Down In The Dumps About Climate Change? Remember The Power Of One

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:50:10 GMT

Image credit:Earthwatch's program for the HSBC Climate Partnership program Does the looming climate crisis leave you feeling helpless? Apathetic? Disengaged? Disempowered? Well, you're not alone. According to a recent global survey of consumer attitudes to climate change, our optimism that we can avert catastrophic climate change is waning worldwide. The Climate Confidence Monitor research, commissioned by the HSBC Climate Partnership is a survey of consumer attitudes, carried out across nine countries. Its aim is to gauge levels of concern, optimism, confidence in leaders to take action and personal commitment to tackling climate change. Over three consecutive years that the research has been undertaken, levels of optimism have taken a nose dive across all regions, and are lowest of all among wealthier nations such as the USA and Europe. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tweet The Heat

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:04:17 GMT

Twitter - the missing link between citizen science and climate research. Image credit:IGOR Cesar Daeuble What do you get when you mix a global environmental non-profit, volunteers going on 19 climate change research projects around the world , a scientist on one of them studying permafrost that's becoming oxymoronic, a renewable energy company, a local environmental non-profit that greens urban, underserved neighborhoods, a steel drum band, and Twitter (www.twitter.com/tweettheheat )? Here at Earthwatch, we're not exactly sure, yet. But we'll know by August 13, when our annual Beat the Heat Climate Change Campaign kicks off at Boston's Museum of Science.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

If You Don't Get Us Our Money Back, We'll Kill These Animals. (Sort of)

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:43:24 GMT

Gigi the gorilla celebrates her 36th birthday in 2008 at the Franklin Park Zoo. (c) Zoo New England. Image credit:TwitPick, by zoonewengland. Stop me if you've heard this one. A veritable All-Star Team of international environmental, scientific, and governmental organizations repeatedly warn that unless we do something in our own lives and pressure our elected officials to take action, multiple species are likely to vanish from the planet, some in as little as a decade.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Environmental Criminals: Coming To A Market Near You

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:00:41 GMT

Ruby Lane, Antique Tortoise Shell Jewelry Box - From 1901 Tiger bones, tropical birds, tortoise shells, and rare palms - these are the currency of environmental criminals. Environmental crimes abound - but not in the places you might think. Environmental criminals steal in broad daylight and sell in open markets. They rob from forests, swamps, deserts, beaches, and coral reefs. Their illegal bootie can be found in plant nurseries, aquarium and pet stories, home decorating businesses, and jewelry, fashion and trinket shops, right around the corner from our homes and businesses. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Wired About World Environment Day

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:31:32 GMT

W.E.D. symbol. Image credit:UNSW, WED Network Happy Belated World Environment Day, 2009! (The official date was 5 June 2009) First things first: if you've got a Twitter account (or if you've been on the fence and need a good excuse to sign up), go to @UNEPandYou and become a follower. You just may be the one to help 100,000 trees get planted. Now, let's clear something up-or try to. World Environment Day (WED) isn't, of course, Earth Day, though both date back to about the same period. WED, always celebrated on June 5, was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972; Earth Day officially kicked off its annual April 22 efforts to celebrate and raise awareness in 1970, due to the efforts of US Senator Gaylord Nelson. (Nor is WED the UN's own official Earth Day, celebrated on or about March 20 every year since 1969.) ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Green Your Wedding! Low Cost, Zero-Waste, Eco-Conscious Options

Sat, 23 May 2009 10:27:29 GMT

Image credit:J. Pfeiffer. The average wedding in the USA costs $20,000. Yikes! In this economy, that's not just insane; it's silly. Why not go green and save green? Creative couples can hold a fantastic event for $500 or less, and share their love with the planet. Here are a few ideas from a June Bride (the author), who plans to rock her wedding by walkin' the Treehugger talk. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

EcoTipping Point - What's In It For You

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:53:00 GMT

Ecotipping points often involve obvious actions. Image credit:J. Pfeiffer. After Earth Day, what's next? Earth Week certainly isn't going to get us where we need to be. Ditto for Earth Month. How about Earth Life? In other words, how about using your life as leverage to tip things in an ecological direction? ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Searching For A Pristine Forest? - Don't Hold Your Breath.

