Mother's Day

Mother's Day is another occasion when people are willing to pay exorbitant prices for a bouquet of flowers that wilt in a couple of days. According BBC News, by buying flowers, you could be suppotring practices such as excessive use of pesticides, child labour and discrimination.

Luckily, we have an alternative-- Elephant Poo Paper Roses. Yes, these roses are made from real elephant poo. These flowers will keep your living room looking fresh for as long as you like and you would be supporting conservation efforts of endangered elephants, too.



One may wonder how poo is turned into paper flowers. Elephant poo, which is full of grained fibrous materials from their diet, is collected and dried. Next, the poo is rinsed, leaving only the fibrous material. The fibers are then cleaned and reinforced with natural fibers from banana trees and pineapples. The mixture is then spread thinly and set to dry. The dried product is your final result!

Public Transportation

In Los Angeles, we rely on our car as much as we rely on, say, food. Public transportation is so inconvenient that most people rely on their own cars to get from Point A to Point B. Major cities are widely dispersed, making the travel between them very time-consuming and frustrating for the drivers. Why hasn't Los Angeles invested in a highly efficient and effective public transportion system such as a rail network (subway systems are unattractive due to the frequent occurence of earthquakes)?

Yes, we already have a large bus system in place, but it still does not service sufficient areas for it to be convenient for most commuters. Major bus lines such as the Metro and Big Blue Bus are, to some extent, convenient and reliable, but only if you're traveling within neighboring cities. Even so, many people find it a hassle to obtain change for bus fares because most busses only accept exact change. People are not willing to use the change machine at the laundromat or purchase something at a store just to get change for a bus ride. This problem deters many from utilizing bus services.

A possible solution would be to introduce rechargeable stored value smart cards-- a pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits which can process data and transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems-- such as the Octopus Card, which is widely used in Hong Kong. Such cards are be simple to use, convenient and eliminate the need to carry change just for public transportation. The card can also be used for train fares, payments at convenience stores and certain restaurant establishments. Perhaps it can also be used to pay taxi fares. The investment in card-reading machines would be well-worth the ease and convenience provided to commuters. It would encourage utilization of public transportation and speed up the transaction process.

Investment in public transportation systems ought to be a public priority. It would ease traffic, improve air quality and-- most importantly-- provide a means of reliable and affordable transportation for thousands of residents. With enough spending, bigger budgets, and a visionary leader, Los Angeles can have a network of public transportation that is effective, efficient and caters to the needs of its residents.

Saving the Planet One Bicycle at a Time

Two years ago, Paris introduced the world's largest "bicycle transit system" called Vélib. Vélib seamlessly combines scale and functionality by providing more than 20,000 bikes and 1,451 docking stations within 1,000 feet of each other. In general, bike-share programs have proven to increase public transportation options at a relatively low cost to the city. Any registered user can "borrow" a bike from a station for a small fee and return it to any other station in the system.


In Paris, Vélib has saved the city 10 million kilometers in car trips-- roughly equal to $10 million in savings. With 200,000 Parisians paying the city $50 each for an annual Velib pass, this has yielded an additional $10 million in revenues. Because of the increase in environmentally-friendly bicycling, Paris has seen traffic ease tremendously and experienced improvements in air quality.

Other countries are also beginning to adopt this novel travel concept. Australia has recently launched a three-week trial with 30 bikes being made available from five locations around the city, called Common Bike. In the United States, the District of Columbia launched the Smart Bike Program last year, joining the ranks of Barcelona and Paris. Hopefully we will see such bicycle-sharing programs sprout in all cities in the country. Maybe in order to go forward in terms of bettering the environment, we need go backwards-- to look back to our primary modes of transportation.

The Heat is on (Portfolio)

We have all heard about global warming. We all know that it is happening (except for the writer of "The Great Global Warming Swindle").

In a nutshell, global warming refers to an unnatural and rapid increase in the Earth’s average surface air temperature. There are several greenhouse gases responsible for this warming, carbon dioxide being the most highly concentrated in the atmosphere. Climate change has had a profound effect on the lives of animals over the past years, and now humans are finally beginning to feel it too.

It is natural to feel overwhelmed by the scope of the situation. This problem affects the entire planet. It is easy to continue living our current lifestyle and hope that some scientists somewhere will discover something that will reverse the problem. It is easy to turn the other cheek and wait for more laws to be enacted. But how about we take a look around us and see what changes we can make as individuals that will make a difference.

A recent article on TreeHugger caught my attention. It had a photo of a wild koala bear that crawled into a tub of water on somebody’s balcony in effort to seek relief from temperatures of above 40°C.

Australia is often described as the driest inhabited continent and the most likely to feel the early effects of global warming. Reuters recently reported another deadly bushfire in Australia, which spread through several small towns north of Melbourne and killed over 108 people. Dead animals were strewn across the roads. Although wildfires are a natural event in Australia, the particularly hot weather and drought this year provided optimal conditions for blazes to occur.

