Save the Bonobos. Save the World.
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Gorilla Reunion!Click on the “Gorilla Reunion” link above to see one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever seen. It is the reunion of a man named Damian Aspinall and a gorilla named Kwibi. Damian raised Kwibi until he was five and then released him back into the wild in West Africa. Five years later, he returned to reunite with a now ten-year-old Kwibi. West Tisbury School 1st & 2nd Graders Talk About What They CAN DO to Help Endangered AnimalsThe West Tisbury School on Martha’s Vineyard has a very special group of 1st and 2nd graders who are very interested in how they can help endangered animals. Click on the link to see their amazing pictures and hear their voices as they let us know exactly what’s happening to some of the earth’s most beautiful animals and what they and we can do to help save them. Our New President: Barack ObamaI know that kids can’t vote…but I’d like you all to know something: the youth vote (voters 18-29 years old) made a huge difference in this election – coming out to vote in record numbers and voting for change. This proves to us that our children are our future – and President-elect Barack Obama is urging you to be active in this role. President Obama has asked us all to participate in the change we seek for our country and our world. Here are some important things he’s asking us to help with: 1. The environment. Basically this encompasses everything that we talk about on this blog: turning off lights, recycling, using eco-friendly products, reducing waste, conserving energy and working towards alternative energy solutions. 2. Community service. This piece is so important to Obama that he is offering help with college tuition in exchange. There are always many opportunities for community volunteering – check with your school, church, temple or with any cause-based non-profit organization for suggestions. 3. Being a good person. President Obama led by example throughout his historic campaign. In the face of lies and insulting attacks, he stayed positive, he presented the facts, but did not also become negative and he stayed on message. At the end of the day, he ran a respectful campaign and earned magnificent respect – and the top job in the United States. How can you follow his lead in your own life? Many of you followed this election in school…is there another request from President Obama that we didn’t mention but that really got your attention? How will you join our country in making the world a better place? Can’t wait to hear from you! Scientists Do Research for This Year’s “Red List”Every year, scientists work for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an organization that works on many projects to conserve all types of animals, ecosystem and plant species, to put together a new Red List. The Red List is an up-to-date list of this year’s threatened species. For 2008, scientists from Conservation International, another organization that works to take care of important species, landscapes and seascapes on Earth, are working in Barcelona to discover new and old endangered or threatened species. This year’s list will detail more than 45,000 endangered species! That’s a lot. Even though this doesn’t talk about ALL species on Earth, it gives us an idea about our planet’s health in general! For example the Malayan Tapir has recently been added to the list, their population has declined mainly because of climate change, which is a direct result of global warming.
Things like this growing list of endangered species are just another reason to start paying more attention to global warming and how its affecting everyone and every thing! Remember just making small changes in our own daily life makes a huge difference! You are a powerful planet protector. Here are a few easy things to do:
Kids Pick the President!The presidential candidates, Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will answer kids’ questions as part of a television special called “Kids Pick the President” at 9 p.m. Sunday on Nickelodeon. Ten kids between the ages of 10 and 15 will ask their own questions to the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. Some questions are serious, talking about issues of war, education, the economy and the environment. But other questions are more fun, “Were you ever picked last for a sport?” and “What was your favorite Halloween costume?” will be a blast. After you watch the special, you can cast an online vote for president at http://www.nick.com/kpp. Mark your calendars and have fun! Election Mania: How Kids Can ParticipateOkay, so we know that you can’t actually vote in this November’s presidential election, but you can still make a difference! We’re going to make a little assumption here. We assume that you are reading this blog and visiting our website because you care about the environment, right? Well, as you may have guessed, we care too. And that’s why we’re voting for Barack Obama. He truly cares about our planet, and his plans to help the environment when he becomes President of the United States say this loud and clear! Just some of the things Senator Obama will do as president:
So, how can you make a difference when you can’t vote? Here are some ways (and please send us more ideas if you have them!)
