1470901582000

culture

%feed
http://insider.si.edu/2016/08/17-objects-170-years-happy-birthday-us/
Seventeen Objects for 170 Years (Happy Birthday to us!)

With over 138 million collection objects, 2.1 million library volumes, and 137,000 cubic feet of archives, the stories of how our collections have made their way to the Smithsonian are almost as varied as the collections themselves. From a tiny mosquito to a space shuttle, we've seen, and moved, it all. This is an ode to all the collectors and movers that have made the Smithsonian what it is today.

1. Finding Buddha

Due to China's political unrest in the 1920s-30s, the Freer Gallery's associate curator of archaeology, Carl Whiting Bishop, had to stop his excavations on archaeological sites in the Shanxi Province. Instead, he kept busy improving his Chinese and searching for artifacts to add the Freer's new building. One such addition was a headless stone Buddha purchased for 4,800 Mexican silver dollars that continues to tell stories today.

Buddha draped in robes portraying the Realms of Existence, Freer Gallery of Art, Purchase Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1923.15.

2. Atomic Ark

In 1946 under the name Operation Crossroads, the U.S. government exploded two atomic bombs at the Bikini Atoll. Two Smithsonian scientists were assigned to the mission to evaluate the environmental impact of the atomic bombs. To assess the risk of radiation to humans, government employees placed several animals on ships near the island. The lone survivor, Pig 311, was found swimming for shore. In 1949, the Smithsonian was once again reminded of Operation Crossroads when Pig 311 was sent to the National Zoo to live out the rest of her days.

3, 4. Mysterious brown-paper packages

On November 8, 1958, one of the most famous gems in the world was mailed by U.S. Postal Service, in a plain brown paper package, for $145.29 to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History: the Hope Diamond. An instant star, the 45.52 carat diamond has only left the Smithsonian four times since its arrival. And we love the story so much, the package became part of the collections of our National Postal Museum! (Bonus: learn more about the curse of the Hope Diamond from Smithsonian Provost Richard Kurin!)

Hope Diamond Presentation, by Unknown, November 10, 1958, Smithsonian Archives History Div, SIA2008-2293

5. Moving day for George

On September 6, 1962, the Horatio Greenough statue of George Washington was moved from the Smithsonian's Castle to the partially complete Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) in order to fit it inside before finishing the walls. While the distance between the two buildings is less than a half-mile, it took a lot of workso much so that it remains there today!

Moving of Greenough Statue of George Washington, 1962, 99-72

6. A rocket ruckus

Perhaps alarming to some visitors, the Smithsonian displayed rockets outside its Arts & Industries Building (1950s-1974) before our National Air and Space Museum (NASM) was built. The rockets came down in November 1974 and into the new museum, but many people have fond memories of this eye-catching attraction on the National Mall.

Rocket Row, by Unknown, 1959, Smithsonian Archives History Div, 73-7185

7. Patience breeds a National Gallery of Art…

In 1887, our third Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley declared that the Smithsonian “should act for the nation in the matter of Art.” He retrieved some of the paintings our first Secretary and physicist, Joseph Henry (who was generally uninterested in building an art collection or museum), loaned to our neighbors, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Library of Congress. Langley also took interest in the art collection of Harriet Lane Johnston, niece of President James Buchanan, who died in 1903. Unfortunately, Johnston bequeathed the collection to the Corcoran, but a clause in her will stipulated that the collection would ultimately go to a national art gallery in the Nation's Capitol. Fortunately, the Corcoran turned it down and the collection became ours in 1906 to found the National Gallery of Art, now the Smithsonian American Art Museum

8. Collecting voices

The Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum resides in Washington D.C.'s historic African American neighborhood, and seeks to enhance understanding of contemporary urban issues both locally and across the country. Their Community Documentation Initiative makes historic data and materials available to the community, and it includes a large trove of oral histories that bring this important neighborhood to life. There are descriptions for over 160 of them online.

Anacostia Historical Society Members, by Louise Daniel Hutchinson, 1967, 92-1705

9. Make it two Renwicks!

Not satisfied with just one Renwick building (our Castle), we acquired our second in 1966. Originally built to show Europe that America was sophisticated enough to have art (and to house the art collection of native-Washingtonian and banker William Wilson Corcoran), it was the first building built in America expressly for the display of art. In the 1950s, as it became increasingly dilapidated, Congress recommended razing it. Despite calling it a “Victorian horror,” First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy launched a successful campaign to save it. In 1965, we asked to take over the building and Smithsonian American Art Gallery's Renwick Gallery of contemporary craft and decorative art was born.

Exterior of Renwick Gallery (19th c.), by Jarvis, J. F, c. 1880's, Smithsonian Archives History Div, SIA2011-1138 or SIA2008-2350 or 95-1169.

10. The sky is falling! Wait, is that a statue?

When Joseph Hirshhorn gave in to the persistent wooing of President Lyndon Johnston and his wife, Lady Bird, and Smithsonian's then Secretary, S. Dillon Ripley, he agreed to donate his collection in 1966 to found a national museum of contemporary art. The question then became how to move the over 12,000 artworks, including rather large sculptures, from his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, to the National Mall in Washington D.C.? One word: helicopter.

“King and Queen” Transported from the Hirshhorn Home, by Unknown, August 5, 1974, Smithsonian Archives History Div, SIA2011-2397.

11. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a space shuttle?!

Not to be outdone by the Hirshhorn sculpture helicopter drop, NASM's Udvar Hazy Center near Dulles Airport received the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2012 after it flew across the National Mall in Washington D.C., delighting government workers and tourists alike.

12. Portraits of U.S. Presidents (…and people who play them on TV)

In a stupendous blurring of fact and fiction, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's Director, Kim Sajet, played herself on the the Netflix show, House of Cards, to receive the “presidential” portrait of Francis J. Underwood into the collection. Painted by notable portrait artist, Jonathan Yeo, the painting is 6 feet by 6 feet and looms as large as Kevin Spacey's depiction of the conniving and sinister Underwood. To complete the storyline, Underwood himself is quoted in the press release as saying, “I'm pleased that the Smithsonian continues to prove itself as a worthwhile institution. I'm one step closer to convincing the rest of the country that I am the President.” It give me shivers.

13. It takes a community

How do you preserve African American history? One neighborhood at a time. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is visiting major cities around the country to help preserve family photographs and documents, military uniforms, quilts, and more with their Save Our African American Treasures program.

14. Not your average moving day

The Smithsonian Institution Archives keeps collections related to the history of the Smithsonian; its people, buildings, and events. One such collection is the papers of Warren M. Robbins, the man behind the Museum of African Art that was transferred to the Smithsonian by Congress in 1978 (now the National Museum of African Art). The 109 boxes of correspondence, photos, and memorabilia were picked up from a Capitol Hill row house in 2011, and are a testament to Robbins' passion for the African cultures that inspired him to found the museum.

15. “Collecting Bytes” or “Taking a Byte”

How does one collect an iPad app written for iOS 4.3? It was a challenge fitting to our National Design Museum, the Cooper Hewitt, who in 2013 added its first piece of software code to the collection. Learn more about how they are using open source methodologies to preserve this alternative music browser, Planetary, for generations to come.

16. Drumming to eternity

During the Iraq War, on September 17 and 18, 2004, American Indian members of the U.S. Army's 120th Engineer Combat Battalion held an Inter-Tribal Powwow at Al Taqaddum Air Base in Iraq. For the Powwow, the soldiers fashioned a ceremonial drum from a 55-gallon oil drum that was cut in half and covered with canvas from a sleeping cot. The drum was donated to our National Museum of American Indian by battalion members and their chaplain, Sergeant Debra K. Mooney (Choctaw), in 2005.

Drum, stand, and drumsticks, 2004. Made by 120th Engineer Combat Battalion in Al Fallujah; Al Anbar Province; Iraq. National Museum of the American Indian.

17. Ready for an 1850 close-up

Finally, it's only fitting to end with a unique look at one of the Smithsonian's first treasures—our Castle. Though the Castle (which has housed exhibits, collections, and even our first Secretary!) was not completely finished until 1855, this photo was taken in the summer of 1850, while building was still underway. It is the earliest photo ever taken of the Smithsonian Castle, and the only photo of it under construction. And where did this rare photo come from? It was uncovered at a Washington D.C. Antique Photo and Postcard Show in the spring of 2015!

Lantern slide photograph on glass in wood mount, William Langenheim (1807-1874) and Frederick Langenheim (1809-1879) Philadelphia, 1850, Smithsonian Castle Collection, gift of Tom Rall, Arlington, Virginia.

