Category: Environment

1. Tell These Big US Banks That Arctic Drilling Is Bad Business!

   Posted on 5:00pm Wednesday 26th Feb 2020

   The Sierra Club (a grassroots environmental organisation in the US) has announced that there’s big, exciting news from a bank! JPMorgan Chase have announced at its annual Investor Day that: It will not finance oil and gas extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge It will not continue financing many coal-related enterprises, including thermal coal mines and coal-fired power plants across the world. The bank is by far the leading US investor in fossil fuels, and environmentalists and indigenous peoples have put pressure on the bank for years trying to move away from projects which threaten the climate. They promised to stop investing in and providing services to companies which derive “the majority of their revenues from the extraction of coal” by 2024, and not to provide financing to offshore and onshore oil and gas extraction in the Arctic Goldman Sachs also made a similar commitment not to financial oil drilling in the Arctic two months ago. Now, it’s vital that we put the pressure on other big banks to follow suit.  I wonder... Could their executives and shareholders live with themselves if there was an accident drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic which they had agreed to finance?  It only takes ONE spill to do unrepairable damage.  As the Sierra Club say, “Clean air, safe drinking water, wildlife and wild places are under attack-and once they're gone, they're gone for good.”  © istockphoto.com Mario Hoppmann Tell These Big US Banks That Arctic Drilling Is Bad Business! The Sierra Club say that banks worldwide are refusing to fund Arctic drilling.  Some US banks are dragging their feet.  But Goldman Sachs have done it;  they were the trail-finders who have ruled out financing Arctic oil and gas drilling, thermal coal mines and coal-fired power projects around the world.  Thank you, everyone at Goldman Sachs. Sierra Club Big banks don’t want to fall behind on industry trends.   The Sierra Club is asking us all to focus our efforts on the other US funders which, they say, are notorious for propping up dirty fuels:  Wells Fargo, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley. The Sierra Club are asking everyone to: Send a message to the CEOs of the other major US banks, telling them that bankrolling Arctic drilling isn’t just bad business -- it’s a threat to Indigenous human rights and to the climate. Add your name here and you can send a message too, if you want to add power to it. Let’s all fight for wildlife and indigenous peoples and drill hard and deep for change in the right direction.  Let’s put pressure on.

2. URGENT Appeal for Koalas and the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital GoFundMe Appeal

   Posted on 10:00pm Sunday 24th Nov 2019

   I have just read the most terrible news.  Koala populations and their habitat have decreased to such an extent that they are now “functionally extinct”. Forbes.com reports that Chairman of the Australian Koala Foundation estimates that over 1,000 koalas have been killed from the fires.  80% of their habitat has been destroyed, thanksk to bush fires, prolonged drought and deforestation. Functionally extinct occurs where a population has become so limited that their population is  no longer viable. The small number of the surviving animals means that they are unlikely to survive long term.  Koalas eat up to 2 pounds of  eucalyptus leaves a day. And bushfires and deforestation has destroyed this main food source.  The recovery of such plants after fires will take months – so there will be no food for the koalas.  HELP KOALAS The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has a Go Fund Me page.  The hope was is that they would reach $25,000.  So far, they have raised $1.35 million from 35,000 donors.  One of the things they want to do is to install drinking stations for koalas in areas devastated by the fires.  And they want to have a Koala Ark so that burned koalas can live in a healthy habitat as they recover. The hospital are searching for koalas, along with the National Parks and Wildlife Service crew leaders.  So far 31 koalas have been brought to the hospital from various fire locations.  Koalas arriving at the hospital are rehydrated and examined for burns.  Burns are treated with cream, and then bandaged.  Dressings are changed every three days.  The hospital wanted to raise money to buy and distribute automatic drinking stations in the burnt areas to help koalas and wildlife.  Now, more will be built, and shared with other wildlife organisations in areas affected by fire.   Two will go to the Northern Rivers fire area next week. The hospital is buying a water carrying vehicle with fire fighting capabilities to replenish the drinking stations with water as they need it. Thanks to the incredible amount of money raised, the hospital is going to establish a wild koala breeding programme. The bushfires in and around the Port Macquarie area killed about 350 koalas.  75% of the fireground footprint was prime koala habitat. Be a part of this rescue mission - please donate As well as donating to help the koalas, we can all do what we can do consider how our life style is impacting on the planet.   The human race has caused enough destruction of our natural world.  It’s time to do the right thing and put this right. PLEASE DONATE NOW These koalas need our help All images on this blog copyright to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.   PS There's another GoFundMe appeal for the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Foundation who are also needing funds to help care for koalas affected by wildfires.  Visit their GoFundMe page