I’M LUCY Booksigning and Beach Clean-Up Event!The I’m Lucy booksigning and beach clean-up event was a huge success! Here’s what we did: author, Mathea Levine, signed books and read the story several time and we gave 20% off of the book for all kids that brought in trash from our local beaches. WHY? Because we didn’t want to just do a booksigning. We wanted kids to do something good for our environment. We want kids to understand that when we clean up our own backyards, the positive effects are felt across the planet – even all the way to the bonobos in Africa.
A HUGE thank you to all of our generous sponsors and community supporters who donated their time, services and/or money to our event last weekend: South Mountain Company (a green building company) MV Fiber Farm (the world’s first natural fiber (wool) CSA (community supported agriculture) Suzanne Lanzone & Daughters (a realtor dedicated to conservation) Writing Roads (a writing & marketing company specializing in blogging and Web 2.0) Elizabeth Whelan (a most fantastic graphic designer and illustrator) Table Talk Cookbook (the family cookbook with tons of heart and a focus on local) Randi Baird Photography (photographer extraordinaire specializing in the documentation of environmental activism) EcoMV (the store that is making a different with sustainable, eco-friendly products for life) Allied Waste (our partners that hauled all of the trash away!) DaRosa’s Printing UPDATE: Here’s another great story about kids cleaning up in Georgia! As Glaciers Melt in Alaska, Earth RisesAs the debates surrounding climate change, global warming and human contributions to environmental damage continue, real and visible environmental changes are happening. Here is an example from Alaska: Ice is very heavy. So, as the Alaskan glaciers melt and their weight is removed, the earth reacts by springing up, or rising away from the Earth’s core. It’s called isostatic rebound. This phenomenon makes it appear as if the land is expanding – and it actually is! One family’s land is growing at a rate of about one acre per year as the shoreline moves away! Another interesting result is that gravity is affected. The force of gravity begins in the center of the Earth, so the farther you get from the center, the weaker gravity’s pull becomes. For example, it’s stronger at sea level than it is on top of Everest. So as the ice melts and the land rises, the force of gravity on that land shifts. What do you think? Do these changes seem like the result of climate change? What changes are happening in the Congo where the bonobos live? To read more, click here. an inspiring story for the 4th of July: cleaning up plastic bags
We all know that plastic bags are a serious problem for our environment. We just heard about some awesome kids on Westchester County, New York who have done quite a clean up where plastic bags are concerned. On June 28th, 2008, they created ‘Plastic Bag Day’ and collected 39,995 plastic bags! That’s 421 pounds of plastic bags!!! Totally amazing. The county reports that since they’ve announced the inclusion of plastic bags in their recycling program, they’ve collected over 7,000 pounds of plastic bags and that 20% comes from local school kids’ efforts. In addition, the county has passed a law that will become effective this fall, 2008 that requires large retail stores (over 10,000 square feet) to display receptacles to collect, transport and recycle plastic bags. If you are looking to take environmental and/or bonobo-inspiried action in your community, Westchester County has offered a super model. Contact Andy Spano, Westchester’s County Executive for more information and to tell him that he and his county have done a great, great thing. Al Gore Has Done So Much to Help the EnvironmentIt has come to our attention that the Tennessee Center for Policy Research is making many claims that former Vice President Al Gore’s home is not energy efficient – maybe even energy inefficient. Something about that really bothered us, but we just couldn’t put our finger on it. And then, we talked to a fantastic woman and author this morning named Debra Lynn Dadd, (aka the Green Queen according to the New York Times) and she summed it up so beautifully. Basically, she said this: The difference Al Gore has made for this world by talking about the environment, raising money for the environment, sharing An Inconvenient Truth with the world and generally spreading the word and suggesting doable solutions, far outweighs what might be going on in his home. And how do we know how many changes he has personally made anyway – in his home or in his everyday life? And, we’re saying, ‘What’s the point?” He’s doing good work. If you have found out he could be greener, then right him a letter and make some suggestions. Don’t be mean, especially in public. We don’t think that does any of us any good. Stay tuned for our exclusive interview with Debra Lynn Dadd coming next week! UPDATE!!! We just found this response from former Vice President Al Gore’s spokesperson:
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