Want an extra birthday surprise?

Head over to the Smithsonian Transcription Center, where you can see firsthand how museums like the National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum were organized (plus a look at the development of the Hope Diamond exhibition), and help transcribe!

The post Seventeen Objects for 170 Years (Happy Birthday to us!) appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

culture

1470867464000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdouglas-n-rader-phd%2Fhealthy-fish-healthy-folk_b_11434870.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
Healthy Fish, Healthy Folks

"2016-08-10-1470861787-74994-AlexisRife.Mozambique.smaller.jpg"

[Photo credit: Alexis Rife]

Throughout history, people living near any sea coast have relied on fish as a key dietary staple. Middens of kitchen and household wastes left behind on all continents provide strong evidence of the long and deep linkages between people of the shores and the sea. Now, new science published in the top-tier journal, Nature, makes abundantly clear that fish continues to serve an even more important role in human nutrition than experts have previously appreciated.

Every ocean conservationist knows by heart a key statistic: three billion people around the world depend on fish as a key source of protein. That number (varying from three to even five billion, depending on how much protein is "key") comes from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), from "food balance sheets" that track the production and movement of every major food source in the context of changing populations. This tool is used to determine the percentages of total protein and animal protein that come from various sources, for countries around the world.

Food balance sheets from the just-published 2014 Yearbook of Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics, based on 2013 data, show that many nations remain highly dependent on fish for animal protein, with major fishing nations in food-insecure regions near the top of the list, including Bangladesh (56 percent), Indonesia (55 percent) and Myanmar (47 percent). Some countries in West Africa, and many island states, approach or even exceed 60 percent of animal protein from fish.

Now, a new study by Christopher Golden and colleagues calls the protein insufficiency risk, "the tip of the iceberg." They went one important step further, to factor in deficiencies of specific nutrients that are directly related to important human health outcomes, including micronutrients like zinc, calcium and iron, vitamins A and B12 and DHA omega-3 fatty acids. They created a huge new database (Global Expanded Nutrient Supply, GENuS) that combines the FAO food balance sheets with production and trade data, as well as food group intake by age and sex, to estimate edible supplies and consumption patterns for 225 foods, and then to estimate nutritional availability and vulnerability.

The researchers noted that 17 percent of the world population is already zinc deficient, that 20 percent of pregnant women already suffer iron-deficiency anemia, and that one third are already vitamin A deficient. Their new estimate is that today 845 million people (11 percent of the world population) are "poised to become deficient in one of these three micronutrients if current trajectories in fish-catch declines continue" and that 1.39 billion people (19 percent) are vulnerable to deficiencies and health impacts attributable to their dependence on fish as a limiting source of those key nutrients. They highlight special risks in South and Southeast Asia and West Africa.

"2016-08-10-1470861865-4180298-TroubledWatersGraphic.jpg"

Golden and company argue that the current trend of declining fish catches, documented in the Sea Around Us project, is likely to be exacerbated in many places by climate impacts, and will expand these risks significantly in the future, as the world population grows to nearly 10 billion by 2050, and past 11 billion by 2100. Undernourishment is already responsible for 45 percent of childhood mortality and for 50 percent of years lived with disabilities for children age four and under. The new model predicts that fully 10 percent of the global population will face micronutrient and fatty-acid deficiencies over coming decades, with the resulting health effects concentrated in the developing nations near the Equator, if nothing is done to fix overly intensive fishing.

The authors see some hope in expanding fish farming, as long as that is uncoupled from the wild-fish feeds currently in heavy use on fish farms.

I -- and our academic colleagues -- argue that there is also huge opportunity to transform wild fisheries, both to elevate fish stocks and improve ocean ecosystem health, to provide much more fish as food, and to provide income to help pay for nutrient-rich foodstuffs of all kinds, especially in vulnerable parts of the world.

Our recent paper in PNAS shows that 16 MMT per year of sustainable wild-caught fish can be landed from the world's ocean waters, feeding at least a half billion more people their annual protein. This new work suggests that, with careful management, this additional supply of fish would also supply an even more critical additional supply of micronutrients that could help keep those extra billions of people healthy!

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

gaia

1470853191000

science

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fthe-university-of-central-florida-forum%2Fbuilding-a-pathway-to-eng_b_11430944.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
Building a Pathway to Engineering for Our Daughters - Brick by Brick
By Ali P. Gordon
UCF Forum columnist

As a father of young elementary and middle school-aged kids, I'm also curious to know exactly how my undergrad students came to be interested in mechanical engineering. An exchange with a UCF student might go like this: "You did a great job on the exam. Congrats! By the way, how did you get interested in mechanical engineering, anyway?" I mentally log the answers for my kids' future benefit.

Any faculty member who is worth her or his salt will agree that teaching a class facilitates the instructor's learning just as much if not more than the students in the audience. When we give challenging problems to our engineering students, they never cease to periodically impress us by deriving solutions that are more elegant than our own.

Every lecture and every office-hour interaction with our students, for that matter, is also a chance for us faculty to incrementally advance our knowledge.

After teaching approximately 50 courses, the hundreds of idiosyncratic informal discussions that I reflect on with students are by themselves insignificant, but as a collection definitely worth noting. When kids spend a significant amount of their free time in the garage working on cars or home-improvement projects or working on model cars or most common of all playing with Lego sets, some of them develop a disposition for technology.

To the parents of kids who routinely and independently engage in these sorts of activities, you could very well have a budding mechanical engineer on your hands. Stay the course.

Minorities and women are underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. According to U.S. News & World Report, African Americans and Latinos comprise 5 and 6.2 percent of the engineering workforce, respectively. Depending on the source data, women comprise between 8 and 14 percent of mechanical engineers in the workplace. This gender imbalance in mechanical engineering classrooms is plain to see.

For parents of young daughters, we'll need to be proactive in maintaining their interests in engineering and building abutments to hold off social distractions.

As a personal note, I grew up building Lego sets just like many of my past and present students. Back then my interests were totally captured by the classic space-themed sets, and when I got a little older I could not be separated from the Technic sets featuring planes, cranes and automobiles designed for ages 11 to 16. Santa never delivered Lego Technic Space Shuttle (8480), but I still have hope.

Rather than just static structures, these more technically oriented sets feature gears, springs, pulleys, pneumatics, etc. They are abundant in their composition with the machine components essential to mechanical engineering design. Very frequently, I use gears, springs, and simple Lego constructions to help demonstrate concepts in classes and STEM summer camps.

In 2011, The Lego Group reported that 90 percent of its customers were boys; consequently, the following year Lego introduced the Lego Friends product line designed primarily for girls to relieve the gender imbalance. Think pink, purple, yellow and green hues with building sets featuring scenes in performing arts, animal rescue, camping, restaurants and the like.

They absolutely nailed it and won numerous industry and parents' choice awards. I was delighted and my four daughters have snapped up and snapped together nearly 135 Lego Friends kits. Other toy makers, like GoldieBlox and K'Nex Mighty Makers, have also tapped into this segment. These have been successful in getting more pre-teen girls thinking about engineering.

With an eye vectored towards maintaining and even enhancing our daughters' positive attitude concerning engineering, there needs to be more pre-engineering toys and games that continue to engage girls' free-time interests, especially in the early teenage years. The products that would help to facilitate this, however, leave a lot to be desired.

The Lego Group, for example, has made no compelling effort to expand the Technic product line beyond the race cars and dump trucks that it has had for decades. Visit your neighborhood Target or Walmart to see that STEM-oriented toy and game products only show up in the "boy" aisles. The implicit message in this gender-segregation is that technology is not for our daughters.

No recent Lego Design videos featuring Lego-employed master builders, showing their creations on YouTube, contain women or members of minorities groups. The consequences of this and numerous other idiosyncratic events are individually insignificant but collectively forceful in their contribution toward gender-filtration. The imminent challenges of our society's tomorrow compels us to begin formulating a diverse and capable workforce today.

Rather than merely highlighting the issue, here's some suggestions for candidate Lego Technic, K'Nex, etc. sets that would appeal across the aisles to those in their early teen years:

** Theme park rides: roller coaster, merry-go-round or pendulum
** Items for the home: cuckoo clock, multispeed oscillating fan or blender
** Mechanical animals that walk: dog, crab or spider
** Structures in the city: aerial tramway or stadium with retractable roof
** Space exploration: SpaceX rocket, satellite with retractable panels or remote-control Mars rover
** Medical devices: Mechanical prosthetic hand/arm or microscope
** Let me know if you need these products tested in class, at camp or at home.

