This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

Steven Psyllos interviewed Harris recently for New York magazine to discuss his inspiration, artistic process,  and to unveil a new animated plastic bag beast; the video was shot by Jonah Green.

Read more of this story »

This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

The Meatrix is a clever animated short that explains how incredibly cruel, destructive and dangerous factory farming truly is. Even the recent over-hyped outbreak of swine flu has been linked to poorly managed factory farms in Mexico, that are actually owned by US Agribusiness giant Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest industrial pork producer. “Industrial farms are super-incubators for viruses,” said Bob Martin, former executive director of the Pew Commission on Industrial Animal Farm Production, and a vocal critic of “contained animal feeding operations.”

Read more of this story »

Animals Asia successfully rescued 13 Asian black bears (moon bears) from bile farms in the past month. This is a small step in a continuing fight, as an estimated 7,000-10,000 moon bears still suffer in bile farms across China.

Read more of this story »

Hammy the hamster repeatedly demonstrates her preference for organic fruits and vegetables. For five out of the six food types, Hammy preferred organic; she did, however, seem to have a preference for conventional walnuts over organic. Please visit http://www.cooksden.com/hamster/ for more information.

Fifteen-year-old Bostonian Jordan Star has emerged as the surprise driving force behind a bill to ban the cruel practice of ’surgically silencing’ cats and dogs by removing their vocal cords.

Star, a freshman at Needham High, decided to take action after coming across a dog that had been debarked and abandoned. “It was just horrible,” he said of the dog’s struggle to get his attention. “It was just like a hoarse, wheezy cough. In a shelter, all they are is a mutilated animal, which makes them harder to adopt.”

Read more of this story »

Just seven minutes after Spanish and French scientists brought the Pyrenean ibex back from extinction, the young animal died of lung complications also common to other cloned animals. And so an extinct species blinked into life for an instant and then flickered out again.

The success, albeit brief, is spurring scientists and conservationists alike to imagine some wild possibilities. Can extinct species–say, the dodo or even the wooly mammoth–be brought back into their natural habitats through cloning and if so should they?

Read more of this story »

Harnessing the Earth’s Heat for Food and Power

As the rumbling temblors beneath Yellowstone National Park continue (over 900 hundred such weak quakes in 2008), media attention shifts to two topics: the possibility of a super-volcanic eruption (not likely, according to most geologists), and secondly, the harnessing of geothermal energy.

This latter consideration is all the more fashionable these days as America struggles to embrace an alternative and sustainable energy future.

Geothermal energy offers the promise of a virtually unlimited source of power. Although less energetic in terms  of total constant power output compared to the sun, harnessing the geothermal venting from a single, sufficiently high-grade, hot-spring could conceivably provide power for a population of tens of thousands, and it’s not weather dependent.  But there are also plenty of “lower grade” springs that can be put to other uses, such as growing hothouse produce (and the spring water is also used for watering the plants) and  naturally warming water for fish farming (the Talipia species, a popular dinner fish, is one species farmed this way). Not all animals that are farmed this way are used for food, some, like the farmed alligators in Mosca, CO (see photo), are raised for their skins primarily (though some do eat the meat).

Read more of this story »

A groundbreaking study has proved that man-made light sources can change natural light cycles, triggering abnormal animal behavior that often leads to injury and even death.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, confirms that polarized light pollution can cause confusion in creatures that rely on light ‘cues’ to navigate through their environment, with many animals also thrown off course by light reflecting from buildings.

Read more of this story »

Seasonal food is plentiful right now, much of it in the shape of squashes and gourds. Last night I took a page (literally) out of Barbara Kingsolver’s recent book, Animal, Vegetable Miracle. Ever since I read the chapter on smashing pumpkins, I knew I had to try the pumpkin soup experiment.

For the uninitiated, she took on the task of making pumpkin soup in the actual pumpkin. She describes the culinary feat in detail, including the collapse of the shell when she attempted to serve the soup!

