Polar Bears : The New Buffalo?

The polar bear is representative of the 25,000+ mammals living in the Arctic that are or will suffer the ravages of global warming. Over the past 30 years, the Arctic ice cap has shrunk by one million square miles, an area six times the size of California. Scientists are finding increasing evidence of polar bear drownings, cannibalism, starvation and cub deaths.

Global warming is not opinion, fable, myth, lie or left-wing conspiracy. It is an incontrovertible scientific fact. If you do not believe this is true, please visit:

• RealClimate.org (Climate Science by Climate Scientists),
• ClimateScience.gov (US Climate Change Science Program), or
  
• EPA.gov (Environmental Protection Agency).
  

If you care about polar bears, join the almost 1.3 million supporters of the Stop Global Warming Virtual March. Become part of the movement and demand that our leaders freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions now.

Click this link to add your voice to more than a million other humans. We can make significant progress to reverse the impacts of global warming, but we can wait no longer. Take action today.

originally posted as guest post on AWOP by CyberCelt

Tags: global warming, polar bears, take action

WWOOF : How Do You Relate to Your Food

WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. WWOOF is an organization that places people and organic farmers together in a reciprocal arrangement that benefits all involved and the Earth.

Have you ever wondered what the big deal is about organically grown food? Why does it matter if the crop has been genetically modified? Why is it a bad thing to spray crops with pesticide for bugs and fungicide for disease? Why do you need to rotate crops, use compost and plant crops that complement each other? In short, have you ever wanted to understand organic farming and its implications for the Earth and how we live today?

WWOOF has connections with organic farmers and small landholders in North and Central America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific area who want YOU to learn about organic farming, put your hands in the dirt, eat the fruits of your labor and learn about the important relationship between our food and the environment. You volunteer on organic farms; and, in return for your help, the organic hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.

Do you have a genuine interest in learning about organic growing, country living or ecologically sound lifestyles? Will you commit to help your hosts with daily tasks as agreed? Then you are a perfect volunteer.

Some countries require work visas or tourist visas while some do not require anything since the work is volunteer based. You must have an American Visa to participate the USA.

So take a different vacation this year. Visit WWOOF and see how easy it is to travel and learn about organic farming, from the ground up.

Tags: wwoof, organic farms, vounteer on organic farm

Loggerhead Turtles Losing Nesting Grounds

2009 was bad year for the Loggerhead Turtle

Loggerheads are named for their relatively large heads with powerful jaws for feeding on hard-shelled prey. The top shell is slightly heart-shaped and reddish-brown, while the bottom shell is pale yellow. The neck and flippers are usually brown on top and yellow on the sides and bottom.

Florida accounts for nearly 90 percent of loggerhead nesting in the U.S., but nesting activity there has declined 40 percent in the last decade with 2009 marking the fourth lowest season on record.

The turtles face destructive fishing gear and increasing pollution wherever they forage. Their nesting beaches are being developed for human habitation in Florida.



Oceana Wants to Help Save Sea Turtles

We need to send campaigners to Capitol Hill to convince Congress to pass needed protections for sea turtles, so populations do not continue to decline. You can help make this happen.

Help them raise $20,000 by November 1 to support their work to gain comprehensive protections for Sea Turtles in Congress. Any amount will help.

We are losing 135 species per day. Try to save one. This one.

Tags: loggerhead endangered, oceana needs help. take action

The Public Option

I am sorry I just pasted this video. I forget that not everyone knows about this healthcare business. Everything is up in the air because the bill is in the Senate.

The public option is represented by the young, energetic track star. The out of conditioned suits are the insurance providers of today. They may have to get a little competitive; thus, the video.

Public Option - What it is right now

For those who do not have insurance provided by an employer, or for small businesses who want to buy a plan at an affordable rate, the bills would create a Health Exchange – a one-stop shopping market for health care. Any private insurance company could offer a plan in the Exchange, but they’d have to adhere to certain standards:

• minimum set of benefits for all plans, no one could be turned down on the basis of pre-existing conditions.
• guaranteed renewal of policies (no dumping a customer because they got sick.)
• no different price because of gender, health status or type of employment.
• different rate for age, but it would be more restricted than the premium rates today.
• If you couldn’t afford the full premium and you made less than 400% of the federal poverty line (about $43,000 for an individual or $88,000 for a family of 4), you’d get a subsidy so your premium would be pegged to a fixed percentage of your income.
• Everyone would have a cap on out-of-pocket expenses.
• All of the information would be transparent -- you would be able to compare standard benefits across companies to find the one that works for you.

