Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

did you know … ewg.org


Sick of not knowing what’s in your personal care products?With almost 72,000 products, EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database is the go-to online resource for personal care product ingredient safety information. Check our what’s in your shampoo, lotion or lip balm today. EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database
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EWG's Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change + Health Want to eat greener?The truth is that most Americans – especially kids – consume much more meat than vegetables. So EWG examined the impact of Americans’ eating habits on health and the environment. Check out EWG’s Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health to see our findings and find out which foods are the best – and worst – for us and the planet.
What’s the truth about bottled water?The labels on those expensive bottles may lead us to think the water inside comes from pristine springs or has amazing healing powers. But bottled water companies don’t have to tell us what’s actually in those bottles. EWG’s 2011 Bottled Water Scorecard grades more than 170 bottled water labels. EWG's Bottled Water Score Card
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

We cannot deny it …


The Climate Reality Project

You’ve heard it before.

“Climate change isn’t happening at all.” “You can’t prove that the world is getting warmer.”

Big Oil and Big Coal love these myths. But that’s exactly what they are: myths.

This month, The Climate Reality Project plans to destroy myths like these once and for all. And we need your help to do it. We’re turning the heat up on anti-science deniers in the fossil fuel industry and beyond with our Put the Heat on Denial campaign.

And we’re starting by debunking the myth that climate change isn’t happening.

It’s August and summer is coming to an end, but do you know what? Temperatures keep rising around the world – and there’s no denying it. But Big Oil and Big Coal are doing their best, spending big money to spread big doubt about climate change.

So this week, we need your help to destroy the myth that climate change isn’t happening – because you and I both know it is. Make the deniers feel the heat with some cold, hard facts. We’ve put the key science at your fingertips at RealityDrop.org, so you can set things straight whenever you see online articles repeating denier myths.

So please join Reality Drop and debunk the “It’s not happening” myth. Your voice is so important to spread truth and put the heat on denial.

Thanks for all your hard work,
The Climate Reality Project Team

P.S. Use Twitter to help spread the word about our Put the Heat on Denial campaign – and use the hash tag #HeatOnDenial. Thanks again.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Book Hub Inc. is Hiring!


BookHubInc's avatarBook Hub, Inc.

Do you live in California in the Santa Cruz, Los Gatos or Monterey Bay area? Would you like to work in publishing? Book Hub Inc. has both volunteer and paid positions available for those who qualify.

book-hub-inc

Our current openings are as follows:

  • Sales Associate – paid by commission only
  • Accounting Assistant – paid by the hour
  • Sales Operation Specialist – volunteer with a possibility to hire

If you live in the area and are interested in any of these positions, you can get more information by emailing careers@book-hub.com. Include a cover letter and resume with emails.

Thank you!

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Like or follow us to get more information on what’s going on at Book Hub Inc!

Don’t forget! We’re having 25% off sale for ALL OF OUR SERVICES until August 9th! If you’re…

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~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Animals & Extinction ~~ Here are 20


20 Animals You Didn’t Know Are Going Extinct

When it comes to the Endangered Species List, some animals stand out  as celebrities: polar bears, giant pandas, rhinos, snow leopards… But  sadly, the list is so extensive that there are many species you may  never have suspected are endangered. Here are twenty of them.

1. Zebras

An icon of the African plains and a necessity in any wildlife  documentary about lions going a’ huntin’, the zebra is actually in  trouble. Well, really, it’s the Grevy’s zebra. There are two species of zebra in Africa, the Plains zebra and the Grevy’s zebra. While the  Plains zebra is doing alright, the Grevy’s is in dire straights with only about 2,500 individuals left in the wild.

Photo: Mr. Muskrat

2.Peacocks

We wouldn’t think of peacocks as endangered, considering you can find   them in any wildlife park, petting zoo and even random farms across the  country. But there are subspecies of this flamboyant bird that are in  danger of disappearing, including the Bornean Peacock Pheasant pictured above and the Hainan Peacock Pheasant of the island Hainan, China. For both species, habitat loss is a major factor for their decline. Only about 600-1,700 Bornean Peacock Pheasants  and around 350-1,500 Hainan Peacock Pheasants left in the world.

