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Coastal occupation affects tropical reefs in Brazil  
Researchers in Brazil warn of the negative environmental impacts of unplanned coastal occupation on tropical reefs and consequently on the conservation of marine biodiversity. Researchers state that this process has already taken place in Western Mediterranean.  
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Say No To A Holocaust For Horses: 44,000 Horses Won't Die On Our Watch  
This headline stopped me cold: "Breaking News: BLM's Wild Horse Advisory Board Just Voted To Kill All 44,000 Captive Wild Horses In Holding."

That couldn't be real.... The wild horse is our iconic American image and heritage. Wouldn't everyone protect them at any cost? Unfortunately, the answer is "no" unless we do something about this right now.

No group has the power to kill off almost the entire remainder of the species. There is an estimated 67,000 wild burros and horses left across all states so this would be devastation beyond measure.

This situation is not only real, it's dire and timely. The good news -- there are solutions and you can help and it doesn't take long.

The immediate solution is to sign this petition and write a personal letter letting all decision-makers at the BLM and government know you oppose the killing of healthy, protected wild horses and burros (see addresses).

The time for you to rise up and make a difference is NOW. Your voice is needed. Thank you for signing, writing, and sharing this article.

In a couple days I will be posting a follow-up that highlights longer term solutions to this issue. It's a complicated one but requires a shift in consciousness that I trust humanity will choose.

Please join me in my vision that horses are actually here to partner with humanity to help us learn how to be the best versions of ourselves. It starts with you now and the next choice you make.


(Photo credit Kate Neligan. Taken at Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary)

-- 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.

 
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Land-based food not nutritionally sufficient for wild polar bears, according to new study  
On average, a polar bear loses up to 30 percent of its total body mass while fasting during the open-water season. Although some scientists previously believed land-based foods could supplement the bears' nutritional needs until the sea ice returns, a new study has revealed that access to terrestrial food is not sufficient to reduce the rate of body mass loss for fasting polar bears.  
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Cornelius Agrippa Scientist of the Day a German authority on...  

http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/emblematic/id/1511

Cornelius Agrippa Scientist of the Day

a German authority on natural magic, was born Sep. 14, 1486.

read more…

 
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Sunrise 14 Sep 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
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Emerging Sun 14 Sep 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
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House Science Hearing on ExxonMobil & Subpoenas: What You Should Know  


This morning, the House Science Committee is holding an unusual hearing, at which the committee's chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), apparently aims to justify subpoenas he already has issued to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and eight organizations and foundations concerned with the issue of whether Exxon deceived on the public on the issue of climate change.

Smith seeks communications between and among the attorneys general and the groups. Every entity that got a subpoena has refused to comply; Healey and Schneiderman each issued an emphatic response, as did each organization. Ranking member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and other Democrats on the committee have sharply criticized the subpoenas, as have numerous others, including:

• 
  
• Abrams Institute at Yale Law School letter from legal experts
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• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights statement
• 
  
• Open the Government statement
• 
  
• Letter from 2,000+ scientists
• 
  
• Boston Globe editorial, Congressional bullying on behalf of Big Oil
• 
  
• San Antonio Express-News editorial, Irony in Smith's latest subpoenas
• 
  
• Los Angeles Times editorial, House GOP members pursue an objectionable defense of fossil fuels
• 
  

Here are some key points about what's happening at today's hearing. (Disclosure: I'm a consultant to some of the organizations that have received subpoenas from Rep. Smith.)



1. The subpoenas to the attorney generals of New York and Massachusetts are not grounded in any legitimate legislative purpose -- and they violate the Constitution's protections for states' rights.

At least five state attorneys general are investigating ExxonMobil, looking at claims that Exxon defrauded its shareholders and customers by supporting efforts to deny the risks of climate change from fossil fuels, when the company already had extensive research showing that the risks were real. These are clearly valid investigations; as Yale School Dean Robert Post has argued, the First Amendment does not protect fraudulent statements.

Chairman Smith's subpoenas violate state sovereignty by interfering with these attorney general investigations. The 10th Amendment says, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution...are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The states have broad police powers to protect their residents.