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:12:21 GMT

Garden of Eden. Image credit:UK HardLine, excerpted. Would you like to visit a pristine forest? A forest untouched by the hand of (wo)man? Well, you can't. Not because I won't let you, but because there isn't one. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Raising Environmentally-Conscious Kids

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:38:53 GMT

Kids in nature. Image credit:Nature Conservancy, Paul Barwick Is creating the next generation of environmental stewards as easy as sending your kids outside to play? Research suggests the answer is yes. A study done several years ago by Louise Chawla tried to understand what factors went into the make-up of people who demonstrated significantly pro-environmental behavior. After doing a psychometric profile of these people Chawla found they all had one characteristic in common: they all spent a significant amount of time outdoors playing in the wild. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Eco-Patriotism And Stimulating Your Local Economy

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:43:29 GMT

Siena Farms sells organic produce at Copley Market in Boston. Image credit: Catharine Zink. Every single American has the power to stimulate their local economies: not by spending more, but by supporting local businesses. In economic theory, more local spending translates into less "leakage". This means a greater percent of the money spent actually stays and circulates within the region, supporting more employment, investment, goods and services. Local spending leads to economic multipliers that strengthen the regional economy. Smart local investments also involve long-term benefits, many of them non-monetary. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

More On The Ecological Stimulus Package: Lessons From The Ancients

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:15:16 GMT

Ahu Tahai, Easter Island. Image credit:Charles Whitfield Here's a not-so-Trivial Pursuit Question: what ancient society survived dire ecological circumstances for 500 years by reorganizing their production systems, restructuring their economy, reducing consumption levels, and maximizing limited resources?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Ecological Stimulus Package: Investing In Natural Capital

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:03:10 GMT

Creating natural capital: restored forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Image credit: J. Pfeiffer By: Jeanine Pfeiffer, Earthwatch Institute What if we gave our environment the same wallop of attention we're giving our economy? What if we valued natural capital as highly as financial capital? The US Congress has passed a $790 billion economic stimulus package. Last November, the Chinese government approved a four trillion yuan (US $586 billion) financial stimulus plan. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Embrace Change: The Story Of A Trader-Turned-"Treehugger"

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:51:52 GMT

Portrait of Richard Gilmore, guest author. Until the early years of the 21st century, I was a climate change skeptic. Despite mounting scientific evidence, to accept the truth of climate change would have meant that one of the fundamental bases on which my comfortable life and lifestyle were founded - the burning of low cost and abundant fossil fuels - was unsound. Like many others of the time and many still today, faced with a choice between a convenient ignorance and a difficult reality, I chose ignorance. By the time I was born in the mid-1970s the possibility of a human-induced climate change had already begun to concern scientists. Fourier had described the natural greenhouse effect some 150 years before, and in 1975 the concentration of atmospheric CO2 was around 330 parts per million - much lower than today but already an increase of almost five per cent since the beginning of the 1960s. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Do We Still Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident?

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 09:45:02 GMT

"The Pioneers," by James Fenimore Cooper, Pub.1823. Image credit:Wikipedia. By: Alan Fortescue (NOTE: The opinions expressed here are those of the author's, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Earthwatch.) Flying to Switzerland on election night last November, I remember the cheers that erupted halfway across the Atlantic when the captain announced that Obama had won the presidency. People of all ages and nationalities clapped, whooped and hollered with joy. Everywhere people appeared to be breathing again, as if we had been liberated from a war. It was a happy moment.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Big Deal With Citizen Science

