World-News

Protect the soil around your home and the food and flowers your family enjoys! Read these helpful tips from Care2's Annie B. Bond and Cait Johnson on five common garden pests and five organic controls.

http://go.care2.com/e/J.i/kN/n06J

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0419-02.htm

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50 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT

justgive.org

http://www.justgive.org/html/guide/50waysenvironment.html

IN YOUR HOME

1. Recycle everything you can: newspapers, cans, glass bottles and jars, aluminum foil, motor oil, scrap metal, etc.

2. Don't use electrical appliances for things you can easily do by hand, such as opening cans.

3. Use cold water in the washer whenever possible.

4. Re-use brown paper bags to line your trash can instead of plastic bags. Re-use bread bags and the bags you bring your produce home in.

5. Store food in re-usable containers, instead of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

6. Save wire coat hangers and return them to the dry cleaners.

7. Take unwanted, re-usable items to a charitable organization or thrift shop.

8. Don't leave water running needlessly.

9. Turn your heat down, and wear a sweater.

10. Turn off the lights, TV, or other electrical appliances when you are out of a room.

11. Flush the toilet less often. (If you cut flushing in half, you'll save up to 16.5 gallons a day.)

12. Turn down the heat and turn off the water heater before you leave for vacation.

13. Recycle your Christmas Tree.

...

IN YOUR YARD

14. Start a compost pile.

15. Put up birdfeeders, birdhouses, and birdbaths.

16. Pull weeds instead of using herbicides.

17. Use only organic fertilizers. (They are still the best.)

18. Compost your leaves and yard debris, or take them to a yard debris recycler. (Burning them creates air pollution, and putting them out with the trash wastes landfill space.)

19. Take extra plastic and rubber pots back to the nursery.

20. Plant short, dense shrubs close to your home's foundation to help insulate your home against cold.

21. Use mulch to conserve water in your garden.

...

IN YOUR CAR

22. Keep your car tuned up.

23. Carpool, if possible.

24. Use public transit whenever possible.

25. On weekends, ride your bike or walk instead.

26. Buy a more fuel-efficient model (such as a hybrid or electric) when you're ready for a new car.

27. Recycle your engine oil.

28. Keep your tires properly inflated to save gas.

29. Keep your wheels properly aligned to save your tires. (It's safer too.)

30. Don't litter our roads and highways. Save trash and dispose of it at a rest stop.

...

AT YOUR BUSINESS

31. Recycle office and computer paper, cardboard, etc. whenever possible.

32. Use scrap paper for informal notes to yourself and others.

33. Print or copy on both sides of the paper.

34. Use smaller paper for smaller memos.

35. Re-use manila envelopes and file folders.

36. Hide the throw-away cups, and train people to use their washable coffee mugs. Use washable mugs for meetings too.

...

WHEN YOU'RE SHOPPING

37. Avoid buying food or household products in plastic or styrofoam containers whenever possible. (They cannot be recycled and do not break down in the environment.)

38. Think twice about buying "disposable" products. (They really aren't disposable and are extravagant wastes of the world's resources.)

39. Buy paper products instead of plastic if you must buy "disposables." They break down better in the environment and don't deplete the ozone layer as much.

40. Check the energy rating of major appliances you purchase. Buy only the most-energy-efficient models.

41. Ask questions. Don't buy products, such as styrofoam, that are hazardous to the environment or manufactured at the expense of important habitats such as rain forests.

42. Buy locally grown food and locally made products when possible.

43. Don't buy products made from endangered animals.

...

PERSONAL EFFORTS

44. Join a conservation organization. Browse the JustGive Guide or search by keyword to find an environmental organization you would like to support.

45. Volunteer your time to conservation projects.

46. Give money to conservation projects.

47. Switch to a vegetarian diet. (Raising animals for food consumes vast quantities of natural resources, including water, land, and oil; destroys habitats; and generates a tremendous amount of water and air pollution.)

48. Convert by example. Encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to save resources too.

49. Learn about conservation issues in your community or state. Write your legislators and let them know where you stand on the issues.

