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The Proposed Neutering of Our Endangered Species Act

Jerry James Stone — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:33:03 +0000

On Monday, the Bush administration proposed a policy that threatens to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to the point of extinction. This comes as no surprise. Like the war in Iraq, removing the fetters of environmental protection has been an administrational goal since 2001. Unlike the war in Iraq, this time Bush and his cronies could very well succeed.

Targeting the ESA’s consultation process, the policy changes boil down to this: only when a federal agency feels their intended actions could bring about harm must they consult an outside agency like the Fish and Wildlife Service. Currently, all of these decisions are subject to an independent scientific review.

If the ambiguity of that policy makes you uncomfortable then please raise your hand because it scares the crap out of me.

First off, our current administration has been, if anything, consistent in its attempt to sidestep environmental policy over the past seven years. Consider this, Bush’s administration has only added about 60 species to the endangered species list. That is about 10-percent of what was listed under the Clinton administration, and only about 3-percent of what the Reagan administration listed. Even George Bush’s dad added around 200 species to the list!

Wait, it gets better. This whole process is incredibly sneaky. These suggested changes are not even subject to Congressional approval. Outside of that, the Interior Department is only allowing comments on the proposal for 30 days, and in an attempt to reduce public outcry they are not accepting any comments via email - snail mail only!

If this sounds sketch, it should. With the proposed changes, for example, agencies won’t even be required to assess how their projects will contribute to global warming, or the effect of those emissions on species and habitat. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, we won’t have many of those around if these changes are allowed.

Fact is, this proposal is obscene and another wicked example of the Bush administration circumventing the law. And don’t let them fool you…the consequences are grand, such that we ourselves might might make the endangered list.

Take Action:

Comment Online via the NRDC

Where Issues Intertwine: Why Animals Matter
Should All Arctic Species be Listed as Endangered?
Alaska Sues to End the Polar Bear

Image source: Voices at Flickr

Alaska Sues to End the Polar Bear

Joshua S Hill — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:21:23 +0000

In a move that can only be seen as ludicrous, bordering on the delusional, the state of Alaska has sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, in an attempt to get him to reverse his decision listing polar bears as a threatened species under the US Endangered Species act.

Led by Governor Sarah Palin, state officials fear that listing the polar bear as endangered will cripple development of oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. “We believe that the Service’s decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available,” Palin said in announcing the lawsuit.

Not surprisingly, this decision by Palin and co. has not gone down well.

10 Top Environmental Headlines of the Week, no. 4

Gavin Hudson — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:07:50 +0000

Following are the top international environmental news for during the week of April 13 - 20. See an archive of top international environmental news here.

Asia

Two “Extinct” Species Discovered

First there was Swinshoe’s softshell turtle, and then the Javan Elephant. Is this more commonplace than we might believe?

Frankly, no. Despite the occasional hubbub over an animal science has lost track of– say, the Coelacanth– we’ve witnessed something extraordinary. Swinshoe’s turtle was previously believed to be extinct in the wild, with only three remaining in captivity, and therefore every one of these 300-pound turtles is a critical find.

Continue reading: Environmental Graffiti. Hot in media: Stumble Upon.

Read more of this story »

Action for Animals: 7 Unorthodox Ways to Help Save Gorillas from Extinction

Gavin Hudson — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:31:13 +0000

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:

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/

Dolphins, and Turtles, and Seals - Oh My! The Effect of Fishing on the Animals We Care About

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:43:16 +0000

In my first exploration of the issue of by-catch in commercial fishing , I looked at the devastating effects of fishing not simply for the "target" species, but on those animals who are unlucky enough to be caught in the lines, traps, hooks, and nets not meant for them. In this second part, I further explore this issue and take a look at how the dolphins, sea turtles, and seals - animals for whom we have affection - fare in our pursuit of gastronomic pleasure.

DOLPHINS
The public became aware of the problems of by-catch in the 1980s when campaigns were led against tuna companies for harming and killing dolphins when tuna were the targets. The relationship between dolphins and tuna is that yellowfin tuna follow and school beneath dolphins, so fishing fleets would look for dolphins on the surface, herd them and encircle them and set out the nets to catch the tuna – ensnaring the dolphins at the same time. An estimated 5 to 7 million dolphins have been killed by this fishing method over the past four decades, the largest marine mammal kill in history.