As southern Australia heats up and reaches record-breaking temperatures, northern Australia is becoming host to record-breaking floods. Even Britain is experiencing severe climate changes, reaching its coldest in eighteen years. Buses were suspended and traffic was at a standstill. This is what climate change looks like.

Nature is trying to tell us something.

Because of global warming, two-thirds of the world’s polar bear population will disappear by 2050. I was shocked when I read that statement several years ago. With less ice on which to live on, polar bears have gotten skinnier. Some have even drowned because of the long distances between melting ice planes.

I have always had a soft spot for animals and learning about their struggle nudges me to be more environmentally friendly. I hope that the photographs of those animals that I've posted will make some of you go "Aww...", and make some effort to try to help those that can't help themselves. Because of global warming, Arctic sea ice has declined to the lowest levels on record. But more than polar bears and ice caps are at risk. Other species have shown unusual migration and breeding patterns. Adelie penguins in Antartica have dwindled to less than half their numbers within the last thirty years. Butterflies and foxes have moved farther north for the cooler weather. Spruce bark beetles have thrived in Alaska because of the warmth, causing damage to four million acres of spruce trees.

So, what can we do?

The first steps are to reduce, reuse, and recycle. The three R's have been taught to us since grade school, but how many of us actually do it? Taking the extra step to separate your trash is worth every effort. Many of us may have an initial instinct to begin recycling all our trash. But we must bear in mind the order of the three R's. We must first reduce the amount that we consume. Buy products with minimal packaging. Use canvas bags to save paper and plastic bags. Reuse those bags that you absolutely had to take. With a little creativity, nearly everything in your household can be reused. For example, old kitchen utensils can be used as gardening tools and junk mail flyers for art projects and origami. Better yet, eliminate junk mail by removing your name from mailing lists. By recycling only half of your household waste, you can reduce up to 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. There are also websites such as www.neighborrow.com that bring neighbors together so that they can borrow and share just about anything.

Try adding insulation to your home. With the recent rain and cold weather, a little insulation can help to retain heat in the home. This translates to lower heating costs. Just by installing weather stripping or caulking around windows and doors, you can lower your heating costs by one quarter. By setting your thermostat just two degrees higher in summer and two degrees lower in winter, you can help save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

By using energy efficient products, we will save energy— hence, we save money. In this economy, it seems the wise thing to do. When considering a new car, lean towards one with high mileage and least pollution. It could be a hybrid or a wagon, instead of a fuel-guzzling SUV. A 40-miles-per-gallon car will save an estimated $3,000 in fuel costs over its lifetime, compared with a 20-miles-per-gallon car.
For home appliances, switch to compact florescent light bulbs which offer more natural light for less energy, instead of standard light bulbs. Wash your clothes in cold water instead of hot, and save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. You can't tell the difference in freshness or cleanliness of your clothes whether it is washed with hot or cold water, anyway.

Such simple adjustments to our lifestyle can have a significant impact on the environment.

The ideal way to reduce global warming would be to eat less meat. According to The Times in 2005, one of the best ways to fight global warming is to adopt a vegetarian diet. A major report by the University of Chicago in 2006 found that adopting a vegan diet has a greater impact in the fight against global warming than switching to a hybrid car does. Raising animals for their flesh, eggs and milk is one of the world’s leading emitters of carbon dioxide. But global warming is caused by more than just carbon dioxide.
Animal agriculture is the leading source of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, which—when combined with carbon dioxide—causes the vast majority of global warming. It takes up to sixteen pounds of grain to produce just one pound of animal flesh. It is inefficient to feed plant foods to farmed animals and consume their flesh rather than eating the plant foods ourselves.

According to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef in California. Compare this with the 25 gallons used to produce one pound of wheat. A recent report from the Food Climate Research Network at the University of Surrey states that the meat and dairy industry accounts for 8 percent of carbon emissions in the United Kingdom, compared with the airline industry which accounts for 2.5 percent.

According to FAOSTAT Agricultural Data, World meat production has quadrupled in the past 50 years and livestock now outnumber people by more than 3 to 1. This means that the livestock population is expanding at a faster rate than the human population!

A 2006 United Nations report found that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined. In the United States, 70 percent of all grains, 80 percent of all agricultural land, half of all water resources, and one-third of all fossil fuels are used to raise animals for food. Eating one pound of meat emits the same amount of greenhouse gasses as driving an SUV for 40 miles. Eating one kilogram of beef is equivalent to a three-hour car ride with the lights left on at home (Fanelli, 2007).

Reduce your environmental impact by starting with baby steps such as switching from dairy milk to soy milk, or eating one meat-less meal per week. It seems a long shot for everybody to become vegetarian, considering that meat is such a significant part of the American diet, but according to Environmental Defense, if every American replaced just one meal of meat with vegetarian foods per week, the carbon dioxide savings would be equivalent to taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads.