Photo: Silvain de Munck

3. Giraffes

Giraffes are practically part of the landscape of Africa, standing  tree-like in the grasslands. Most giraffe species are of no concern to  conservationists, yet a sub-species (or, as some researchers propose a  separate species), the Rothschild giraffe,   a.k.a. Baringo Giraffe or Ugandan Giraffe, is endangered. Those living   in the wild are found in protected areas in Kenya and Uganda, while  about 450 individuals are found in zoos around the world.

Photo: Lutrus

4. Hummingbirds

Though you may see a flock around that sugar-water feeder you set  out, quite a few hummingbird species are actually listed as endangered  by IUCN. Some of these species include the Oaxaca Hummingbird pictured above, with around 600-1,700 mature individuals left; Mangrove hummingbird, which was only discovered in 2005 and lives along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica; and the Chestnut-billed hummingbird, a species found in Columbia with only about 600-1,700 individuals left.

Photo: campyloterus

5. Horses

Horses?!? Yep, horses are endangered. Specifically, the Przewalski’s Horse.   Closely related to but genetically unique from its domestic cousins,  this wild horse is critically endangered. It was listed as extinct from the wild from the 1960s to 1996 when one surviving individual was found   in the wild and other individuals were reintroduced. Currently, there are about 50 mature horses living in the wild with more individuals in captive breeding programs and zoos. That’s not very many and a major  threat to the species is a loss of genetic diversity and thus disease.

Photo: bobosh_t

6. Howler Monkey

Howler monkeys are so common to Central and South America that it’s  hard to think there is any risk for them. But with habitat loss and  capture or predation by humans, there is indeed a problem for several  species. The Guatemalan Black Howler Monkey is endangered and is expected to decline by up to 60% over the next 30 years. Meanwhile, the Red-handed Howling Monkey is critically endangered with less than 2,500 mature individuals remaining in the wild.

Photo: gr8dnes

7. Fruit Bats

Sure, some bat species are having trouble what with that awful white nose syndrome spreading, but fruit bats? Turns out, a whole slew of species of fruit bat are endangered, some of which include the Golden-capped Fruit Bat (around 10,000 individuals left), the Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat (possibly as few as 250-350 left), the Sao Tomé Collared Fruit Bat (population unknown but naturally rare), and the Small-toothed Fruit Bat (only seven specimens found).

Photo: smccann

8. Ground Squirrel

Rodents are usually a surprise for the Endangered Species list since they tend to be great at adapting and especially skilled at reproducing.  But if they don’t have a place to live, they’re flat out of luck.  Thanks to agriculture and a whole lot of rodenticide, the San Joaquin Antelope Ground Squirrel of California has less than 20% of its former range and an estimated 124,000-413,000 individuals left.

Photo: James Marvin Phelps

9. Dolphins

Even the most charismatic of animals isn’t off the chopping block. The South Asian River Dolphin has two subspecies based on the river systems in which they are found, the Ganges River Dolphin and the Indus River Dolphin. Though a strong  effort has been made to research and conserve the species, there is  still relatively little known about them. Of the Ganges River Dolphins, there are about 1,200–1,800 left, while there are an estimated 965 Indus  River Dolphins left.

Photo: Joachim S. Muller

10. Wolf Spider

They’re in every garden, right? Well, turns out there is an  interesting species of wolf spider that’s not in any garden. Called the Kaua’i Cave Wolf Spider or   the No-eyed Big-eyed Wolf Spider (huh??), this species is native to  this island alone, lives in just a handful of caves, and is the only  species of wolf spider known to be eyeless. Discovered in 1971, the  species was placed on the list of endangered species in 2000.

Photo: e_monk

11. Mice

Yep, even mice are on the Endangered Species list. Quite a few have the dubious honor, including the Himalayan Field Mouse, the Nelson’s Spiny Pocket Mouse, and the White-tailed Mouse.

Photo: randomtruth

No! Not parakeets! There are gorgeous species of this popular house pet on the brink of extinction in no small part because of their popularity as house pets. Populations of the Sun Parakeet and the Gray-cheeked Parakeet have declined rapidly because of trapping for the cagebird trade. Habitat loss is also a factor, as with the Soccorro Parakeet ,   a species for which sheep grazing and other habitat degradation has  made the population decline to possibly as few as 250 mature adults.