Read more of this story »

As humans, we collectively tend to be self-absorbed and not think outside our sphere of influence. More specifically, if something in the world doesn’t directly affect us we give little or no attention to it (I’m one of the worst culprits, myself). As such, it’s very easy for us not to think about what human wastefulness and global warming are doing to our plant and animal life. However, losing our earth’s bio and eco-diversity has frightening ramifications for humanity.

Photo credit: Adam Bowman

Taken in the Uintah Mountains, this photo illustrates what humans could lose unless they act to preserve open spaces.

According to Baker University Biology Professor and Natural Areas Director Roger Boyd, biodiversity is the amount of species in a given area. More broadly, eco-diversity refers to the number of ecosystems there are on the planet. If eco and biodiversity continues to decrease on the planet, then less food is available to sustain life. In essence, all of the earth’s biological life is interconnected; if our furry and scale-covered brethren run out of food, so do we.

Read more of this story »

A report released Wednesday from the World Conservation Union (IUCN) predicts an 80% population decline of the most common type of gorilla, the Western Gorilla, from 1980 levels by 2046. The 2007 Red List of Threatened Species finds "commercial hunting and outbreaks of the Ebola virus have virtually extirpated gorillas from a great deal of otherwise intact forest" where they were previously thought to thrive.

"What’s immediately needed if we are to halt the decimation of the western gorilla is nothing short of a massive global response," said Richard Parnell, of the Wildlife Conservation Society. This author agrees. The following list is a response to the immediate need for action to prevent the extinction of gorillas and other threatened primate species—our closest relatives on Earth.

Here are seven unusual ways to prevent the extinction of gorillas. These approaches are also designed to introduce you to some of the complex causes and issues surrounding the threat that gorillas face from our species. This blog benefits from an exceptionally intelligent and motivated readership; if you have other ideas, please contribute them by posting comments below this article.

1. Don’t Buy Bushmeat!

If you know someone who lives in or travels to Africa, make sure he or she knows not to buy bushmeat. Bushmeat is a term for meat from any wild animal killed by hunters and sold as food. It’s popular in many African restaurants and markets. While not all bushmeat is illegally poached, buying bushmeat supports a demand for any and all forms of bushmeat. This drives poachers to shoot elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates, forest antelopes, and other animals in the hopes that they can sell the meat for commercial profit. As the IUCN’s report concludes, supporting the bushmeat trade makes a person directly responsible for the endangerment of Western Gorillas, among other primates.

Douglas Williamson, a wildlife expert at the U.N. further explains, "along with habitat loss, the commercial bushmeat trade is probably the biggest threat to wildlife in Africa."

2. Do Buy Other African Goods

The problem of poaching is enflamed by the desire of impoverished people to make money quickly. Let’s face it: entering a national park patrolled by armed guards to illegally poach and butcher endangered animals probably isn’t anybody’s ideal of making a living. Supporting businesses, local crafts, and economic development through commerce helps sustain local populations. This decreases the incentives to illegally hunt primates.

If you can find a good microinvesting organization that offers investment opportunities in African countries, please post it in the discussion below. Kiva.org is one valuable microinvesting organization, but selections for investment in Africa are slim to none. (Editor’s note: GO’s sister site Planetsave raises funds for Kiva.org.)

"We need money," says Democratic Republic of the Congo environment minister Henri Dojombo. "It is poverty in the first place that leads to poaching."

3. Have a ‘Save Gorillas’ Fundraiser Movie Night

Gather friends, family, neighbors, and community members in a park or at your home for a showing of your favorite gorilla movie. Watch Mountain Gorilla, Gorillas In The Mist, or even King Kong. Have everyone there donate $10+ (the price of going to the movies), and donate the pooled money to a conservation organization that works to protect gorillas. For example, you could adopt a gorilla with the World Wildlife Fund, the African Wildlife Fund, or the Diane Fossey Fund.

