Environment
UNEPs World Environment Day – June 5
The United Nations Environment Programme is holding the World Environment Day on June 5th with the theme: Forests: Nature at Your Service. What began in 1972 has spread worldwide into an international day of action for the environment.
It has also been declared the International Year of Forests to highlight the importance of this natural resource. In decline worldwide, we depend on forests to combat climate change and provide water, shelter, habitat and support life on our planet.
7 Most Popular Eco Friendly Articles for 2010
With another year behind us, I like to look back and see what people are reading, and in particular, the most popular articles on this site. Here they are as voted by your traffic, the Top 7 Chic Ecologist articles for the year 2010:
- #1 – Pacific Plastic Island
A plastic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean more than 30 feet deep and twice the size of Texas, this is definitely a troubling story. It seems that there are more of these plastic islands in just about every major ocean driven by wind and current gyres. - #2 – Eco Friendly Driveways
Green driveways are becoming increasingly popular to reduce storm runoff, water pollution and recharge underground water sources. They are easy to build, add a softer more charming feel to any parking spot and are much more visually pleasing. A great way for anyone to reduce their footprint. - #3 – Eco Friendly Diamonds
Is there such a thing as a Green Diamond? What is the difference between a mined diamond and a synthetic diamond? How about social implications, like blood diamonds? This article explains your green options when it comes to selecting a jewel for your gem. - #4 – Platinum for Fuel Cells
Platinum plays a big role in fuel cell vehicles, and a new process found by Researchers with the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of Houston may make it more efficient and cheaper. This is a big step in the development of fuel cell technology, one that may affect our future transportation costs.
Ford Focus Global Drive
In an effort to promote the Ford Focus, the Ford Motor Company is promoting a competition called Global Drive. While I am optimistic of future electric cars such as the Chevy Volt, I myself am a fan of this small, fuel efficient car until we reach that place.
Ford is interested in making contact with individuals passionate about environmental causes, with the intention of making several $10k donations to non-profits looking to “Start Something More.”
Ford is inviting people to create a simple video and submit it via the Ford Focus Facebook page. Selected participants, along with a friend, will get a free trip to Madrid, Spain on February 18-20th to test drive the all-new Ford Focus. Additionally, Ford will make a $10,000 contribution to your chosen charity in the categories of environment, education or hunger.
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Elephant Nature Park – Thailand
When one speaks of Thailand, often images of elephants are conjured up. Images of elephants are everywhere, from temples and shrines to logos and even the name of their beer (Chang, which means Elephant in Thai). The Thai people seem to have a deep reverence for these magnificent creatures, however, there is a darker almost contradictory side to this appearance.
Almost all of the domesticated elephants (those used for work and human contact) have been subjected to a ‘breaking of the spirit’ in a device called the Phajaan.
Squeezed into a cage only large enough to contain the baby elephant, they are chained into place, beat with sticks of bamboo and poked with sharp devices with hooks and nails. For 6 days or even longer, these elephants as young as 4 are subjected to this brutality without food, water or shelter. This is usually the time they are permanently separated from their mother and family, to begin their life of servitude.
Elephants have largely played a working role in Thailand. Used as war machines by Alexander the Great, they have been used as working animals for logging and farming for generations. With Thailand’s dwindling forests, and now a ban on logging, these elephants are finding themselves out of work and in trouble. Many elephant owners and mahouts (elephant keepers or drivers) have adapted to the tourist industry by using their elephants for jungle treks and walks. Others have used brutal torture techniques to train their elephants to perform tricks or paint. Often in cities around Thailand, you will see elephants begging in the streets for their mahouts, which generate a great deal of income for the owner at a great expense to the elephant.