Photo: awayukin

12. Parakeets

13. Crayfish

Usually we think of crayfish as a common Southern food pulled from  rivers. However a surprising number of crayfish species are on the  decline. Those on the Endangered Species list include the White-clawed Crayfish (pictured above), the Phantom Cave Crayfish, the Slenderclaw crayfish, the Giant Freshwater Crayfish and the aptly named Sweet Home Alabama crayfish of Marshall county, Alabama. If that last one doesn’t have you worried about the future of crayfish cook-offs, we don’t know what will!

Photo: dubh

14. Deer

Many species of tiny musk deer, so diminutive they look like the  prehistoric animals that were the first mammals to arrive on the planet.   The species include the Himalayan Muskdeer, the Black Muskdeer (pictured above), the Kashmir Muskdeer, and Chinese Forest Musk Deer among others.

Photo: limbun

15. Water Buffalo

The water buffalo is a surprise for this list as we think of it as a domesticated animal, but like horses, it’s the wild cousins of the domesticated beasts that are at risk. There are as few as 2,500 mature individuals left and researchers estimate the species has  experienced a population decline of at least 50% over the last three  generations. The major threats include interbreeding with feral and  domestic buffalo, as well as hunting and habitat loss.

Photo: Sum_of_Marc

     16. Vultures

Vultures aren’t usually the most attractive of birds, but the Egyptian Vulture,   is a notable exception. The striking bird is found in Europe, Africa  and India, however rapid and severe declines in the Indian populations  as well as long-term decline in the European populations put the species   at around 13,000-41,000 mature individuals.

Photo: jan.stefka

17. Hippos

No, not the big, mean hippos famed for killing around 2,900 people a year. It’s their mini cousins on the Endangered Species list, the Pygmy hippo.   These round and adorable hippos are nocturnal and not much is known  about them because of their secretive ways. The last population estimate   in 1990 put the species at 3,000 individuals and habitat loss since  then suggests that even this estimate was (and is) too high. Meanwhile, there are about 303 animals in captivity.

Photo: dommylive

18. Sea Lions

Pinnipeds are geniuses in the marine world, but sadly their smarts can’t keep them off the Endangered Species list.

The Steller Sea Lion,   the fourth largest pinniped, has a global population of around  105,800-117,800 animals, but troubling declines especially in the Gulf  of Alaska has conservationists concerned. The Australian Sealion is also in trouble with an estimated population of only 13,790 individuals.

Photo: Dan Hershman

19. Gazelle

As with zebras, no documentary about the African savanna is complete without some gazelles being caught by lions or cheetahs. But that  doesn’t mean several species are in more trouble than any number of  feline predators could pose. The Cuvier’s Gazelle of north-west Africa is estimated at just 1,750 – 2,950 individuals. Meanwhile the Slender-horned Gazelle of the Sahara has only around 250 mature individuals left. The Speke’s Gazelle (pictured above) from the Horn of Africa now extinct in Ethiopia and  remaining populations in Somalia are thought to be in the tens of  thousands but they face severe pressure from hunting and habitat loss.

Photo: sandy richard

20. Mockingbirds

They may annoy you by mimicking a car alarm early in the morning, but   mockingbirds are amazing creatures. Unfortunately, at least one  species, the San Cristobal Mockingbird,   endemic to the island of San Cristóbal in the central Galápagos  islands, is endangered. There are only around 5,300 mature individuals  left.

Nothing on Earth exists without a reason, without a purpose.  Mother Nature is excellent at getting rid of things that don’t fill a  function and thus what remains here is actually important — whether or  not humans recognize that importance. Some species are on their way out  through natural selection, but others (possibly even most?) are being  forced out by factors brought on by we humans. Whether or not a species is beautiful, valuable to an economy, important to science or any other   reason, it deserves recognition for its role in an ecosystem and effort  put into conserving it in the wild. It’s not just the species making the  news that need help — it’s also some that would surprise you.

Photo: YamezA