebrities" who are dedicated "to selfishness and social ignorance." Here, they attend an Endangered Species Fashion Show and have to duke it out with People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals spokesperson Pamela Anderson. Surreal fun for everyone!