Whether these things appear on the shelves is not something on which we parents should be fixated, however. If we want our daughters to have predilections toward technology, a "girl's" or "gender-neutral" version of a product isn't necessarily the best solution. The most elegant solution is helping her to identify problems in her world and then giving her the tools, materials, guidance and freedom to come up with her own solution.

Play well.

Ali P. Gordon is an associate professor in UCF's Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. He can be reached at ali@ucf.edu.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

science

1470850819000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fcarl-pope%2Fcalifornia--call-the-ques_b_11429512.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
California : Call the Question
The eyes, and the hopes, of climate advocates everywhere should be focused for the next two weeks on California.

Our prospects for breakthrough climate progress rest on five global theaters of war:

Curbing and then ending reliance on coal as a source of electricity.
Ending oil's monopoly as a transportation fuel.
Accelerating - dramatically - the replacement of HFC refrigerants by safe alternatives.
Bringing transparency and the rule of law to local and global timber markets, particularly in Brazil and Indonesia.
Infusing manufacturing everywhere with new levels of technology and capital to end the reliance on low cap ex but inefficient and carbon wasteful factories as an economic development strategy.

Coal is still a behemoth, and Southeast Asia is considering a new coal investment boom that could dramatically increase climate risk --- but there is a strong, vibrant global movement to curb its destructiveness.

The world community is moving on HFC's, and their end seems in sight.

Deforestation, as always, depends heavily on better governance in complex and diverse societies - it's a slow slog, not a breakthrough game.

Manufacturing - well, we are just really beginning to wrestle with its transformation.

But oil - oil is on the edge of a major event, and it is going to happen, or not, in a few short weeks in Sacramento.

In 2007 Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger mandated that the oil industry diversify and decarbonize the state's fuel supply, gradually replacing oil with alternatives - electricity, natural gas, biofuels. Oil could produce these alternatives itself, or buy them on the market, but by 2020, the carbon content of fuels had to be reduced by 10%.

Oil's fuel monopoly is the leverage that enables a barrel of crude to fetch - in tight markets - the $75-$125 the industry profitability requires. No monopoly, no profits. (No profits, and oil's power to block climate progress withers.)

Oil threw everything it could to combat this existential threat: multiple lawsuits in state and federal courts, massive lobbying and campaign investments seeking rescue from the legislature, even a ballot measure seeking the repeal of California's entire global warming solutions framework.

Nothing stuck. Neither Schwarzenegger or his Democratic successor, Jerry Brown, flinched. Courts upheld the low carbon fuel regulations. Gushers of money could not line up the necessary legislative majorities, the initiative was decisively slapped down at the polls, and the public continues to embrace the program.

As a result, the low carbon fuel regulations are now poised to be the biggest single contributor towards California's efforts to reduce climate pollution.

But the litigation did slow the start of the program. The ramp up of fuel diversity was correspondingly been sped up, because the 10% by 2020 mandate remained. Meanwhile, the oil industry chose not to invest in making its own lower carbon fuels even though Chevron admits it could have done so at a profit. Now oil companies must pay others whatever the market demands for the non-petroleum fuels the industry should have been gearing up to supply on its own.

The economic impact on the oil industry is big. By 2020, the oil industry will have to offset (by purchasing low carbon fuels) a ton of CO2 for every 30 barrels of oil. That's projected to cost about $2/barrel, only a nickel a gallon -- but it adds up to $1.5 billion a year. Worse, the program will reduce demand for oil in California's transportation sector by at least 10%. California refiners enjoy a monopoly within a monopoly. No out of state refiners produce the special blends of gasoline required by California's special unique air quality needs, and the state's refiners, during the summer months, don't produce quite enough to meet demand. That tight market allows oil companies to jack up prices. So every summer gasoline prices in the state rise often by $1.00/gallon. With demand for gasoline falling because of an increasingly large percentage of non-petroleum based fuels in the market, that price gouging opportunity will vanish - and refining in California becomes vastly less profitable. Indeed, the reduction in gasoline demand from more efficient vehicles has already led Exxon to complain that there is "too much" clean gasoline being made in the California market. (Losing that premium for, say, four months a year, would slash another $4 billion from the oil industry's profits on refining.)

Oil's alternative is to roll the dice on politics again, this time giving its operatives a truly unlimited campaign budget and trying to force Brown to restore oil's monopoly future in California. After all, if you stand to lose $5.5 billion - and if the rest of the world is poised to copy California -- you can easily afford to invest a few hundred million in buying politicians or influencing elections.

The new strategy involves holding as hostage California future ability to finance clean energy with revenues from the state's cap and trade program. New litigation claims that these revenues turn cap and trade into a tax which requires a new 2/3 vote of the legislature. Clean energy advocates would like to extend the program - which currently expires in 2020 - to give investors and businesses certainty about future markets. Republicans oppose the extension -- period. The oil industry is hoping to persuade enough petroleum Democrats in the legislature to vote "No" on an extension that it can force California to exempt oil from clean energy requirements in exchange for extending the program. Brown wants an extension - but wants a 2/3 vote to protect it against future legal rulings and challenges, and it doesn't seem plausible he can get such a super-majority

Climate advocates may not even, given oil's extravagant spending on legislative races, muster a majority in the Assembly to extend AB32. Facing that possibility, Brown announced that he might leave the extension of the program in the hands of the voters in a 2018 ballot measure, rather than calling the question in the next two weeks.

That would be an enormous mistake. California votes in 90 days. Voters deserve to know which members of the legislature listened to their sentiments - 2/3 support the state's climate efforts -and which listened to the siren song of oil campaign money. And the oil industry needs to be held accountable for its hostage taking. Those things can only happen if the legislature votes - so that if the extension of the climate program is blocked, that can become a major campaign issue in this election, rather than waiting for two more years for California to take the next step.

This is especially true because, with the whole world watching, oil will spend hundreds of millions of dollars against Brown's proposed ballot measures - and initiatives are particularly vulnerable to such mega-spending.

Brown and the leaders of the California legislature need to put a simple majority vote extension of the state's climate commitments to the vote. If it passes, they can move on to deal with the issue of authorizing the spending. If it is blocked, they can focus on electing new legislators who are not in oil's pocket.

It's time to call the question.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

gaia

1470850815000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fwildlife-sos%2Fvillage-save-drowning-leopard_b_11356968.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
Village Pitches In To Save Drowning Leopard
In the early morning hours of a Saturday this July, a farmer in an Indian village heard what sounded like panicked roars coming from an open well near his home. He was shocked to discover a leopard at the bottom of the 60-foot well, struggling to keep her head above water. Instead of assuming he was powerless and the situation pointless, this farmer began a chain of events that led to the leopard's rescue.

"2016-08-05-1470437224-1434545-HuffLeopard1.jpg"

First he called the Maharashtra Forest Department, who then connected with us, and we immediately deployed a rescue team to the well. Initially, we lowered a bundle of sticks down to the water to provide a makeshift raft for the cat. The leopard was able to climb on and rest, buying time for the team to get a container prepared for the rescue. With dozens of people assisting, a steel box was lowered down the well shaft. This initially spooked the leopard, who fell off her buoy. However, she quickly recovered and within seconds jumped into the box and the door quickly shut behind her. She was then lifted out of the well like an elevator ride, examined for injuries, and finally released back into the wild.

"2016-08-05-1470437405-9822329-leopardhuff2.jpg"

It's always heartening to see people rally together to save an animal. We have watched people work to help wildlife caught in fires, deer stuck on ice, rhinos caught in floods, and so on. Each time we hear of such a rescue or watch one caught on video it leaves us impressed with the heroes among us. We are touched by the many stories of sacrifice and selflessness that humankind will make for other non-human beings.

But this one's special. What makes it so unusual is to see a mob of people pulling together to save a leopard, which is a predator capable of killing a fully grown man, and is a threat to peoples' farm animals (which can be their livelihood). Such predators are usually killed out of fear. But that wasn't the case here. Remarkably, the drowning leopard was not only brought to safety on land, she was also re-released into the wild and allowed to live free. She was condemned to neither death nor captivity.

Villagers Help Rescue Trapped Leopard from Wildlife SOS on Vimeo.

