Suggested Reading: Thirteen Gold Monkeys

I will be forgoing "Activism Spotlight" today. I'm busy preparing for my departure to Texas tomorrow!

Suggested Reading

 Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at zoos and conservation programs? Have you ever heard about the release of captive animals into the wild, and wondered how it was done? Is wildlife conservation important to you? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you need to get your hands on a copy of Benjamin Beck’s Thirteen Gold Monkeys.

    Beck was a part of the first ever expedition to reintroduce zoo born golden lion tamarins from the United States into the wild coastal rainforests of Brazil. Between 1983 and 2005, Beck helped coordinate the release of 149 zoo born golden lion tamarins into the wild. Thirteen Gold Monkeys is the fictionalized account of Beck’s adventures with the first two of these reintroductions, in which the reader sees both the humans’ and the monkeys’ points of view. In the story, Beck gives us rare glimpses of what it takes to organize and run a zoo, the infinitely complicated process of preparing zoo animals for the wild, and the scientists’ and caretakers’ emotional entanglement with the animals they are responsible for.

Ecofriendly Economics & Harsh Facts: Extinction

Harsh Facts of the Week

At present rates of extinction, as much as 20% of the world's 7-15 million species could be gone within the next thirty years. This incredible rate of extinction has been unprecedented since the disappearance of dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Of the dozens of species of rhino that once lived, only five remain.

80% of the decline in biological diversity is caused by habitat destruction. It is identified as the main threat to 85% of all species included in the IUCN's Red List (species officially classified as Threatened or Endangered).

10,000-15,000 free-roaming African lions remain, down 50,000 from only a decade ago.

One in three amphibians (32%) and almost half (42%) of turtles and tortoises are now known to be threatened with extinction, along with one in eight birds (12%) and one in four mammals (23%).

Weekly Green Challenge: Plant a Tree

I can’t believe I’m on Viridorari’s tenth week of posting. I can’t describe how happy it makes me to write this blog. In my introductory post on Viridorari, I mentioned how I’d been doing some self reflection, and decided that I wanted to become more involved. Viridorari has helped me and, hopefully, some of its viewers do just that. Not only is my blog raising awareness for the environment, but in the process of researching for new content for my posts, I’ve learned more about the environment and the world of activism in the past ten weeks than I would have in two years. Now that my tests are over and high school is winding down, Viridorari gives me something to occupy my idle time with. Coming up with new ideas for content is a challenge that I enjoy.

Speaking of challenges, this week’s Green Challenge came from a Viridorari viewer. It’s a simple, but important action, and can be especially fun to do with your kids or younger siblings. Spring has sprung, and it’s one of the best times of the year to plant a tree. So, this week, I want you to plant at least one tree.

Suggested Reading & Activism Spotlight: Save The Golden Lion Tamarin

Activism Spotlight

Picture courtesy of: www.savetheliontamarin.org

In honor of this month’s featured animal, the Golden Lion Tamarin, I’d like to shine to spotlight on an organization called Save the Golden Lion Tamarin (SGLT). Based out of the Washington D.C. area, SGLT was created in 2005 by a small group of conservation professionals dedicated to protecting the golden lion tamarin. SGLT provides technical and financial support to their sister organization, the Associação Mico-Leão Dourado (Golden Lion Tamarin Association, AMLD), based in Rio de Janeiro.
SGLT’s mission is as follows:

1. To protect the Golden Lion Tamarin, a tiny endangered primate, and to protect and restore the globally outstanding biodiversity of its natural habitat, the Brazilian Atlantic Coastal Rainforest.

2. To cooperate with other organizations with similar purposes.

3. To enlighten and educate society about preservation of the environment, especially the Atlantic Rainforest and the Golden Lion Tamarin.

4. To support and promote the efforts of AMLD, a Brazilian non-profit registered under the laws of the city and State of Rio de Janeiro, whose mission is the conservation of the biodiversity of the Brazilian Atlantic Coastal Rainforest focusing on the long-term protection of the golden lion tamarin in its natural habitat.

Suggested Reading: Fossil Fuel Divestment

Fossil Fuel Divestment 

I asked you to get vocal about the environment in Green Challenge #7. What exactly is going on right now in the world of environmental activism? I’ve already discussed Keystone XL and fracking on Viridorari, but there’s another big movement happening right now, and it’s gaining steam.

Fossil fuel divestment.

Divestment is the opposite of investment- it’s withdrawing current investments or avoiding investing in particular companies. Divestment was popular in the 1980’s to end apartheid in South Africa by withdrawing investments from companies that profited from South Africa. Although the actual economic impact of the South African divestment was minimal, it made a big statement to representatives and legislatures and paved the way for policy change.

And policy change is exactly what Bill McKibben and 350.org, the instigators of this movement, want. McKibben has recently been encouraging colleges and universities around the United States to divest their stocks in fossil fuel companies, in particular, the 200 companies on 350.org’s list. Even if the economic impact isn’t big, the social and moral statement will be. Many colleges boast their environmental friendliness on campus, but then don’t put their money where their mouths are when it comes to investments. (Visit 350.org's website here.)

Ecofriendly Economics, Harsh Facts & May's Animal

Harsh Facts of the Week

The average American uses about the equivalent of one Douglas fir tree 100 feet tall in paper and wood products each year.

More than 2 billion books, 350 million magazines, and 24 billion newspapers are published annually.

A typical United States office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper each year, which equates to four million tons of paper used annually.

Approximately 2.6 billion holiday cards are sold yearly in America. Collectively, they could fill a football field ten stories high.

In 2008, paper and paperboard made up 31% of municipal waste, compared to 12% for plastics.

How much paper do you use? Would you consider yourself wasteful?
Most importantly: how can you reduce your paper usage? Read today’s Ecofriendly Economics to get some tips.

Source:
http://www.cleanair.org/Waste/wasteFacts.html