I guess you can see the the Public Option would be a very good thing for us, but insurance companies and their paid lobbyists are busy on Capital Hill trying to keep the status quo.

For more information, please read Healthy Competition : How to Structure Public Health Insurance Plan Choice to Ensure Risk-Sharing, Cost Control, and Quality Improvement by Jacob Hacker, Institute for America’s Future and The Center on Health, Economic and Family Security; University of California, Berkeley

Tags: public option, psa, heather graham, moveon org, insurance reform

Texas : Vote FOR Proposition 9

When you vote on November 3, 2009, vote FOR Proposition 9. Proposition 9 is the proposed state constitutional amendment that would add the Texas Open Beaches Act, originally enacted in 1959, to the Texas Constitution.

We need to strengthen public access to Texas beaches. While, adding the Act to the constitutional may sound like overkill, remember that we have oil wells standing on the Padre Island National Seashore. Texas beaches needs our help.

Vote FOR Proposition 9
Don't Mess With Texas Beaches

Vote early TODAY.

Tags: proposition 9, texas open beaches act, vote for prop 9

National Parks in Peril from Climate Change

The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and NRDC identified the 25 national parks most at risk of global warming in the September 2009 report, National Parks in Peril*.

Below are some of the most popular, iconic national parks that are in trouble -- NOW. Following that is a complete listing of the parks in danger. If you love national parks and do not want to see them deteriorate into places that "once were great national treasures," read the report and then take action.

Rocky Mount National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park - In Rocky Mountain National Park, rising temperatures have triggered an outbreak of mountain pine beetles, which are killing most large lodge pole pine trees. Because of the hotter and drier conditions, the park is also subject to loss of wildlife and fish.

Photos of Grinnell Glacier in 1981, 1998 and 2005 (left to right above)

Glacier National Park - A loss of ice and snow is one of the most obvious impacts of a changing climate. A reduction in glacial runoff has already dried streams and waterfalls in Glacier. If we continue at our current rate of climate disruption, higher temperatures could melt all of the park's namesake glaciers by 2030.

Zion National Park -Zion National Park faces a number of threats from climate change including, but not limited to, loss of plant and animal life, intolerable heat, loss of water, air pollution, flooding and loss of cultural resources.

Yellowstone National Park - Warming temperatures are killing Yellowstone's white bark pine trees at an alarming rate. Their nuts are an important food source for the park's grizzly bear population - without these nuts, grizzly survival is also threatened.

Everglades National Park - Everglades National Park, known for its expansive wetlands and shallow waters, lies just above sea level. As temperatures and sea levels rise, the beauty of this park could be lost forever

Acadia National Park - If our climate disruption continues at its current rate, rising seas could swallow Acadia's network of small islands off the Maine coast. Warmer temperatures would also mean less snow and ice, resulting in loss of wildlife and plant communities.

Assateague National Park - This coastal park is currently experiencing the one of the fastest rates of sea-level rise in the nation. Climate change is also causing more extreme weather in the area, which has the potential to obliterate the fishing industry that sustains much of the area's population.

Bandelier National Park

Bandelier National Park - In Bandelier, flooding and erosion have affected 80 percent of the park's archaeological sites. Treasures like pueblos, cliff dwellings and forts could be lost forever.

Saguaro National Park - As deserts become drier and hotter, invasive plants, erosion and fire will put areas like Saguaro National Park at risk. Some native species like the iconic saguaro cactus are particularly vulnerable to fire.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - Theodore Roosevelt National Park is home to expansive prairieland that is threatened by invasive plant species, a problem that could be worsened by an altered climate. The creatures, such as elk, that drew Teddy Roosevelt to the area will lose critical habitat and food sources if the climate continues to change at its current rate.

Virgin Islands National Park - Increased carbon dioxide is changing the chemistry of the earth's oceans in a process known as ocean acidification. As a result of acidification and unusually high water temperatures, corals are being bleached and dying in record numbers. Virgin Islands National Park surveys estimate 50 percent mortality from this process, but do not indicate any recovery.

National Parks Most At Peril

• Acadia National Park
• Assateague Island National Seashore
• Bandelier National Monument
• Biscayne National Park
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore
• Colonial National Historical Park
• Denali National Park and Preserve
• Dry Tortugas National Park
• Ellis Island National Monument
• Everglades National Park
• Glacier National Park
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area
• Mesa Verde National Park
• Mount Rainier National Park
• Padre Island National Seashore
• Rocky Mountain National Park
• Saguaro National Park
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park
• Virgin Islands National Park/Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument
• Yellowstone National Park
• Yosemite National Park
• Zion National Park

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*You may download the complete PDF report, National Parks in Peril : The Threates of Climate Disruption, by clicking this link, Right-click the link and save link as to save document to your computer.