In 1986, the International Marine Mammal Project organized a campaign, including a consumer boycott of tuna, in order to urge U.S. tuna companies to end the practice of intentionally chasing and netting dolphins, and to adopt "Dolphin Safe" fishing practices to prevent the drowning of dolphins in tuna nets. Dolphins are mammals and don’t have gills, so they drown while stuck in the nets underwater. There are other standards that a company must adhere to in order to label their tuna “dolphin-safe,” but it’s worth noting that just because it says “dolphin-safe” or “dolphin-friendly,” it doesn’t mean that dolphins were not killed in the production of a particular tin of tuna. It means that the fleet which caught the tuna did not specifically target a pod of dolphins.

Though the numbers are down since new techniques are used to catch tuna (400,000 dolphins killed annually in the 1960s and 100,000 in the 1980s), several thousand dolphins are still killed each year to satisfy our appetites for tuna. Dolphins — social, playful, intelligent animals — are also killed as by-catch in nets targeting trout. According to a 2003 BBC story by Alex Kirby called “Nets Kill 800 Cetaceans a Day,” more than 800 dolphins, porpoises, and whales die every day as they get tangled in fishing nets – that’s 300,000 every year.

TURTLES
Turtles are also common victims. Sea turtles are killed by the thousands. It’s estimated that more than 20,000 sea turtles die each year after getting hooked on longlines. Six of the seven species of marine turtles are listed as "Endangered" or "Critically Endangered," and the outlook is increasingly grim. In the Pacific, leatherbacks are heading for extinction, fast, and in the Mediterranean, green turtle numbers have plummeted. Though pollution and disease contribute to this, the nets and long-lines of fishing fleets play a major role in their demise.

According to Duke University, which recently conducted a global assessment of the problem, more than 250,000 loggerhead and 60,000 leatherback turtles are snared each year by commercial longline fishing, and tens of thousands die. The authors estimated that longline fleets from 40 different countries set about 1.4 billion hooks in the studied year of 2000, the equivalent of about 3.8 million hooks each day. Again, longlines are fishing lines that can stretch for 40 miles and dangle thousands of individually baited hooks. They are set at optimal depths and times to catch tuna and swordfish, shark, and other fish, and according to the data studied, the turtles most often die – not by drowning, by some kind of injury related to hooking or entangling.

SEALS
Another byproduct of the fishing industry is the brutal death of baby seals. Because of the overfishing of cod by the Canadian fishing industry in eastern Canada –- in the Atlantic Ocean for Newfoundland’s northeast coast — the cod population declined to such a degree that the government stepped in the late 1980s and imposed severe restrictions on commercial fishing. But it was too late. Because of overfishing, the fishery collapsed, never recovered, and the ecosystem changed such that it was no longer able to support cod fish.

What does all this have to do with the seals? Scapegoating the seals for the collapse of the cod fisheries, fishermen demanded a kill. In 2003, the Canadian government bowed to pressure from the fishing industry, and ordered the massacre of hundreds of thousands of seals, declaring war on the seals in hopes that massive seal kills will bring back the cod and keep their disgruntled fishermen working.

In fact, cod is not a major food source of the harp and hood seal diet. Further, recent evidence suggests that killing seals contributes to bacterial infestation on the ocean floor which leads to hypoxia, a condition in which patches of ocean lose all the dissolved oxygen and are unable to sustain cod or fish or marine life of any kind. However, these facts seem to have been brushed aside by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans in their efforts to justify and continue the slaughter.

During the 3-year period of 2003-2005, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) allowed a kill quota of 975,000 baby and adult harp seals and 30,000 adult hood seals. When the "struck and lost" seals are included (these are the animals who’ve been hit but lost in the icy waters), the total killed exceeds one million, making this the largest marine mammal slaughter in the world.

