Stop Global Warming Virtual March
11/24/08

NEW HOPE IN THE FIGHT TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING
Highlighting a gigantic shift in United States policy, President-elect Barack Obama spoke to the Bi-Partisan Governors Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles, California via video on November 18th, 2008, reiterating his commitment to marking a new chapter in America's leadership on global warming.

A few excerpts from his remarks: "Few challenges facing America - and the world - are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We've seen record drought, spreading famine, and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season. Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil, if left unaddressed, will continue to weaken our economy and threaten our national security.... My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process."

To view the entire video, visit Change.gov.

As the temperatures cool for fall, try putting on a sweater instead of turning up the heat in your home. You'll save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $250 per year.

NEW FEATURE DOCUMENTARY "FUEL"
The world is addicted to oil, and it's time for an intervention. Documentary filmmaker Josh Tickell has produced a passionate new film "Fuel" to take viewers on a journey to unravel this addiction — from its historical origins to political constructs that support it, to alternatives available now and the steps we can take to change things.

"Fuel" is playing in theaters over the next several weeks in Portland, Seattle, Austin, Yelm (WA) and Bend (OR). Visit TheFuelFilm.com for more information.

Remember, carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.

FEDEX TO REDUCE EMISSIONS
One of the most important ways to help stop global warming is for companies large and small to find ways to reduce their environmental impact. FedEx recently announced that it plans to reduce aircraft emissions and increase vehicle fuel efficiency by 20 percent over the next 12 years.

The company also announced that it has started replacing Boeing 727 aircraft with Boeing 757 planes, which reduce fuel consumption up to 36 percent while providing 20 percent more payload capacity. Earlier this year, FedEx broke ground on a 1.4 megawatt solar facility in Germany and completed a solar installation at its distribution center in California. FedEx says its three solar-powered facilities in California eliminate almost 3 million pounds of CO2 emissions annually.

Click here to download FedEx's 2008 Global Citizenship Report (PDF)

Buying products locally is another way to help reduce the amount of energy required to ship your products to your store.

AN INEXPENSIVE MEANINGFUL HOLIDAY GIFT
Support our efforts by purchasing the "I'm Tired of Global Warming" bracelet. The bracelet is made from recycled tires with a recycled metal bead, and proceeds from the sale benefit our cause. Buy Now.

We also encourage you to check out our partner Cool Planet Jewelry's Stop Global Warming collection, made from recycled precious metals using earth-friendly manufacturing techniques. Men's and women's collection includes bracelet, necklace, cufflinks, and stud set. Wear the jewelry and spread the word on this important issue. Buy Now.

Keep Marching!

Laurie David
Founder
StopGlobalWarming.org

CLIMATE ALERT! Italy and Poland Must Stop Playing Politics with Global Climate's Future

ACTION ALERT                    PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

CLIMATE ALERT! Italy and Poland Must Stop Playing Politics
with Global Climate's Future

By Ecological Internet's Climate Ark,
http://www.climateark.org/
December 4, 2008

Their unwillingness at climate talks to bear the costs of
reducing carbon, and ending their addiction to coal, will
destroy the atmosphere, biosphere and all our futures

TAKE ACTION
http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=europe_climate_obstruction

Some 11,000 climate delegates are meeting in Poland's western
city of Poznan, seeking agreement upon new post-Kyoto climate
goals, to be finalized in Copenhagen by the end of next year.
Simultaneously, the European Union summit is attempting to
reach consensus upon the so-called '20-20-20' proposals, which
by 2020 seek a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas (higher if
others agree), a 20 percent cut in energy consumed and 20
percent use of renewable energy. Sadly, Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk are
actively seeking to weaken these modest and realistic medium-
term goals, which can be built upon, on narrow economic self-
interests. Without a deal at the Brussels summit, the European
Union is unlikely to reach consensus prior to the Copenhagen
conference. Italy and Poland must be called upon to end their
parochial climate change obstructionism -- putting the
interests of global citizenry and an operable biosphere, above
continued cheap coal based electricity that is killing us all.

