Tag-Archive for » overpopulation «

Friday, December 11th, 2009 | Author: 2Spirits

Species are going extinct at an alarming rate - approximately one every 20 minutes. And global warming is a big part of the problem. It’s changing the climate and ecosystems, forcing species to move, adapt - or die out.

Today I’d like to share a special opportunity to help protect species by taking action with Conservation International. CI’s projects are closely aligned with Environmental Defense Fund’s own work fighting global warming and protecting our planet.

Read on to see how CI is saving species from extinction, and learn how you can help.

Sincerely,

Sam Parry

Conservation International

Dear  People,

2,000 species are at risk of disappearing each month.

Sign CI’s petition to save forests and stop the clock on species extinction.

Tiger by Frank Hawkins
© CI/Photo by Frank Hawkins

Polar Bears by Russell Mittermeier
© CI/Photo by Russell Mittermeier

Philippine Eagle by Olivier Langrand
© CI/Photo by Olivier Langrand

Ensuring the survival of all species is a cornerstone of Conservation International’s work. But it’s no small task.

Every 20 minutes, another species on our planet is pushed to extinction.

In that same time, more than 1,200 acres of forest are destroyed, releasing climate change-causing pollution into the atmosphere. That means fewer acres of habitat and more CO2 in the air, which further threatens species’ survival by altering the climate and ecosystems on which they rely.

It’s a catastrophe on a global scale - perhaps the Earth’s next major extinction event - but it’s solvable. And you can be a part of the solution. Sign CI’s petition to save forests and stop the clock on species extinction.

By signing the petition, you are telling government leaders to incorporate forest protection into their national policies on climate change - for the good of our species, our climate, and ourselves.

Take a moment right now and sign our petition to government leaders and help stop the clock on species extinction.

Your signature will bring us one step closer to protecting life on earth, and will help ensure that rare and threatened species survive. Please sign the petition today.

Sincerely,
Beth Wallace

Beth Wallace
Conservation International

Monkey © CI/Photo by John Martin
Children © CI/Photo by Critano Nogueira

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Tuesday, December 08th, 2009 | Author: 2Spirits

Written by Darci Palmquist
Published on December 8th, 2009 in Animals, Asia Pacific, Climate Change, Cool Green Morning, Copenhagen, Forests, Green Living, Policy, Sustainable Livelihoods, United States

Copenhagen, EPA, Copenhagen, EPA… sound like a broken record? Don’t worry, we’ve got more news than just those two biggies for you today: palm oil and orangutans, the green movement and a few photos from COP 15 thrown in for good measure. Enjoy your daily dose of Cool Green Morning!

  1. Yesterday’s ruling by the EPA that greenhouse gas emissions are dangerous to people – a decision that empowers the agency to regulate emissions — has everyone a-buzz. Could this be the push that gets the U.S. into the game at Copenhagen?
  2. And more buzz: a report issued by Lord Nicholas Stern and the UN Environment Programme last week says there is hope for Copenhagen to succeed — at least, there’s a “50-50″ chance of avoiding change of more than 2 degrees Celsius.
  3. Check out what you’ve been missing at Copenhagen with this slideshow of photos from day one of COP 15 from Treehugger.
  4. And now for some non-Copenhagen news… what’s the link between Indonesia’s 40 richest men and the decline of orangutans in that country? Palm oil. The growing demand globally for palm oil is bringing wealth to a few and major habitat loss to orangutans.
  5. We’re big fans of doing all we can to green our livelihoods here at Cool Green Morning, so this piece telling people to stop going green raised some ire. What do you think — is going green just a “distraction” as the author says, or does it help create some kind of change?

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Friday, November 13th, 2009 | Author: 2Spirits

And that’s a problem in a warming world.

Billions of people get their fresh water from mountain glacier meltwater flows. The trouble is the planet’s glaciers are receding at alarming rates.

Nowhere is this threat more acute than in China and India where huge populations rely on meltwater from rapidly thinning Himalayan glaciers.

Environmental Defense Fund is partnering with the Asia Society to highlight this threat in a full-page ad in tomorrow’s New York Times.

The ad is timed to coincide with President Obama’s trip to Asia, during which he is scheduled to meet with China’s President Hu Jintoa to discuss climate change, among other topics.

You can be one of the first to see the ad, which displays dramatic photos showing the extent of snow cap loss in the Himalayas:

New York Times ad on climate and water

Here are some sobering facts about climate and water to inspire you to take action:

7: Number of great rivers in Asia fed by meltwater from Himalayan glaciers (Ganga, Indus, Brahmaputra, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze and Huang He).

2 billion: Number of people, mostly in India and China, who rely on meltwater from Himalayan glaciers for their fresh water.

2035: Date by which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and India’s Energy and Resources Institute predict that much of the Himalayas could be glacier free.

66%: Amount by which the July-September flows would be reduced in the Ganga River if we lose the Himalayan glaciers.

37%: Amount of India’s irrigated land is located in the Ganga region.

1 and 2: Respective rank of China and India as the world’s producers of wheat and rice, food staples for all of humanity.

You can help by emailing your Senators and urging them to support a climate bill.

Sources for the climate and water facts:

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Monday, March 02nd, 2009 | Author: 2Spirits

Written By Bryan Welch Blog publisher for Mother Earth Newstree

Forests are being destroyed at a pace even with the rate of human population growth.  Unless something changes soon, by 2030 we will only have 10 percent of the natural forests that stood on the planet when we started paying attention .

Read the rest of this article at http://www.motherearthnews.com/Rancho-Cappuccino/Deforestation-And-Overpopulation.aspx

Bryan references the following;

[1] Wilson, Edward O. The Future of Life. 2003, Vintage ISBN 0-679-76811-4
[2] Field Museum. The Lost Forest.
[3] Rotarian Fellowship for Population & Development. Population & Deforestation.
[4] International Conference on Reforestation and Environmental Regeneration of Haiti. Reforest Haiti.

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