Our food and lifestyle choices impacts the environment more than we realize. Let us do something before the Maldives, an archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean, disappears underwater within the next one hundred years, as predicted by scientists if global warming continues at the current rate. It is clichéd, but it has to be said- we really can make a difference.

A New Wave of Extinction (Portfolio)

The Great Dying is by far the most severe in the history of life on earth. It occurred 250 million years ago when the majority of the life on Earth perished in a brief moment of geologic time due to— according to scientists— various natural and unpredictable hazards. Nearly all signs of life were annihilated. An estimated 95 percent of marine species and 70 percent of land species disappeared. Life on our planet almost came to an end. Following this was the K-T extinction, which occurred 65 million years ago. This period ended the reign of dinosaurs and approximately 85 percent of all species. Paleontologists attribute the extinction to meteorite impact or volcanic eruption, or both.

By sampling animal populations, scientists suggest that we may have entered the next wave of extinction, called the Pleistocene-Holocene extinction.

And this time, the cause isn't an errant asteroid or mega-volcanoes. It's us. According to the World Wildlife Fund, humans have altered the Earth’s ecosystems more rapidly and extensively in the past 50 years than any other period in human history. Such changes have already degraded more than half of the ecosystems on which we depend on for everything from food to building materials, and caused the permanent loss of many habitats and species. We are already using nearly 30 percent more natural resources than the Earth can replenish.

Through the increasing human population, human activities such as deforestation, illegal wildlife trade and poaching, we're shaping an Earth that will be biologically impoverished. A 2008 assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that nearly 1 in 4 mammals worldwide were at risk for extinction, including endangered species such as the Sumatran Tiger and Javan Rhinoceros. Even marine diversity is threatened by overfishing and the acidification of oceans. We have turned a blind eye long enough to allow such a dire situation to occur, as humans we must do more— much more— to ensure that our planet will thrive for future generations.

The steady rise in human population is crowding out other species by sheer number. The current world population of 6.7 billion is expected to balloon to 9 billion by 2050. Sustained growth in India over the next 20 years is expected to lead to reduced poverty and the emergence of a half-a-billion-strong middle-class. This would increase India’s consumption by four fold, making it the fifth largest consumer market in the world by 2025. This number of people cannot help but leave a sizable footprint on the landscape. The people would want new and better homes and land would have to be cleared to make room for those homes, leaving less and less space for wildlife.

The rapid rate of deforestation is destroying the habitats of countless numbers of species. Tropical forests are home to the greatest concentration of biodiversity on the planet. From 1990 to 2005, the world lost 172 million acres of forest— much of it in South American countries like Brazil, where deforestation has accelerated as land is cleared for pastures, infrastructure improvements, commercial agriculture, and logging. About 15 percent of the Amazon’s total area has been cleared sine 1970, excluding areas degraded by fires and selective logging.

The trade in endangered wild animals—as pets, performers, food, medicine, and more— is a new and growing menace to wildlife. Total wildlife trade is believed to be the second largest direct threat to many species, after habitat loss. This has become so severe that conservationists have coined the term empty-forest syndrome to describe habitats that remain in-tact but have been stripped of the animals that had once lived there. Southeast Asian countries such as Bangkok and Guangzhou have long been hubs of illegal wildlife trade. The live markets there sell anything from live primates and turtles to tiger claws and their various body parts. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the international trade of wildlife species is worth an estimated US$20 billion. The high demand and value of animal parts make killing even more profitable. According to the Nepali Times, each kilogram of rhinoceros horn can fetch up to US$10,000 while one bowl of tiger penis soup can command over US$300.

Increasing and unsustainable rates of poaching— the illegal hunting, killing, or capturing of animals—have caused species such as the African elephant dwindle by 8 percent each year. If this trend continues, the African elephant would be extinct by 2020. In the Congo Basin in Central Africa, three-fifths of all large mammals are being hunted at unsustainable rates. Commercial bushmeat hunters use more efficient killing machines such as shotguns and snares, rather than traditional spears and nets, to bring lucrative bushmeat to growing markets in African villages and cities. The loss of wildlife threatens the livelihoods and food security of indigenous and rural populations that depend on wildlife as a staple or supplement to their diet. In the Congo Basin alone, bushmeat is hunted at more than six times the maximum sustainable rate each year, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Many species that have lived before are now extinct. Evolution demands extinction. So why should the loss of a few species among millions matter to us? Are species such as the Holdrige’s toad, Yangtze River Dolphin and the golden toad—all of which have disappeared within recent years—really that important?

The answer is “yes”. Like every other form of life, we are animals dependent on this planet, too. The more diverse the animals in an ecosystem, the healthier and more productive it is— which is good for us. A recent study by the World Wildlife Fund estimates the economic value of the Amazon rain forest's ecosystem services to be up to US$100 per hectare. Moreover, there could be animals and organisms of medicinal value that have yet to be discovered. For example, the herb meadowseed was originally used in aspirin, and the Chinese use porcupine extracts as an effective cure for dengue fever.

