Monday, May 31, 2010

From the Inbox - What BP doesn't want you to see


Dear Friend,

I just finished watching this video -- and I hope every American sees it.

Philippe Cousteau, grandson of famous explorer Jacques Cousteau, went underwater off the Gulf Coast to see first-hand what the Deepwater Oil Disaster looks and feels like. And the answer he came back with: "This is a nightmare."

Watch this video and share it with all your friends.

Watch the Video


We've seen the oil start to wash up on shore, and we've seen satellite images of the slick. But that's only the tip of the iceberg: Take a look at the underwater impact of the oil geyser and the dangerous chemicals BP is using to "disperse" it -- effects that could last for decades, even if today's risky "Top Kill" maneuver to plug the well works.

It's never been clearer: The consequences of our dependence on oil, from the Deepwater Oil Disaster to the climate crisis, are completely unacceptable.

Sincerely,

David Boundy
Campaign Manager
Repower America

From the Inbox: Only 5 days left to take action to stop a destructive mountaintop removal mine

Only 5 Days Left to Take Action!

Immediately upon us is the end of an important public comment period—on June 4—for a decision that is about much more than just one mountaintop removal mine. It is a critical test of the Obama administration's resolve on the issue.
All comments must be sent by June 4!

Earthjustice - Take Action Today
TAKE ACTION: Stop a Destructive Mountaintop Removal Mine!Take action today!
Mountaintop removal  mining in Appalachia. (Credit: Vivian Stockman/OVEC)

The EPA needs to hear this message loud and clear:
Mining companies must comply with the law and stop destroying the environment! Send your comment today!

Dear Friend,

Time is running out for us to send a strong message to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in support of a complete EPA veto of the most destructive mine ever proposed in Appalachia.

It is more urgent than ever for you to tell the EPA to follow through with its proposed decision to veto an Army Corps of Engineers permit for the Spruce No. 1 mine in West Virginia, the largest mountaintop removal mine ever authorized by the Corps in Appalachia.

The EPA needs to hear this message loud and clear before the end of the comment period: mining companies must comply with the law and stop destroying the environment and poisoning the waters of local communities, and EPA must not allow any part of the Spruce No. 1 mine permit to go forward.

The mining industry appears determined to stand in the way of any protections for the people and wildlife of Appalachia. Now it is our turn to show the EPA in no uncertain terms that America cares about the health of the region's people, the vitality of its wildlife, and the majesty of its mountains.

The proposed Spruce No. 1 mine would bury more than seven miles of headwater streams, destroy 2,278 acres of forestland, and degrade water quality in streams. EPA's proposal to veto the mine's permit under the Clean Water Act comes after the company failed to agree to significantly decrease the environmental and health impacts of the Spruce No. 1 mine, or show that it was possible to destroy mountain streams while fully complying with the law.

The mining company is now suing to stop this critical veto and undo any protections, even before EPA has had time to finalize its decision.

Please email EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson now and implore her to veto this permit in full and not to succumb to industry and mining companies' requests to evade the law. Please help end this tragic practice and the damage it is causing, starting with Spruce, the most destructive mountaintop removal mine ever proposed in Appalachia.

All comments must be received by 11:59pm ET on Fri. June 4, so don't delay—send yours now:

http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/sprucemine_0410/i37iwdu2f75jitjj?

Earthjustice
Because the earth needs a good lawyer

Take  action today!

Mountaintop removal operations at Kayford Mountain, West Virgina. (Credit: Mark Schmerling)

Photo Credit:
Top left:
Mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. (Credit: Vivian Stockman/OVEC)
Bottom:
Mountaintop removal operations at Kayford Mountain, West Virgina. (Credit: Mark Schmerling)

From the Inbox: Wolf pups face guns, poisons in Rockies

Save America's  Wolves

Hostile Future for Wolf Pups in the Northern Rockies
Young Idaho Wolves (Photo: Defenders)

Will pups like these face hunters, baits and traps this fall?

Please donate now to support our comprehensive five-point plan to save wolves in the northern Rockies and other wildlife.

Help Save Wolf Families! Donate Now >>



Your support is critical to win our court battle on June 15th and fight for a lasting future for wolves in the northern Rockies.


Dear Friend,

Wolf pups in the northern Rockies face a daunting future. With new threats like trapping, baiting and possibly even illegal poisonings, the region is becoming a more dangerous and hostile place for these wolves.

But wolves are an important part of Greater Yellowstone and the northern Rockies -- and we’re dedicated to ensuring that this year’s pups have a fighting chance at survival.

Please donate now to support Defenders’ efforts in the courts and on the ground to save wolves in the northern Rockies and other wildlife.As Defenders works on the ground and in the courts, anti-wolf extremists may be taking matters into their own hands.

