Imagine a soccer team where the players refuse to work together. Each of the players wants to score a goal but they insist 1. on doing it their own way, and 2. that the other players are getting in their way. We think this scenario would look like this: members of the same team are trying to take the ball from each other, running in opposite directions, getting hurt, becoming angry…and ultimately losing sight of the ball, their teammates and the goal.

Wow. That’s pretty messed up, don’t you think?

Sadly, this is a theme that can be seen throughout the world. Whether people are on the same team trying to create positive change in their community or country, save the environment or even save the bonobos, within their efforts they lose sight of who they are trying to help, who their helping partners are and their final goal of freedom, a healthy world or protected bonobos.

With so many talented people working so hard to make this world a better place, imagine if differences and personal agendas could be set aside! Imagine if we all worked together - a united front.

Do you have any real life examples of when you worked alone, and it was hard, versus working as a team, when your efforts were successful?

Tell us about your experiences, we’d love to hear them.

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At Bonobo Kids, we are all about REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE so we were psyched to hear that there is something you can do with your old sneakers. Nike has a program called Reuse a Shoe where they take old athletic shoes of any brand (not just Nike) and grind them up to use for playgrounds and playing surfaces.

According to Nike, ‘The following list shows approximately how many pairs of recycled athletic shoes generally go into making each surface:
• Outdoor basketball court: 2,500 pairs
• Outdoor tennis court:2,500 pairs
• Full Field or soccer pitch: 50,000 - 75,000 pairs*
• Mini soccer field: 10,000-20,000 pairs
• Running track: 75,000 pairs*
• Playground: 2,500 pairs
• Indoor basketball court: 2,500 pairs
• Indoor synthetic basketball court: 2,500 pairs’

Their partners, the makers of these athletic playing surface, incorporate the ground up sneaker material into their usual recipe.

To learn more about this program and to find out where you can drop off your old sneaks, click here.

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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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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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Photos by: Ullas Karanth, Wildlife Conservation Society

This video from Time Magazine’s website features the conservationist and wildlife biologist, Alan Rabinowitz. Dr. Rabinowitz is the Director for Science and Exploration for the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society. He recently established protected land in Myanmar (Southeast Asia) for tigers. Originally, he asked the Government of Myanmar for 2,500 square-miles, but they asked him to create an 8,452-square-mile (13,602-square-kilometer) tiger reserve in the rain-forested Hukawng Valley! Of course, he said yes.

This is no small task:

• It has taken over ten years to accomplish.
• Fighting groups within the region all had to agree on this common use of the land.
• Discoveries of gold brought thousands of people to the area, literally ripping apart the land with poisons to separate the gold from the earth – these poisons run directly into the river which the tigers drink.
• Similar to the DRC, Myanmar is a dense rainforest without the comforts of home.

Watch this amazing video and be inspired by Dr. Rabinowitz and his passion for saving all wildlife – and see some pretty cool wildlife ‘swing’ through the video!

Note: A good friend and bonobo cohort, Neil Brooks, just told me a wonderful and inspirational story that he heard Dr. Rabinowitz tell and I wanted to share it with you all. Here ’tis: Alan Rabinowitz was a horrible, horrible stutterer as a child and he was put into a class for “slow children:” Stutterers often don’t stutter when they sing or when they talk to animals. He was a terrible singer but loved animals who also could not speak. He promised them that if he ever found a voice he would give that voice to animals.

He certainly has done just that! Thanks for all that you do for the world, Dr. Rabinowitz.

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It 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:

1. The Gores undertook a three plus year renovation that concluded in
November 2007 with the issuance, in November 2007 of Gold LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design) from the US Green Building Council.

2. As part of this renovation, the Gores have:
-Installed a geothermal system for heating, cooling and hot water
-Installed 33 solar panels
-Completely retrofitted their appliances, windows, ductwork, insulation, and
lighting.

3. Since the renovations were complete, the Gores have saved 40 percent on
their site energy use (which is a combination of electricity and natural gas
bills–the two major sources of global warming gases).

4. The Gores also purchase their electricity, through their utility, from
the Green PowerSwitch program–which means that their electricity come from
solar, wind and methane gas.

So, in summary, the Gores have: made their home more energy efficient, the
produce electricity from renewable power (solar, geothermal) and they
purchase renewable power. No one is perfect, but they are doing their part.

Finally, the Gores are also donating a substantial amount of their personal
time to educate the public about the climate crisis as well as donating the
proceeds of their work to charity. They have donated the proceeds of the
Nobel Peace Prize, “An Inconvenient Truth” (the book and film), and Mrs.
Gore’s photography to the Alliance for Climate Protection and The Climate
Project.

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June 5th is World Environment Day - a day set up by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to ’stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action.’ This year, the main celebration kicks off in Wellington, New Zealand while events and activities happen worldwide. The 2008 theme is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy because:

‘Recognising that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, UNEP is asking countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. The World Environment Day will highlight resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and life-styles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.’

We couldn’t agree more…so here is a list of actions you can take to reduce your carbon footprint:

1. Bike, walk, scoot, skate or carpool to school, camp, the store or your friend’s house.

2. Turn computers and cell phones OFF - leaving them on stand-by wastes energy and shortens their lives!

3. Buy local. Look in your area phonebook the next time you need something - chances are you can find whatever you are searching for made right in your town!

4. Eat local. Support local farms and you will get the freshest food available while seriously cutting back on the fuel needed to transport food throughout the country. Farmers’ Markets are springing up everywhere, visit Local Harvest to see if there is one near you.

5. Turn out the lights. If you start paying attention, you’re likely to realize that lights are often left on in your house when they aren’t needed. Start using solar-made, soy or beeswax candles - try a candlelight dinner, bath or bedtime tonight!