50. Teach children to respect nature and the environment. Take them on hikes or camping. Help them plant a tree or build a birdhouse. Teach them by example.



TOO HOT NOT TO HANDLE

HBO

Premieres on Earth Day,
Saturday, April 22 at 7:00pm ET/PT.

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/toohot/synopsis.html

A primer on global warming, TOO HOT NOT TO HANDLE features contributions from leading scientists in the field. In addition to in-depth discussions of such subjects as the greenhouse effect, hurricanes, snowpack, hybrid vehicles, and alternative power sources, the film shows how businesses, local governments, and citizens are taking positive actions to reduce global warming emissions.

Over the past century, consumption of carbon dioxide-emitting fossil fuels
(coal, oil and natural gas) has risen to staggering levels, especially in the United States, where five percent of the world's population is responsible for 25 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. TOO HOT NOT TO HANDLE offers a wealth of chilling evidence that the greenhouse effect is intensifying and the Earth is warming faster than at any other time in human history.

Among the startling facts revealed are:

- Deadly heat waves in the U.S. have increased threefold since 1950 and today kill more people than hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning and blizzards combined.

- The average temperature in Alaska has already risen five degrees, causing 99 percent of its glaciers to be melting, retreating and shrinking.

- Rising sea levels are eroding our shoreline and may eventually displace large numbers of Americans.

- The intensity of catastrophic storms, such as 2005's devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita, has increased dramatically in the last half-century, as hurricanes draw their strength from warm ocean water.

- Deadly viruses like West Nile, aided by higher air temperatures, are spreading to new parts of the globe, including the entire continental U.S.

"My personal hope is that every viewer will be inspired to become part of the solution to reducing our carbon emissions," says executive producer Laurie David. "As the film shows, everything we need to address this pressing problem already exists, and the time to act is now."

Encouraging viewers to think "outside the barrel," the film explores innovative ways Americans can reduce global warming and literally change the world with Earth-friendly options such as biodiesel and hybrid cars.

TOO HOT NOT TO HANDLE is executive produced by Laurie David; produced by Susan Lester and Joseph Lovett; edited by Tom Haneke; written by Susan Joy Hassol; segment directors, Maryann De Leo and Ellen Goosenberg Kent; segment producers, Vibha Bakshi and Rosemary Sykes; original music by Joel Goodman. For Lovett Productions: executive producer, Joseph Lovett. For HBO: supervising producer, Jacqueline Glover; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.


Informant: NHNE

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Too Hot Not to Handle - JOIN the Virtual March on Washington
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/1850037/

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Save Energy in Your Kitchen: Save energy every day with these ten easy cooking tips from Annie: http://go.care2.com/e/J.j/kN/n06J

Take Action on this Issue:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/Verde_Endangered

Today Arizona's Verde River was named one of America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2006.

The Verde made the list because the City of Prescott and Town of Prescott Valley plan to build a pipeline and divert water from its supporting aquifer, paving the way for further development. But the inclusion of the Verde River on the America's Most Endangered Rivers list presents a unique opportunity to change the course of the river's future.

Please take a moment to join thousands of others who are contacting decision-makers and spreading the word about the Verde River. Action by citizens like you could make the difference for its future.

Please help spread the word about the Verde by forwarding this email to your friends, family and neighbors!

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): Branch Chief David Castanon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, Region 2, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Protect the Verde River in Arizona!

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As a concerned citizen, I urge you to fully evaluate all of the potential impacts of the Big Chino pipeline proposal in central Arizona through an Environmental Impact Statement. This unique riparian ecosystem will wither if the Big Chino aquifer is depleted, and with it, the economic and recreational opportunities it provides for so many.

The Verde River's pristine waters, clean air, scenery and wildlife are invaluable assets for nearby communities. The Verde River has thus far managed to thrive while playing dual roles: those of critical municipal resource and natural paradise. The Verde provides crucial irrigation and drinking water to Phoenix and irrigation water to many other communities in the Middle Verde. It also contains the only section of river to carry the national Wild and Scenic river designation in the state, and supports an outstanding display of riparian wildlife such as the bald eagle, roundtail chub, southwestern willow flycatcher, javelina and Arizona toad. Likewise, the Verde has long been a popular destination for recreational opportunities such as boating, hiking, fishing and bird watching, which have generated stable economic benefits for local communities.