As an organization that works to save and protect wildlife, success stories like these give us hope for the future. We've worked for over a decade in Maharashtra (the region where this rescue took place) to raise awareness and promote wildlife coexistence with humans. In our conservation experience, all too often the human attitude toward nearby wildlife is mere tolerance at best -- and outright extermination at worst. Usually the human reaction hinges on the species type: The more capable a species is of hurting or injuring humans or their livestock, the less tolerance that species is shown. So with this in mind, the teamwork demonstrated by several dozen people working together to rescue a leopard -- a wild carnivore -- gives us hope that attitudes are changing, and wildlife like leopards are starting to be seen as animals worth saving.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

gaia

1470845522000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Felisa-peter%2Fthe-resource-curse-of-ind_b_11347284.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
The Resource Curse Of Indigenous Peoples

How the transparency agenda could reverse unjust exploitation of indigenous territories

Alexander Aribalov is an Evenki reindeer herder who lives on the vast steppes of the Sakha Republic in Siberia. His grandfather herded 14,000 domesticated reindeer, which he bred for clothes and food - a job their family have been doing for generations.

When the coal industry moved in, open-pit mines destroyed many of the reindeer grazing grounds, forcing reindeer to change their grazing patterns. Today, Alexander herds a mere 4,000 reindeer and struggles to put food on the table at the end of each day. His fate is shared by 300 million other indigenous peoples who live in countries endowed with large oil, gas, mineral, hydro and timber resources from the Americas to Scandinavia, Russia and Asia.

As we celebrate the international day of the world's indigenous peoples, we must address how indigenous peoples are robbed of their right to sustainable development, now and in the future.

Resource extraction could be a pathway to economic prosperity, but indigenous peoples rarely benefit from the revenues generated by the industry. Instead, they bear the brunt of its environmental and social impacts and remain the most impoverished populations in the world. In Ecuador, for instance, the Quechua's ancestral land is home to the 500km transandean pipeline which has spilled an estimated 16.8 million gallons of oil since 1972, representing one and a half times the Exxon Valdez spill.

Indigenous peoples have historically been economically and politically marginalised. Their land tenure system is systematically challenged by nation states. They are rarely included in decisions-making processes related to the planning and monitoring of large extraction projects, let alone decisions over who should benefit from the revenues generated by these resources.

"Resource extraction could be a pathway to economic prosperity, but indigenous peoples rarely benefit from the revenues generated by the industry"

Most often, consultation is tokenistic and leads to division within communities, although a handful of successful mechanisms for natural resource co-management have been established. When indigenous leaders stand up against mega projects, the cost can be detrimental. Berta Cáceres in Honduras is one of the latest casualties in a struggle that pitches unarmed communities against billion-dollar investors often backed by military or paramilitary forces.

Yet, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is now a well-recognized principle in international law. In theory, indigenous peoples have the right to give or withhold their consent for industrial projects that affect their traditional land and customary practices. The UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples reinforces this principle, stating the need to meaningfully consult indigenous peoples prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands.

States also need to provide effective redress mechanisms to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social or cultural impact. ILO Convention 169, which predates the UN Declaration, also guarantees the rights of indigenous peoples to exert control over their land and resources.

Unfortunately, but perhaps not surprisingly, many resource-rich countries with large indigenous populations have refrained from ratifying the Convention, including the US, Canada, Australia, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and the Philippines.

Interestingly, some of these same countries (US, Canada, the Philippines) are engaging in a number of mandatory and/or voluntary disclosure initiatives focused on the extractive sector. Acknowledging that this sector is more prone to large-scale corruption, these initiatives promote payment transparency, foster corporate accountability, and support financial reform.

"Transparency activists and indigenous rights activists have not been good bedfellows in the past - but this can change"

One such initiative, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), brings together representatives of civil society, governments and companies to establish and implement a transparency standard for the extractive sector. The EITI could provide a crucial opportunity for indigenous peoples to participate in decision-making processes related to natural resource extraction which affect their territories.

However, the EITI standard also lacks any reference to indigenous peoples. The EITI and its civil society constituency have failed to properly reach out to communities and represent them on its International Board. The EITI could learn from the Forest Stewardship Council, a voluntary, multi-stakeholder forest certification scheme, which developed a core principle more than 10 years ago to uphold indigenous peoples' rights of ownership and use of land and resources.

As anti-corruption activists, it is our responsibility to reach out to indigenous peoples affected by the resource curse, to engage them in the transparency movement and effectively support their political mobilisation. Publish What You Pay and its partners need to ensure that indigenous peoples are meaningfully represented in initiatives such as the EITI.

Transparency activists and indigenous rights activists have not been good bedfellows in the past - but this can change. Once we end indigenous peoples' chronic invisibility, people like Alexander will be able to shape the laws and processes that affect indigenous lands, rights and revenues.

#WeAreIndigenous

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

gaia

1470845520000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmireya-mayor%2Fmodern-day-dian-fossey-of_b_11405220.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
Modern Day Dian Fossey of The Amazon
As a scientist, explorer and conservationist, I have spent much of my professional life in the rainforests of the world trying to understand and preserve these incredible and irreplaceable ecosystems. To many it seems unusual that a former NFL cheerleader would choose to go and live in some of the most remote places on earth and brave all the undeniable challenges and occasional dangers of living in a tropical rain forest.

Mostly my dangers were parasites and disease, although I also had my run-ins with poachers, hunters and rebels. One of my inspirations for going into this line of work, Dian Fossey, was murdered in an attempt to save her beloved gorillas. To me, however, it seems perfectly natural that I do this work, because like Dian, I think these forests and its creatures are spectacular, not to mention biologically important. But some people think I'm brave (or mad) and, for my exploits, I've been labeled by more than one media maven, as the female Indiana Jones.

But I want to share with you the story of a woman who's recently come to my attention and who has faced far more real-life danger than me or any cinematic archaeologist. She comes face to face, not with gorillas, but rather guerillas, and unlike the gentle giants, these are armed and dangerous. To me, she is the modern day Dian Fossey of the Amazon.

I cannot tell you her name or her exact location. Far from a household name, she's an indigenous woman with little outside communication or access to the web. For years now she has faced multiple death threats warning her to stop the work she is doing to preserve their lands and conserve tradition. She continues to do it...but lives her life with a constant armed guard. Now that? That is really is brave...and I am in awe of what she's doing.

So, rewinding just a bit...I've always been well aware that the indigenous people are more knowledgeable and wise about the rainforests they call home, and have throughout my career been welcomed, taken in and, on occasion, even rescued, by the generosity and kindness of the local people. My research teams not only have always included the villagers, but we were dependent on their knowledge and wisdom of these remote and often little explored areas. This is true whether it was during my time in Congo, South America or Madagascar.

But the latter is particularly true during my time in the Amazon region. The Amazon contains over half of the planet's remaining rainforest. It comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world. One in ten known terrestrial species in the world lives in this rainforest. The Amazon houses more varieties of plants and animals than any other place on the face of the Earth. Biologically, it is unparalleled.

Simply put, the Amazon is the largest wildlife biome on Earth.

While the Amazon forests are abundant in jaguars and monkeys, these are not their only inhabitants, or the most endangered. The Amazon is also home to hundreds of indigenous tribes. These people are repositories of thousands of years of ancestral knowledge about their unique environment. Without them, important resources, medicinal compounds, diagnostic wisdom and ecological process would be unknown to all of science.

But the Amazon is under great and increasing threat from illegal mining and logging.
Deforestation has already claimed nearly 20 percent of the Amazon's original primary rainforest, and continues at a steady rate. If the Amazon forest is severely degraded or disappears, so diminishes our opportunity to understand this ecosystem and its relationship to other life on Earth, to find new medicines and to fight climate change - the defining environmental challenge of our time.

One and a half acres of rainforest are lost every second.

As Dr. Mark Plotkin, ethnobotanist and co-founder of The Amazon Conservation Team said "Every time a shaman dies it is as if a library is burned down".

But my conservation focus up until just recently has always been primarily on the wildlife and the rainforest itself. It has only been in the last 6 months while I have exclusively been working with The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), an organization that protects the rainforest by working in close partnership with indigenous peoples that I have become aware that indigenous people and their culture are equally at risk of disappearing. Across the globe, there are an estimated 370 million indigenous people, spanning 90 countries. They speak the majority of the world's estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures. Yet how much do we hear about them, their plight, or their achievements in mainstream media?

This week, while at ACT headquarters, it was brought to my attention that a little-known celebration, "The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples" is observed every year on August 9 to promote and protect the rights of the world's indigenous populations.

While the day is not recognized as a public holiday, it is used to teach about indigenous culture, traditions, religion, arts, and history, along with the contributions of indigenous individuals to society. This occasion also identifies achievements and contributions that indigenous people are making to improve world issues such as environmental protection.