Chairman Smith has not cited any provision of the Constitution or other federal law that gives him the power to interfere in a state's investigation of a corporation for fraud. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently required a congressional committee to have a "valid legislative purpose" in order to investigate a matter.

Chairman Smith says the committee has a role in ensuring that the attorneys general are not pressuring the "private sector...to make research funding decisions based in part on a desire to avoid burdensome state investigations and political or ideological coercion." He also claims the committee could legislate to seek to "correct" any "imbalance in scientific inquiry" resulting from the fraud investigations.

Massachusetts Attorney General Healey responded that the committee's legislative authority is "limited to scientific findings made or funded by federal government agencies, not by corporations, such as Exxon." The committee is not authorized to act as America's "science police."

State officials need the authority to enforce fraud and consumer-protection laws, without congressional committees acting to hinder such work.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who was previously the attorney general of Rhode Island, recently wrote regarding this controversy, "The constitutional principle of federalism requires 'proper respect' to states' constitutional functions, and what more proper and inherent state function is there than investigation and prosecution of violations of state law?"

2. The subpoenas to the organizations and foundations are not grounded in any legitimate legislative purpose -- and they threaten free speech.

For a congressional committee to demand documents from advocacy and research organizations, as well as charitable foundations, simply because they have spoken out on an issue of concern, is a threat to free speech and our democracy. The subpoenas represent a dangerous new direction that threatens to suppress the speech not only of environmental groups, but also civil rights groups, reproductive choice groups, conservative advocacy groups, and others.

New York University law Professor Burt Neuborne called Chairman Smith's subpoenas "just another retaliatory gimmick aimed at making it too expensive and time consuming to criticize a powerful entity with deep pockets capable of enmeshing the critics in legal quicksand." These subpoenas are the legislative equivalent of SLAPP suits filed by corporations with the aim of stifling and deterring public debate by critics.

3. Two of the three witnesses that Chairman Smith has called for today's hearing -- Professor Ronald Rotunda and Elizabeth Price Foley -- have extensive financial ties to the fossil fuel industry and to think tanks that deny the dangers of climate change.

The fact that the Chairman is staking his argument about the validity of the subpoenas on the testimony of witnesses with such obvious bias suggests how improper this whole effort is.

4. The purpose of this effort by Chairman Smith seems to be to try to intimidate critics of, and to score political points for, fossil fuel companies.

It's worth noting that Chairman Smith and other members of the committee have taken extensive campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.

5. We are in the final weeks of this Congress and there is so much important work that the House Science Committee could be doing instead.

The American people expect Congress to address serious challenges our country faces. Instead, Chairman Smith wasting precious time, explaining the rationale for subpoenas that the Chairman already has sent. Worse, he is using his committee as a dangerous threat to our democratic system.

As ranking member Johnson wrote in a June 23 letter to the chair:

I have served on the Committee on Science for more than two decades, and during that time this Committee has accomplished great things. We've overseen the completion of the International Space Station and the sequencing of the human genome, and we've undertaken serious investigations, ranging from the Space Shuttle Challenger accident to the environmental crimes at the Rocky Flats nuclear site. However, lately the Committee on Science has seemed more like a Committee on Harassment. The Committee's prolific, aimless, and jurisdictionally questionable oversight activities have grown increasingly mean-spirited and meaningless. They frequently appear to be designed primarily to generate press releases. However, none of these recent investigations has rushed head long into a serious Constitutional crisis like we are about to face. We are moving into dangerous and uncharted territory.

...the Democratic Members of the Committee also take this oath seriously. We will not sit idly by while the powers of the Committee are used to trample on the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. I implore you to cease your current actions before they do lasting institutional damage to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Congress as a whole.

This article also appears on Huffington Post.

-- 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.

 
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Youthful Hope to Save the Sea  

Sebastian Nicholls diving above a coral reef near Aqaba, Jordan. The Kingdom protects 7 km of its 27 km of marine coastline in the Aqaba Marine Park.

Millions of people saw Rio de Janeiro for the first time last month while watching the summer Olympics. Daily, they saw beautiful shots of the city--the glistening beaches and blue sea reflecting Brazil's crimson sunsets. Buildings dot the city's slopes, but a dense layer of vegetation lingers over the hills. Bright-billed toucans turn the dark quiet of the rainforest into a cacophony at daybreak. I lived there for two years, and Rio's natural beauty filled me with awe.