A rash of dog poisonings in Idaho have pointed to the possibility that anti-wolf vigilantes are targeting wolves with toxic strychnine-laced sausages left along forest trails1 -- a terrible poison that causes painful and traumatic deaths.

And that’s not the end of it. Idaho officials are planning to allow traps and baiting for this fall’s wolf hunts as they target even greater numbers than last year’s hunt.2

In Montana, state officials could target up to 216 wolves3 -- nearly triple the amount targeted last year -- with the goal of lowering the number of wolves in the state for the first time in decades.

Despite the end of this year’s wolf hunt, Idaho officials have given the green light to backcountry outfitters to target up to 20 more wolves in the northern part of the state through June4 -- just as wolf pups in the region, born just weeks ago, are leaving their dens.

With your compassionate support, we can stop these deadly hunts and save these wolves.

On June 15th, Defenders’ legal team will be in court, fighting for vital federal protections for wolves in the northern Rockies. It will be a difficult battle against powerful groups like Safari Club International and the misleadingly named Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, and we have a real chance to stop the deadly wolf hunts -- but we need your help to win!

Please donate now to help us save the lives of hundreds of wolves.

Our court battle is just one part of our comprehensive five-point plan to ensure a lasting future for wolves in the northern Rockies. Right now, Defenders is…

  • Fighting in court to restore protections for wolves.
  • Countering anti-wolf lies in the media.
  • Working on the ground to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock producers.
  • Mobilizing wildlife activists to save wolves.
  • Working to bring lawless wolf poachers to justice.

Help support our important wolf-saving work. Please donate today.

Wolves in the northern Rockies are facing growing hostility, making our work in the region ever more critical.

With your help, I know we can save the lives of these magnificent animals and protect their vital role in the northern Rockies.

Rodger Schlickeisen

For the Wild Ones,
Rodger Schlickeisen, President Signature
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. Please donate online to support our wolf-saving efforts. Or call 1-800-385-9712 to donate by phone.

Notes:
1 http://www.krem.com/news/local/Dog-dies-after-eating-sausage-on-trail-92560964.html

2 http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/may/19/idaho-fish-and-game-weigh-traps-bait-wolf-hunts/

3 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gINEu2y7CkxeF00gkYBTaTLG-XpwD9FIAFC00

4 http://www.idahoreporter.com/2010/outfitters-can-harvest-five-more-wolves/

Augmented Reality and ESRI’s ArcGIS API for Silverlight


Udvid din kortoplevelse ... En dag kan det måske også bruges til noget ...
/Sik


ESRI is now too augmenting reality ...
/Sik

Quote

The lab has just completed a prototype that combines ESRI’s ArcGIS API for Silverlight with the open source Silverlight Augmented Reality Toolkit.

The toolkit allows developers to detect the spatial orientation of a predefined marker. The lab used the orientation information to overlay a map from ESRI’s ArcGIS API for Silverlight. As shown in the video, the map is fully functional even with the perspective distortion.

The demonstration starts with the user browsing a default basemap from ESRI’s resource centerand then performs a search of GeoEye imagery in New Zealand. All imagery is tagged with sensor information such as the capture date, percentage cloud cover and satellite position. In the video, this information is used to order and then offset overlapping imagery. This effect is useful to quickly find imagery based on specific criteria, for example, find the newest imagery with the least amount of cloud cover.

Finally, why not try this demonstration yourself? You will need a computer with a webcam. Clickhere to start the Augmented Reality web application and here to download and print the marker symbol.

Contributed by Richie C.


Read more: http://blogs.esri.com/Dev/blogs/apl/archive/2010/05/17/Augmented-Reality-and-ESRI_1920_s-ArcGIS-API-for-Silverlight.aspx

World Atlas HD for iPad


FYI
/Sik


FYI
/Sik

Quote

Designed specifically for the iPad, National Geographic’s World Atlas HD puts our best maps in the palm of your hand.


Price: $1.99


iTunes App Store



Looking for the iPhone version? click here


:: THE BEST MAPS ::

Unlike other map applications, the National Geographic World Atlas HD utilizes our highest resolution, press-ready images, providing you the same rich detail, accuracy, and artistic beauty found in our award-winning wall maps and bound atlases. The app is preloaded with 3 different styles of world maps, down to country-level detail. With an internet connection, you can continue zooming thru continent-level maps to detailed Bing maps – close enough to see your home!


:: WORLD FLAGS AND FACTS ::

Learn more about the world around you using the up-to-date, expertly researched, Flags and Facts database which contains concise geographic and socio-economic data.