Extinction is forever. It cannot be reversed. Forests burned can grow back and polluted air and water can be cleaned—but extinction is permanent. It is not just a few species that are at risk of extinction— we are talking about hundreds of thousands to millions of species that could possibly disappear. Many of these species have not even been discovered yet. We could doom ourselves to what naturalist E.O. Wilson calls the Eremozoic Era— the Age of Loneliness. Fortunately, there are methods that address this issue of extinction.

Environmental groups around the world are coming up with new ways to protect threatened wildlife. In conservation hot spots like Madagascar and Brazil, conservationists are working with locals to ensure that the protection of endangered species are linked with the welfare of people who live close to them. Avoided deforestation provides an incentive for environmental protection by putting a value on the carbon that is contained in the trees of a forest. Countries can then trade in these carbon credits, provided that those trees are not cut or burned. This could potentially mean billions of dollars for developing countries. In 1997, the American nonprofit the Nature Conservancy, American utility companies such as American Electric Power and PacifiCorp, and oil major BP Amoco paid Bolivia US$10.8 million for the credits represented by all the carbon in the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park.

Global warming forces animals to migrate to escape changing climates, and sometimes these animals wander right into areas of degraded land. To connect fragmented habitats caused by the effects of climate change, conservation corridors are designed to allow natural movement for wildlife. In India, a corridor 37 miles long and 6 miles wide connects important tiger habitats in the Eastern Himalaya and the Western Ghats mountain ranges.

Ecotourism is another method that provides support for conservationism. According to the International Ecotourism Society, ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the natural wellbeing of local people. It minimizes impact on the environment while building environmental awareness and providing financial benefits both for conservation and the local people. When it was discovered that tourism has become a major threat in Bolivia’s Eduardo Avaroa Reserve, the Nature Conservancy along with the Bolivian National Park System implemented a park entrance fee concept. This program has generated over US$500,000 in new funds,which were used to address tourism-related threats. It is estimated that the national protected areas system could generate more than US$3 million per year in new income for conservation.

According to Times Magazine, in the United States, a newly signed omnibus bill will protect some 2 million acres of wilderness⎯ the most significant conservation effort in more than a decade. The Sequioia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness and Wild Monongahela Wilderness are some of the areas affected by the bill. The legislation also protects 1,000 miles of scenic rivers and provides more federal protection to aread under the Bureau of Land Management.

It is uncertain that these efforts will prevent the next wave of extinction, but it's worth a try.

In a world where billions of people are starving and where the global economic crisis has people struggling to make ends meet, it's easy not to be concerned about Earth's diminishing biodiversity. But this planet is all we have. All that sustains wildlife— the clean water, unblemished land and lush forests— ultimately sustains us as well. We were the cause of the animals' plights, but we are also the solution.

The current efforts discussed are just the tip of the iceberg. There is much, much more that needs to be done. New laws and regulations need to be enacted and enforced. But most of all, people's mindsets must change— they must realize that their actions today would significantly impact the livelihood of this planet in future. We must save this planet not only for ourselves and the animals, but for our children and their children. As the indigenous proverb goes— We don’t inherit the planet from our parents; we borrow it from our children.

A New Wave of Extinction

Scientists called it the Permian–Triassic extinction or third extinction, and others called it the Great Dying. This remarkable event, dubbed 'The Mother of Mass Extinctions,' is by far the most severe in the history of life on earth. It occurred roughly 250 million years ago when, somehow, most of the life on Earth perished in a brief moment of geologic time. During that time, nearly all signs of life were annihilated: trees, plants, lizards, proto-mammals, insects, fish, mollusks, and microbes. An estimated 95 percent of marine species and 70 percent of land species disappeared. Life on our planet almost came to an end. Scientists blame it on severe volcanism, a nearby supernova, environmental changes caused by the formation of a super-continent, the devastating impact of a large asteroid, or a combination of these.


The next wave of extinction was the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction, or K-T extinction as it is most widely known, which occurred 65 million years ago. This period ended the reign of dinosaurs and approximately 85 percent of all species. Paleontologists attribute the extinction to meteorite impact or volcanic eruption, or both.


By sampling animal populations, scientists suggest that we may have entered the sixth wave of extinction, called the Pleistocene-Holocene extinction.

And this time, the cause isn't an errant asteroid or mega-volcanoes. It's us.
Through the increasing human population, our thirst for natural resources and, most of all, climate change — which could possibly help exterminate 20 to 30 percent of all species before the end of the century — we're shaping an Earth that will be biologically impoverished. A 2008 assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that nearly 1 in 4 mammals worldwide was at risk for extinction, including endangered species such the famous Tasmanian devil (the Looney Tunes character Taz). Overfishing and acidification of the oceans are threatening the diversity of marine species.

Activities such as deforestation, human encroachment, illegal wildlife trade and poaching have caused wildlife species to dwindle significantly.