Rapid urban growth, combined with the lack of comprehensive water use planning, threatens Arizona's rivers and groundwater supplies. The Big Chino Water Ranch project will exacerbate this water supply management problem on the Verde River. A reduction in the volume of water in the Upper Verde would reduce the availability of clean water in downstream communities and farms in the Verde Valley, diminish the recreational opportunities on the river, and threaten the health of many native fish and wildlife species.

Before any final decisions are made on the Big Chino Water Ranch project, I urge you to complete a full Environmental Impact Statement that not only addresses the impacts to species located on the lands that the pipeline will cross, but also the species that rely on the flows of the Verde River and its associated riparian areas. A "No Action" alternative should be included in this EIS, and all proposed alternatives should include appropriate mitigation for impacts to Upper Verde River flows and its associated riparian habitat.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,


cc: Asst. Field Supervisor Brenda Smith, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Chief Cindy Lester, Army Corps of Engineers Field Supervisor Steve Spangle, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Mayor Harvey Skoog, Town of Prescott Valley Mayor Rowle Simmons, City of Prescott

Independent [UK]

04/19/05

From a hospital bed, a starving woman has brought the biggest infrastructure project in a booming India to its knees. The Supreme Court has ruled that work on a massive dam on the Narmada river cannot be completed unless thousands of people whose homes will be flooded are relocated and rehabilitated. It was a victory for protesters who included the Booker Prize-winning novelist Arundhati Roy and the Bollywood movie star Aamir Khan. But mostly it was a victory for a woman who went on hunger strike for 20 days to draw attention to the plight of those living in the shadow of the dam. Medha Patkar is the most famous human rights activist in India. But when she and fellow activists began a hunger strike in Delhi in March, it was dismissed as just a publicity stunt...

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article358576.ece


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

American Rivers Names Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed as one of America's 10 most endangered rivers -- due to proposed mining development.

Please take action to oppose these mining projects under:
http://www.omega-news.info/save_the_worlds_largest_salmon_fishery_from_mining.htm

http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/04/1815107.php

from the SuwanneeRiverTimes_eNews (The Oregonian)

Fossil fuels threatening sea life, researchers say Pollution - Acid levels from carbon dioxide are rising in the Pacific, impeding shell formation

by Michael Milstein

The Oregonian

Scientists just back from a research cruise across the northern Pacific say the ocean has soaked up so much carbon dioxide from human burning of fossil fuels that it's turning more acidic, disrupting growth of coral and the tiny sea creatures salmon and other fish rely on for food.

The chemical signature of the carbon dioxide makes clear it is from human and not natural sources, said Richard Feely, an oceanographer with the federal Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle and chief scientist for the cruise.

Carbon dioxide is known as a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere. Oceans help offset that effect by absorbing about a third of the carbon dioxide produced by humans, the researchers said.

But the new findings reveal that all the carbon dioxide is changing the delicate chemical balance of ocean water that lets coral, shellfish and forms of tiny plankton construct their vital shells.

The tiny life forms play vital parts in marine ecosystems by serving as food for larger creatures. Their disruption, coupled with other effects of greenhouse gases such as rising temperatures, could wreak profound changes on the diversity and productivity of oceans, the researchers said.

Escalating ocean acidity can begin to dissolve the shells faster than the creatures can build them.

Researchers estimate the oceans have become about 30 percent more acidic since humans began burning fossil fuels in large quantities, exhausting carbon dioxide into the environment.

While carbon dioxide levels have been higher in the Earth's past, and oceans more acidic, "the rate at which they're changing has never been this fast," said Chris Sabine, another oceanographer on the trip. Ocean life is not used to such sharp shifts.

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are now higher than they have been at any time in at least 600,000 years. Scientists had expected the rising levels would turn oceans more corrosive.

