0
POPSNow Pakistan - Sequential Destruction of Muslim Nations Many Western policymakers rarely see Muslim nations, including allies, with any inherent respect. Vice President Dick Cheney described the Muslim world as "brute and nasty." Obama advisers, though more guarded in their word choices, see Muslim nations no differently. The idea that Islam is inherently violent, openly expressed during the Bush administration, continues to animate foreign policy. The White House holds a new President but Congressional leadership and Washington policymakers are more or less the same. Anti-Islamic policies of warfare and destabilization are intact.
3
POPSEndangered Bird Becomes Internet Sensation: Sirocco the Kakapo Hits the Big Time Sirocco was featured in a recent BBC series entitled "Last Chance To See," profiling some of the thousands of species of animals in the world that are threatened with extinction, mostly due to human incursion and our effects on wild habitat. A report last summer by the International Union for Conservation of Nature asserts that "nearly one third of amphibians, more than one in eight birds and nearly a quarter of mammals are threatened with extinction." As the Kakapo Conservation website reminds us, "6 billion people on earth; only 124 kakapo." Not a good ratio, and one repeated thousands of times over, around the world. Sirocco is named for a warm Mediterranean wind. Let's hope he wafts into human conscience with a renewed sense of wonder for the amazing and gorgeous creatures on this planet, and a reminder of our responsibility for them.
9
POPSLife Without Bumblebees? It's Not Just Honeybees That Are Mysteriously Dying The decline of bumblebees has received far less attention, though in the public imagination their plight has often been conflated with that of the honeybee. Not only do bumblebees pollinate about 15 percent of our food crops (valued at $3 billion), they also occupy a critical role as native pollinators. Plant pollinator interactions can be so specific and thus the loss of even one species carries with it potentially severe ecological consequences. As E. O. Wilson writes, "If the last pollinator species adapted to a plant is erased … the plant will soon follow." The cause: "the rise of the commercial bumblebee rearing industry in the early 1990s, largely for greenhouse tomato pollination. Captive bees, they say, played a key role in spreading disease, which has led to the decline of several North American species, all of which belong to the same subgenus."
0
POPSStop Logging Indonesian Rainforest and Endangered Orangutan Habitat Please sign this petition to stop even more rainforest from being destroyed. :-/ Between 1985 and 2007, Sumatra island lost 12 million hectares of natural forest, a 48 percent loss in 22 years. By 2007, the island had only 30 percent natural forest cover (around 13 million hectares). The Indonesian Ministries of Forestry, Environment, Public Works and Interior, as well as the governors of all 10 Sumatran provinces, including Jambi, last year announced their collective commitment to protecting the areas of the island with “high conservation values.” The natural forest slated for destruction by APP – Bukit Tigapuluh – is a prime example of the high conservation value areas that the governors promised to protect. If the APP proposal for pulp paper production is accepted is will destroy the forest home of many species, and clearing on the ground could start as soon as 2010
4
POPSStart of a new life in an Indonesian zoo This baby elephant was recently born at Cisarua Zoo, Indonesia. Once Indonesia's forests are destroyed to produce Palm Oil, elephants will only be found in zoos. :-/ Biofuel investment + Indonesian government: http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1409/palm-oil/
4
POPSChildren challenge protest police Dunno about everyone else but if I was a British taxpayer I'd be feeling much more reassured knowing that British police are out there confiscating dangerous wigs and crayons from nasty 11 year olds who actually give a damn about the environment. Rainbow wigs are the worst - their bright colors are used to distract police from adults with criminal PLACARDS and BANNERS! Maybe they should have just Tasered the little buggers? Can't wait to see this dramatised on The Bill. :-)
1
Clips
Latest Pops
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Tags
Print
Save
Turn on live update