Given the bears in the area, my son and I had quite the adventure: he made a “bear stick” to defend ourselves on the rare chance we might encounter one. After dinner, we wandered down to Overlook Park, featuring the River Spirit sculpture, before continuing along the riverfront on yet another trail to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitors Center – spotting a bald eagle soaring overhead along the way.  Ecopreneurial enterprises filled up many of the storefronts we peaked into downtown.

Getting around town without touching a car is completely possible in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, rightfully earning its moniker, “the city of trails.” While some places aspire to be something they’re clearly not, nor ever have been, St. Croix Falls is a place that features what they have in abundance: their network of walking, jogging, biking and hiking trails – and nature.

In St. Croix Falls’ historic downtown area, you can park the car and spend the rest of the time on foot or bike as you discover a segment of the 1,000-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail or the more than 10 miles of hiking trails in the Interstate State Park. Thanks to the spectacular St. Croix River, stunning coulees and “dalles” (ancient rock outcroppings), the community has emerged from its extractive history as a logging town and fur trading post to one of the premier places in the Midwest for the enjoyment of the outdoors, on foot, bike or in a kayak on the river.

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On exhibit now at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City is Design for a Living World. The design show exhibits ten of the world’s leading designers commissioned by the Nature Conservancy to develop new uses for sustainably farmed and harvested materials. Each invention shares a special story about global design and conservation as well as the life-cycle of the materials used.

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In southeast Utah rests a peaceful town located on the banks of a peaceful river. Here the Green River flows between two canyons, Gray and Labyrinth, allowing for farming and ranching in an arid desert. Driving through Green River, Utah doesn’t take but a few moments, including a stop to purchase some mouth-watering melons, for which Green River is famous. But Green River now has a new claim to fame.

Transition Power Development LLC (TPD) has proposed construction of a 2 unit nuclear power plant known as the Blue Castle Project situated just outside of the peaceful town. In order to maintain the 2 unit nuclear power plant, massive amounts of water would be required. The Kane County Water Conservancy District (KCWCD) has filed a water-rights application in order to facilitate the project. The application requests 29,600 acre-feet of water, which would be diverted from the Green River, a part of the Colorado River drainage.

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In fact the nearby Sumatran Orangutan is critically endangered and has an estimated population of about 7,000 in the wild. Borneos may be as many as 50,000 total.

That may seem like a large number, but their habitat is being altered so rapidly they could be wiped out just as swiftly. In 2007 a United Nations report indicated 98% of orangutan range in both Borneo and Sumatra could be wiped out by 2022.

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“If you are standing in front of a large snake right now don’t panic…” 

So says the greeting message for the Florida Keys python hotline, 888-IVE-GOT1. Over the years enough pet Burmese pythons in south Florida have been released into the wild that one National Park Service scientist has estimated now there could be as many as 30,000 of them in the Everglades National Park area. (Between 1996 and 2006 about 99,000 were imported into the United States).

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The Nature Conservancy announced this week that they have purchased ranchland in Shasta, California and hope to return Big Springs Creek to its former glory as a major salmon run.

The organization noticed the creek’s consistent, glacier-fed flowing water supply should make it the perfect spawning area for the embattled Pacific salmon, but it wasn’t being properly cared for. Years later, they’ve purchased 4,136 acres of surrounding land and plan to fence off the creek to protect it.

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9. Top 10 in Green You Should Follow on Twitter By Maryanne Conlin Milker–posted on Ecopreneurist, February 3rd, 2009

8. My Top Ten Quick, Healthy, Sustainable Snacks by Megan Prusynski–posted on Eat. Drink. Better., June 13th, 2008

7. The top ten office environmental pet peeves and why Xerox went green By Olga Orda–posted on Green Options, July 16, 2008

6. Top 10 Electric Cars Coming to the US in 2009/2010 By Nick Chambers–posted on Gas 2.0, January 15, 2009

5. Ten Ways to Eat Local, Seasonal Food All Year By Bryan Luukinen–posted on Eat. Drink. Better., September 29th, 2008

4. Clean Energy Intro: Top 10 Alternative Solar Uses By Michelle Bennett–posted on Cleantechnica, February 25th, 2008

3. The Nature Conservancy: Top 10 Ways to Help Save Our Oceans By Jonathon D. Colman–posted on Green Options, June 21, 2008

2. Top Ten Water Saving Tips By me–posted on PlanetSave, October 22, 2008

1. Ten Winning Ideas for Change By Becky Striepe–posted on Ecolocalizer, January 17th, 2009

Ten takeaways from this post: conserve water, buy local, drive a green car (if you have to drive at all), eat well, stay informed, stay active, be the change you wish to see, use renewable energy, consume less, and of course, read Green Options Media (which itself has been mentioned in a few lists, such as Environmental Graffiti’s “Top Ten Environmental Blogs“, Webecoist’s “25 of the Greenest Blogs“, and Read Write Web’s “Top 35 Environmental Blogs“)

Last year the Nature Conservancy started an Eyes and Ears community patrol using people like utility workers, mail carriers and police to prevent the large snakes from taking up residence in the Florida Keys. Special training is given to the volunteer groups. Members of the public can assist their efforts by calling sightings into the hotlines, and should never approach a python if they see one nearby. Pythons do not usually attack or eat humans, but it has happened. In 2008 a volunteer zookeeper was killed by a 10 foot constrictor in a cage.