So I started doing a little research, and that leads me to this piece. In searching for indigenous people around the globe who are really making a difference but are unsung heroes to the rest of the world, I came upon an extraordinary woman. More than extraordinary. She is a by all definitions of the word: a hero.

As an environmental activist who has gone head to head with local government, mining companies, and even armed militia, she has, so far, survived numerous direct attacks against her life. Her latest mission has resulted in even more threats. Her fear that every day may be her last, are not unfounded. According to Global Witness, 185 environmental activists have been murdered in just 2015.

Although I cannot name her, I can say that she is not alone. Indigenous people are at the forefront of these environmental wars. She is one of many shining examples of the perilous work that indigenous people are doing to save their lands, cultures and traditions. Even in the persistent face of danger.

While these are not often stories or people that make it to mainstream media, this woman should be a household name. And yet, because of the very risky nature of her work as an accomplished environmental activist, she, like many others on the ground fighting the fight, may never be given the acclaim she deserves.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

gaia

1470845517000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdana-ellis-hunnes%2Fobscured-oceans-what-we-d_b_11394492.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
Obscured Oceans: What We Don't/Can't See, We Harm

"2016-08-08-1470685022-713050-ocean.jpg"

Image by Dana Ellis Hunnes

I was a child of the early 1980s. Looking back, perhaps with a certain ethereal fondness, it seemed like life was simpler, values were different, people were more in tune with their surroundings; and certainly, more in-tune with each other (no cell phones here!).

My 2 1/2 year-old son on the other hand, is growing up in a world where climate change is real, investing in wildlife conservation is a must, and where biological diversity is falling precipitously and at unprecedented rates.

Roughly two months ago we went out on the ocean, on a boat, to go whale watching, to see some of the most majestic animals on the planet, and long lived. To see one of the biggest brains in the ocean, that somehow manages to live off one of the smallest edible life-forms in the ocean. To see an animal that causes no harm to humans, but almost came to extinction by the hands of humans.

This boating trip that was two months ago? You would have thought it was yesterday. My son talks about it ALL THE TIME. In his short-lived life, it made a huge impression. He LOVED those whales and dolphins. In fact, hundreds of dolphins swam by, almost in unison. Their magnificence and their ability to bow-ride in unison and with grace was unlike anything we had ever seen. It was unprecedented and cannot be understated.

But, as adults where has our sense of wonder gone?

It seems we are all buried in our phones, in our work, in our "problems" that we forget there are BIGGER problems than ourselves occurring in the world. Right now. On land. In our Oceans. And, we are not doing enough to help.

We ignore what happens under the ocean's surface, because we cannot see it. Therefore, everything must be OK, that the oceans must still be pristine waterscapes, unmarred, and untouched.

But, that is the problem.

In the 18th, 19th and early 20th century's humans nearly caused most whales to go extinct, FOREVER. And, while they are still recovering, even today some nations still engage in whaling, and sometimes for "fun."

Ghost nets--abandoned fishing gear--resides in the oceans, sometimes miles wide obliterating, drowning, trapping, destroying everything in their wake.

Yet, from the surface, everything seems fine. We can't see those nets, we can't see their path of destruction. All we see is a "beautiful" but obscured ocean.

Nets, often a mile long and a couple-hundred years deep, are often splayed out in the oceans to capture fish. As they are brought on deck, they bring with them not only the intended fish, but unintended fish, seals, dolphins, seabirds, sharks, coral reefs, almost anything marine you can think of. The whole gamut of oceanic biological diversity.

Now, imagine the African Savanna. Imagine a net a mile long and a couple hundred yards tall being dragged across the plains. Imagine giraffes, zebras, elephants, hyenas, meer cats, wild dogs, hippopotamuses, any living thing, birds, trees, bushes being dragged into the net; injured, suffocating.

You can't imagine it, can you?

Because, we wouldn't allow this to happen on land.

No, on land things are done differently. The destruction may be no less to wildlife, from culling elephants and poaching, to destroying habitat via clear-cutting. But, the difference is, on land, there is (some) transparency. We can see what we're doing. It's evident in satellite images.

In the the oceans, it's as bad, if not worse. The difference? It's obscured.

Whether on land, or in the seas, it's atrocious and a blight on humanity.

But, this is perhaps the problem. Countries control land. The oceans are a global commons (once outside a country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)).

Nobody owns the oceans; yet, everybody owns the oceans.

With no single country owning the oceans, everyone does as they please; pillaging, removing wildlife, dumping trash, water pollution, everything you can think of.

With no single country owning the oceans, no one is responsible for the cleanup, for the conservation, for the protection, for the oversight.

Therein lies one of the problems.

There are conservation organizations, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). But, from what I can tell these organizations do not really have regulatory or disciplinary oversight.

Thus, the damage continues. And, because we cannot readily see it, we cannot believe it. We cannot believe the oceans are running out of fish - THEY ARE. 80% of fish stocks globally are either overexploited or fully exploited.

We cannot believe there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish - BUT THERE WILL BE BY 2048.

We cannot believe there are mass oceanic "graves" where animals can no longer live because of dead zones caused by human-waste waters and other toxic chemicals.

This is the problem with Obscured Oceans.

I wish desperately that we could bring out our inner toddler. Every day. The one in all of us who marvels at nature, at the sky, at the oceans, the one who remembers that fateful day on the ocean like it was yesterday, today, and hopefully tomorrow.

"2016-08-08-1470687046-3146701-ocean2.jpg"

image credit: Huffington Post Images

That is my hope, my dream. That we all remember how much we depend on our oceans, how much we need them, and how much they have provided us. They deserve our help and our protection.

Please refer back to my previous posts (Plastic: it's what's for dinner and Apathy to our Overfished Oceans) for some recommendations to protect the oceans.

To contact Dana: recipe.for.survival@gmail.com
Twitter: recipe4survival
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RecipeForSurvival/
PlanetExperts: http://www.planetexperts.com/author/danahunnes/

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

gaia

1470845512000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F08%2F10%2Frefocusing-on-the-facts-for-world-lion-day%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
Refocusing on the Facts for World Lion Day

It's another hot humid day in Zululand, South Africa and the steel cable bolted to the truck I'm sitting in the back of snaps taught. The truck's tires slid a bit in the sandy dirt. On the end of that cable are five hungry lions clawing at the piece of meat we've tied to it. As they grip into the bait with their teeth, we quickly learn that the cable is a bit shorter than anticipated and I am a bit closer than I want to be to this pride of peckish lions.

Before I have too much time to consider my predicament, the second truck carrying our veterinarian flanks the distracted lions and, with pinpoint marksmanship and a quick draw, each one soon has a dart in its rump. It won't be long now until they are fast asleep and on a 3,000-kilometer journey to the country of Rwanda. These will be the first lions in Rwanda in over two decades.

Last year World Lion Day was dominated by anti-trophy hunting dialogue after the recent death of the 13-year-old Zimbabwean national park lion, Cecil. For conservationists on the ground in Africa, the immediate worldwide outcry of support for lions was inspiring, a glimmer of hope for widespread awareness and potential funding for protected areas.

I advocate for this World Lion Day to refocus on the real threats facing lions today.

The focus on trophy hunting overshadowed the actual causes of lion population declines. I advocate for this World Lion Day to refocus on the real threats facing lions today.

Today there are as few as 20,000 wild lions left in in the world (including the single population of Asiatic lions in India), compared to the half a million in the 1940s. This dramatic and continued decline in lion numbers is not a result of circumstances such as Cecil's. While humans are the greatest threat to lion population success, that threat is not from foreigners with hunting rifles, but rather from the communities living alongside wildlife as neighbors.

Two Threats

The two main threats that lions currently face are conflict with humans (retaliatory or preemptive killing) and loss of habitat and prey. Both of these are related one way or another to Africa's ongoing population boom. Now with 1.2 billion people, the continent of Africa is the fastest growing human population on Earth, and is on track to double again by 2050. A large portion of this growth is occurring in West and Central Africa, where in 20 years Nigeria will have the third largest human population in the world with over 400 million people. With this many people comes an increase in human-wildlife conflict, making it no surprise that lions were placed on the U.S. endangered species list at the end of last year.

With the expansion of West and Central Africa's human population into previously “wild” areas, people and wildlife are living in closer proximity. They are eating “bushmeat”, the same prey animals that lions use (West, Central, and East Africa have seen an 85 percent decrease in wild prey animals), they are extracting resources and creating agriculture — transforming and degrading lion habitat (lions now occupy less than 8 percent of their historic range) they bring their livestock with them. These three factors create the perfect storm for lion-human conflict.