Brazil is home to one-third of the world’s remaining rainforests, including a majority of the Amazon rainforest. Tropical forests are home to the greatest concentration of biodiversity on the planet, making Brazil the most biodiverse country in the world with more than 56,000 species of plants, 1,700 species of birds, 695 amphibians, 578 mammals, and 651 reptiles. From 1990 to 2005, the world lost 172 million acres of forest- much of it in South American countries like Brazil, where deforestation has accelerated as land is cleared for pastures, infrastructure improvements, commercial agriculture, and logging. About 15 percent of the Amazon’s total area has been cleared sine 1970, excluding areas degraded by fires and selective logging.

The jaguar is one of the animals at risk in Brazil. It is considered near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Jaguars function as top predators, regulating the populations of their prey and of smaller predators. This fact makes them important to the health of their native ecosystems.


There are 6.7 billion people in the planet. This number is expected to balloon to 9 billion by 2050. Humans are crowding out other species by sheer number. As consumer demands rise in countries such as India, there could leave little room for wildlife. Sustained growth in India is expected to lead to a major transformation over the next 20 years. As a result, there would be reduced poverty and the formation of a half a billion strong middle class would emerge. This would increase India’s consumption by four folds, making it the fifth largest consumer market in the world by 2025. So many people cannot help but leave a broad and deep footprint on the landscape. These people would want new and better homes. Land would have to be cleared to make room for those homes, leaving less and less space for wildlife.

India is home to critically endangered endemic species such as the pygmy hog and Salim Ali’s fruit bat. More than half of the Indian tiger population has vanished over the past five years. Wildlife activists say that it is due to poaching and urbanization.


The buying and selling of endangered wild animals (as pets, performers and more) is a new and growing menace to wildlife. Total wildlife trade is believed to be the second largest direct threat to many species, after habitat loss. This has become so severe that conservationists have coined the term empty-forest syndrome to describe habitats that remain in tact but have been stripped of the animals that had once lived there. Southeast Asian countries such as Bangkok and Guangzhou have long been hubs of illegal wildlife trade. The live markets there sell anything from live primates and turtles to tiger claws and various body parts.

In 2008, the Royal Thai Police seized birds, tortoises and marine products during a raid a Chatuchak market in Bangkok, the country’s largest wildlife market. The seized tortoises included Radiated and Ploughshare tortoises endemic to Madagascar, Ploughshare being one of the world’s most rare tortoise species. Such species are banned from international trade, but somehow increasing numbers are seen for sale in pet markets in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.


From the illegal slaughter of elephants for their ivory to the hunting of apes and gorillas for food, poaching remains a serious threat to some of the world’s most charismatic species. The rising global trade in animal parts, such as tiger penises, have made killing even more profitable. In the Congo Basin in Central Africa, three-fifths of all large mammals are being hunted at unsustainable rates. Commercial bushmeat hunters use more efficient killing machines such as shotguns and snares rather than traditional spears and nets, to bring lucrative bushmeat to growing markets in African villages and cities.

The loss of wildlife threatens the livelihoods and food security of indigenous and rural populations that depend on wildlife as a staple or supplement to their diet. In the Congo Basin alone, more than one million metric tons of bush meat- an amount equal to four million cattle- are harvested from the shrinking forests every year, more than six times the maximum sustainable rate, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society's Elizabeth Bennett.


Many species that have lived before are now extinct. Humans have survived and few of us even feel the impact of its disappearance. Evolution demands extinction. So why should the loss of a few species among millions matter to us? Are species such as the Holdrige’s toad, Yangtze River Dolphin and the golden toad- all of which have disappeared within recent years- really that important?

The answer is ‘yes’. Like every other form of life, we are animals dependent on this planet, too. The more diverse the animals in an ecosystem, the healthier and more productive it is- which is good for us. A recent study by the World Wildlife Fund estimates the economic value of the Amazon rain forest's ecosystem services to be up to $100 per hectare. Moreover, there could be animals and organisms of medicinal value that have yet to be discovered. For example, the herb meadowseed was originally used in aspirin, and the Chinese use porcupine extracts as an effective cure for dengue fever.

Extinction is forever. It cannot be reversed. Forests burned can grow back and polluted air and water can be cleaned- but extinction is permanent. It is not just a few species that are at risk of extinction- we are talking about hundreds of thousands to millions of species that could possibly disappear. Many of these species have not even been discovered yet. We could doom ourselves to what naturalist E.O. Wilson calls the Eremozoic Era — the Age of Loneliness.

Environmental groups around the world are coming up with new ways to protect threatened wildlife. For example, in conservation hot spots like Madagascar and Brazil, conservationists are working with locals to ensure that the protection of endangered species are linked with the welfare of people who live close to them. Conservationists also hope to create protected corridors to provide roaming room for animals that are forced to migrate to escape changing climates. Avoided deforestation provides an incentive for environmental protection by putting a value on the carbon that is contained in the trees of a forest. Countries can then trade in these carbon credits, provided that those trees are not cut or burned. This could potentially mean billions of dollars for developing countries. In 1997, the American nonprofit the Nature Conservancy, American utility companies such as American Electric Power and PacifiCorp, and oil major BP Amoco paid Bolivia $10.8 million for the credits represented by all the carbon in the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park. It is uncertain that these efforts will prevent the sixth wave of extinction, but it's worth a try.