The python invasion must be curtailed, or they could establish themselves in the Florida Keys and devastate the already fragile wildlife populations. About eight large adult pythons have already been spotted in the Keys, but currently it is thought they are not yet breeding there. Another major concern is that the huge predators will move throughout the Southern states and start decimating other native wildlife.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida lamented up the python situation:
“If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the southern portion of the United States”.

Image Credit: Public Domain

If you are an environmentally-oriented designer or online marketer who is looking for some extra funds you might consider entering the Wood, Paper, Checkmark competition.  This competition was developed by DESIGN 21: Social Design Network to benefit The Nature Conservancy and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and will present a total of $10,000 in prize money for winning consumer awareness campaigns for sustainable forestry.   The $10,000 will be awarded as follows:

• $5,000 to the Overall Winner chosen by The Nature Conservancy and FSC-US
• $5,000 divided between multiple prizes: DESIGN 21 Judge’s Picks and Most Popular

To enter the competition you will need to create elements of a consumer call-to-action campaign that asks targeted consumers to purchase FSC products as a means of protecting forests around the world.  Entries need to contain the following components (please review the competition website for complete guidelines and the design brief):

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The new head of the Nature Conservancy is a 24-year Goldman Sachs vet who thinks big and acts globally. The Ecosystem Marketplace talks to Mark Tercek about his past success, his current challenges and his vision for TNC’s future.

Mark Tercek’s kids are stoked. They’ve been on family eco-vacations to Greenland, Patagonia, the Galapagos Islands and Costa Rica — and now, their dad is in charge of a conservation powerhouse that protects many of the spots they’ve visited.

Tercek, who became president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) July 15, ran Goldman Sachs’ Center for Environmental Markets and the firm’s Environmental Strategy Group.

Growing up in Cleveland, Tercek didn’t have extensive exposure to the natural world apart from local parks. Now as a parent of four, he’s gone global so that his own kids can experience nature firsthand.

Clearly, they love it. “When my kids learned I got the job as head of the Conservancy, they were just as excited as I was,” he says.

Along with enthusiasm, Tercek arrives at TNC with decades of experience in the investment banking world and, since 2005, he’s been bridging the narrowing gap between finance and conservation through Goldman Sachs’ environmental initiatives.

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Now — in one of the most significant conservation sales in history — The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land have preserved 320,000 acres of forestlands in western Montana that provide valuable habitat for species in the Crown of the Continent.

“There hasn’t been an animal extinction here since Lewis and Clark encountered it in the early 19th century,” explains Kat Imhoff, the Conservancy’s state director in Montana. “It’s the only such ecosystem in the Lower 48 states.”

The deal is part of the Conservancy’s large-scale efforts to protect forestlands around the world — the majority of which are working forests supplying sustainably harvested timber.

Over the past five years, the Conservancy has protected 3.5 million acres of forestlands — at a time when nearly one-half of Earth’s original forest cover is gone and global deforestation rates continue to rise.

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Public lands within the Utah region and elsewhere have been a longtime target for oil drilling and government granted leases but always with the understand that wilderness and public lands in close proximity to national parks were typically off limits. That is, until the Bush administration decided to green light drilling near national parks in Moab, Utah in 2002. Although park scientists protested that the national parks could take decades to recover from the shock waves caused by local oil derricks, the administration claimed that parks would “barely notice changes,” according to a New York Times article published on February 8, 2002.

In February of this year, proposed oil drilling in the Great Salt Lake region was met with great resistance from residents and local and national environmental groups, such as The Friends of the Great Salt Lake and the Wilderness Conservancy who at the time I wrote this had received nearly 10,000 signatures in protest of the drilling from around the world.

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The poll — for which The Nature Conservancy provided input and advice — found that 53% of those surveyed have taken steps to green their lives.

But it also found a substantial lack of knowledge about how to go green — and skepticism about whether greening one’s life makes a difference to the environment:

• 34% of those surveyed said they hadn’t changed their lifestyle because they “did not know what to do.”
• 29% of respondents believe that greening their lifestyle won’t make any significant difference on the environment.

“This poll shows that green living is certainly at the forefront of our minds,” says Stephanie Meeks, the Conservancy’s acting president and CEO.

“Yet people are getting lost in the maze of information on how to lessen our environmental impact. The bottom line is that even the smallest lifestyle change can have significant impact in the long run.”

Recycling and Paying Bills Online, But Not Changing Light Bulbs

While recycling is widespread in the United States and 73% of those polled are paying their bills online to save paper, other often-recommended ways to green your life are going largely ignored:

• 5% are driving less by combining errands, walking more, etc.
• 4% have reduced their utility use.
• 3% have purchased hybrid cars.
• 3% have changed out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent ones.

Yet if every American home switched out just one incandescent light bulb for a compact fluorescent one, the United States would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for an entire year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.

“Making small changes to help save the planet can help your pocketbook as well,” adds Meeks. “In the case of compact fluorescent light bulbs, you’re paying more on the front end, but the cost savings in the long run will beat out the incandescent bulbs, hands down.”

Other poll results:

• 49% are trying to buy locally-produced food and/or goods.
• 47% are buying green household products.
• 39% are bringing their own reusable bags to stores instead of using paper or plastic.
• 16% are carpooling.