Come up with other fun ways to raise money to adopt a gorilla. You can do it with your school classroom, as a gift for someone, or even on your own, or as a gift to yourself.

4. Volunteer in Africa

Yup, that’s right. Travelers in Africa rarely have anything but praise for the amazing people they meet and the incredible land they come to understand better. It’s literally the chance of a lifetime, and most people don’t realize how easy it is.

To volunteer in ways that will benefit Western Gorillas, you’ll want to be in Angola, Cameroon, The Central African Republic, The Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, or Nigeria.

Look for programs and opportunities online, including at the following websites:

• Volunteer Abroad
• The Peace Corps
• World Volunteer Web: Countries
• Universal Giving: International Volunteer Opportunities
• Volunteer for Prosperity: Africa

You can also try contacting other organizations, like the Cameroon Environmental Watch (to translate emails into or from French, a good online resource is Altavista’s Babelfish), to learn how you can help.

5. Donate to Heifer International

Send cows to help gorillas? More or less… the folks at Heifer International have programs in Cameroon, which is home to the Western Gorilla. Donations help the organization train local farmers in better, more sustainable farming methods. The domestic animals they provide empower local people with a source of income and food, like milk and eggs. For gorilla populations to be saved from the relentless assaults from illegal hunting, local human populations must be given a viable method of survival that allows them to live without depending on poaching as a source of income. Donating to Heifer International helps to accomplish this feat. You can read more on their website.

It’s true that encroaching farmland also threatens to gorilla populations through deforestation and habitat destruction. However, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, "the most immediate threat to western gorillas is not habitat destruction as previously believed, but poaching and lack of law enforcement." This assertion is echoed in Wednesday’s IUCN report. Therefore, at least at the moment, helping local people with any form of industry which stems the perceived need to massacre gorillas for income is an important step in the race to prevent the extinction of gorillas.

6. Push Timber Companies to Follow the Law

The bushmeat trade is made possible in part by a lack of oversight and enforcement of the law in the timber industry. European and African loggers penetrate Central African forests, which are home to the remaining gorilla populations. The logging industry in Africa still lacks regulation from the companies who purchase the lumber. Loggers therefore are often tempted to make extra money by poaching adult gorillas and chimpanzees to sell on the commercial bushmeat market, and by capturing the young for sale as exotic pets.

European timber companies, like Belgian Decolvenaere, buy tropical lumber from African forests. Many African timber companies are members of the InterAfrican Forest Industries Association (IFIA), as well as the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). While both of these organizations recognize the severity of the bushmeat problem and its ties to logging, they need average citizens to contact them by the thousands to encourage greater regulation and monitoring of loggers. Always be polite and courteous when contacting companies and organizations with important issues such as these.

You can contact the Japan-based ITTO by email at itto@itto.or.jp, by phone at 81-45-223-1110, by fax at +81-45-223-1111, or by mail at

International Tropical Timber Organization
International Organizations Center, 5th Floor
Pacifico-Yokohama 1-1-1, Minato-Mirai,
Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012 Japan

You can contact the France-based IFIA by email at ifia@wanadoo.fr, by phone at 33 1 43 42 42 00, by fax at 33 1 43 42 55 22, or by mail at

InterAfrican Forest Industries Association (IFIA)
6, avenue de Saint Mandé
75012 Paris, France

You can contact Decolvenaere logging company through their web site’s contact form. According to Greenpeace, "despite several requests, the Belgian importer Decolvenaere has shown no interest at all to purchase FSC-certified timber." You can contact them and ask them to adhere to Forest Steward Council (FSC) guidelines on sustainable forestry. Also, ask that they better monitor logging operations to ensure that loggers do not poach, and that they not purchase lumber from third parties whose practices they cannot vouch for.