Burning Autumn Leaves May Be Hazardous to Health Unfortunately leaf burning is harmful to the environment, but there are options that are friendlier to the environment. Learn how skipping the leaf fire this fall may actually give you a nicer lawn and garden next spring.		More Topics Health & Environment How is your health affected? Recycling Recycling tips and tricks Biodiversity & Conservation How biodiversity is threatened Pollution The many forms of pollution Alternative Fuels & Fossil Fuels Pros & cons of fossil fuels Barack Obama on Offshore Drilling Is Obama for it or against? What Causes Global Warming? Learn the sources of greenhouse gas
How School Lunch Packaging Waste Adds Up Many of us depend on convenient school lunch throwaways to make morning prep time easier, and it can be difficult to resist those temptations in the supermarket, especially if the kids are shopping with us. But did you know that school lunch waste creates more than 18,000 pounds of garbage for the average elementary school? Learn more about the hazards of school lunch waste, and about a recyclable solution that makes school lunches cool -- and environmentally responsible.
Improving School Lunches: Make Cafeteria Food Better With rise of obesity in American schoolchildren, concerned parents, school administrators and government and private organizations are stepping up efforts to improve the quality of school lunches by offering healthier, locally grown options for cafeteria food and brown bag lunches. Learn how these efforts to improve school lunches help kids and local economies, and find out how you can provide healthier school lunches for your child.

Bundle Up to Save Energy and Money One way to stay warm while saving both energy and money is to make efficient use of your own body heat by bundling up in warm clothes and then lowering your thermostat.		More Topics 8 Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to Bisphenol A Protect your health How to Get a Free Home Energy Audit Stop the drafts Why Living Alone is Bad for the Environment Get a roommate Tips for Making an Eco-Friendly Move Pack carefully Condoms Help Preserve the Amazon Rainforest Learn more What Causes Global Warming? What's the answer? What are the Effects of Smog? Breathe easier
Heat Only the Space You Need One way to save money on your heating bill and reduce the amount of energy you're using is to stop heating rooms you rarely use.
Reduce Your Personal Chill Factor Looking for a foolproof way to stay warm on a cold night? There is one tried and true method that never fails.

Future Threatened, Depends Upon You

November 14, 2008

Dear collegues,

As is frequently the case, Ecological Internet's (EI) end-of-
year fund-raiser has launched quite slowly, only 2% to the
goal. Let's be clear -- as a user supported organization -- if
this goal is not substantively achieved, Ecological Internet
and our brand of ecologically rigorous Earth protection will
end. Please gift the Earth now in support of rigorous
environmental policy advocacy, what ecological science tells
us is necessary to save being. You can help usher in an era of
ecological sustainability and restoration at:
http://www.climateark.org/shared/donate/ .

The world is at risk of losing 20 years of accomplishment in
online ecological advocacy systems. I am racking my brain on
how to keep what is broadly perceived as exceptionally
successful ecological advocacy efforts funded. We have begun
taking Google advertising on the sites and have a number of
promising grant proposals out. Yet, these effort's core
computer and staffing expenses cannot be met without a
successful end-of-year fund-raiser. We need current support
from past donors more than ever, and every individual touched
by these efforts to contribute what they can. Your gifts are
the bedrock of Ecological Internet.

On a personal level, I have repeatedly willingly made profound
sacrifices for the honor of serving you and the Earth. This
includes working 100+ hour work weeks for years, routinely
subsidizing the work (tens of thousands of dollars in debt),
and have in recent weeks cashed in retirement accounts to keep
Ecological Internet online. Why do this? Because the Earth is
dying and each of us needs to do our duty to stop it. But I am
reaching my limits, and this may be it. With great sadness, I
am once again considering closing EI and seeking an IT job to
feed my family (until the collapse) while watching the Earth
continue to go to hell from the sidelines. Let's avoid this.

Simply, tremendously effective and proven Earth advocacy
techniques are at risk of being lost forever. EI has pioneered
use of the Internet to facilitate deep environmental awareness
AND outcomes, and continues to provide global ecological
solutions full of truth, hope and love. Our history of
innovation is unmatched -- nearly 20 years ago we were the
first to use the Internet for forest conservation, 10 years
ago we launched our climate portal, and in past years we have
been the first linking the global ecological and economic
crises. No one else works with such passion, focus and success
to educate regarding imminent ecological collapse and to
achieve the comprehensive set of ecological policies necessary
to avoid it.

Let me briefly review some of the services we provide for
free, and that are at risk of being lost:

1.) News Tracking at http://www.climateark.org/shared/news/
For the past 15 years EI has daily linked, archived, commented
upon and provided RSS feeds of the most recent and important
environmental news. This unprecedentedly complete service,
updated 365 days a year, 24/7, is used by millions of
conservation professionals.