Optimism on Environmental Issues

The poll also found noticeable optimism on environmental issues among the American public. Seventy-two% of the poll’s 2,605 respondents believe their personal actions are significant to the health of the environment.

And although only 42% of U.S. adults were initially familiar with the phrase “environmental sustainability,” two-thirds believe that it is possible to live in an environmentally sustainable way.

The phrase “environmental sustainability” was more familiar to younger poll respondents than older ones. More than 45% of those age 18-43 understood the term’s meaning, while only 30% of those aged 63 and older knew the term.

The Nature Conservancy Helps You Go Green

To help cut through all the noise, The Nature Conservancy offers easy ways to make science-based green changes in your life:

• Check out our Everyday Environmentalist home page to find a list of innovative and easy changes you can make to help save the planet.
• Use the Conservancy’s carbon footprint calculator to determine your carbon footprint — and find simple ways to reduce it.
• Consider offsetting your carbon emissions by participating in The Conservancy’s voluntary carbon offset program.

Last year the Nature Conservancy started an Eyes and Ears community patrol using people like utility workers, mail carriers and police to prevent the large snakes from taking up residence in the Florida Keys. Special training is given to the volunteer groups. Members of the public can assist their efforts by calling sightings into the hotlines, and should never approach a python if they see one nearby. Pythons do not usually attack or eat humans, but it has happened. In 2008 a volunteer zookeeper was killed by a 10 foot constrictor in a cage.

The python invasion must be curtailed, or they could establish themselves in the Florida Keys and devastate the already fragile wildlife populations. About eight large adult pythons have already been spotted in the Keys, but currently it is thought they are not yet breeding there. Another major concern is that the huge predators will move throughout the Southern states and start decimating other native wildlife.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida lamented up the python situation:
“If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the southern portion of the United States”.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something… green? It’s really not as out of the ordinary as it sounds—last year, Brides.com estimated that approximately 33% of future brides and grooms in the U.S. are planning an eco-friendly wedding.

Today, The Nature Conservancy is issuing tips for planning a greener wedding or commitment ceremony, with ideas from invitations through the honeymoon to help reduce your celebration’s impact on the planet—and maybe even reduce the impact on your wallet as well.

“There’s no need to sacrifice your dream wedding for a green wedding,” said Sanjayan, lead scientist for The Nature Conservancy. “Just imagine the power of one simple change—be it as small as reducing wedding travel or serving organic food at the reception—multiplied by the thousands of couples who plan to marry this year. The littlest changes really add up, and can leave a positive impact on the Earth for generations to come.”

Invitations: Sending invitations electronically or on recycled paper stock will save money and trees. Bonus for going the electronic route: You’ll save on the fuel used to deliver the cards.

Gift registry: Register for gifts that you actually need and will definitely use, and if possible, are healthy for the planet. Many of your favorite stores probably carry organic and environmentally sound products already, and with a little research, you can ensure that your new ice cream maker has a minimal carbon footprint.

Reducing consumption can have more of an impact than simply buying recycled/recyclable products. If you don’t need anything, ask your guests to donate to your favorite charity.

Flowers: Organic flowers are one option, but tastefully arranged dried or silk flowers can make as big a statement as fresh floral arrangements.

If you’re set on fresh flowers, try decorating with potted plants native to your area. What’s fresher than still-living flora? You can even plant them when the ceremony is over—wedding décor and landscaping in one fell swoop!

Fashion: The Condé Nast Bridal Group estimates that most brides spend about $900 on just their gowns—and that’s not including the many accessories most brides need to polish their look. An environmentally and cost-friendly solution is to wear a vintage or hand-me-down dress. A female relative or friend’s gown has likely (hopefully!) only been worn once, and you do need something borrowed, right?

If you’d prefer a new dress, look for one that’s made of certified organic cotton, since polyester is petroleum-based, and most other cotton is grown with harsh pesticides. Grooms and ushers can get on the all-natural natural-fiber bandwagon as well by wearing a dress shirt made of hemp or organic cotton.

Do your bridesmaids a favor and forgo the puffy sleeves and universally unflattering fits, and select a gown that your girls would gladly wear again. If you’re stuck with a frock reminiscent of an ‘80s-era prom nightmare, forgo dumping that hideous gown in the garbage, and check out HGTV’s suggestions for turning sequins and taffeta into stylish home accents.

The Rings: The production of one tiny band of gold results in 20 tons of mine waste, according to Earthworks, an organization that works to protect the environment from the impact of mineral development. Show your commitment to your brand new spouse with a recycled or heirloom ring, or start a new trend by sporting silver bands, since the mining of silver is a bit gentler on the environment.

The Location: Holding your festivities in a central location will cut down on travel for your guests, which will make both them and Mother Nature even happier to be a part of your joyous day. Another thing to consider when choosing a wedding locale: “Believe it or not,” said Sanjayan, “big cities might be better than country locations because cities, for the most part, have less energy use in terms of per capita carbon.”

It’s possible to keep the travel to a minimum once your guests have arrived, too. When Evan Parker, The Nature Conservancy’s manager of digital membership, got married last October, he and his bride-to-be chose a church and reception site within walking distance. Post-ceremony, the bride traded in her formal shoes for sneakers, and the couple and their guests walked to the reception, held at a restaurant just blocks from the church.