In countries like Kenya, the average herder loses U.S. $209 annually from cattle taken by predators such as lions. For people living near national parks in the central African country of Cameroon, this accounts for at least 20 percent of their financial losses. Persecution of lions is thus rampant, as the cats are perceived as having a negative economic value for people. They are shot, poisoned, and snared, either in retaliation for property loss or for the prevention of it. Lion persecution alone accounts for 5 percent of the population decline in Kenya.

Southern Africa continues to stand in dichotomy with the rest of Africa. Lion populations in the countries of Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe have actually increased by 12 percent in recent years, while in the rest of Africa lion numbers have declined by 60 percent.

There are two major causes for this difference: low densities of people and fences.

Less People = Less Conflict

Across vast areas of southern Africa human density is low compared with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Less people means less conflict.

The second factor is a result of different wildlife management practices. Many protected areas in southern Africa and most in South Africa are entirely fenced. There is a clear line between wildlife and people; in most of the parks I work in you can see lions and other wildlife virtually next to human communities, separated only by a fence. There is no interaction with the predators other than for ecotourism, and thus there is no conflict or cause for persecution.

Ring-fencing our wildlife does come at a considerable cost, both economically and management-wise. As most parks in South Africa are considerably smaller in size than their northern counterparts, the need for intensive management increases. 100,000 ha (247,105 acres) is known as the “golden number”, or the size where natural processes can occur without management intervention. As most of our protected areas in southern Africa are not this large, we are constantly struggling to contain our lion populations.

Lions breed like rabbits in small- to medium-size parks, for a number of reasons. Put simply, the life for a lion is relatively relaxed in these smaller parks and so they reproduce quickly, with most cubs surviving; populations can become exponentially larger within months. This means that while the rest of the continent struggles to keep its lion populations viable, we are constantly working on how to reduce our populations and growth rates. Efforts include translocations of individuals, swapping males to mimic natural processes, and even contraception programs. In South Africa, we struggle even to donate lions to the different parks, as we all face the same issue of having too many of the big cats.

Relocation of Lions from South to North

Most readers would by now be wondering if we should move lions from the south to the north to help repopulate an endangered species in the rest of Africa. While most geneticists cringe at this idea of mixing subspecies, in my opinion it's too late to split hairs over genetic purity. However, this doesn't remove the logistical mayhem of moving lions between countries and finding the funding to do so.

In June of 2015, I was lucky enough to be a part of a team that donated lions from two parks in South Africa to Akagera National Park in Rwanda. Although we translocate many lions within South Africa, this operation felt particularly meaningful. More than two decades after lions were extirpated from the central African country, the lions I've watched grow up would become the pioneers in repopulating Rwanda, the most densely human-populated African country. Last month Africa National Parks reported a litter of lion cubs was born in this new pride, the first to be born in the country in this millennium. Initiatives like this show that international translocations and partnerships can be forged for the sake of conservation and that the dichotomy can be mutually beneficial.

"Five — Five donated lionesses with the conservation team at Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa. Photo credit: Simon Naylor

To me World Lion Day is about recognizing that even the most iconic, beloved charismatic species, the one we call “king”, is becoming more endangered each year and cannot be saved by our emotions and sentiments alone. The threats that lions face today are far more complex and profound than a dentist with a bow and arrow.

"Axel We need to work towards innovative solutions to ensure the safety and survival of both local human communities and the lions who coexist with them. If we cannot properly protect one of the world's most iconic species, what chance do the rest of them have?

A Greenwich, CT native, Axel Hunnicutt holds degrees in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Wildlife Management. He lives in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, where he runs the research programs for Wild Tomorrow Fund.

gaia

1470844359000

science

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Felliott-negin%2Fexxonmobils-latest-campai_b_11408752.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
ExxonMobil's Latest Campaign To Stymie Federal Climate Action

"2016-08-10-1470801147-2413271-REXTILLERSON630x315.jpg"

ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson acknowledges climate change is a "serious issue," but he is still trying to undermine government efforts to curb carbon emissions.

Recent press accounts report that ExxonMobil is now actively promoting a carbon tax. If true, that's big news. It would mean that, after nearly 20 years of blocking action on climate change, the world's biggest energy company has finally come to its senses.

But wait a minute. If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. So one might well ask: Is this anything more than a PR ploy?

Let's take a closer look.

As I reported earlier this year, ExxonMobil has paid lip service to the idea of a carbon tax since 2009 but, all the while, has continued to fund federal lawmakers who resolutely oppose it. In March 2015, for example, the Senate voted 58 to 42 to pass a budget amendment prohibiting a carbon tax. Thirty of the 40 senators who had received ExxonMobil campaign contributions since 2010 voted in favor of the prohibition. Meanwhile, in March 2013, 156 House members cosponsored a nonbinding resolution stating that "a carbon tax would be detrimental to American families and businesses and is not in the best interest of the United States." Ninety-three percent of the cosponsors were funded by -- you guessed it -- ExxonMobil.

OK, but that was then, and things can change, right? After all, last December, Ken Cohen, the company's outgoing vice president of public and government affairs, blogged about ExxonMobil's strong support for a carbon tax, noting that the company has been holding "countless private briefings with members of Congress on carbon tax policy options."

So how have the company's friends on Capitol Hill responded?

In June, the House passed a resolution stating "a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy" on a 237 to 163 vote. Eighty-five percent of the House members who voted for the resolution received ExxonMobil political donations since 2013; 82 of them are documented climate science deniers. By contrast, only 26 of the representatives who voted against the resolution -- a measly 16 percent -- received ExxonMobil money.

The numbers are unambiguous: When it comes to a carbon tax, there's no escaping the fact that ExxonMobil still funds legislators who don't favor it and, by the same token, doesn't support many who do.

Disingenuous Origins

In his December blog post, Cohen traced ExxonMobil's support for a carbon tax back to January 2009, when company CEO Rex Tillerson endorsed it in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. Cohen, however, neglected to explain the context for this pronounced break with ExxonMobil's long-held position against any policy that would curb carbon emissions: Tillerson was trying to derail momentum on Capitol Hill for a different approach.

Back then, Congress was seriously considering instituting a cap-and-trade system, modeled after the George H. W. Bush administration's successful plan to reduce acid rain, which would have set a cap on overall carbon emissions and established a regulated marketplace where polluters could buy and sell emissions allowances. The less carbon they emitted, the less they would pay.

The European Union had instituted such a system in 2005 and, although there were disagreements over the details, the idea of a U.S. cap-and-trade system had the support of a number of environmental organizations, including the Environmental Defense Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council, and more than two dozen companies, including oil giants BP America, ConocoPhillips and Shell. Perhaps most important, the plan had the backing of President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, who then controlled both houses of Congress.

Tillerson was having none of it. "A carbon tax strikes us as a more direct, transparent and effective approach" than a cap-and-trade system, he said in that January 2009 speech. "It is the most efficient means of reflecting the cost of carbon in all economic decisions, from investments made by companies to fuel and product choices made by consumers." Any carbon tax, he added, should be revenue-neutral, meaning it should be offset by reductions in income and corporate taxes.

But there was a major obstacle in the way of Tillerson's preferred solution: It had no political support. When California Rep. Pete Stark proposed a carbon tax just the year before, it attracted only three cosponsors.

Tillerson, who surely knew Congress wasn't about to pass a carbon tax, publicly conceded it faced long odds. "Right now, any talk of imposing new taxes would rattle the markets and individuals," he told E&E News, a trade publication, the same day he spoke at the Woodrow Wilson Center. "...But probably later this year, I think they're going to get around to want to further investigate what their alternatives are."

As it turned out, the House narrowly passed a cap-and-trade bill on a 219 to 212 vote in June 2009. In the Senate, however, it was a different story. The legislation never made it out of committee for a number of complicated reasons, but the fact that fossil fuel interests had plenty of friends in the upper chamber -- many of them longtime recipients of ExxonMobil political donations -- no doubt played a significant role. The bottom line? ExxonMobil ultimately got what it wanted by plugging a carbon tax: gridlock.

Beyond the Rhetoric

There has been some speculation about what motivated ExxonMobil to recently ramp up its pro-carbon tax rhetoric. First, with multiple investigations underway by state attorneys general of the company for misleading its shareholders and the general public about climate risks, it likely feels the need to polish its tarnished image. Second, the company knows that last December's historic U.N. climate meeting in Paris, where 195 countries committed to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, means that it will be harder to maintain the status quo. Third, if and when Congress does seriously consider a carbon tax, ExxonMobil wants to position itself to influence the debate. And finally, ExxonMobil would likely benefit more than its competitors from a carbon tax, because such a tax would favor the cleaner-burning natural gas over coal and ExxonMobil has the largest natural gas reserves of any U.S. company.

