Notes from a rare planet: Creating a unified front to save Africa’s last great place and wildlife

China and Africa’s bi-lateral relationship goal: To create a united front to save Africa’s last great places and wildlife (The Nature Conservancy) “Members of The Nature Conservancy’s China Board of Trustees— which is already working to significantly expand the scope … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: Green energy use in Germany passes 20 percent of total power mix

Green energy use in Germany passes 20 percent of total power mix (Yale Environment 360) Germany is aiming to produce 35 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. Expedition to unexplored areas of Amazon uncovers new species (Blue Channel … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: Big Apple going green with white roofs

The Big Apple is going green with white roofs (Discovery News) White roofs reflect the sun, while black roofs absorb the sun’s rays, making buildings hotter and raising cooling costs. It’s a simple change that can make the roofs up … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: Zoologist capture elephant’s ‘Eureka!’ moment

6 nations across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa experienced record high temperatures this summer (Yale Environment 360) “According to the Weather Underground blog, the hottest undisputed temperatures ever recorded in Asia have occurred during the last two summers, including … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: Blue iguanas saved from extinction

A success story:  The blue iguanas have been saved from the brink of extinction (The New York Times) A successful captive breeding program has released 500 iguanas to the wild and they are successfully breeding. In 2002, there were only … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: The Great Lakes are beginning to see the effects of climate change

The great lakes are feeling the effects of climate change – some expect no ice cover in 10 years (Blue Channel 24) “Lake Michigan may have some winters with no ice cover within 10 years, and Lake Superior may be … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: New York ranked No. 1 for green jobs

Brookings Ranks the greenness of US cities’ job markets (Climatide) A recent report that revealed the 2 percent of all US jobs were “green.” Among the top ranked: The New York, LA, Chicago and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas. Here’s some … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: elephant populations continue to decline

West and Central African elephant populations have declined by 50% in the last 40 years despite protection (TreeHugger) Of the 23 populations studied, an alarming number had fewer than 200 individuals—the benchmark for a sustainable elephant community. Scientists only studied … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: Climate change you can see

Climate change you can see – An incredible new tool that allows the public to witness climate change for themselves (Mother Jones) “The website will generate personalized local climate snapshots, wildlife risk areas, and sea level changes. Adjust the scale … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: E-waste could cause cancer and other health issues

E-waste from computers, mobile phones, TVs, etc could cause cancer and other health aliments (ScienceBlog) E-waste can cause inflammation and oxidative stress, which are precursors to cardiovascular disease, DNA damage and even cancer. Global Warming Will Bring Violent Storms And … Continue reading