Food: Feeding your guests unpronounceable pesticides is no way to show your appreciation for their attendance, so consider serving organic food and wine at the reception. Local produce is also a great, low-impact option, and your menu will be fresher for guests and easier on nature.

Favors: The Bridal Association of America estimates that the average couple spends over $400 on favors for their guests, which seems like a lot for a couple pounds of after-dinner mints. A greener option? Donate the amount set aside in your budget to a favorite charity.

The Nature Conservancy offers a number of favor options with a minimal carbon footprint. Help reforest Brazil’s Atlantic Forest by contributing to the Plant a Billion Trees campaign, or adopt a few acres of Costa Rican rainforest in honor of your guests.

If you absolutely must give your guests a sweet treat, try organic, local goodies like chocolate or wine. Really, does anyone need yet another tiny lace pouch of Jordan almonds?

The Honeymoon: The party might be over, but the honeymoon fun’s just begun—and it’s easy to maintain a green theme throughout your romantic getaway. One way to lessen your trip’s environmental impact is to forgo a far-flung destination. (And as the cost of fuel continues to rise, keeping it local will also save you a bundle in travel costs.) If you’d prefer to spend your first few days as husband and wife in a more exotic locale, remember that many travel companies offer eco-trips or environmentally friendly excursions. You could even go on a Nature Conservancy Conservation Journey!

No matter how you decide to spend your honeymoon, you can buy energy offset credits to offset the toll your travel has on the environment.

…And Baby Makes Three?: If there’s a baby on the way, or you’re planning to start a family soon, have eight trees planted on your child’s behalf, said Sanjayan. “Eight trees will offset the amount of carbon a person releases by simply breathing during an average lifetime.” While you’re at it, why not plant a few for yourself as well?

For more information on going green, learn how you can become an everyday environmentalist.

Last year the Nature Conservancy started an Eyes and Ears community patrol using people like utility workers, mail carriers and police to prevent the large snakes from taking up residence in the Florida Keys. Special training is given to the volunteer groups. Members of the public can assist their efforts by calling sightings into the hotlines, and should never approach a python if they see one nearby. Pythons do not usually attack or eat humans, but it has happened. In 2008 a volunteer zookeeper was killed by a 10 foot constrictor in a cage.

The python invasion must be curtailed, or they could establish themselves in the Florida Keys and devastate the already fragile wildlife populations. About eight large adult pythons have already been spotted in the Keys, but currently it is thought they are not yet breeding there. Another major concern is that the huge predators will move throughout the Southern states and start decimating other native wildlife.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida lamented up the python situation:
“If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the southern portion of the United States”.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Now, for the first time, scientists have observed long-tailed macaques fishing with their bare hands.

Nature Conservancy scientist Erik Meijaard and other researchers are the first to scientifically document this rare conduct. In a recent article published in the International Journal of Primatology, Meijaard and his coauthors say that, while conducting field studies in Indonesia, they have repeatedly observed long-tailed macaques catching fish from fast-flowing rivers.

“This is interesting behavior and some of the first observations of primates catching fish,” says Meijaard, the Conservancy’s senior ecologist in Indonesia.

A Very Hungry Monkey?

In the first sighting back in 1998, researchers describe seeing five female macaques sitting alongside the Ketambe River in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra.

The macaques’ eyes scanned the water. After about three minutes, one of the macaques reached into the river. With her bare hands, she pulled out a fish and quickly ate it. Other macaques watched her — and one even tried unsuccessfully to catch a fish herself.

“Clearly it may raise the question of whether there is some sort of learning going on,” says Meijaard. “If perhaps a couple of generations back, one primate caught a fish and it was subsequently copied.”

Researchers documented a similar sighting in 2006 in a separate macaque population in the Lesan Conservation Area, a Nature Conservancy program site in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. There, on two separate occasions, a macaque was observed swiftly grasping a fish out of the shallows before retreating into the forest with the fish still in its mouth.

While the fishing macaque sighting in Lesan coincided with a time of low fruit availability, Meijaard is hesitant to blame the fishing behavior on resource scarcity or draw conclusions about its meaning.

“It might be nothing more than a hungry monkey who is smart enough to extract nutrients from its environment,” he says.

Protecting Indonesia’s Forests

Meijaard is also the Kalimantan coordinator for the USAID-funded Orangutan Conservation Services Program.

But he says that forests — not macaques or orangutans — are the Conservancy’s real focus.

The Conservancy is fighting an ongoing battle to protect the forests around the Lesan Conservation Area. These forests, which harbor a substantial orangutan population, are slated to be destroyed for agriculture and plantations.

The Conservancy is working around the clock to convince local communities and governments to instead consider their long-term economic needs and put the forests into permanent, sustainable management.

“Macaques and orangutans are neat symbols, but they’re not going to convince people here,” Meijaard says. “What we need is data that shows the microeconomic implications of forest conversion.”

“Depending on the decisions made now, the forest could be around forever, or it could be gone forever by next year.”

Last year the Nature Conservancy started an Eyes and Ears community patrol using people like utility workers, mail carriers and police to prevent the large snakes from taking up residence in the Florida Keys. Special training is given to the volunteer groups. Members of the public can assist their efforts by calling sightings into the hotlines, and should never approach a python if they see one nearby. Pythons do not usually attack or eat humans, but it has happened. In 2008 a volunteer zookeeper was killed by a 10 foot constrictor in a cage.

