Senator Barack Obama and the Democratic Party are doing their best to walk the walk at the National Convention in Denver this week. In terms of the environment, they are showing their dedication to protect our planet by using green products, services and companies in all aspects of the Convention.

They are also holding an event to feature green technologies and jobs, to get national leaders, businesses owners, scientists and 25,000 graduate students from around the country on the same page concerning sustainable technologies and products. This event is incredibly inspiring because education and information sharing are two of the best ways to build the green movement and create real change for the environment.

One of the green companies asked to contribute to the Convention with products and the green event as a speaker and leader in the field is Martha’s Vineyard’s own Mark Martin. Mark’s company, Eco MV, built an innovative store on our island called The Bio Store and it is filled with sustainable, green and eco-safe products - for the kitchen, cleaning products, bath products, toys, clothes (even wedding dresses made of bamboo silk), take-out food containers and the best children’s book in the world - I’m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo.

We are so thrilled to have Mark, his team and his company on the Vineyard - and we send him a hearty congratulations for being chosen to be part of the Democratic National Convention.

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After an intense survey through the Republic of Congo (just west of the Democratic Republic of Congo), researchers discovered more than 125,000 west lowland gorillas. Previous to this study, scientists estimated their population at about 100,000, so this find more than doubles their numbers.

The survey, completed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, is wonderful news, but experts are urging the world to let it motivate them to do more. Primate populations continued to be harmed around the world due to habitat destruction and hunting for trade, food and medicinal purposes. Finding these gorillas means that we have the opportunity to work hard to save great apes before they are deeper in crisis…before their numbers are horrifically low, before it’s too late.

Photos: Thomas Breuer/Wildlife Conservation Society-Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

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Swarms of Jellyfish have landed in the beautiful waters of Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. They are pretty cool to look at, but they sting without warning, and they are a disturbing sign of global warming. Apparently, jellyfish like warm water, so as the temperature rises in our oceans, the jellyfish populations are growing, rapidly. While, we notice the effects here off the coast of Massachusetts, the jellyfish are spreading globally.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, “The explosion of jellyfish populations, scientists say, reflects a combination of severe overfishing of natural predators, like tuna, sharks and swordfish; rising sea temperatures caused in part by global warming; and pollution that has depleted oxygen levels in coastal shallows.

What does this have to do with bonobos? Well, first, if the Bonobo Kids crew gets stung while we’re frollicking in the ocean, there will be no one left to write this blog and spread the word to kids about our ape cousins. And second, and most importantly, the fact that the jellyfish population growth is global reminds us that this is a whole-planet issue. Everything that we do a

ffects ourselves, and our neighbors - near and far. Our actions have an impact on the land, the water and all of the creatures that live here - bonobos, humans and jellyfish.

Top 5 things you Can Do right now to help the planet:

1. Conserve energy by turning off and unplugging lights and appliances.

2. Get outside. It’s summer y’all, when we leave our houses to play, run, swim and bike, we use less electricity. You only need people power to bike around the neighborhood.

3. If you can, use fans instead of air conditioning. Air conditioning uses far more electricity and icky chemicals besides.

4. Buy local, buy organic. Tis the season to visit farmer’s markets and chow down on produce grown in your region.

5. Leave the car at home. See if you can bike, walk or blade to your next event. If you can’t, try to carpool!

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Upon returning from his whirlwind tour of the bonobo hotspots around the States, James Brooks, the #1 Bonobo Fan, took time out from his incredible fundraising activities to talk to Bonobo Kids.

Bonobo Kids: Hi James! First things first, rumor has it that you raised $4,300 for the Great Ape Trust of Iowa’s Bowling for Apes fundraiser! Congratulations!!!
James: Thank you!

BK: You had over 280 sponsors for the event, who did you ask?
James: Well, lots of friends and family! Also my dad is a professor at a University and I went to work with him one day, talked to a lot of people and asked them to sponsor me. Then my mom took me to the hospital where she works and I gained some more sponsors. Also, my website got a lot of people interested, and I put a bunch of fliers in mailboxes in my neighborhood.

BK: Have you participated in Bowling for Apes before?
James: The first year, I didn’t. Last year, I raised $1,050, but couldn’t attend. So this was the first year that I raised money and got to go to the event.

BK: Tell us about the event!
James: A bunch of people fundraised like I did, but most of them live in Iowa and it was easier for them to get to the event than it was for me. I had to drive from Canada! At the event, there is a bowling area where you sign in so that the people at the Great Ape Trust can contact you and let you know how they will use the money. Then we bowled and got to meet a lot of other people who are into apes. And we got to see a lot of scientists and people involved in the Great Ape Trust. Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh bowled in our lane with us!