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:34:39 GMT

Learn More About Birds-Become a Citizen Scientist! Image credit:Cornell University, Lab of Ornithology By: George Grattan (NOTE: The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Earthwatch.) In the "Wild Side" column this week in the New York Times, biologist and author Aaron Hirsch outlined the growing trend of what's been called "Big Science": the centralization of research on the most obviously exciting scientific questions of our time into the hands of fewer-and ever more massive-scientific organizations.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

What to Make of Bush's Oceanic Gestures

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:41:16 GMT

A volunteer on an Earthwatch project measures a coral reef that has been affected by climate change and runoff. Image credit:James Crabbe By: George Grattan (Note: The opinions expressed in this blog are the author's, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Earthwatch.) On his way out the door-with a reputation and a record as one of the worst modern American presidents on scientific and environmental issues - President George W. Bush nevertheless did something right: with the stroke of a pen, he created the largest marine conservation area in the world across nine sites in three regions in the central Pacific. This move isn't only a good one, it's a huge one.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

My 3-inch Holiday Tree

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:20:10 GMT

On a recent visit to the newly renovated, hyper-green, and absolutely marvelous California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, I strolled into the museum store and bought a tiny tree in a plastic mailing tube. The tree sat on my rental car dashboard as I visited friends and family throughout California and Oregon, and then traveled in a shoulder bag on a Southwest Airlines flight back to Maynard, Massachusetts. Now my tree resides on a tabletop under a grow light with a few dozen orchids, where it is misted and praised daily. (The snow shot was merely for publicity - no trees were harmed in the making of this blog.)... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Native Cultures Endangered By Climate Change

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:20:51 GMT

Dayak woman dancing the hornbill dance in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Hornbills are one of the bird species that appear to be impacted by rising average temperatures in Southeast Asian rainforests. Image credit: Jeanine Pfeiffer. In Tibet, sacred glaciers are melting and alpine medicinal plant populations are disappearing. In the Borneo rainforest, Dayak tribes report unusual alterations in wildlife seasonal patterns: native birds aren't showing up in their usual places, or at the usual times. In Central Africa, changing rainfall patterns have altered stream flows, making it harder for the Mbaka (pygmy) women to catch fish. In Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia, milder winters are decreasing lichen populations, a key food source for both wild and semi-domesticated reindeer. For the first time in history, Sami peoples have to search for fodder to feed their reindeer herds. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Dear Obama: 'The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing In The Wind'

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:17:07 GMT

By: Alan Fortescue (NOTE: The opinions expressed here are those of the author's, not necessarily Earthwatch's.) I'd like to follow up on last week's blog to become an even louder squeaky wheel in search of some grease. Last week I proposed that instead of using his stimulus package (as much as an additional $700 billion) to bail out and reinvest in a faulty system, Obama use that money to stimulate a new green energy economy. I spoke in general terms, from the environmental perspective; this week I will be more specific and will speak from the business perspective. What we know already: there is a critical clarion call from the Earth for a sea change in the way we humans live our daily lives-especially with respect to our use of fossil fuels. Despite what we frequently read in the popular media, practical solutions that could help us achieve this goal within 10 years do exist.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Obama's Golden Opportunity

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:04:52 GMT

By: Alan Fortescue (Note: The opinions expressed here are those of the author's, not necessarily Earthwatch's.) There is a lot of talk about how president-elect Obama is going to sign into law a new economic stimulus plan in the first days of his administration. Some predict it will be in the range of $700 billion (and NO, this is not the already-squared-away $700 billion the Bush administration earmarked for bank bailouts and the like, but a brand NEW $700 billion). The idea is that with a wildly tail-spinning economy something dramatic must be done to stop the spiral towards an economic depression. No one knows exactly what the final sum will be or exactly how it will be spent, but there are some guesses crossing the airwaves. Potential areas for support include the usual suspects: infrastructure, aid to states, money for health care and transportation, and perhaps some middle class tax relief or tax-incentives for job creation. All well intended and politically safe, but certainly short-term fixes.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Could You Please Pass (On) the Gratitude?