In a world where billions of people are starving and where the global economic crisis has people struggling to make ends meet, it's easy not to be concerned about Earth's diminishing biodiversity. But this planet is all we have. All that sustains wildlife- the clean water, unblemished land and lush forests- ultimately sustains us as well. As Al Gore said in his Nobel prize acceptance speech in October 2007, "We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level." We were the cause of the animals' plights, but we are also the solution.

Earth Week

It's Earth Week, so be prepared to hear a lot more about the environment over the next few days. This is a good opportunity to take part in Earth Day activities in your local community such as a park cleanup. Let this week be the start of a year-long effort to reduce your impact on the environment. Start buy buying local and in-season produce. According to the non-profit group Sustainable Table, the typical carrot travels 1,838 miles before it ends up in your kitchen. That’s a lot of food miles, and a tremendous amount of wasted fossil fuels and packaging. Buying regionally produced food is a keystone of sustainability: not only does it save the energy costs associated with shipping bulk produce, it keeps a portion of your grocery money close to where live. So locate your local farmer’s market and add it to your weekly errands. You’ll be supporting local growers while enjoying fresh, seasonal produce.


Make everyday Earth Day!

Easter Bling

Easter may not be the most eco-friendly holiday but you may be able to lighten the eco-footprint caused by bags of plastic, wrappers, paper and packaging. Collect and reuse as much plastic as possible. Plastic eggs, baskets and plastic grass can be re-used year after year. Leftover raw eggs can be eaten or used as simple at-home beauty treatments. For example, as face mask made from a combination of egg, honey and olive oil helps to soften skin and tighten pores. Everything you save for next year or put into the recycling chain saves a few resources for next year.

Easter is the second most important (after Halloween) candy-eating occasion for Americans, who consumed 7 billion pounds of candy in 2001, according to the National Confectioner's Association. Ninety million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year and everyday throughout the year, 5 million marshmallow chicks and bunnies are produced in preparation for Easter. That's alot of sugar and a lot of packaging. Go easy on the chocolate Easter bunnies because one Cadbury Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny has 890 calories and 97 grams of sugar while one Reese's Reester Bunny packs 798 calories and 42 grams of fat!

The Silver Lining

Unemployment rates today are the highest ever. People are struggling to support their families and the government is injecting huge amounts of money to revive the economy. We are in one of the darkest economic times, but it also means that our environment is finally starting to get the respect that it deserves.


The Washington Post reported that landfills around the country are showing declines of up to 30 percent! In trying times such as these, people are buying less in general. Many people are repairing or refurbishing what they already have instead of shelling out cash to purchase something new. Websites such as Freecycle, where users sign up to give or exchange items for free, have also experienced significant increase in traffic. The website has gained up to 70,000 new users a week since last fall. Not only are we reducing trash in the form of fewer purchases such as television sets and other discretionary items, we are also cooking at home with fresh produce instead of purchasing prepared foods. This translates into less packaging and a lighter trashbag. Since our demands for goods have reduced drastically, factories are forced to close. One less factory means less harmful pollution and waste. This newfound frugality shows that America's consumer culture is going in reverse.

River Monsters!

In 1976 a packed coach crashed into the Amazon killing 39 people. Did a school of piranha eat their flesh? Over the years, the mystery of freshwater fish have led to terrifying tales of fish that preyed on man.

Starting this week, in a new seven-part series from Animal Planet called River Monsters, biologist and extreme angler Jeremy Wade travels worldwide to solve these freshwater mysteries, to debunk these myths and to track down these harrowing tales.

In each episode, Jeremy Wade will come dangerously close to these predators in an attempt to try to understand their mystery and taste human flesh, putting his life at risk. He observes gigantic fish while traveling through Germany, Australia, Brazil and Texas. He confronts fascinating creatures as piranha, alligator gar, wels catfish, bullshark, piraiba, candiru and arapaima, all supposedly deadly creatures shrouded with mystery — especially their feeding habits.

We often think we know very little about oceans, but it seems like we also know very little about freshwater species and ecosystems. This would be an interesting series because we probably know less about what lives in freshwater than what lives in oceans.

Disneynature Earth

The first film in the Disneynature series, Earth, comes to theatres on Earth Day April 22nd. It is about the remarkable story of three animal families- polar bears, African elephants, and humpback whales- and their amazing journey across the planet we call home. Earth combines rare action and stunning scenery, while capturing some of the wildest and most elusive creatures. Directed by the creative team behind Emmy Award-winning Planet Earth, expect to be awed.

Buy a ticket for opening week and Disney will plant a tree in your honor.

