China’s Economic Boom Fueling Poaching In Africa
Greg Neale and James Burton writes in the Guardian:
Elephant poaching in Africa and Asia is being fuelled by China’s economic boom, according to a study of the ivory trade.
Authors of the new report found that the number of ivory items on sale in key centres in southern China has more than doubled since 2004, with most traded illegally. The survey comes amid reports of a dramatic rise in rhino poaching across Africa, and a spate of thefts of rhino horns from European museums and auction houses.
Based on the results of their survey, the ivory researchers are calling for China to tighten its enforcement of ivory trading regulations, saying that such a move is vital to reduce the number of elephants that are killed illegally. The report is published on the eve of a meeting in Geneva of the Cites organisation, which is responsible for controlling trade in endangered wildlife species.
Esmond…
How A Human Virus Is Killing Endangered Gorillas
Photo: FlickreviewR (CC)
Alasdair Wilkins writes in io9:
There’s fewer than 800 Mountain Gorillas left in the entire world, and their survival depends in part on people willing to pay money to go see them. But all this human interaction is bringing gorillas into contact with dangerous diseases.
Although humans are most closely related to chimpanzees, gorillas rank a very respectable second, sharing about 98% of their DNA with us. The current zoological consensus is that there are two distinct species of gorillas, western and eastern, and these are further divided into two subspecies each.
While all the gorilla species are to some degree threatened, the population levels vary wildly. There are at least 100,000 Western Lowland Gorillas in the wild, and 4,000 in zoos, while fellow western subspecies, the rarely seen Cross River Gorilla, is thought to have a remaining population of just 280. As for the eastern subspecies, the Eastern Lowland Gorilla…
I Want Everything You’re Doing To Fail
The people at Brave New Films are having some good ole fashioned fun ‘n games with Bill, Rush, Glenn and Sarah, playing a special kind of Pacman.
Are you ready to take on the Right Wing? Get started at Brave New Pacman!
To share the game go here.
More about Brave New Films at BraveNewFilms.org.
Australian Town Becomes First to Ban Bottled Water
Bundanoon on Saturday became the first town in Australia, and possibly the world, to ban the sale of bottled water. The 2,500 residents voted in July to stop shops from stocking single-use bottles and switch to retailing bottles that are refillable for free at taps around the town.
“As politicians grapple with the issue of climate change, we should never forget that each and every one of us can make a real difference at the very local level,” shopowner Huw Kingston told local paper the Southern Highland News.
“As was demonstrated by the intense media interest from all around the world, it’s extremely heartening that our small town has become an international role model for grassroots action.”
The tourist town of Bundanoon, 120 kilometres south of Sydney, showed it was fun to be green by putting on a parade and a party for the switchover.
It also demonstrated that environmentalism and entrepreneurship can…