2.) Earth Action at http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/
We provide on-line protest campaigns that matter, seeking and
frequently achieving ecologically sufficient policy. We
strategically target decision-makers with specific demands
necessary to achieve ecological sustainability. We have
protected millions of hectares of rainforests and put climate
change on the map.

3.) Climate Search at http://www.climateark.org/
We provide the world's only customized true search engines,
where a human expert (me!) reviews ecological materials for
inclusion. These ecological search results are many times
better in terms of relevancy than large search engines trying
to cover everything on the web.

4.) Climate Blog at http://www.climateark.org/blog/
We literally invented blogging, and have perfected it as a
source for social change and ecological good. Routinely we
provide independent, biocentric analysis that leads to
conservation outcomes. And we always provide tools to learn
more.

Add to this our exhaustive, well-managed link directories, our
fledgling New Earth Rising e-zine, and soon to be expanded social
networking -- and you have an information and analysis system
that contributes substantially to saving the Earth. Our
forest, water, rainforest and environmental sustainability
portals each provide similar topical capabilities.

We mean it more than ever. Failure to reach our funding goal
means Ecological Internet shuts down after what has been
raised has been expended. Let's be clear: when the world is
faced with imminent ecological collapse, yet difficult ecology
based solutions exist, now is not the time to discard proven
ecological social change capabilities built up over decades.
It has become a time honored, yet successful tradition, that
funding goals are met only when we highlight these hard fought
capabilities will be lost for good if we shut down.

For the Earth's and your children's sake, now is not the time
to cut back your personal expenditures supporting
organizations pursuing global ecological sustainability. The
$75K EI must raise is under 0.01% of Al Gore's mainstream "We
campaign" yearly budget, yet we have a global reach and
similar effectiveness. Will EI's grassroots global Earth
advocacy perish, leaving the fight for creation to
bureaucratic reformers (just one more lightbulb, forget about
population and consumption)? This is the choice with which you
are faced.

Please, give now at http://www.climateark.org/shared/donate/ .
We really need your help, and with your support, expect to be
successful in raising the necessary funds to continue together
with you to meaningfully protect the Earth.

Warm regards,
Dr. Glen Barry

Resisting Paraguay's Devastation by Genetically Modified Soya Monocultures

By Ecological Internet's Forests.org, http://forests.org/
Partnering with Salva la Selva, http://www.salvalaselva.org/
October 26, 2008

TAKE ACTION
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=paraguay_soya

Deforestation, eviction, drought and murder are too high of
price to pay for toxic soybeans

In Paraguay, genetically modified (GM) soya plantations,
planted in vast toxic monocultures, are the main cause of
deforestation, destruction and pollution of other ecosystems,
and violence and eviction of small farmers and indigenous
peoples. Paraguay has nearly 2.6 million hectares of soy
plantations for animal feed exports and, more recently, for
agrofuel. The remnants of Paraguay's Atlantic Forest and of
the Alto Parana forest, as well as wetlands, grasslands and
rivers are being destroyed and polluted by the expansion of
immense soya fields. Deforestation is worsening global warming
and also causing severe regional warming and droughts.

Local peoples are resisting ecocide bravely, and against long
odds, and need our support.  Please write to the authorities
in Paraguay and urge them to fully support small farmers and
their demands for protection from pesticide spraying, unlawful
evictions, environmental destruction and pollution; while
supporting their demands for food sovereignty and land reform.

TAKE ACTION NOW:
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=paraguay_soya

DISCUSS THIS ALERT:
http://forests.org/blog/2008/10/alert-paraguays-devastation-by.asp

LIST NOTE: Together we have recently achieved victories
against FSC's greenwashing, Congo's rainforest logging and
Cambodia's river dams. When you do not participate, we are
weakened. After protesting Paraguay's toxic soya below, PLEASE
respond to subsequent alerts as well -- including calling upon
governments to maintain climate policies in rough economic
times. Please respond to alerts whenever you can -- regular
participation is vital to continued success. And the Earth
needs us NOW.
g.b.

Temperature Changes!