7. Spread the Word!

Make sure to tell a friend—or 500!—about the need to take immediate action to protect gorillas from impending extinction. Have them contribute ideas about ways to take action, raise funds together to donate to conservation organizations that work to protect gorillas, or simply spread information about gorillas, their lifestyles, their habitat, and their current plight for survival.

References on Bushmeat:

Bushmeat Crisis Task Force | bushmeat.org

The Bushmeat Project | bushmeat.net

Bushmeat–A Resource at Risk | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Bushmeat | The Humane Society of the United States

The Growing Problem of Bushmeat Consumption | Jeffry M. Burnam, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment; Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

‘Save Our Apes’ DRC Funding Plea | Africa from Allbusiness.com

References on African Logging:

Homepage | International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

English Homepage | InterAfrican Forest Industries Association (IFIA)

Africa Resources | Greenpeace

Company Homepage | Decolvenaere

What is Certification? | The Forest Stewardship Council (FSA)

References on Gorillas:

Homepage | The World Conservation Union (IUCN)

2007 Redlist of Threatened Species | IUCN

Gorillas Now ‘Critically Endangered’ | Discovery Channel News

Want to Save Gorillas? Enforce Laws | Wildlife Conservation Society

Resources on Volunteering and Donating:

Home | Volunteer Abroad

Home | Peace Corps

Country List | World Volunteer Web

Find A Vounteer Opportunity | International Volunteer Opportunities

Global Map, Africa | Volunteers For Prosperity

Home | Heifer International

Home | Kiva.org

Gorillas | World Wildlife Fund

Adopt A Gorilla | African Wildlife Society

Adopt A Gorilla… Save A Species | The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International

Photo Source:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arro08/131759180/

Do you dream of working with animals? Find out how you can volunteer at your local zoo or wildlife rehabilitation center and gain the experience of a lifetime. It’s easy to become involved and easier still to fall in love with this rewarding volunteer activity.

Now you may be asking why anyone in his or her right mind would give up a relaxing Sunday at home to shovel poop, and it’s a fair question. But just imagine yourself bottle-feeding baby sea otters, teaching visitors about habitat conservation, or helping a wounded eagle to learn how to fly. If you admire animals and wish to contribute to their welfare, this is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Volunteering at your nearest zoo is easy, and most zoos offer many ways to get involved. Visit your zoo’s website and follow the links to learn about volunteer programs, or you can contact the zoo directly and ask what opportunities are available. Volunteer duties can range from visitor outreach to animal care giving.

You can also learn about the important role that zoos play in conservation. For example, the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle works collaboratively with villages and researchers in Tanzania to reduce conflict between humans and African elephants. In Ohio, the Columbus Zoo plays a key role in repopulating a local, endangered species of mussel. Some zoos may even offer qualified volunteers the chance to become directly involved in exciting conservation programs such as these.

Wildlife rehabilitation centers are another excellent place to get hands-on experience helping animals. Rehabilitation centers focus on treating sick or wounded animals and returning them to the wild. Many centers also offer outreach and education opportunities. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, consider volunteering with the Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito, where you can work directly with baby seals, sea lions, otters, and other local marine mammals. To find a wildlife rehabilitation center in your area, you can search for “wildlife rehabilitation center” and your city at Goodsearch.com, or visit AnimalHelp.com and search for a rehabilitator. To learn more about wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, visit The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory.

Amazing hands-on work with animals is a reward in itself, but there are other benefits of taking action to help animals. Each October, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) presents its Animal Action Award to recognize individuals of all ages for contributions to animal welfare. Begin volunteering today with a zoo or wildlife rehabilitation center and by October you may qualify—or you may know somebody who qualifies—for this award.

The Woodland Park Zoo, Elephant Conservation

The Columbus Zoo, Mussel Conservation

The Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito, Volunteer Opportunities

Goodsearch

Animal Help, Rehabilitator Search

The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory

IFAW, Animal Action Award Nomination

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jojo79/534619156/