6. Buy products from companies that practice good green behavior. Example? When your summer softball team is getting their team t-shirts printed, encourage them to use an eco-friendly screenprinting shop, like Mantis Graphics, that uses water based inks instead of standard plastisol inks containing nasty chemicals and that require harmful, toxic cleaners.

7. If your washer, dryer, dishwasher, refrigerator or any other major appliance should break down, encourage your family to research an energy and water saving alternative. If your car breaks down, encourage your family to buy a hybrid, electric or biofuel car. TIP: a great site that lists all kinds of eco-friendly products is Debra’s List - check it out and share it!

Can you think of other great tips? Send them in and we’ll post them all!

Have a great WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY!

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It’s true – you do learn something new everyday. What we learned today is that even though the United States, as a country, celebrates Arbor Day on the last Friday in April (as proclaimed by President Nixon in 1970) – each state, and many other countries, has established its own Arbor Day - and they are all happening right around now. It’s springtime, and the trees are blooming.

But what is so great about Arbor Day? Is it just about planting trees?

Actually, it is all about planting trees! Planting trees protects the environment by canceling out some of the harmful impacts of climate change.

How does it work?
Trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the main gases causing global warming, and in turn trees release oxygen into the atmosphere. They clean up the air and they make it healthy for all living creatures. Forests are in second place, behind oceans, when it comes to helping with the CO2 overload - one acre of forestland holds between 150 - 200 tons of CO2 in its first 40 years. As a result, planting new trees remains one of the least expensive, most effective (and most beautiful) means of drawing extra CO2 from our atmosphere.

Go plant a tree.
Cheap and good for the environment? We LOVE it! So plant a tree - for arbor day or because every day is Earth Day. PLANT A TREE, SAVE THE BONOBOS, SAVE THE WORLD!

And…send pictures of you with your tree(s)! You know we love photos of you doing great things!

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In the Tshuapa, Lomami and Lualaba river basins in the DRC where the bonobos live, humans have it very rough – we couldn’t say if they have it better or worse than the bonobos. However, we can say that the human women have it worse than the human men in the DRC. In the United States, women are free to get jobs, go to school and live by themselves – you may think it’s strange that we’re even mentioning those things because we are so used to these freedoms! But, in the Congo, this is not the norm. Women and girls rarely get to go to school or explore a career in computers or medicine or anything; they are kept close to home with very specific work and chores.

So, we were very excited to hear of the adventures of three scientists (John Hart, Ashley Vosper, and Terese Hart) working in the DRC with a mission: to work with local villagers to conserve these river basins in the heart of the Congo and the home of the bonobo ape and another rarely seen animal, the rain forest giraffe (okapi). They are searching for the ‘elusive bonobo’ and doing incredible work to help the people and the land of the Congo. Here they are:

In order for these scientists to find bonobos in the wild, they work with local villagers who are their guides as they trek through the dense Lengola Forest. Recently two women have joined the group as guides! Nyota and Clarisse are incredibly knowledgeable about the forest, and they also help cook among many other trekking and camp chores.

Here is Clarisse with John and some other team members:

Next, is my favorite picture. It shows two Batiamoniga Village women who were so excited that Clarisse and Nyota were on the exploration team, that they carried their packs for them through their village! What a great way to show support for someone else’s work.

Everyone at Bonobo Kids sends a huge ‘HELLO & THANK YOU!” to the entire team. Your courage and your actions are an inspiration to us all.

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There are currently about 170 bonobos in zoos across the world. And, while zoos are usually great, sometimes bad things can happen at zoos. On Christmas Day, 2007, a Siberian Tiger escaped from its zoo home and attacked three people in the zoo. Which makes us wonder for the bazillionth time:

Are zoos good or are zoos bad? What do you think?

We realize that this is a complicated question, so we’re going to make two lists, a good list and a bad list, to help you decide. Of course, you may have things to add, so please send them our way – we always love to hear from you!

GOOD
Conservation – Zoos keep animals that are endangered safe from extinction by offering them protection from hunters and habitat destruction.
Multiplication – Zoos work hard to make sure that endangered animals are having babies so that the species does not become extinct. This involves keeping track of different families of animals within each species for the healthiest, strongest babies.
Education – Zoos offer people the ability to see and learn about animals from all over the world. When people see the animals face to face, they understand that the animal is a being who deserves to be treated well. Zoos also educate people on the dangers of extinction and the importance of keeping our environment clean.
Fundraising – Zoos do an excellent job of raising money to help save endangered animals and their habitats.
Fun – Zoos are beautiful and fun. On a warm, sunny day, in a terrific zoo (like the St. Louis Zoo and the Jacksonville Zoo) – we love to walk around and see the animals.

BAD
Captivity- The best thing would be for wild animals to be wild in their natural habitats. No matter how much a zoo may make their lion den look like a lion den, it’s really still a cage where lions can not do the hunting and running that they were born to do.
Conditions- Not all zoos are beautiful and rich! Some animals live in dirty conditions and actual cages. (Animal Protection Institute is one of the many organizations working to protect captive animals.)
Treatment- Not all zookeepers love animals and there are many reports of animal abuse.
Accidents - Like the tiger incident, sometimes wild animals escape and act like wild animals.
Health – Because animals aren’t in their natural habitat eating what they are meant to eat and getting the exercise they are meant to get, they can become inactive and sick.
Entertainment- Many zoos and circuses use animals for entertainment, asking the animals to do things that they wouldn’t naturally do in the wild (like throw balls or stand on their hind legs).

Tell us what you think…Are good zoos good and bad zoos bad? Are they all bad? Are they all good? We can’t wait to hear from you and to post as many of your answers as possible!

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