Two millennia of mean surface temperatures according to different reconstructions, each smoothed on a decadal scale. The unsmoothed, annual value for 2004 is also plotted for reference.
Main article: Temperature record
Recent
Global temperatures on both land and sea have increased by 0.75 °C (1.35 °F) relative to the period 1860–1900, according to the instrumental temperature record. This measured temperature increase is not significantly affected by the urban heat island effect.[55] Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25 °C per decade against 0.13 °C per decade).[56] Temperatures in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.12 and 0.22 °C (0.22 and 0.4 °F) per decade since 1979, according to satellite temperature measurements. Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the one or two thousand years before 1850, with possibly regional fluctuations such as the Medieval Warm Period or the Little Ice Age.
Sea temperatures increase more slowly than those on land both because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean can lose heat by evaporation more readily than the land.[57] The Northern Hemisphere has more land than the Southern Hemisphere, so it warms faster. The Northern Hemisphere also has extensive areas of seasonal snow and sea-ice cover subject to the ice-albedo feedback. More greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere, but this does not contribute to the difference in warming because the major greenhouse gases persist long enough to mix between hemispheres.
Based on estimates by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2005 was the warmest year since reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree.[58] Estimates prepared by the World Meteorological Organization and the Climatic Research Unit concluded that 2005 was the second warmest year, behind 1998.[59][60] Temperatures in 1998 were unusually warm because the strongest El Niño in the past century occurred during that year.[61]
Anthropogenic emissions of other pollutants—notably sulfate aerosols—can exert a cooling effect by increasing the reflection of incoming sunlight. This partially accounts for the cooling seen in the temperature record in the middle of the twentieth century,[62] though the cooling may also be due in part to natural variability. James Hansen and colleagues have proposed that the effects of the products of fossil fuel combustion—CO2 and aerosols—have largely offset one another, so that warming in recent decades has been driven mainly by non-CO2 greenhouse gases.[35]
Paleoclimatologist William Ruddiman has argued that human influence on the global climate began around 8,000 years ago with the start of forest clearing to provide land for agriculture and 5,000 years ago with the start of Asian rice irrigation.[63] Ruddiman's interpretation of the historical record, with respect to the methane data, has been disputed.[64]

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Main articles: Greenhouse gas and Greenhouse effect
The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. It is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface.


Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The monthly CO2 measurements display small seasonal oscillations in an overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum is reached during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during the Northern Hemisphere growing season as plants remove some CO2 from the atmosphere.
Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which Earth would be uninhabitable.[24][25] On Earth, the major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70% of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26%; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9%; and ozone, which causes 3–7%.[26][27] The issue is how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of some greenhouse gases.
Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the concentration of various greenhouse gases, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. Molecule for molecule, methane is a more effective greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but its concentration is much smaller so that its total radiative forcing is only about a fourth of that from carbon dioxide. Some other naturally occurring gases contribute small fractions of the greenhouse effect; one of these, nitrous oxide (N2O), is increasing in concentration owing to human activity such as agriculture. The atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and CH4 have increased by 31% and 149% respectively since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s. These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.[28] From less direct geological evidence it is believed that CO2 values this high were last attained 20 million years ago.[29] Fossil fuel burning has produced approximately three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular deforestation.[30]

Causes from Global Warming!

Components of the current radiative forcing as estimated by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
Main articles: Attribution of recent climate change and Scientific opinion on climate change
The Earth's climate changes in response to external forcing, including variations in its orbit around the Sun (orbital forcing),[14][15][16], changes in solar luminosity, volcanic eruptions,[17] and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The detailed causes of the recent warming remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus[18][19] is that the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases due to human activity caused most of the warming observed since the start of the industrial era. This attribution is clearest for the most recent 50 years, for which the most detailed data are available. Some other hypotheses departing from the consensus view have been suggested to explain most of the temperature increase. One such hypothesis proposes that warming may be the result of variations in solar activity.[20][21][22]
None of the effects of forcing are instantaneous. The thermal inertia of the Earth's oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that the Earth's current climate is not in equilibrium with the forcing imposed. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels, a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.[23]

What Is Global Warming?

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century, and its projected continuation.
The average global air temperature near the Earth's surface increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the hundred years ending in 2005.[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas concentrations"[1] via an enhanced greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward.[2][3]
These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least thirty scientific societies and academies of science,[4] including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.[5][6][7] While individual scientists have voiced disagreement with some findings of the IPCC,[8] the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change agree with the IPCC's main conclusions.[9][10]
Climate model projections summarized by the IPCC indicate that average global surface temperature will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century.[1] This range of values results from the use of differing scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions as well as models with differing climate sensitivity. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a thousand years even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. The delay in reaching equilibrium is a result of the large heat capacity of the oceans.[1]
Increasing global temperature will cause sea level to rise, and is expected to increase the intensity of extreme weather events and to change the amount and pattern of precipitation. Other effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, trade routes, glacier retreat, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors.
Remaining scientific uncertainties include the amount of warming expected in the future, and how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but there is ongoing political and public debate worldwide regarding what, if any, action should be taken to reduce or reverse future warming or to adapt to its expected consequences.