Northern Pacific waters where researchers detected the shift circulate in currents along the Oregon coast.

"As predicted, the ocean is steadily becoming more acidic," said Mark Hixon, a professor of zoology at Oregon State University and an authority on coral reefs. "As that continues a threshold will be crossed, and across that threshold these organisms will be unable to make their shells, and they will die."

He said the findings are unsettling, especially coming only weeks after findings that polar ice sheets are beginning to melt faster than expected in a shift that could raise sea levels worldwide.

"All of this is really scary right now," said Hixon, who did not take part in the Pacific research cruise. "It's becoming clear that the biological effects of global warming are accelerating faster than previously anticipated."

The research cruise, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, traversed the Pacific from Tahiti to Alaska, taking measurements every 60 nautical miles. Scientists examined the water acidity and chemistry, but also looked closely at pteropods, a shelled form of plankton distantly related to land snails.

Pteropods are an important food source for salmon, herring, cod and other fish, and their sensitivity to water chemistry makes them an important barometer of ocean acidity.

Pteropods and other shellfish build shells from calcium carbonate, with pteropods using an especially delicate form called aragonite. They find enough aragonite only in water near the ocean's surface, because deeper water becomes too acidic.

They are confined to a thin layer of surface water in the cool northern Pacific, because cold water there holds more carbon dioxide and is more acidic to start out.

As escalating carbon dioxide turns oceans more acidic still, that layer of water gets thinner and thinner until pteropods get squeezed out altogether, said Robert Byrne, a professor at the University of South Florida who was on the research cruise.

"We're on the threshold of what is going to become a very large effect," he said.

"People can argue back and forth whether climate is going to change, but they can't argue that (acidity) is going to change, because we can predict that with certainty and we can see it's happening," Byrne said. "The effects in the end are going to be global."

An international team of researchers reported last fall that if fossil fuel burning continues at its current rates, oceans, particularly in polar regions, will become too corrosive for pteropods and other shelled ocean creatures such as sea urchins and corals in the next century.

For more information, go to: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/s2606.htm


Informant: Scott Munson

ACTION ALERT

FORWARD WIDELY!

Save Russia's Lake Baikal: Oil Pipeline Threatens World's Largest Freshwater Body

By Water Conserve, a project of Ecological Internet, Inc. http://www.waterconserve.org/
April 17, 2006

TAKE ACTION Let Russian government know oil and water do not mix http://www.waterconserve.org/alerts/send.asp?id=baikal

A controversial Russian crude oil pipeline from eastern Siberia to the Pacific coast threatens the world's largest freshwater lake. The pipeline may pass within less than one kilometer of Lake Baikal -- a UNESCO protected World Heritage site and home to 20 percent of the world's fresh water. Lake Baikal, called the "Jewel of Siberia", is the world's deepest and oldest lake renowned for its water purity and home to tremendous amounts of endemic species including a rare fresh water seal. It is feared that an earthquake, forest fire or flood around Lake Baikal could rupture the pipeline, sending 4,000 tons of crude oil into the world's largest freshwater body in just 20 minutes. Experts, including specialists from the Russian Academy of Sciences, have said the oil pipeline should run as far as possible from the coast of Baikal. Scientists who conducted the state assessment of the plan found that in the event of an earthquake there is a high likelihood that water quality would be severely diminished and permanent damage to the unique wildlife would occur, and thus recommended its construction near Baikal be stopped. There has been strong local opposition to the project for years, including recent protests by Russian environmentalists. Project plans are continually changing, with important questions including whether the pipeline route will fall within the Baikal water catchment still unresolved. Please send an email supporting local campaigns to ensure the final pipeline route steers well clear of Lake Baikal and its watershed, and to promote sustainable development in the Baikal region.

http://www.waterconserve.org/alerts/send.asp?id=baikal

08.04.2006

In der Karibik sind die Korallen im vergangenen Jahr in einem noch nie gesehenen Ausmaß abgestorben.

http://www.sonnenseite.com/index.php?pageID=6&news:oid=n4952