3. Water flow lessens animal-human conflict in Liwonde National Park, Malawi

   Posted on 9:00pm Friday 21st Jun 2019

   Water flow lessens animal-human conflict in Liwonde National Park, Malawi We all need water, humans and animals. So what happens when there is competition between humans and animals for water? Liwonde National Park in Malawi is home to over 10,000 different species.   Black rhinos, elephants, zebras and baboons are among them – the place is a biodiversity hotspot. The Shire River passes through the area, and is a vital life source for all the animals there. Years of poaching, illegal fishing and snaring have devastated the park’s ecosystem.  Competition for resources has rocketed; as well as the animals, people need water to survive.  The people of Chikolongo had to go miles to retrieve water from the Shire River – it was the only major source of water available.  In their trek, the journey often led to death for people and animals – especially as a result of human encounters with crocodiles, elephants and hippos. The IFAW (that’s the International Fund for Animal Welfare) heard about the crisis in Chikolongo and knew they had to help. So in 2013, they created the Chikolongo Livelihood Project – designed to build sustainable solutions to reduce the conflict between villages and wildlife. They completed a water pump and pipeline to bring easily accessible and clean water directly into the heart of the Chikolongo community. Since that pipeline was created, there have been no incidents of human-wildlife conflict.  The villages have what they need to co-exist amongst the animals they had thought were dangerous.  They are happier. Plus, IFAW established a community fish farm and developed an incentive system to encourage the growth of commercial crops which was designed to help reduce poaching.  And the animals of Liwonde National Park are successfully recovering. Find out more about the initiative here

4. Equator from the Air on BBC2 on Sunday 9 June 2019

   Posted on 9:00am Sunday 9th Jun 2019

   There are some really good programmes on TV about nature and wildlife - we are very blessed with them.  Their quality is incredible. Here's another - the series is called Equator from the Air.   Gordon Buchanan takes an amazing journey round the Equator with experts who are racing to save wildlife and people.   Tonight (9th June 2019, 8pm UK time on BBC2), he croses the Pacific and drops in on the Galapagos Island. There he discovers huge evidence of human intervention - domesticated pigs have gone wild and decimated the tortoise population.  Drones are helping to track these species in danger. He also joins in to see how a tropical lake may hold clues about how to secure the world's coral reefs. Do watch - the series has been really good so far and is really sending a message home. Visit BBC2's website here.

    

5. Triple your impact for the Natural World on Earth Day with the Sierra Club

   Posted on 8:00am Monday 22nd Apr 2019

   Today is Earth Day – and today that means a chance to TREBLE your impact to protect this one planet we have. The Sierra Club are working to do the following (and I quote from their email): Keep our wild places wild by making the Roadless Rule permanent Protect endangered animals from extinction by protecting the Endangered Species Act from attacks by the Trump administration and Congress Ensure everyone has access to clean air and water by resisting attacks on the safeguards keeping toxic pollution out of vulnerable communities. Make a gift to support our work right now and it will go THREE TIMES as far towards helping the Sierra Club fight to protect our vulnerable communities, clean air and water, precious public lands and wildlife—in the courts, in Congress, and in the grassroots.    Rush your Earth Day gift before midnight and it will be TRIPLED by the Club’s generous donors up to $300,000.  The Club will also send you their Insulated Cooler Tote Bag, Free. The Sierra Club’s 3.5 million plus strong community have helped it achieve some incredible victories: They’ve got 119 cities to commit to 100% clean energy from San Diego to St Petersburg They’ve retired 287 dirty coal plants – this can only improve the health and wellbeing of everyone They’ve got anti-environmental officials such as Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke and Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Scott Pruitt out of office. They’ve countered the Trump administration over and over again, helping to block oil and gas drilling on iconic lands and offshore, helping pass legislation to protect wild places, and continuing to shut down dirty coal-fired power plants and coal mines. They must keep fighting.  So please make a gift to support the Sierra Club as it fights to protect vulnerable communities, clean air and water, precious public lands and wildlife—in the courts, in Congress, and in the grassroots. DONATE TODAY 22 April 2019