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:41:34 GMT

Earthwatch volunteers participating on the "Sharks and Rays of Monterey" project earlier this year. Image credit:Sean Von Sommeran. By: George Grattan NOTE: The opinions expressed here are the author's, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Earthwatch. With Thanksgiving upon us, it's a good time to count some eco-blessings. Finding things to be grateful for may seem difficult at a time when the outgoing Bush administration is trying to hunt the Endangered Species Act into full extinction, but it's important to try. Historically, as a movement, we haven't talked enough about what we're grateful for-leaving us caricatured as nothing more than a bunch of perpetual The End is Neighsayers who will be satisfied with nothing less than the restoration of a pristine, human-free biosphere.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Not So Quietly Taking to Ship

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:20:44 GMT

Yacht Racing, Vendee Globe Competition, Vendee Globe website By George Grattan (with support from colleagues across the pond in Earthwatch's UK office). I'm going to risk bad taste and begin this blog-about record-breaking yachtsmen Brian Thompson's bid to win the Vendee Globe round-the-world solo ocean race and promote research at the same time-by invoking Melville's Ishmael. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Can Virtual Hugs Save Real Trees?

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:42:12 GMT

First-grader Kayla Arsenault, 6, left, reads a question to teacher Brenda Page-Reilly seen on the screen at right via Web cam during a live from the field Earthwatch entitled Climate Change and Caterpillar Populations at E.C. Stevens school in Wallingford Wednesday. Page-Reilly was live from a research location in Louisiana. Tech teacher Charlotte Robbins stands next to Kayla Arsenault at left. Image credit: Dave Zajac / Record-Journal By: George Grattan Note: The opinions expressed here are the author's, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Earthwatch. My last blog touched on some of the economic hurdles people might face when trying to become greener in the ways they consume-particularly in an economic downturn.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Even My Dog Is Recycled

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:14:34 GMT

Italian Grayhound, At Earthwatch Tree Planting Project, "Roxbury", Boston, USA By: Jeanine Pfeiffer* We all have choices. As we fill our lives with things or creatures or experiences, we have an astonishing array of options. Bling or plain? Doberman or Chihuahua? Whale watching or poolside tanning? Paper or plastic or bring your own gosh-darn bag? We consumers are demi-gods of the Universal Supermarket of Life, setting off a cascade of repercussions with our choices, all the way up and back down the production-consumption-disposal chain. Do we recognize our extraordinary collective power? Picture each dollar (or euro) you spend as a vote. Each time we hand over a piece of currency, we're deciding the fate of our farmlands, forests, rivers, oceans, and the air we breathe. Buy virgin white toilet paper, and listen to centuries-old trees going crash, thud, kaBOOM. Order swordfish for dinner now, and forget about ever serving that fish to your grandchildren. Don't recycle your plastics, and you just might be contributing to a floating island of garbage (twice the size of the continental USA) circulating the Pacific.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

It's Not Easy Being Green When You're In The Red

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:27:46 GMT

By George Grattan, Earthwatch Institute. NOTE: The opinions expressed here are the author's, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Earthwatch. "Honey, can we afford the environment this month?" Okay, that's not exactly how I phrased it. But when my wife and I sat down for one of those bill-paying/family budget review sessions that I'm sure you love as much as we do, that was the gist of my question: how much could we afford to spend on organic food and/or restocking some green cleaning supplies before the next payday? The answer was that we couldn't afford those particular aspects of our environmentalism-or at least not as much of them-this time around. While we've been relatively insulated from the economic meltdown (if you set aside the fact that I almost mistook our 401K statements for bills), we're definitely feeling the need to do some hemp-belt tightening. I suspect more than a few Treehuggers are feeling the same.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

What Would You Do-Really Do-If You Meant All You Said About Saving The World?