I felt the same sense of wonder when I saw a coral reef for the first time in the Islas del Rosario near Cartagena, Colombia. I didn't know then that the coral was dying--that overfishing, climate change, acidification, and pollution are rapidly choking the life out of tropical seas. Those same man-made problems also threaten kelp forests, mangroves and other magnificent ocean ecosystems that have existed for millennia.

Our ocean is not just beautiful, but also essential for life. It provides half the oxygen we breathe, regulates climate, and feeds millions. The next generation's future depends on it.

Beyond the stunning shots of whitecaps and shimmering carioca sunsets, the sea is in deep trouble--and the symptoms are visible at the surface. Driving out of the airport, views of Guanabara Bay revealed floating trash and thick layers of black mud where the pollution was worst. Thousands of dolphins used to live in Guanabara Bay , and it was a breeding ground for whales. Now, only 34 dolphins remain and the population is rapidly declining.

Yet Rio's story, like young idealistic eyes, also glimmers with hope. The Tijuca forest at the heart of the city is now among the largest urban forests in the world, but in the 19th century, the area had been cleared for coffee farming. In 1861, Dom Pedro II, Brazil's emperor, expressed concerns about deforestation and native plants were reintroduced. Now, it's a vibrant rainforest in a concrete jungle.

Youth, like Dom Pedro, can combine hopeful eyes with a vision, and create a better future for all. When I learned about the degenerating health of our ocean, I didn't know what I could do but despair. Yet we can reclaim the ocean, just as Dom Pedro revived the Tijuca forest, so that it can provide for generations to come.

Policy has started shifting towards improved stewardship, states are discussing protection of the High Seas , and nations are creating new and larger marine reserves every year . The Our Ocean Summit, a meeting of the world's ocean ministers convened by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, provides a venue for announcing ever-greater commitments on ocean stewardship. Most importantly, leaders are recognizing that youth should take ownership of our ocean and our future. Millennials are eager to make a difference, and the rest of the ocean conservation movement is beginning to take note.

My friend Daniela Fernandez founded the Sustainable Oceans Alliance, (SOA) in 2014. She had attended a UN meeting about ocean sustainability and returned to Georgetown University with a vision for mobilizing the next generation of ocean advocates. I heard her idea and I was in.

With guidance from an advisory board that believes in SOA and a team of hardworking students, we built a movement from scratch. Our plans came to life in less than a year: SOA's inaugural summit brought together some of the most influential figures in marine conservation, including Under Secretary of State Cathy Novelli, National Geographic Explorer Sylvia Earle, Director of Oceans at The Nature Conservancy Maria Damanaki, and National Geographic CEO Gary Knell.

This year, the Sustainable Oceans Alliance has partnered with the State Department and counts on its support to further our vision of empowering youth globally. Secretary Kerry's dedication to youth engagement and our shared desire to create impact will come to fruition this Thursday and Friday at the Our Ocean, One Future Student Leadership Summit.

At the summit, young participants will have the opportunity to become protagonists in the fight to save our ocean. From committing to coral restoration, to introducing marine environmental science into school curricula , action pledges submitted by summit participants can effect change on a large scale. In aggregate, these actions will improve ocean health.

Philippe Cousteau wrote recently that youth are the hope for our ocean. We need to show Millennials that the horizon of possibilities is as vast as their vision is bold.

The Sustainable Oceans Alliance, which started as a small group of committed students, has launched petitions that were delivered to the White House and the UN. They helped expand the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument and establish a Sustainable Development Goal on oceans. In Barbados, a four-person team took the initiative to create a new Marine Protected Area. One of the team members is only 19.

Empowering more young voices can guarantee the protection of our ocean, and ensure that the wealth of resources and ecosystem services it provides continue to inspire and sustain generations to come. We can restore the ocean so that its beauty on the surface is matched by abundance below. To paraphrase the great conservation advocate Margaret Meade, we should never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens--regardless of their age--have the power to change the world.

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Secretary of State John Kerry's Our Ocean conference and Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with the Our Ocean Conference (September 15th, 16th) as part of HuffPost's "What's Working" initiative, putting a spotlight on initiatives around the world that are solutions oriented. To read all the posts in the series, read here. The State Department does not endorse the content of this blog. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #OurOcean #MakeASplash.