The python invasion must be curtailed, or they could establish themselves in the Florida Keys and devastate the already fragile wildlife populations. About eight large adult pythons have already been spotted in the Keys, but currently it is thought they are not yet breeding there. Another major concern is that the huge predators will move throughout the Southern states and start decimating other native wildlife.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida lamented up the python situation:
“If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the southern portion of the United States”.

Image Credit: Public Domain

1. Reduce your plastic consumption. The most frequently collected items during beach cleanups are made of plastic—think reusable shopping bags, water bottles and utensils.
2. Make informed seafood choices. Keep a copy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s seafood guide in your wallet or text Blue Ocean’s FishPhone to help you choose sustainable seafood at the grocery store or a restaurant.
3. Dispose of chemicals properly. Never pour chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil or paint into the drain or toilets. Check with your county’s household hazardous waste program to properly dispose of or recycle chemicals and keep them out of rivers and oceans.
4. Choose green detergents and household cleaners—or make your own! Besides being better for your own health, these products are safer for the environment since what goes down the drain can end up in our oceans.
5. Get the dirt on your beachside retreat. Before you stay in a hotel on the coast, ask staff what happens to their sewage and swimming pool water, and if they source their restaurant fish from sustainable sources.
6. Find out the source of your food. Buying local, organic food reduces your carbon footprint, supports the local economy and reduces the amount of pesticides and fertilizers that end up not just in your stomach, but as run-off in rivers and oceans, too.
7. Fill your yard with native species. Reducing the amount of grass in your lawn by planting native shrubs and flower beds will provide a better habitat for birds and other wildlife and require far less water and fertilizer, which can seep into the oceans.
8. Keep your beach visit clean. When visiting the beach, stay off fragile sand dunes, take your trash with you and leave plants, birds and wildlife for everyone to enjoy. Find a Conservancy coastal preserve near you.
9. Choose alternatives to coral. Whether shopping for jewelry, household décor or accessories for your fish tank, do your part to leave fragile coral reef habitats untouched by buying products that aren’t made of real coral.
10. Celebrate our oceans. Whether you live inland or on the coast, we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to organize or participate in activities that restore and celebrate the ocean, and help support The Nature Conservancy’s ocean conservation work.
    • Donate online now to support The Nature Conservancy’s work to protect and restore marine habitats in your area and around the world.
    • Rescue a Reef to help protect some of the most threatened corals in the world.
    • Sign up for the Conservancy’s Great Places Network, a free online membership program, to learn more about what the Conservancy is doing in your state and around the globe.
    • Test your oceans knowledge with our online quiz.
    • Send an ocean e-card to friends and family.

Last year the Nature Conservancy started an Eyes and Ears community patrol using people like utility workers, mail carriers and police to prevent the large snakes from taking up residence in the Florida Keys. Special training is given to the volunteer groups. Members of the public can assist their efforts by calling sightings into the hotlines, and should never approach a python if they see one nearby. Pythons do not usually attack or eat humans, but it has happened. In 2008 a volunteer zookeeper was killed by a 10 foot constrictor in a cage.

The python invasion must be curtailed, or they could establish themselves in the Florida Keys and devastate the already fragile wildlife populations. About eight large adult pythons have already been spotted in the Keys, but currently it is thought they are not yet breeding there. Another major concern is that the huge predators will move throughout the Southern states and start decimating other native wildlife.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida lamented up the python situation:
“If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the southern portion of the United States”.

Image Credit: Public Domain

But scientists estimate that 70% of all corals reefs could be lost by 2050 if current rates of destruction continue — from factors ranging from overfishing to climate change.

That’s why The Nature Conservancy is supporting three major policy efforts by island nations around the world to conserve marine diversity — the Micronesia Challenge, the Coral Triangle Initiative and the newly launched Caribbean Challenge, which is being aided by a $20 million Conservancy pledge.

Together, these regions contain 83% of Earth’s coral species, according to James Robertson of the Conservancy’s Center for Global Trends.

“The threats to coral reefs are huge and occur across the globe, so coral conservation has to be at a scale that matches those threats,” explains Lynne Hale, director of the Conservancy’s Global Marine Program.

“The Caribbean Challenge is a perfect example of how the Conservancy is working with governments and people who depend on coral reefs to catalyze bold and immediate conservation action,” says Hale.

Caribbean Nations Launch Challenge

The Caribbean Challenge will accelerate marine conservation in the region — with the aim of protecting 20% of the region’s marine and coastal habitat by 2020.

The Conservancy announced its support for the challenge when it was launched by Caribbean leaders at a U.N.-sponsored conference in Bonn addressing worldwide threats to biodiversity.

The Caribbean Challenge will enable the Conservancy to help participating nations do essential marine conservation work, such as:

• Create new marine protected areas (MPAs);
• Hire, equip and train park managers and other staff;
• Reduce destructive fishing practices;
• Incorporate protection strategies that mitigate the impacts of climate change; and
• Establish a sustainable funding source for future marine conservation.

“The Caribbean Challenge is a broad and collaborative effort,” says Rob Weary, the Conservancy’s senior conservation finance and policy advisor for the Caribbean. “By supporting island nations with funding, scientific expertise and training, we can help them achieve their goals.”

It’s an approach that’s already working in two of the world’s most significant coral areas — Micronesia and the Coral Triangle.