The term "global warming" refers to the warming in recent decades and its projected continuation, and implies a human influence.[11][12] The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) uses the term "climate change" for human-caused change, and "climate variability" for other changes.[13] The term "anthropogenic global warming" (AGW) is sometimes used when focusing on human-induced changes.

The Science of Global Warming?

Source: http://www.climatecrisis.net/
Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.

The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it’s already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence.1 The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable.

We’re already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.

Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level.



The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years.



The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade.

At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles.

If the warming continues, we can expect catastrophic consequences.

Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years -- to 300,000 people a year.

Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in

Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.

Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.

Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.

The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.

More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050.

There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now
TAKE ACTION NOW by watching An Inconvenient Truth and visit its official website

Indonesia: Unilever palm oil policy wins fans

Source: Copyright 2008, Jakarta Post
Date: May 5, 2008
Byline: Adianto P. Simamora
http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20080505.H02&irec=1/

Environmental group Greenpeace has echoed calls by consumer
goods giant Unilever to impose a moratorium on deforestation
in Indonesia in support for the company's pledge to purchase
only certified sustainable palm oil.

Greenpeace also urged the country's palm oil plantations to
use sustainable forest management methods and stop expanding
into peatland forests.

"Unilever's calls for a moratorium on forest destruction in
Indonesia should become an entry point for the government to
stop the deforestation process," Greenpeace Southeast Asia
political advisor Arif Wicaksono told The Jakarta Post on
Saturday.

"The government has to take action to reverse deforestation by
initiating a moratorium on logging and forest conversion."

Unilever has committed to using only palm oil from certified
sustainable sources from the second half of this year.

The company said it would ensure the palm oil it used in
Europe was also certified as sustainable by 2012.

"Now we need to take the next step," Unilever chief executive
Patrick Cescau said in a statement in London on Thursday.

"Suppliers need to move to meet the criteria, by getting
certified both the palm oil from their own plantations and the
palm oil they buy from elsewhere."

Unilever is the world's biggest consumer of palm oil, which it
uses in leading brands such as Dove, Persil and Flora.

The company's decision came after a Greenpeace campaign
revealed Unilever's suppliers are actively destroying
orangutan habitat and clearing Indonesia's peatlands and rain
forests.

According to Greenpeace, destruction of peatland rain forests
contributes 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenhouse gas emissions are considered the main contributor
to climate change.

The environmental group also said about 1,600 orangutans were
killed on palm oil plantations during 2006.

Arif said companies using palm oil and members of the
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) should join forces
with Unilever to stop ongoing forest destruction in Indonesia.

The RSPO is an initiative of an association of palm oil
producers to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm
oil.

"Even though the RSPO has existed since 2002, there is still
no certified palm oil on the market," Greenpeace said.

Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono ordered governors to
stop awarding new permits for the palm oil industry in
peatlands last year. The order was issued as Indonesia hosted
the climate change conference in Bali, which directed all
countries to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

A 2006 report from Wetlands International found damage to
Indonesia's peatlands resulted in 2 billion tons of carbon
dioxide emissions per year, making the country the world's
third largest emitter after the United States and China.

"But we have seen no changes since the minister's order. Many
regents still grant permits to dig in peatland forests," Arif
said.

"Greenpeace is not calling for an end to the palm oil industry
but it is calling for an end to forest destruction."

Indonesia: Palm oil wiping out key orangutan habitat

Source: Copyright 2008, Agence France-Presse
Date: May 10, 2008
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=944bb22c-e485-44f3-9103-de0a5eddf587&k=96840/

One of the biggest populations of wild orangutans on Borneo
will be extinct in three years without drastic measures to
stop the expansion of palm oil plantations, conservationists
said Wednesday.

"For Central Kalimantan, the species will be gone as soon as
three years from now," Centre for Orangutan Protection
director Hardi Bhaktiantoro told a press conference.

More than 30,000 wild orangutans live in the forests of
Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province, or more than half the
entire orangutan population of Borneo island which is shared
between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Experts believe the overall extinction rate of Borneo
orangutans is nine percent per year, but in Central Kalimantan
they are disappearing even faster due to unchecked expansion
of palm oil plantations.