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:20:31 GMT

By: Alan Fortescue * So I found this cool internet music service. For a small monthly fee I can play just about any song I want-a very useful feature when trying to work at the office. No matter what my mood, or whatever my task, I can find a song through which I can focus. For example, as I sat down to write this blog entry I could not quite put into words what I was thinking until I pulled up the Dave Matthews Band version of the Bob Dylan song, "All Along the Watchtower." Fortunately for me (as is usually happens while listening to music) my ideas became unstuck. The "unsticking" happened when one particular line grabbed my heart and soul. "Let us stop talking falsely now, the hour is getting late." It got me thinking...... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Earthwatching: Seen Any Good Green Movies Lately?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:50:03 GMT

Image credit::Tumbling Green Popcorn, Flickr, a2thegeezus By George Grattan Earlier this week I joined a number of Earthwatch colleagues and other interested filmgoers at a screening of the documentary Flow, an emotionally powerful (but narratively flawed) examination and indictment of the privatization of fresh water supplies throughout the world. When the lights came up, I was struck by two main ideas: 1) Never, ever drink two mugs of tea before going into a movie about water; 2) water privatization and the collapse of worldwide freshwater supplies are parallel, heretofore invisible crises that have already happened, not things that will or might happen if left unchecked. As I made my way back from the Gents (no, I didn't need to flush, so I didn't), I realized that this is one of the battles the worldwide environmental movement has to put up-for now-in the Loss column. As we try to figure out how to reverse this defeat, films like Flow will help inform public consciousness of the need to do so.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Handcuffs, Butts, And Citizen Science

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:05:39 GMT

Imagine a shout-out-loud freakin' gorgeous blue Saturday at the ocean, powdery soft sand dunes, gentle shushing waves...and 6 million tons of garbage. See the blonde babe in tight jeans strolling along the beach with her elegant Italian greyhound, lugging an enormous, yellow trash bag and jotting down figures on a data sheet. Imagine hundreds of thousands of volunteers on coastlines all over the globe doing the same thing. International Coastal Cleanup Day. Third Saturday in September, every single year since 1986. >From Trinidad to Russia, Ecuador to Egypt, people are falling in love with their beaches all over again. Earthwatch joined this year's action by teaming up with Ocean Conservancy, a sister organization paralleling what we and our scientists do: research, education, and science-based advocacy to support a healthy planet.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How Do You Make Ethics Sexy?

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:42:04 GMT

Ethics. Don't know about you, but I hear that word and I see overly-serious, thin-lipped, pasty-white people wielding heavy legal texts and getting all judgmental on me. Heavy word, that one! In the professional dance of life, if your nametag reads "ethics", you can end up as a terminal wallflower, or worse, on the patrol committee: everyone else is doing the fun stuff while you're over there being Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes. Yikes. So when I got myself elected to an ethics task force, then an ethics committee, while leading an effort here at Earthwatch to make ethics more prominent in how we define "success," I realized my cool persona was in danger of being compromised if I didn't come up with a plan to make ethics way more enticing. You know, more the party headliner, the rockin' group we all want to dance to.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Pimping My Pod

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:00:24 GMT

The gang's all here! From left to right, John (from Everything Under the Sun), Ray (from Ray's and Sons) and Jeanine (the author of this blog in the vintage gown from the Patriot's Ball, who's super happy to have finally gotten her Smart Car last week!). My pod? The Jeanine corner of the Earthwatch world involves itty-bitty blinking blue lights, a jungle of plants, traditional weavings in screamin' neon. Camel-hair Persian rug stretched out on the floor. Mirror ball hanging in one corner of the ceiling, gen-u-ine crystal in the other. Cheeky West African doll lounging in front of books with too-long titles. "Wag more, bark less;" and "be the change you wish to see in the world" (Gandhi) tacked onto the shelves. Plus more assorted bling. Such are the decorative solutions of a displaced (Northern) California gal, who transported herself to the middle of a tiny New England mill town in the dead of winter. Sometimes, as I was picking my way down through the icy streets in my 4-inch heel boots, funkadelic stockings, and Pink blaring on the iPod, the cold, the piles of snow, and the dreary grey skies were so surreal I'd laugh out loud. But I did this willingly, folks! Earthwatch has that kind of pull.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

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