Protecting Marine Resources in Micronesia and the Coral Triangle

Launched in 2006, the Micronesia Challenge is a commitment by five governments to conserve 30% of their marine resources and 20% of their terrestrial resources by 2020.

In less than two years, the Micronesia Challenge has already spurred the creation of new protected areas and new legislation for the support and management of such areas. Heralded by the President of Palau and supported by the Conservancy, the Micronesia Challenge is the inspiration and model for the Caribbean Challenge.

The Conservancy is working similarly in Southeast Asia’s Coral Triangle region — where an astounding 76% of the world’s coral species are found.

“The Coral Triangle is the global epicenter of marine biodiversity,” says Rod Salm, the Conservancy’s director of marine conservation in Asia Pacific. “The world’s coral diversity hinges on the health and survival of this area.”

In the Coral Triangle, Salm and other marine scientists are pioneering the identification and protection of resilient coral communities — those that are most likely to survive bleaching and other traumatic events. They are hopeful that this effort will help save corals from the impacts of climate change.

“It’s critical that we begin incorporating principles of climate change resilience to protect corals and all of our marine resources,” says Salm. “The Conservancy is leading the way in helping marine resource managers to do this worldwide.”

Last year the Nature Conservancy started an Eyes and Ears community patrol using people like utility workers, mail carriers and police to prevent the large snakes from taking up residence in the Florida Keys. Special training is given to the volunteer groups. Members of the public can assist their efforts by calling sightings into the hotlines, and should never approach a python if they see one nearby. Pythons do not usually attack or eat humans, but it has happened. In 2008 a volunteer zookeeper was killed by a 10 foot constrictor in a cage.

The python invasion must be curtailed, or they could establish themselves in the Florida Keys and devastate the already fragile wildlife populations. About eight large adult pythons have already been spotted in the Keys, but currently it is thought they are not yet breeding there. Another major concern is that the huge predators will move throughout the Southern states and start decimating other native wildlife.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida lamented up the python situation:
“If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the southern portion of the United States”.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Now, a new report co-authored by Nature Conservancy scientists says that biofuel crops could also become invasive species — and that the risk needs to be evaluated before these crops are planted.

The Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) and Conservancy scientists have identified all the crops currently being used or considered for biofuel production and ranked them according to the risk they pose of becoming invasive species.

GISP calls on countries to:

• Carry out risk assessments before they plant biofuel crops,
• Use low-risk species of crops for biofuels, and
• Introduce new controls to manage invasive species.

Major Findings of the Report

• Damage from invasive species costs the world more than $1.4 trillion annually — 5% of the global economy. The United States alone spends $120 billion annually on the control and impacts of more than 800 invasive species infestations.
• The giant reed (Arundo donax) is a proposed biofuel crop from West Asia which is already invasive in parts of North and Central America. Naturally flammable, it increases the likelihood of wildfires — a threat to both humans and native species in places such as California.
• The African oil palm is another example of the havoc an invasive species can wreak. Recommended for biodiesel, it has already become invasive in parts of Brazil, turning areas of threatened forest from a rich mix of trees and plant life into a homogenous layer of palm leaves.
• The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 9) represents the best chance in a decade to take global action against invasive species. The Conservancy and GISP are calling on delegates to recognize the dangers invasive species cause and recommend risk assessments before biofuel crops are planted. The two groups also call on the scientific community to conduct more desperately-needed research into this topic.

The Bottom Line

“Prevention is better than the cure,” says Stas Bugiel, The Nature Conservancy’s senior global invasive species policy advisor, “We need to stop invasions before they occur. The biofuel industry is a relatively new concept so we have a unique opportunity to act early and get ahead of the game — we mustn’t throw that away.”

Last year the Nature Conservancy started an Eyes and Ears community patrol using people like utility workers, mail carriers and police to prevent the large snakes from taking up residence in the Florida Keys. Special training is given to the volunteer groups. Members of the public can assist their efforts by calling sightings into the hotlines, and should never approach a python if they see one nearby. Pythons do not usually attack or eat humans, but it has happened. In 2008 a volunteer zookeeper was killed by a 10 foot constrictor in a cage.

The python invasion must be curtailed, or they could establish themselves in the Florida Keys and devastate the already fragile wildlife populations. About eight large adult pythons have already been spotted in the Keys, but currently it is thought they are not yet breeding there. Another major concern is that the huge predators will move throughout the Southern states and start decimating other native wildlife.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida lamented up the python situation:
“If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the southern portion of the United States”.

Image Credit: Public Domain

According to Treehugger, a new study by Oliver Pergams of the University of Illinois-Chicago and Patricia Zaradic of the Environmental Leadership Program found that “the time children spend in nature — particularly the activities we looked at in this study — determines their environmental awareness as adults.”

Citing the same study co-sponsored by the Nature Conservancy, the Grist states

Kids — and adults — these days are “videophiliacs” who prefer their nature through the TV screen rather than personally experienced, says a new study. It estimates that Americans’ participation in outdoor recreation has dropped as much as 25 percent over the past 20 years.

What’s a green family to do? Beyond offsetting your typical trip to Disneyland, there are now many eco travel tours and trips for families. Of course you don’t have to join a tour to take a memorable eco trip with your family. Camping and backpacking provide wonderful opportunities for families to experience nature; however, a well-designed eco trip will allow you to meet other families and take some of the responsibility off of your shoulders.