"The expansion of palm oil plantations is wiping out entire
habitats and unless the government takes drastic measures to
protect these orangutan sanctuaries there is no way to reverse
the trend," Bhaktiantoro said.

He showed pictures taken in November of dead orangutans being
carried out of new plantations in Central Kalimantan, where
they are hunted as pests to prevent them eating palm
seedlings.

Orangutans are found only on Borneo/Kalimantan and Sumatra Island of Indonesia and they are listed
as endangered by the Swiss-based World Conservation Union, the
paramount scientific authority on imperilled species.

It says numbers of the ape have fallen by well over 50 percent
in the past 60 years as a result of habitat loss, poaching and
the pet trade.

Indonesia has already lost 72 percent of its 123 million
hectares (304 million acres) of ancient rain forest due to
frenzied logging and burning of peatland for agriculture,
according to Greenpeace figures.

But the recent growth in demand for palm oil from food,
cosmetic and biofuel companies is putting more pressure on
orangutan habitats, swathes of which lie outside conversation
areas.

"The deforestation rate in the area (Central Kalimantan/Central Borneo),
especially for conversion to palm oil plantation is extremely
high," Bhaktiantoro said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was keen to trumpet his
government's efforts to save the orange apes as Indonesia
hosted the UN-sponsored world climate conference in December.

He used the occasion to unveil a scheme called the Orangutan
Action Plan designed to stabilise orangutan populations and
habitat by 2017 and promote sustainable forest management.

Protected Areas Used to Expand Indonesian Oil Palm Plantations

Source: Copyright 2008, Antara
Date: May 12, 2008
http://au.biz.yahoo.com/080512/17/1ql4y.html/

The expansion of oil palm plantations in the regency of Kapuas
Hulu in Indonesia's West Kalimantan has crossed the border
into protected forests, the semi official news agency Antara
reported.

Expansion has entered the 200,000 hectare Heart Of Borneo,
which has been agreed to be preserved between three
neighboring countries Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, said
Haryono, the coordinator for forest Communication Issue of the
World Wide Fund for Nature in West Kalimantan.

Nine subsidiaries of the Sinar Mas Group are believed to be
involved in clearing 160,000 hectares of forests bordering the
Betung Karihun National Park, Haryono said.

Kapuas Hulu has 1.63 million hectares of protected forests and
National Parks.

By the end of 2007, West Kalimantan has 400,000 hectares of
planted oil palm plantations said.

Global Warming News

Why are Honeybees Disappearing?
Honeybee colonies are dying or disappearing in record numbers, with potentially devastating effects on agriculture and food supplies. What is causing the dramatic decline of honeybee populations in the U.S



Does Sunscreen Really Protect You?


Sunscreen has a simple job. It is supposed to make it possible for you to enjoy being outside on a sunny day without risking a painful sunburn or, worse, skin cancer. But it turns out not all sunscreen products are a day at the beach.




U.S. Lists Polar Bears as Threatened Species
After delaying the decision for several months, U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne finally accepted a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommendation to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but said the listing would not be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to limit oil drilling in polar bear habitat.

Why Are Rising Sea Levels a Threat?
With the discovery that the Arctic Ocean's year-round ice pack has lost about 20 percent of its mass in only two years and documentation of rising sea levels, scientists are concerned about when the Arctic's year-round ice will be completely gone, and what the resulting rising sea levels will do to islands and coastlines around the world. Learn why rising sea levels are a threat, and find out if it's already too late.


Do Biodegradable Items Really Break Down in Landfills?
The majority of trash and garbage that goes into landfills is biodegradable, but most landfills are too tightly packed for biodegradation to occur and for biodegradable items to break down. When that happens, the whole point of biodegradability goes out the window. Learn what can be done to make landfills more effective, and how you can help by the way you live and manage your household waste.



EPA Rule Change Would Increase Air Pollution in National Parks
The Bush Administration is planning to adopt new air quality rules this summer that will make it easier for utilities to build coal-fired power plants near national parks and wilderness areas, according to EPA scientists and park managers that are up in arms about the scheme.


Is Global Warming a Hoax?
As crazy as it may seem, some people think global warming is a hoax perpetrated by environmentalists who want to scare people into sending donations, or liberals who want to



EPA Rule Change Would Increase Air Pollution in U.S. Parks
The Bush Administration is planning to adopt new air quality rules this summer that will make it easier for utilities to build coal-fired power plants near national parks and wilderness areas, according to EPA scientists and park managers that are up in arms about the scheme.