Hong Kong

This year, I spent spring break in Hong Kong- a city where visibility is currently less than 8 kilometers for 30 percent of the year. Air is the source for many respiratory infections and asthma in the area, which is why many people wear face masks while out on the street. They even have stores that sell only face masks.


Los Angeles air even seems clean to me since I returned from my trip, as I no longer sneeze due to the dust in the air. Perhaps people in LA could adopt face masks to protect themselves from bad air, such as when bush fires occur.

Air pollution in Hong Kong recently reached its highest levels since records began. This is partly due to the large number of factories over the border in mainland China. But there is hope for them, as people are starting to reduce comsumption levels, which will eventually lead to less waste and pollution.

I was surprised at the environmentally friendly habits that the people in Hong Kong had. For example, many of them bring reusable bags with them to the grocery store. Some stores even offer a slight discount if you bring your own bag. At nearly every store that I went to where I declined a paper or plastic bag for my purchase, the salesperson thanked me for doing good for the environment. It made me feel feel virtuous and earth friendly, which is one of the reasons why the most of us recycle. It also helps that the Chinese are naturally thrifty, and households tend to reuse many things. But there is always room for improvement, as the household recycling rate is only 10 to 14 percent, compared to over 30 percent in England.

Hungry?

I was listening to the radio the one day, and I heard Taco Bell advertise their 'Fourthmeal'. 'Fourthmeal'? Really? Do Americans really need another meal?

According to the American Obesity Association, more than half the nation is overweight- 65%. And nearly one-third are obese. Why has the obesity epidemic hit America the hardest?

With our current lifestyle, it is easy to eat, it is easy to be lazy. Just because everything is so convenient. Technology and modern society has made it easier to be obese.

Cheap, tasty food is abundant and it tempts you constantly- fast food advertisements on the radio as you commute to work, billboards featuring juicy, succulent burgers, that oh-so-convenient drive-through on your way home. Between 1980 and 2005, the price of food fell 14 percent relative to non-food items, so it is not surprising that we are eating more food. Not only are we eating more food, we are eating more unhealthy food.

People today are strapped for time. There are only so many hours in a day and we have to work, commute, run errands, and watch our favorite television shows. Who has time to prepare a healthy home-cooked meal? So people tend to stop by that drive-through on the way home. And buying that combo meal is cheaper than just a burger alone. More bang for our buck- we get a side of oil-drenched fries and sugar-laden soda with our juicy beef patty slathered in some secret dressing. All it took was five minutes, and we didn't even have to get out of our car. In 1957, a burger contained little more than one ounce of meat, but by 1997 that same meat wad had grown to six ounces. Today we have McDonald's Angus Third Pounder. The average American now consumes almost 60 pounds of frozen potato products per year, more than triple the amount consumed per person in 1965.

At the same time, we are burning less calories. We drive practically everywhere. We circle the parking lot until we find a spot that is closest to the mall. We take the elevator to the second floor. It is natural that we gain weight when we live such a sedentary lifestyle. As long as there is demand for labor saving devices and cheap, tasty food, obesity will continue to be a significant problem.

Modern society has given Americans more incentives to gain weight than to lose it. Medical advancements have made it relatively easy to lower the health costs of obesity, by making available pills that will lower cholesterol levels and procedures that will reverse obesity such as gastric bypass surgeries. Such surgeries help people to lose up to one-third of their excess weight within one to four years. The availability of such technology may influence people to think that obesity is acceptable, because there is an easy surgical way out. The media has also played a part in influencing consumers to think that excess weight can easily disappear. How many of you have heard the endless commercials about the Lap-Band? Medical technology is so advanced today that, in fact, research by the Center for Disease Control reveals that today’s obese population has better blood pressure and cholesterol values than normal-weight adults did 30 years ago.

The obesity rate in China is just under 5%. If you visit Asian countries such as Hong Kong, you will notice that nearly everybody you see on the streets are fairly slim.

Why is this when it is just as developed a country as America? The answer lies in food portion, and an active lifestyle. Food portion in Hong Kong is significantly smaller than American food portion. Many Chinese foods are deep-fried and packed with fat and salt. Some Chinese favorites include fat cuts of pork and beef belly. But the people who consume them remain slim.


Because of small food portions, the Chinese feel more satisfied eating less, and are able to get balanced nutrients in their diet. Also, the lifestyle in Hong Kong is such that people walk to most places. Up and down the streets, down and out the subway system, all the steps add up. For people there, hiking is a popular pastime and many frequent the numerous indoor gyms and yoga centers to combat stress. However, as other cultures gain more Western influence, waistlines are bound to expand as Western fast food choices creep their way into everyday diets. Today, one in every five children in Hong Kong is obese, the highest number ever.