These are all plausible reasons, except for one thing: The evidence suggests that the company is still doing what it can to obstruct policies to combat climate change.

Last fall, for example, California Rep. Ted Lieu -- who has not received any ExxonMobil campaign contributions -- met with the company's lobbyists in what was presumably one of the "countless private briefings" Cohen cited in his December blog. Lieu asked the lobbyists what they would do if he drafted carbon tax legislation. They replied that "they would take a look at it," Lieu told InsideClimate News. "They didn't say they wouldn't support it and they didn't say they would," he added. "It's clear that they are not going around championing their position. If they actually believe this internally, then they ought to do so in a much louder way than just quietly sticking it on a website."

In the Senate, meanwhile, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Brian Schatz of Hawaii have introduced a carbon tax bill, the "American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act." Has ExxonMobil endorsed it or lobbied on its behalf? According to Whitehouse and Schatz, no.

"Regarding ExxonMobil's alleged seven years of support for a carbon fee, we've seen no meaningful evidence of that," the senators said in a letter they sent to the company just yesterday. "None of the top executives that make up ExxonMobil's management team has expressed interest in meeting with any of us to discuss the Whitehouse-Schatz proposal or any carbon fee legislation."

Conversely, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, a climate science denier, explained to Fox News host Steve Doocy in December 2012 that he told ExxonMobil lobbyists a carbon tax was a "bad idea." "I sat down with the Exxon folks a couple of months ago," Upton said, "and let it be known that this is not a proposal that ... is going to be coming through in the House." Nevertheless, ExxonMobil donated more to Upton during the current election cycle than it did in either the 2012 or 2014 cycles.

Besides its political donations and lobbying, the company is still spending millions of dollars a year on think tanks, advocacy groups and trade associations that dispute climate science and disparage climate policies, including a carbon tax. Just last month, ExxonMobil was a lead sponsor of the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) annual conference, which featured Oren Cass, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a self-described free-market think tank ExxonMobil has been funding since 1998. According to one conference participant, Cass "absolutely eviscerated the case for conservatives adopting a carbon tax." Conference organizers also provided ALEC state legislator members with a sample resolution against the Environmental Protection Agency's plan to curb power plant carbon emissions.

ExxonMobil doesn't just rely on paid surrogates, however, to spread disinformation and block government action. Company executives may sing the praises of a carbon tax, but they still find time to misrepresent climate science and question the necessity of taking any action at all.

Climate Science Denial Starts at the Top

In March 2013 -- the same month 146 ExxonMobil-funded House members cosponsored a resolution against a carbon tax -- Tillerson appeared on on PBS's Charlie Rose, ostensibly to promote one. The CEO told Rose he preferred a carbon tax to a cap-and-trade system, but then he doubted whether scientists knew enough to warrant one. "The facts remain there are uncertainties around climate change, why it's changing, [and] what the principal drivers of climate change are," Tillerson claimed, repudiating the consensus among climate scientists worldwide. He also falsely claimed there is no scientific evidence of a link between global warming and extreme weather events.

Two years later, at ExxonMobil's 2015 annual shareholder meeting, Tillerson again argued that climate models are not accurate enough to justify a dramatic shift away from fossil fuels. "What if everything we do," he asked, "it turns out our models are lousy and we don't get the effects we predict?" He recommended continuing to burn fossil fuels and adapting to whatever happens, be it sea level rise or crop failures. "Mankind has this enormous capacity to deal with adversity," he said, "and those solutions will present themselves as the realities become clear."

Contrary to Tillerson's assertions, climate models have proven to be extremely accurate. A March 2013 peer-reviewed paper in the journal Nature Geoscience, for example, found that the models accurately predicted the rise in global temperatures over the previous 15 years to within a few hundredths of a degree. No matter. When given the chance to set the record straight at this year's shareholder meeting in late May, Tillerson would not back down. "My view on the competencies of the models," he said, "has really not changed."

Perhaps the most revealing statement demonstrating the depth of ExxonMobil's support for a carbon tax, however, came the day before the House resolution vote in June -- the one where nearly 90 percent of the ExxonMobil-funded House members casting a ballot voted yes, a carbon tax would hurt the U.S. economy. A Huffington Post reporter contacted ExxonMobil Media Relations Manager Alan Jeffers to find out what the company had to say. Given the company's supposedly heightened interest in persuading Congress to pass a carbon tax, one would have expected Jeffers to register the company's opposition. Certainly he would explain why the resolution was misguided and tell House members to vote no. It was what some would call a teachable moment.

So how did Jeffers respond?

"We're not commenting on the resolution."

Elliott Negin is a senior writer at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Dave Anderson and Jayne Piepenburg provided research for this article. ExxonMobil federal campaign contribution data was supplied by the Center for Responsive Politics.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

science

1470841007000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Felliott-negin%2Fexxonmobils-latest-campai_b_11408752.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
ExxonMobil's Latest Campaign To Stymie Federal Climate Action

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

gaia

1470841000000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F08%2F10%2Fcelebrating-indias-asiatic-lions-on-world-lion-day%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
Celebrating India's Asiatic Lions on World Lion Day

World Lion Day celebrates all sub-species of lion, raises worldwide awareness of conservation programs, and brings attention to the threats they face everywhere. Much of the attention is on the African lion, but today we also want to celebrate and appreciate India's Asiatic lions, and those working to protect them and their habitat.

Asiatic lions, (Panthera leo persica), are one of the seven sub-species of lions in the world. There are a little over 500 of them left.

They live in the Gir National Forest in the state of Gujarat, India, and close to nearby communities in the area. They differ from the African lion in size, (they are slightly smaller). Male manes of Asiatic lions are less full than those of their African counterpart, thus, their ears are more prominent. Males tend to not live with the females of the pride unless they are mating or have a large kill. They are listed as Endangered (very high risk of extinction in the wild) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

*Male Asiatic lion in the Gir Forest, Gujarat, India* ©ZSL

Threats for the Asiatic Lion

With so few Astatic lions left and living in one small part of the Gir, one disease or natural disaster could reduce the population to zero. While these lions are known to only be found in the Gir, they sometimes roam into nearly human habitats. According to Wildlife Conservation Trust of India, there are debates about relocating a small number of the lions to other parts of the country to conserve and boost the lion population.

Bhushan Pandya is a wildlife photographer and conservationist who serves on the Gujarat State Board for Wildlife (SBWL). The SBWL is opposed to a scheme to reintroduce some of the Gir's lions to a sanctuary in India's Madhya Pradesh state, he says. “A lion translocation project has been going on at Kuno Palpur Sanctuary in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The SBWL and many other lion-lovers have been opposing it. There was a long legal battle fought in the Honorable Supreme Court of India. The Apex Court on 15th April, 2013, gave a sad and surprising verdict in favour of the translocation. The Wildlife Conservation Trust, Rajkot (WCT) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Apex Court praying to reconsider the unfortunate verdict.”

Opposition to the relocation focuses on the risk of increased poaching, human-lion conflict, a poor wild prey base, and the area earmarked for relocation is a known tiger corridor.

Other threats for the Asiatic lion in general are illegal wildlife trade, speeding vehicles on roads, trains, and open wells.

A male Asiatic lion in Gir forest.
Image credit: Kishore Kotecha, Wildlife Conservation Trust of India

But in Gujarat, the Asiatic lion is considered a symbol of Gurjarati pride, and it is celebrated for bringing tourists to the area to view and admire them.

“Almost all tourists, whether new or regular ones, from all over world come to Gir to see lions in their natural home because Gir and its surrounding areas have been the last home of this majestic species,“explains Bhushan Pandya. “However, tourism has never been the priority over lion conservation. Less than 9 percent of Gir PA is open for tourists.”

Conservation Activities

Asiatic lion conservation programs are managed through a number of agencies, including the Indian government, and Indian wildlife law enforcement. The Zoological Society of London operates training for Gir forest rangers in tracking lions, monitoring pride population, and identifying threats, using GPS devices and other pieces of electronic equipment. Conservation efforts also take place at the Sakkarbaug Zoo in Gujarat. The veterinarians there play a valuable role in rehabilitating injured lions with a view to releasing them back to the wild. Educational efforts are ongoing with local human populations to help them learn to live with the Asiatic lions in their space.