Read more of this story »

Now, I’m not criticizing the use of practical snippets that can help almost anyone green up their lifestyle, as they’re one of the best ways to reach out to people who still need a little guidance on this whole “green living” thing. But in addition to their ubiquity, the tips most of us publish often lack an explanation of their rationale. Why does changing your light bulbs, or taking a cloth bag to the grocery store, help the environment?

The folks at The Nature Conservancy are answering those kinds of questions with the launch of “Everyday Environmentalist,” which features tips from TNC scientists, and a handful of green bloggers (including Hank Green of EcoGeek, Victoria Everman of our own Crafting a Green World, and, yes, me). The idea behind “Everyday Environmentalist” isn’t to just provide a action, but to also explain the science behind it. So when, for instance, TNC marketing manager Dave Connell explains some ways to make better use of the energy expended by leaving your computer on all the time, he notes the carbon footprint created by doing this in the first place: “In fact, if you leave your computer on 24 hours a day, it could be responsible for releasing up to 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. The flying-toaster screen saver is cool…but is it that cool?”

Read more of this story »

Editor’s note: A few technical glitches kept us from getting EcoGeek of the Week up on time this week — we apologize for that. We didn’t want to skip this one, as the featured EcoGeek is a good friend to all of us in the green web.

Jonathon D. Colman is the Senior Manager of Digital Marketing at The Nature Conservancy. As such, it’s kinda his job to understand the wild ways of the internet and then to harness it’s raw power for the forces of awesome. Of course, The Nature Conservancy is one of the big players in the "International Alliance for Awesomeness." He’ll be giving us his take on the web, digital media, and saving this world. We’re excited to have Jonathon as this week’s EcoGeek of the Week.

EG: OK…lets get this out of the way…briefly, what do you actually do…

JDC: Sure thing! As you know, the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

So I help the Conservancy accomplish that vision by leading the strategic management, marketing, and promotion of our flagship web site, www.nature.org. That means that I’ve got my fingers in a number of cookie jars every day: web development, web traffic recording and analytics, blog and online community outreach, search engine optimization, online ad placements, and posting our stories to online social networks and other “web 2.0” sites. Not to mention organizing a redesign of our web site, developing an RFP for a new web content management system, implementing a new web analytics system, and chatting with my coworkers about how great LOST and Battlestar Galactica are.

Now, if you’re like me – and I am – then you’re a geek and would love all that stuff. So I tend to think of my job as just a way of being paid to have fun and work with the best and brightest.

EG: I’ve seen some resistance among big environmental organizations to embracing online media. Do you run into that at The Nature Conservancy, and, if so, how do you deal with it?

JDC: I think that we face similar challenges with online media as many other organizations: lots of great ideas and very little staff and budget. The way we’ve overcome this hurdle is to invest our efforts where they’ll have the biggest bang for the buck (like bidding on search engine keywords using Google AdWords) as well as using all of the great, free tools and networks that are now available, like Google Analytics, Google Video, Care2, and Gather.com. We’ve also found a great partner in the Public Radio Exchange, which produces our weekly Nature Stories podcast.

I think that nonprofits have been stymied by online communities, what they’re for, how to build them, and how to engage them. Our guiding philosophy here is to engage people where they’re already being active rather than spending time in R&D building our own version of things that already exist. For example, rather than building our own photo-sharing application, the Conservancy ran a photo contest on Flickr. Rather than build our own GIS mapping system, we put together a Google Maps mashup with the locations of our nature preserves.

Why try to reinvent the wheel when a best-in-class web presence or tool already exists and has a huge audience of millions of people? We’d much rather leverage the expertise of existing communities to find new supporters and engage our existing audiences with fun, exciting opportunities.

EG: Why do you think it took the environmental movement so long to catch the wave? And do you think we’ve suffered because of it?

JDC: A lot of people working in nonprofit technology (or as we call it, “nptech”), are “accidental techies”; that is, they’ve been slated with web or technical projects because there’s literally no one else to do them. Furthermore, if they’re lucky, these folks might get to spend 5-10% of their time working on those technology projects when they’re not also doing media relations, fundraising, organizing events, and managing the office. It’s hard enough for someone like that to publish a web page, let alone adhere to XHTML standards compliance, optimize their pages for search engines, and – God forbid! – keep up to date with Zeldman, Eric Meyer, Beth Kanter, Holly Ross, and Seth Godin.

A lot of nonprofits invest heavily in program work – after all, that’s what the donations are supposed to be supporting, right? And that’s what gets you a four-star rating on Charity Navigator. So having a nifty, helpful web site that establishes a strong, trustworthy, credible brand is sometimes seen as an afterthought.

What we’ve found at the Conservancy, however, is that the web can bring in new supporters, new ideas and resources for project work, and new passion and emotional investment from existing members. Leveraging the strength of your offline, “bricks-and-mortar” brand can help you reach new audiences online.

The environmental movement isn’t suffering for falling behind; we’re embracing the online world and are catching up quickly. Look at the success of TreeHugger. Look at the Google Trends curve for searches on “global warming." Look at how EcoGeek is getting dugg every few minutes. I’d say that green is bringing sexy back in a pretty big way.

EG: We at EcoGeek love readers of sites like Digg and Reddit and Slashdot. Has TNC had success with social news?

