Hundreds of marine biologists and zoo and aquarium administrators from around the world have come together to step up international pressure on Japan to end its annual "dolphin drive" in which as many as 20,000 small marine mammals are herded into shallow coves and slaughtered or captured by fishermen.
The environmental community is stepping up pressure on the White House to acknowledge and take action to counter global warming. A trio of environmental groups filed suit against the Bush administration in federal court last week for failing to produce a required report on the impact of warming on the nation’s environment, economy and public health. The Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace teamed up to file the suit, claiming the federal government is obliged to complete such a report every four years under the terms of Global Chance Research Act of 1990.
As a philosopher I often stand aghast at the manic speed culture we live in. The need for speed pervades the whole culture, from fast food to pharmaceuticals. Incredibly, we prescribe new medications before time-consuming tests can be done and then, in too many cases, we recall them. High tech is an integral part of this scenario. A computer and a high-speed Internet are necessary to keep pace, or perhaps the high-speed technology is part of the cause of our frenzy.
A new study by the environmental research organization Worldwatch has found that consumers are playing an increasingly large role in dictating the terms of how fish and other seafood are harvested around the world. Brian Halweil, who wrote "Catch of the Day: Choosing Seafood for Healthier Oceans" for Worldwatch, reports that seafood eaters have become an unlikely ally to the world’s beleaguered fish populations.
Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Kenya’s acclaimed Greenbelt Movement, last week announced the launch of a new initiative by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) calling on concerned individuals, community groups, schools, businesses and governments around the world to work toward achieving the collective goal of planting one billion trees during 2007 to combat global warming.
In the early 1990s, I lived in Lagos, Nigeria. It is an intensely crowded city, and more people live on the street or in cardboard huts than in apartments or homes. Traffic is gridlocked 24-7. Vendors squat alongside every roadway selling bananas and rice, large grilled rodents euphemistically called "bushmeat," and tiny packets of Chiclets gum.
Cows live happy, contented lives until, full of years, they go to humane slaughter. The beef, free of all contaminants, is delivered to restaurants around the world, where skilled chefs convert it into a wide variety of delicious, nutritious, additive-free heart-healthy meals. There are no losers in the human-restaurant-agribusiness-bovine alliance.
The nonprofit research and advocacy organization Environmental Defense announced last week that it is teaming up with Yahoo! Autos to provide car buyers with easy-to-access information on how various new car and truck models stack up in terms of environmental performance and fuel efficiency.
A report released by Greenpeace highlights the problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
In what is shaping up to be one of the most important Congressional election cycles of the last decade, the nonprofit League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is campaigning hard to convince voters across the country to dump politicians that do not support various pro-environmental initiatives.