"Conservationist-Julien-Godfrey-training-GFD-Forest-Rangers — *ZSL Conservationist Julien Godfrey training GFD Forest Rangers* ©ZSL

The Asiatic lions of India are an iconic species, beloved and protected in their range. Like all animals that are cherished though, there are heated debates about conservation and protection.

gaia

1470840966000

science

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Farianna-huffington%2Fcollege-students-sleep-study_b_11426088.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
Here's What's Keeping College Students From Getting The Sleep They Need

Late last month, I visited the California offices of Chegg, a higher education company that specializes in helping college students with everything from affordable textbook rentals to online tutoring. Lately, Chegg has committed to gaining a deeper understanding of another subject central to college students' lives: sleep. And as Chegg's CEO Dan Rosensweig and I began a conversation with an audience of Chegg employees, Dan shared the results of a new Chegg survey on the sleep habits of college students.

The survey's findings bring valuable data to a familiar problem: for an alarming number of students, college has been turned into one long training ground for burnout. The motto "sleep, grades, social life: pick two," or some version of this, can be heard on campuses across the country. The combination of academic pressures, social opportunities -- and for many, newfound freedoms and the resulting challenge of time management -- creates an environment where sleep doesn't get the respect it deserves.

So as thousands of young people across the country prepare to head off to college, here are a few findings from the Chegg study -- which surveyed 473 students from a mix of public and private colleges -- that I found most illuminating.

Most students know there is a link between sleeping and academic performance.

Over half of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that students who do better in school probably get more sleep. (They're right, of course. A 2014 study by the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota showed that the effect of sleep deprivation on grades is roughly equivalent to binge drinking and drug use.)

And the vast majority of students want to get the sleep they need.

Fully 84 percent said 8 or more hours would be "ideal" on a school night.

But very few are meeting that goal.

Only 16 percent usually get 8 or more hours on a school night, with far more (79 percent) sleeping 5 to 7 hours a night.

Today's college students are constantly connected.

Students overwhelmingly cited time spent online and with electronic devices as significant obstacles to sleep. Asked to name the reasons that keep them from sleeping, 51 percent cited too much time online doing non-school related activities -- second only to having too much homework.

Even in bed.

A whopping 86 percent said they take their devices to bed with them -- for email, texting and other non-school activities. And 90 percent leave their phones on when they go to sleep.

The good news?

Chegg's survey found that most college students have plenty of free time each day (much of it, for better or worse, is spent online). So there's an opportunity for students to set aside some of that time for sleep, whether that means going to bed 30 minutes earlier or finding time during the day for a nap.

And the fact that so many students know how much sleep they should be getting, and are aware of how tethered they are to their devices, is at least a first step in changing habits. As more studies like this emerge -- and as I was researching The Sleep Revolution, I was struck by the sheer number of new studies adding to our understanding of sleep's vital role in every aspect of our lives -- people will be more equipped to make changes, even small ones, to help them get the sleep they need.

That's why HuffPost launched the Sleep Revolution College Tour, and why we continue to tell stories around sleep's impact on our lives -- everything from the military's rediscovery of sleep as an essential tool of judgment to the ways athletes increasingly view it as the ultimate performance enhancer. As we approach the start of another academic year, with all its possibilities, there's no better time than now to renew our relationship with sleep and savor all the benefits it brings.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

science

1470820542000

gaia

%feed
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnatural-capital-coalition-%2Fthe-journey-towards-valui_b_11421474.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8
The Journey Towards Valuing Nature

"2016-08-10-1470817812-2930072-IEMA.jpeg"

This article has been submitted as part of the Natural Capital Coalition's series of blogs on natural capital by Nick Blyth, Policy & Practice Lead at the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA)

At the launch of the Natural Capital Protocol last Month - no one could fail to be struck by how far the movement to 'value nature' has come, the depth of work, and the impressive range of collaborations between academics, NGOs, consultancies, businesses and yes still (just about) Government.

The Natural Capital Protocol is without doubt seminal - but can it be game-changing? That is a question, and also a challenge, to all of us who are passionate about, or work in, the sustainability space.

After the launch I revisited some early soundings from IEMA members - environment and sustainability professionals - on the critical barriers they were facing on this agenda back in 2012. I wanted to discuss with those professionals the progress they were making, and how the new Protocol might help with their organisation's change pathways.

Central to those 40 or so professionals back in 2012, was a recognition that the natural environment will nearly always (appear) to offer absolutely no immediate business value, (although a closer inspection will almost always refute this of course). In contrast, carbon for instance, was really hitting the bottom line in a visible and tangible way. This all consolidated into a strongly held view on the imperative for a fiscal or a working value (shadow price) on the natural environment - seen as essential in order to influence decision making.

So where are we now? Clearly the Natural Capital Protocol could never compete with the relative simplicity of carbon valuation, and instead a menu of valuation approaches are introduced and signposted. The Protocol simply reflects the complexity of the reality.

Valuing nature in business is an advanced test for sustainability leaders - with some colleagues referencing it as the 'bake off final'. Unlike Carbon or energy management, there is rarely ever any single driver that will carry this through into decision making. A blended approach is often required, drawing together and mixing the ingredients.

At the same time, many of us also have a better and more refined understanding of decision making itself. In uncertain times, how many organisations can muster truly reliable data on their future economic outlook without recognising their impacts and dependencies on natural capital?

The Natural Capital Protocol works a bit like a 'Haynes manual' in providing practical pathways to valuation, but its primary function is a companion to understanding and influencing decision making - is anyone surprised it's large!

So what of those other challenges, barriers and opportunities identified back in 2012?

Barriers included real problems with communicating, with terms and language, and also, in the early days, just being taken seriously. The culture of organisations, their decision making, short term thinking and real inertia with business models being 'locked in' (or as someone put it locked down). On these fronts the Protocol and the wider natural capital community of practice is making real progress, providing exemplars and pathways to best practice.

On the opportunities, central to discussion has been the importance of sustainable procurement and supply chain contracting. Real potential exists in adding value within bids, project and service delivery for clients and also in wider brand and reputation building. Also important is the interaction with wider tools, standards and management systems such as the revised ISO14001. Integrating and mainstreaming (as some put it piggy backing and Trojan horsing) is central to making progress. The skill set here is squarely in that space of finding the business relevance and making a start.

Reflecting and discussing with professionals draws you back to a slightly painful realisation - none of this is easy....and nor should it be.

A key challenge for professionals now is simply to understand the landscape of support and the range of pathways that exist. The opportunity though is to plan, innovate, collaborate and to pick the tools and approach for your situation. Some will perhaps start with the Circular Economy and may progress through to valuing nature. However we proceed, we all can see the Natural Capital Protocol as a stepping stone on the journey, and a rather big one that we all need to cross.

Disclaimer: Articles in this series are submitted by people who work in organizations who are part of the Natural Capital Coalition, or people who are involved in the natural capital space more generally, the views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of The Natural Capital Coalition, other Coalition organizations, or the organization that employs the author.

Follow Nick on Twitter: @nblythiema
Follow IEMA on Twitter: @iemanet

Nick Blyth is policy and practice lead on climate change and natural environment at the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and is a full member of the institute. He has worked in senior and management roles in local government, consultancy and for the Woodland Trust.

On 13th July 2016, The Natural Capital Coalition launched a standardized framework for business to identify, measure and value their impacts and dependencies on natural capital. This ' Natural Capital Protocol' has been developed through a unique collaborative process; a World Business Council for Sustainable Development consortium led on the technical development and an IUCN consortium led on business engagement and piloting. The Protocol is supported by practically focused 'Sector Guides' on Apparel and Food & Beverage produced by Trucost on behalf of Coalition.

Keep up to date with the Natural Capital Coalition on Twitter: @NatCapCoalition

Keep up to date with our series on natural capital here.

www.naturalcapitalcoalition.org

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

gaia

1. Finding Buddha

2. Atomic Ark

3, 4. Mysterious brown-paper packages

5. Moving day for George

6. A rocket ruckus

7. Patience breeds a National Gallery of Art…

8. Collecting voices

9. Make it two Renwicks!

10. The sky is falling! Wait, is that a statue?

11. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a space shuttle?!

12. Portraits of U.S. Presidents (…and people who play them on TV)

13. It takes a community

14. Not your average moving day

15. “Collecting Bytes” or “Taking a Byte”

16. Drumming to eternity

17. Ready for an 1850 close-up

Want an extra birthday surprise?

13S2012 by Jipeco

Blinded by the lights ~ It rained all night by Einar Otto Stangvik

planet by naanscope

art

Space hotel, anyone?

Top 10 brand loves - the new social division

Populist politician decries 'ideological excesses'

Lava by Deepak Verma

Untitled by امجد 3bdalla