By Zachary Shahan •
October 7, 2009
You can now explore the Amazon, Madagascar, and Sebangau National Forest in Borneo through Google Earth.
On September 25, I wrote about a Google Earth tour (narrated by AL Gore) and new Google Earth tools and layers which help people to look at the possible effects of climate change under three different scenarios. Now, three new tours have been launched that allow the exploration of critical rainforests and real-life success stories.
The tours (embedded below) have a great wealth of information and inspirational stories bound into succinct Google Earth or YouTube videos.
By Cindy Tickle •
September 23, 2009
I am a big fan of
Conservation International (CI) and have been for ten years ever since I worked with the NGO during my previous life at a multinational corporation. I admire CI’s collaborative approach by accepting the world’s largest corporations as part of the environmental solution and not just the source of the problem. Realizing the importance of the private sector, CI created the
Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) partnering with such companies as Starbucks, McDonald’s and Wal-Mart.
CELB’s mission is to leverage the power and reach of corporations to “improve human livelihoods through: innovative business practices that reduce companies’ ecological footprint, strategic investments in conservation opportunities and dynamic communications campaigns that engage consumers and employees worldwide to take action in their everyday lives.”
As part of their progressive communications campaign, CI recognized the influence and reach of social networking and social media. And now, they are set to launch a groundbreaking tool designed to catalyze personal and collective action via the connective power of the web. Are you ready for “Team Earth”?
Madagascar is famous for its lemurs. But poachers on the island are hunting and killing the lemurs for about 50 cents each. The endangered lemurs are then smoked and sold as delicacies to restaurant owners who are ordering the “killing of the animals.”
By Levi Novey •
May 1, 2009
Over the past 2 weeks a number of organizations including National Geographic, Conservation International, and several famous rock bands helped facilitate the “Great Turtle Race”: a fun effort to scientifically track the migration of 11 endangered leatherback sea turtles on their journey from Canada to the Caribbean. In addition to building awareness of the need for turtle conservation, one of the turtles provided the world with the 1st complete set of migration data ever recorded for a sea turtle.
Seen above, the sea turtle known as Wawa Bear traveled 4471 miles
and had her entire route tracked successfully. At 1315 pounds, it should not be hard to imagine where the name “bear” comes from. Wawa Bear is, in fact,
the largest sea turtle ever captured in Nova Scotian waters.
By Bryan Nelson •
March 3, 2009
187,800 acres of some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world have been set aside as the first national conservation area in Papua New Guinea’s history. The newly protected region is home to a swath of endangered species, most notably the IUCN-listed tree kangaroo.
Dubbed the YUS Conservation Area, named after the Yopno, Uruwa and Som river systems which flow through its heart, the Singapore-sized region spans from the country’s northern coastal reefs as far inland as its interior mountains– the 13,000 ft. peaks of the Saruwaged Range. This also marks the first time the region’s 35 culturally-distinct villages have come together for the purpose of protecting their collective homeland.
By Sonya •
January 16, 2009
Fancy a new online store for eco-friendly children’s products? Green product website Ambitious Green calls itself a “fun place to buy great products at the center of today’s environmental issues, concerns, and debates.”
Says Ambitious Green: “We think the environment and education are challenging debates worth having. Every time you make a buying decision you are telling manufacturers and the market what’s important to you. We share the same frustrations you do - finding products that are natural, functional, friendly and fun. We believe that what’s good for you can be good for the planet.”
Here are a few of the latest toys at Ambitious Green:
Dancing Alligator, $19.99 (shown above) “This award-winning, wooden alligator pull toy struts his stuff as he wiggles, bobs and click-clacks along.” These toys are made in Thailand by Plan Toys, a green company that emphasizes socially responsible manufacturing. It’s green because it’s made of organic rubberwood, non-formaldehyde E-Zero Glue, water-based dye, recycled and recyclable material and soy ink and water-based ink.