-- 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.

 
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We're counting down to the CITES CoP! The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna... https://t.co/q424Bj3iUW 
https://t.co/q424Bj3iUW 

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Leela Channer posted a photo:

 
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Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 24 September 2016 https://t.co/07uAv4jQZm 
https://t.co/07uAv4jQZm 

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Doctors Test Drones To Speed Up Delivery Of Lab Tests  

Doctors, hospitals and entrepreneurs say drones could become a faster, cheaper way to deliver medical tests. But there are a lot of details to be worked out before your blood test hits the runway.

 
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Russian Hackers Breached Athletes' Data, World Anti-Doping Agency Says  

Some of the information listed athletes' therapeutic use exemptions, which allow banned substances to be taken if they're deemed to be necessary for medical reasons.

 
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Gas, Electric Or Steam? Car Shopping, 100 Years Ago  

In the 1910s, there was no sure winner among the three types of technology, says Susan Randolph, head of the Marshall Steam Museum in Delaware. Choosing a car often came down to how it started up.

 
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foggy night  

fiddleoak posted a photo:

an older photo I found. the pose is a little awkward but I don't mind it too much.

 
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The Brexit Bill: Britain's Departure Likely to Cost EU Billions  
At a summit in Bratislava this week, the EU wants to set the course for its future without Britain. One important issue is likely to be ignored by European leaders: The fact that Brexit is going to be expensive for Europe, especially for Germany.  
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Leopard gecko  

Full Text:

This is an albino colored leopard gecko. The leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) is a crepuscular ground-dwelling lizard naturally found in the highlands of Asia and throughout Afghanistan, to parts of northern India. Unlike most geckos, leopard geckos possess movable eyelids. The generic name Eublepharis is a combination of the Greek words Eu (good), and blephar (eyelid), as having eyelids is the primary characteristic that distinguishes members of this subfamily from other geckos, along with a lack of lamellae, bumpy skin, and nocturnal behavior. The specific name, macularius, derives from the Latin word macula meaning "spot" or "blemish", referring to the animal's natural spotted markings.

Image credit: Gene Jenkins, Montezuma's Reptiles

 
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Keen by Kate Scott  

Keen by Kate Scott

Kate Scott: Photos

 
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Sunrise. by Sanchayan S Ghosh  

Sunrise. by Sanchayan S Ghosh

Sunrise @ Gir forest ,India.

Sanchayan S Ghosh: Photos

 
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The gift of existence by Vinogradof Florentin  

The gift of existence by Vinogradof Florentin

*****

Vinogradof Florentin: Photos

 
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Stiff and oxygen-deprived tumors promote spread of cancer  

Full Text:

When Hippocrates first described cancer around 400 B.C., he referred to the disease's telltale tumors as "karkinos" -- the Greek word for crab. The "Father of Western Medicine" likely noted that cancer's creeping projections mirrored certain crustaceans, and the tumors' characteristic hardness resembled a crab's armored shell. Later, scientists added another attribute: Tumors are hypoxic. That is, they grow so large and dense that they exclude blood vessels, causing a lack of oxygen in their cores. But what role these characteristics play in the development of cancer has remained a mystery. Moving possibly one step closer to an answer, National Science Foundation-funded scientists have found that, in breast cancer, tumor hardness and hypoxia trigger a biological switch that causes certain cells to embark on a cancer-promoting program. This biological switch is critical to a tumors' ability to invade other tissue, a process called metastasis -- and could offer a promising treatment target.

Image credit: Image courtesy of Celeste Nelson, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

 
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.@KatGledhill sleeper rays (3 endemic species) all critically endangered in SA #CITES #cop17 @SASC3 @pewenvironment 
http://ifttt.com/missing_link?1473839368 

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Fire in the sky  

mickael_giraud posted a photo:

 
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Eye of The Leemur  

Kieran Williams Photography posted a photo:

 
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Mister blue, you did it right, But soon comes mister night, creepin' over, Now his hand is on your shoulder, Never mind, I'll remember you this I'll remember you this way.  

Skyline:) posted a photo:

 
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