Tags: national parks in peril, climate change, rock mountain climate organization, nrdc

Buy Influence : Big Oil 101

From the League of Conservation Voters:

Exxon Mobil's record-breaking 2008 profit : $45.2 billion

Energy industry donated to Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign : $1.8 million

Campaign contributions to federal candidates since 2000 : $104 million

Payoff in tax credits and subsidies : $13 billion


In the first two quarters of 2009, Big Oil and other polluters have spent nearly $120 million trying to defeat clean energy legislation and will stop at nothing to do so. Just recently we learned that a lobbying firm with ties to polluting interests posed as a minority group and sent forged letters to a member of the House, asking him to oppose the energy bill!

You can expose the campaign of Big Oil and their cohorts for the fraud that it is, and stop them in their tracks. Donate to the League of Conservation Voters and stop the peddling of influence.

Tags: big oil, buy influence, league of conservation voters, take action

One Consequence of Climate Change

Over 68 percent of the Earth's freshwater is locked in glaciers and the polar ice caps. Glaciers are important features in the water cycle and affect the volume, variability, and water quality of runoff in areas where they occur (ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/).

Global Warming Today

Since the end of the 19th century, the average temperature has risen 0.7 degrees C. To see the changes this rise in temperature has caused, compare the before and after photographs of glaciers below.

Photograph Credits: Global Warming Art

Climate change, through either global warming or cooling, has catastrophic effects on the Earth and its inhabitants. For 1000 years, the average temperature on Earth was relatively constant.

Past Warming Trend

Between the 10th and 14th centuries, the Earth warmed by 1 degree C. This is when wineries flourished in England, citrus trees grew in northern China, the passes in the Alps between Italy and Germany were navigable, and Iceland and Greenland were settled as the Arctic ice pack retreated.

Past Cooling Trend

The Earth underwent a Little Ice Age between the 15th and 19th centuries, when the average temperature was between 1-2 degrees C. cooler than today. The Alpine glaciers descended, the River Thames froze solid, sea ice expanded, thus sealing the fate of the Viking colony in Greenland. Spring melt brought flooding to lowland area in Europe, causing crop failure and increasing famine.

Future?

This post made in support of Blog Action Day 2009.

Tags: climate change, observable change in glacial ice, one consquence of climate change

President Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Barack Obama, 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

On Friday, October 9, 2009 at 11 am CEST, the Norwegian Nobel Institute awarded named Barack Obama as the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The Institute awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.

Tags: nobel peace prize, obama, nobel peace prize laureate, norwegian Nobel Institute

One Week Until Blog Action Day 2009

On October 15, 4000+ bloggers from 122 countries will participate in BAD 2009.The topic is Climate Change and all bloggers are encouraged to blog about this topic.

Use the links below to register now and to submit your post on October 15, 2009:

• Register to Participate: blogactionday.org/en/blogs/new
• Choose a Badge: blogactionday.org/badges/en
• Check for updates on Twitter: twitter.com/blogactionday

Tags: blog action day, climate change, change org, bad 2009,

Weather Refugees Need Help Now

On September. 26, Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines, submerging houses, triggering landslides and killing nearly 300 people.

On September 29, an undersea earthquake caused a series of tsunamis in the South Pacific, destroying buildings and washing people to sea, some still in their beds. The death toll in Samoa, American Samoa and neighboring Tonga nears 200.

Next, a day later day a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's Sumatra island, toppling hundreds of buildings in Padang city, killing more than 1,000 people and trapping many more under rubble. Within 24 hours another quake struck Sumatra.

Meanwhile, Vietnam and Cambodia have been battling rising floodwaters and landslides, caused by Typhoon Ketsana, which has killed a combined 96 people; while the Philippines declared a nationwide state of calamity on Oct 2 as a "super typhoon" bore down.

These lands are inundated and the people need serious help. The Hunger Site made it easy for us to donate. Click to donate. Donate through your church, business, charity--just donate.

Tags: tsunami, earthquake, flood, typhoon, landslide,

Digging up Canada for Tar Sands

Areas of wilderness the size of small countries are chewed up and replaced by a landscape of toxic lakes, open pit mines, refineries, and pipe lines. The tar sands are what unrestrained fossil fuel use and unchecked greenhouse gas emissions look like. They are pushing us towards runaway climate change.

Spread the news to STOP desecrating Canada for low-grade, high-pollution crude.

Tags: tar sands, oil sands, low grade crude, high polution crude, desecration of Canada