BK: How did you first hear about bonobos?
James: I’ve always been interested in primates, but I didn’t like how violent they could be. Then I found out about bonobos in a great ape documentary, and how they were more peaceful. I really liked that so I just kept learning more.

BK: Have you ever met a bonobo?
James: I’ve been to many zoos to see them San Diego, Columbus, Cincinnatti and Twycross, and of course, the Great Ape Trust of Iowa. On a previous visit to the Great Ape Trust, I got to go behind the scenes because of my donations and the work that I’ve done. I fed Kanzi, and Panbanisha and Kanzi’s nephew, Nyota.

BK: What was that like! That is amazing!
James: I put the salad in a box that moved from the room I was in to Kanzi’s room. I gave him a lot of carrots in his salad one time, and he said that he liked having a lot of carrots in his salad. He used his lexigram to talk to me, but he could understand me when I spoke to him.

BK: Was there anything that surprised you about the bonobos when you saw them up close?
James: I couldn’t believe how much they are like humans - that they do the same things that kids do…I didn’t expect that! They even played chase with me. Kanzi asked me to play with them using the lexigram - I understood him because I had learned what many of the symbols meant. And from opposite sides of the glass, we chased each other all over.

BK: What are your plans for the future?
James: Now that this event is done, I will be doing a few more things to try to help apes:

• I am writing a letter to kids in Africa for the Bonobo Conservation Initiative
• I am going to update my website and my blog
• I am going to raise money for KidsSaveApes to donate to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
• I am going to stay involved with all the apes groups I belong to and work for them
• I am going to write to politicians and others who can help ensure that apes are protected and that the people of Africa and Borneo and Sumatra who live near them are looked after.
• I am going to get a Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots group active in my community.

BK: James, we can not thank you enough for all of your efforts…and for telling so many people about I’m Lucy. You are an inspiration and the great apes and this world are lucky to have you!

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As it turns out, some animals don’t see color, race…or species. When a tiger at the Kansas Safari Zoological Park abandoned her three cubs the day after they were bor, a golden retriever took her place. She nurses them, licks them cleans them…loves them. Miraculously, she had just weaned her own litter of pups when these tiger cubs came along.

Watch the video here.

This is a true example of connection, collaboration and unconditional love. A great example to live by.
Do you think a bonobo mother would help a baby from another species???

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Barack Obama has an entire portion of his site dedicated to kids - it’s called Kids for Obama. Even though you aren’t allowed to vote just yet, there are many things that you can still do. Of course, because these ideas came from Obama’s campaign, they focus on spreading the word about Obama. If you feel that McCain is the better candidate, you can substitute his name.

10 Ways Kids for Obama can get involved:

• Create a Kids for Obama Group on My.Barackobama.com. For example, Chicago Kids for Obama or DC Kids for Obama and throw a party!
• Write a letter or editorial to your local news paper, expressing “Why Barack Obama should become the next US President”.
• Find a Pen Pal - it could be in your school, city, state, or another state. Write and discuss different ways you can get involved.
• Draw a picture of Senator Barack Obama or “an expression of Democracy”. For example, the Senator sitting in the White House or working on Capitol. Hill. You can send your drawing to the Obama for America Campaign Headquarters in Chicago and it will be posted for the Senator to see.
• Implement T-Shirt Thursday. Get friends to wear an official Obama for America T-Shirt to school.
• Take an adult (voting age) to the polls on Election Day and encourage them to vote for you, by voting for Senator Obama.
• Post an official Obama for America Campaign sticker/logo on your school bag.
• Wear an Obama for America Campaign button and/or clothing.
• Host a Senator Barack Obama House Party or sleep-over.
• Contribute to the Kids for Obama Blog.

What do you think of this list? Do you have any of your own ideas to add and share? We’d love to hear them!

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As 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.

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U.S. drivers are driving less due to the high price of gas and, hopefully, increased awareness about the environmental issues our planet faces. According to a report on NPR, “In April, Americans drove 245.9 billion miles — 1.8 percent less than a year ago.” While that percentage doesn’t seem huge, the mileage does.

According to Jim Ray of the Federal Highway Administration, “April marks the sixth month in a row that we have seen a decline in vehicle miles traveled across the country. We’re seeing Americans drive less across the board. It is the steepest decline in vehicle miles traveled ever recorded,” Ray says. “What we’re estimating now for the 2007-2008 figures are 30 billion miles. So we’re seeing a difference of 60-fold.”

We certainly don’t want gas to be so expensive, but the high gas prices and the country’s reaction will hopefully push car companies and innovative people to create alternative, earth and people friendly modes and systems of transport. In the meantime, carpool, walk, bike and take public transportation whenever you can! Any other ideas? Send them in!

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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.

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