With all of this brutality and pain, there is a ray of light. The Elephant Nature Park along with its founder, Sangduen Chailert, known as ‘Lek’, have created a sanctuary for these retired and abused elephants and is educating people around the world about the plight of these Asian Elephants. › Continue reading
Traveling – Eco style
Where in the world is The Chic Ecologist? Well, check his new globe trotting travel blog, New Spore. He is on a whirlwind trip down through South America, across to New Zealand, Australia, then back up through Asia hitting places like Singapore, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
You will find travel tips, great adventures, packing secrets, secret spots, hidden treasures and more. Great for the backpacker, shoestring budget traveler and culture seekers alike along with great photography along the way. Follow him up to the moment on twitter as @New_Spore.
New US Map for Wildlife Conservation
A great new technological step for wildlife conservation efforts comes in the form of a map. The Gap Analysis Program (GAP), which is itself a program under the umbrella of the US Geological Survey, makes it’s mission to “keep common species common.” Essentially, the objective of the program is to maintain that species not (yet) threatened by extinction don’t end up reaching an endangered species list, an issue often deprived of much-needed attention in light of it’s preventative nature. It takes a different track to keep policy makers (and anyone for that matter) informed than traditional conservation efforts which generally maintain species-by-species data, by instead maintaining information about regions and landscapes (which in turn allow those who will want to manipulate them a better idea of what they’d be doing).
A Level 3 Image of Washington State using the GAP Viewer
These efforts recently culminated in a national land cover viewer (and accompanying data set) that combines several important relevant data-sets into one easily accessible package. To be more particular, it combines the following:
- The Southwest Regional Gap Analysis project (2004)
- The Southeast Regional Gap Analysis Project (2007)
- The Northwest Regional Gap project
- The updated California Gap project (2009)
- The Landfire Project (for all remaining regions)
The Gulf Oil Spill is Sad, But How Does It Affect Me?
I am sure many people are uttering these exact words right now when seeing images and news of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill in the Gulf. It is really sad, but unless you live along the affected coast or are a fisherman, it can be hard to connect with the devastation and see it for the disaster it really is.
It may be helpful to look at a similar disaster to see the likely effects, the Exxon Valdez oil spill. That oil spill killed as many as half a million birds, including more than 150 bald eagles and approximately 4,500 sea otters. While it may be something you may have not even thought twice about, it is still impacting us to this day, in ways you may not have imagined.
Even though the Exxon Valdez spill was in 1989, it is still killing wildlife today, 21 years later. Everything from Salmon to Pacific herring and pigeon guillemots — are not recovering. Populations of clams and mussels are still affected by the lingering oil, as are sea otters and birds such as harlequin ducks and black oystercatchers. Digging down only 4 to 10 inches, you will find pockets of oil still left over from the 1989 spill.
What may be even more scary is that we haven’t really had a spill like this to compare to, and the unprecedented use of a toxic chemical dispersant only adds to the unknown.
The environmental fallout:
- Oceanic Currents
- Hurricane Season
- Containment
- Fishing Impacts
- Bird Migration
- Estuaries and Marshes
- Coral Reefs
Given the location and the extent of this spill, we may be in much bigger trouble. The Exxon Valdez spill was large, but was largely contained and somewhat isolated when compared to the far reaching and ranging Gulf oil spill. Converging oceanic currents in the area can carry the oil hundreds, even thousands of miles from the spill site and the upcoming hurricane season could spread and disperse it even more rather than floating in a large slick.
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The Case Against Whaling: Prostitutes
And just when you thought it wasn’t possible, the whaling issue becomes dirtier. On one side, it was found that whale feces form a significant contribution to the marine environment, and in turn, to the ecosystem as a whole. This of course is positive and presents even greater reason to discourage unnecessary whaling. On the other, pro-whaling government officials seem to be coming clean that their votes were purchased through money and prostitutes.
Courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission / NOAA.
The Sunday Times sent investigators undercover, in light of the looming discussion on whaling quotas (Japan and other pro-whaling nations are pushing to legalize commercial whaling to some degree with quotas), to several different countries to try and find if any representatives would be willing to trade their vote in exchange for money. Implicated in the investigation were representatives from Grenada, Republic of Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and St Kitts and Nevis. They were approached by a fictitious billionaire proposing to purchase their votes for substantial aid packages.