As the richest nation in the world, the prosperous American population lives very differently than fifty years ago. In the last five decades, changes have allowed Americans to give up wage earning hard labor in exchange for productive yet sedentary lives. As Americans, we make more money and enjoy a higher standard of living. Such prosperity and modern conveniences have increased the average American's free time. Just fifty years ago there were only four television stations. Now there are hundreds. Entertainment choices have multiplied. Videos, DVDs, video games, iPods, satellite and cable television, cell phones, calculators, computers, digital cameras, video cameras, global positioning systems, and the Internet. Most of these devices provide great entertainment and save time, but also lead to sedentary activity and further physical disconnection from one's body. Just thirty years ago, the average home had just one television. Many homes now have one television for every room in the house.


Wealthy Americans spend more time and money dining out, where they have no control over the amount of fat and sugar that goes into their food. Lower income individuals chose fast food, where they can consume most of their daily calorie needs in one meal. Health awareness must be raised among the public. Corporations have done a good job in packing the maximum amount of calories into a dollar- a Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger has 1520 calories! That is three quarters of an average 2000-calories-a-day diet in one meal. Consumers must learn about proper serving sizes and about nutrition labels so that they can make informed choices.Corporations must have incentives to provide healthier choices for their consumers.


According to the US Surgeon General, in the United States the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled since 1980. If current trends continue, it is estimated that by 2030, 86.3 percent of American adults will be overweight or obese. A recent article in British press said that there are more dangerously obese people in the world (over 1 billion) than there are people starving (800,000,000). Corporate America has had a significant role in the fattening of America, but it is ultimately up to the individual what goes into their body. Stop supersizing and get moving!

Spring Cleaning

With spring break just around the corner, get started on cleaning your house- a springtime tradition. This weekend, plan a yard sale. You can get rid of unwanted items that have been sitting around, and earn extra cash. You will also help others avoid buying new items.



The new season is perfect for planting some green. Head to your local nursery to see what people are planting this year. New plants would make your home more refreshing to live in. Also, support local farmers by exploring farmer's markets to see what early spring produce is available.

Ethics

Catuli's article brought up some very interesting views about our world today. Capitalism is so much a part of our everyday lives, and it has become so easy to blindly accept this system without questioning the reasons and ideas behind it. It was refreshing to read about the opinions of somebody who dared challenge the status quo. Is capitalism really the devil? It could be, if you are one of the 'little people who work for wages'. But to the 'CEO who is making millions', it might just be the best thing in the world.

It is possible that capitalism is a bad idea-- that it shouldn't have been implemented in the first place. But, imagine a world without capitalism. Can't, could you? We would not have any of the ammenities or luxuries that we take for granted today. There would be no internet. No cell phones. Who would have the incentive to develop such things if it were not for monetary purposes? This is the kind of hidden mechanism that converted the greed of individuals into some general good-- this is Adam Smith's "invisible hand". Such technologies have benefited far more people than they have harmed.

It is possible that a capitalist society deliberately aims to degrade our character and convince us that greed is normal, even good. Take celebrities, for example. They live lavishly and have high opinions of themselves because of their wealth. Some do try to give back to communities and charities, but the amounts pale in comparison with their wealth. Are we only as good as our material possessions?

However, it is not practical to hope that everybody would see the flaw of capitalism-- that they would opt to live like Buddha or Mother Teresa. Give up their television and computers? No way.

Capitalism may bear some blame for the state of our economy today, but we must also be grateful for the good that it has brought. Without capitalism, countries would not advance nor develop. People would not have access to the goods and services that they do now. Without capitalism, we would not have the resources to help other countries in need. And when the economy does boom again, Catuli may change his mind about capitalism.

But Catuli was right when he said that the solutions to greed are simple. Because they are. Just follow everything that your religion tells you to do, word for word. Oh, and always put others first. Simple, yes. Viable, no. Society is trapped too deep in the jaws of capitalism and our lifestyles are too rooted in that system. To undo capitalism, we must first change ourselves--we must become saints.

Electronic Waste

For most of us, when we think of recycling, the first things that come to mind are paper, plastics, and aluminum. But what about electronics? Electronic equipment has been recognized as a fast growing category of municipal solid waste. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, in 2005, discarded electronics totaled about 2 million tons. It’s estimated that only about 15 to 20 percent of this was recycled. Worldwide, between 20 million and 50 million tons of electronic waste is produced, according to a United Nations environment program. Since electronic equipment contains toxic chemicals, this can pose health and environmental risks, particularly in landfills where toxins may leak into the soil and ground water.

To prevent your old electronic equipment from ending up in landfills, you can donate them to charities or thrift stores, or even sell them on websites such as Craigslist and eBay. Recycling bins for electronics do exist, you just have to keep an eye out for them. I have seen bins specifically for old cell phones and related parts. The next time you replace your printer ink cartridge, place the old one in the envelope that usually comes with the new cartridge. You can then mail your old ink cartridge to be recycled. Postage is even pre-paid! Could it get any better than that? You bet. Staples currently offers a $3 rebate for any old ink cartridge that you bring into the store. Best Buy has also expanded their recycling program to all their stores nationwide.

Only about 11 percent of electronics are recycled, according to the most recent U.S. EPA estimates. Hopefully our actions can increase this number.