:: SEARCH AND BOOKMARK ::

Bookmark your favorite places with notes or pictures from your photo library. Center the map to your current position on GPS-enabled 3G iPads. Find places by name using the built-in index of major world cities or the full online search of nearly 7 million places.

iPad Screenshot 1
iPad Screenshot 3
iPad Screenshot 2


Read more: http://www.natgeomaps.com/mobile_atlas_hd.html

Small mammals at risk as world warms

The biodiversity of small mammals in North America may already be close to a "tipping point" causing impacts "up and down the food chain" according to a new study by U.S. scientists. (Left: voile)

Examining fossils excavated from a cave in Northern California, biologists from Stanford University, California uncovered evidence that
small mammal populations were severely depleted during the last episode of global warming around 12,000 years ago.

Many species, say researchers, have never recovered their populations leaving them vulnerable to future rises in temperature.

Deposits in Samwell Cave (upper right) in the foothills of the southern
Cascades mountain range revealed that populations of gophers and voles during the period (the end of the Pleistocene epoch) were on a par with those of deer mice.

But while the deer mice (lower right) population thrived in the warming period and has become one of the most common small mammals in the U.S. today, gophers, voles and other small species' populations
fell away permanently.

The decline in small mammal species during the period contributed to a 30 percent decline in biodiversity, according to the study.

Co-author and professor of biology at Stanford University, Elizabeth Hadly says deer mice are considered a "weedy" species and when they replace other small mammal species, the effects ripple through the ecosystem.

Lead author of the study, Jessica Blois says because they are so common,
it's easy to take small mammals for granted. But they play important ecosystem roles "in soil aeration and seed dispersal and as prey for larger animals." (Left: gopher)

Unlike some larger animals -- mammoths, mastodons and dire wolves -- small mammals never became extinct during the Pleistocene epoch.

But despite their resilience, Blois says small animal species face an uncertain future.

"Even though all of the species survived, small mammal communities as
a whole lost a substantial amount of diversity, which may make them less resilient to future change," she said in a statement. (Right: endangered pika)

The research, which was recently published in the science journal, Nature, underlines the effects climate change could have on all types of biodiversity, not just the "eye-catching species."

"The temperature change over the next hundred years is expected to be
greater than the temperature that most of the mammals that are on the landscape have yet witnessed as a species," Hadly said in a statement. (Left: Dutch rabbit)

"The small-mammal community that we have is really resilient, but it is headed toward a perturbation that is bigger than anything it has seen in the last million years." she added.

The third edition of the U.N.'s Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) recently
stated biodiversity loss is rising at an unprecedented rate and urged governments to take immediate action to avoid "catastrophic tipping points."

A recent U.N. meeting on biodiversity held in Nairobi, Kenya -- which coincided with the publication of GBO-3 -- has laid the foundations for action to be taken when the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity
convene for its 10th conference in Nagoya, Japan in October, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
Jane Smart, director of IUCN Biodiversity Conservation Group said in a statement: "There's been overwhelming support in Nairobi for 20 strong, ambitious but realistic targets for the next 10 years, designed to prevent the extinction crisis and restore Earth's ecosystems."

Source:
CNN, "Small mammals at risk as world warms", accessed May 25, 2010

Sunday, May 30, 2010

From the Inbox: Explore the Ocean with Me

Dear Friend,

I first traveled to the Galapagos Islands in 1983 on a study-abroad trip for college, and I have lived here most of my adult life.

I was drawn to the islands’ stark beauty and unique wildlife—sea lions, marine iguanas and the famous Darwin’s finches, to name just a few. I have stayed here because of the opportunity to make a difference in the conservation of these and myriad other animals and their remarkable habitats.

As the Andes - Eastern Tropical Pacific Regional Marine Program Coordinator, I believe we’ve made a difference—as have local governments, communities and a growing network of other partners—in helping to protect these islands and the ocean that surrounds them, along with the coastal areas of Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama that collectively make up the Seascape.

This Seascape aims to conserve more than 2 million square kilometers and the diverse sea life—including threatened leatherback sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, humpback whales and many commercially important species—within the Seascape. Taken together, this wildlife underpins the local economies and defines the local communities and cultures of millions of coastal-dwelling people who call this area home, just as my family and I do.

The Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape is just one of many projects that increasingly offer working examples of Conservation International’s mission to empower societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature for the well-being of humanity.

CI and our partners are striving to expand this work and establish four more Seascapes in Brazil, the Central Pacific, Hawaii and the Western Indian Ocean.

Over the next few weeks, our marine team will take you to the front lines of our work – the coasts, the mangrove forests, the open oceans and the coral reefs.

We will visit the spectacular animals that call the oceans home, explore the important benefits that oceans provide to humanity and examine win-win solutions we’re putting into practice to protect those benefits for generations to come.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Scott Henderson
Andes - Eastern Tropical Pacific Regional Marine Program Coordinator

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