To find as many avenues as possible to profit from the annual, government-subsidized slaughter, Canada exports sealskins (furskins/pelts and leather), seal oil, and seal meat. Unfortunately, the demand for seal pelts has sky-rocketed, especially in Europe. Though seal meat isn’t doing so well, the Canadian government is trying to find markets for the bodies of the skinned seals. The kill continues to this day. The quota for the 2007 massacre was 270,000. Visit www.protectseals.org for more information.

TSUNAMI
Finally, while we’re talking about by-products/effects (not just "by-catch"), there is another by-product of consuming aquatic animals that went under the radar screen when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in southeast Asia destroyed lives and communities at the end of 2004. Over 200,000 human lives were lost and an uncounted number of non-human lives. Experts agree that the destruction of coral reefs and mangrove trees played a significant role in the destruction caused by the tsunami. In many countries across Asia, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, mangroves stood all along the coasts in shallow waters. They offered protection against things like tsunamis. Over the last 20-30 years, they were cleared for shrimp or prawn farms. The shrimps and prawns are sold to Europeans and other foreigners at a price that does not take into account the environmental cost. The destruction of the coasts was also due to the building of large resorts where they should never have been built.

Of course, there are efforts to rebuild the shrimp farms, and we’ll see if we learn anything from the disaster. I’m a little skeptical, considering the fact that worldwide, shrimp farming has grown at an annual average of over 18% since 1970, and is the single most valuable internationally traded seafood product worldwide, valued at an estimated $50-60 billion at the point of retail.

BEYOND BY-CATCH
The cost of our consumption of aquatic animals is extremely high - not just to the target species who were living perfectly peaceful lives before we come along and snatch them out of their homes, but also to the non-target species and entire ecosystems. And this is just one aspect of this issue. We have yet to talk about all the others, including factory-farm raising fish; the pollution in the ocean; the fishing of smaller fish to feed to the larger fish we raise to eat; the toxins, such as mercury, in the fish that we consume when we eat their bodies; the research that supports the fact that fish feel pain; the human health concerns of eating fish; or the ethical considerations of “catch and release sport fishing."

We have yet to explore the many problems with consuming salmon – for instance, the problems with farm-raised Atlantic salmon, which is probably one of the worst choices we could make: the fish are raise in cramped pens in the ocean, and their waste pollutes the surrounding water and spreads disease to wild fish. In the Pacific, escaped farm-raised salmon also compete with wild fish for food, and interfere with spawning. Furthermore, salmon are fed a diet of fish meal (tinted to give their flesh that characteristic "salmon pink" color) which further depletes the ocean food chain. Wild Washington or Oregon salmon is a poor choice, since overfishing and habitat destruction have endangered many species. And remember: the fish have to consume Omega-3 fatty acids from phytoplankton, from algae. If they don’t consume it, they don’t have it in their flesh. If they don’t get it, we don’t get it. So again, go right to the source for your nutrients.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A recent issue of Fish and Fisheries magazine cited more than 500 research papers on fish intelligence, proving that fish are smart, that they can use tools, and that they have impressive long-term memories and sophisticated social structures. The introductory chapter said that fish are "steeped in social intelligence, pursuing Machiavellian strategies of manipulation, punishment and reconciliation … exhibiting stable cultural traditions and cooperating to inspect predators and catch food." A wonderful U.K. Guardian story explores these notions, quoting Dr. Culum Brown, a specialist in fish behaviour at Macquarie University in Sydney, and co-author of Fish Cognition and Behaviour. He says, "I spend half my life telling people fish aren’t stupid. Fish are more intelligent than they appear. The trouble is that most aquaculture treats fish as if they are little robots. They are not."

My hope is that we begin to question the criteria we use to determine the value of an animal’s life, who deserves to be spared pain, and who has a right to live free from harm, free from suffering, free from premature and unnecessary death.

My hope is that our hearts are large enough to include not only those with whom we can identify, with whom we can communicate but also those who don’t look us, those who don’t sound like us. May we be as fascinated by our differences as we are consoled by our similarities. We don’t need to travel to other planets to find interesting, exotic, different life forms. They exist right here, right now, on the earth and in the sea.