JDC: Social news is a big, growing area for us. The type of things we post regularly on Digg and Netscape and Newsvine are real-world events, announcements, and discoveries – so our online efforts dovetail with what we’re doing offline. We’re becoming popular on Digg and a number of the other big social news networks regularly because of the strength of our content. We’ve brought huge amounts of new visitors to our site through these tools and have worked hard to develop engaging communities on them at the same time.

We see these emerging web sites and news venues as being important because they dictate, for a growing amount of people, how news and information are now being discovered online. There are a lot of good, engaging stories that end up on the cutting room floor of the daily newspaper and nightly TV news, even though they’re worthy of broadcast, solely for lack of space, right? Well, social news networks don’t have to plan their layout in picas, charge for home delivery, and never run out of space for breaking news. And because they’re fairly democratic, our organization has just as much chance at engaging people with our news and stories as does anyone else.

As far as demographics, my sense of the folks using social media and “web 2.0” sites is that they’re very advanced in their grasp of technology and the online world. They have access to many sources of information and are used to looking at multiple perspectives of issues. They’re also not afraid to speak their minds where they see fault – or inspiration! – and, indeed, expect to be able to share their thoughts directly with the entities making the news.

Me, I don’t want to play it safe and only talk just to the folks who I know are going to agree with my ideas about the importance of conservation… that’s way too easy and it leads only to a lack of growth. I want to talk with the ones who are skeptical, who aren’t so sure of the science, who don’t believe everything that they’re told. Ultimately, if I can help them to convince themselves to support the environment, then they’ll be much more passionate about it and motivated to make a real change than if I just spam them with e-mail day after day. In reality, they’ll do all of the hard work of conversion; I’m just helping them by making resources and information available.

I love meeting new people on these networks and finding out what they’re interested in, so EcoGeek readers, please send me your connection requests!

EG: I’ve been really impressed by a lot of TNC’s current projects. Are you proud of what you guys do?

JDC: You bet! It’s a great adventure each day, just getting up, walking out the door and taking public transportation to work. We could be focusing on the Great Bear Rainforest in Canada, the endangered coral reefs in tropical areas around the world, or even the oft-overlooked connections between HIV/AIDS and wildlife conservation in Africa. It’s great to work with such dedicated, passionate people. No two days are ever alike and while there are always little things that get in the way, we try to keep in mind that everyone wants to help protect nature to benefit people, animals, and the environment as a whole.

The bottom line is that The Nature Conservancy is an organization that gets things done…or as one of my colleagues often states, “Conservation plus adrenaline equals 100% job satisfaction!”

EG: Sometimes this business can get a little overwhelming. Is there any issue that particularly scares your pants off?

JDC: Climate change is no joke – it’s not the sort of thing we can play around with and ask for a do-over if we get it wrong. I sincerely believe it’s the single biggest threat facing our world right now. The upside to this is that it’s not all doom and gloom – there are many things that we can do in terms of science, technology, policies, business practices, and personal behaviors to help slow the effects of climate change.

To this end, the Conservancy recently launched a carbon footprint calculator to help our visitors determine their impact on the climate. Our web application helps you see that even little changes in our daily routines can make a big difference when everyone works together.

EG: It’s a pretty scary world…at the end of the day, what keeps you hopeful?

JDC: The passion of our supporters, the dedication and persistence of the Conservancy’s staff, the discoveries that we’re making every day in conservation science, the way that people are using the web to get closer to each other than ever before, and the strength of human creativity and imagination.

EG: Do you love the internet? Why?

JDC: It’s often hard for us to remember that, just a little over a decade ago, the InterWeb as we know it didn’t exist. Not a drop of Wi-fi to be found in coffee shops, no way to pay bills online, and it was about the last place you’d go if you were trying to find a job, an apartment, or even a movie to see. In fact, I can specifically remember not loving the Internet when all the discussion on it was about how people were going to use it to make money, if only they could figure out how!

But what I see happening today is people from all over the world getting to know one another, breaking down barriers, and discovering new and innovative ways to make change happen on issues that they care about. And that’s damn exciting! We couldn’t have guessed fifteen years ago that my job would even exist, let alone the Internet as it is now. I love it, I live it, and I spend a good portion of my waking moments using it. I think it’s the tool that humanity is using to turn our dreams into reality and construct the future from the present.

EcoGeek of the Week is a syndicated column from EcoGeek.org. If you would like to syndicate the column, or know an EcoGeek that proffiling, email our editor at editor@ecogeek.org

Last year the Nature Conservancy started an Eyes and Ears community patrol using people like utility workers, mail carriers and police to prevent the large snakes from taking up residence in the Florida Keys. Special training is given to the volunteer groups. Members of the public can assist their efforts by calling sightings into the hotlines, and should never approach a python if they see one nearby. Pythons do not usually attack or eat humans, but it has happened. In 2008 a volunteer zookeeper was killed by a 10 foot constrictor in a cage.

The python invasion must be curtailed, or they could establish themselves in the Florida Keys and devastate the already fragile wildlife populations. About eight large adult pythons have already been spotted in the Keys, but currently it is thought they are not yet breeding there. Another major concern is that the huge predators will move throughout the Southern states and start decimating other native wildlife.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida lamented up the python situation:
“If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the southern portion of the United States”.

Image Credit: Public Domain