Lions led by Sheep -

Those readers hoping for philosophical insight into the ways of the world, or a reasoned argument for humanitarian action, will have to wait… Sorry.

For my first, albeit belated, post of 2009, I’m going up-beat.

Most of us are engulfed by gloomy weather, gloomy finances, and gloomy jobs, so here’s a gallery that will banish those worries by bestowing one of life’s greatest gifts…

(In case you haven’t guessed, just check what you’re doing while you’re looking at these photos - yep, smiling of course!)

Now just let me say, these are all beautiful animals but they aren’t necessarily the best animal photos you’ll ever see - for that try National Geographic or something - but, as far as I’m aware, these are all public domain.

So what, I hear you say.

So copy and paste one into an email to brighten up someone’s day! (Better yet, include the link to this post so they can enjoy all of them.) Continue Reading »

There’s so much doom and gloom everywhere, I figured I’d spread a little joy by delivering good news of environmental triumphs from around the globe.

Why are these environmental projects important?

Simple.

The Political Economy Research Institute reported recently that a $100 billion investment in green initiatives could create two million jobs, lowering U.S. unemployment from 5.7 to 4.4%.

California’s Air Resources Board report states: “Taking strong measures to reduce greenhouse gasses… would result in 100,000 new jobs [in California and] boost the state economy by $27 billion.”

To build on this research, Google has proposed the Clean Energy 2030 plan. The problem is it will cost a mind-blowing $4.3 trillion dollars. (And we all thought $700 billion was a huge number!) There’s obviously no way we’ll ever afford it.

No?

By investing in more efficient systems, this plan will SAVE $5.4 trillion. You don’t need to be a mathematics genius to see 5.4 is bigger than 4.3! Is there any way we can’t NOT afford it?!

See, by pursuing greener lifestyles, not only do we get to keep a stunningly beautiful world to enjoy, but in doing so, it saves us money. So what exactly are we waiting for?

20	Wind Farms, Wind Farms, Everywhere…
	New Jersey plans to install 96 wind turbines 16 miles offshore to produce enough electricity to power 125,000 homes. Likewise, Delaware will create an offshore farm of 150 turbines to power 100,000 homes. By creating wind farms miles out at see, planners hope to overcome that age-old objection to them - they’re just so damned ugly! If no one can see them, that old ‘not in my backyard’ argument simply evaporates.
19	Solar Thermal - Bigger is Better
	Australia is set to create the world’s largest solar thermal plant capable of generating 100,000 homes by using the sun’s radiation to power steam turbines. Australia is aiming at producing a whopping 40% of it’s energy in this way by 2020.
18	Norway: A Rainforest’s Best Friend
	Okay, strictly speaking this news came just a few days before Big Ben’s bells announced the arrival of 2008, but, hey, is good news ever too late or too early? Those wily Norwegians believe reducing deforestation in developing countries can quickly and inexpensively reduce climate change. To prove it, Norway is putting its money where its mouth is: it’s pledged $500 million per year to save the world’s rainforests.

Continue Reading »

I’ve asked if animals have souls before, so why should I now think I have an answer?

Writing this post has been a tremendous struggle - I hated every second of it.

• It’s not the post I started to write.
• It’s not the post I ever dreamed I’d write.
• And it’s certainly not the post I ever wanted to write.

So why write it?

To finish a story I started last week.

So if that and the title aren’t big enough clues, I have some bad news - Sarah, the crow we rescued, is dead.

Ania and I are absolutely devastated. We looked after her for only three full days but in that time -

• we saw her character.
• we saw her developing - learning how to drink, to eat.
• we saw her loving life.

We’d have loved to keep her, but knew that was being totally selfish and that her best chance of survival and of living a full life as a wild bird was for us to give her up and take her to a bird sanctuary.

This we did.

Their specialist told us she was healthy and had a good chance of being released.

Just hours later, she was dead.

So what happened that a healthy crow suddenly died?

Continue Reading »

Global warming is set to be the villain of the 21st century. Unless oil prices bankrupt us all, so we can’t run anything to create the pollution. But is there an upside?

Sunday, June 1st, Ania and I spent eight hours online searching for a sightseeing-packed summer holiday. Finally, we plumped on the U.S..

We found the cheapest flight, cheapest car hire, and plotted a route to include such wonders as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone. Over the next week, we verified a few facts, then Saturday, went online to book everything.

Within seconds we were as miserable as sin. And one of us was swearing profusely. (I’ll let you guess which.)

The flight we needed had rocketed by £160 ($320). We were already over budget, so that bust everything.

We returned to scouring the web, vainly hoping a cheap flight would miraculously appear.

But miracles just don’t happen, do they?

Continue Reading »

Is there anything more wonderful than inter-species love?

Man/woman love is so overrated (as is obvious from the 50% divorce rate).

Isn’t it time Man embraced the animal in himself and in everything around him to develop an affinity with nature?

But before anyone scampers to their local park to pork a poodle, ask yourself one question - are you truly ready for everything inter-species love entails?

If so, read on.If not, skip upsetting yourself, dash to the comments section, and register your outrage.

But whatever you do… don’t continue reading.

Really. Don’t.

DON’T! Continue Reading »

Global warming, endangered species, violence, disease, poverty, hunger, exploitation… Isn’t there ever any good news?

You ever ask that? I’m betting you do. And I’m betting you’re asking it more and more often, these days. Just like I am. But relax, you won’t be asking it today - to launch this blog on a positive note, here are some of the top ‘good news’ stories from the past year that probably sneaked in under your radar:

10	Long endangered and with only 1,400 left in the wild, India’s tigers are to be protected through a $150 million project funded by the Indian government.
9	Zoologist Andrew Gray discovered that the tree frog Isthomhyla Rivularis is not extinct, as was claimed, but still happily scampering about the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve of Costa Rica.
8	Mexican president Felipe Calderon gave an extra $4.6 million funding to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. (You’ve probably seen this place on TV - forest glades plastered with butterflies that have migrated 3,000 miles from the U.S. and Canada.)
Miguel Tovar / Associated Press
7	Federal Judge Cooper, U.S. Magistrate Laporte, and finally a Federal Court of Appeals all ruled against the U.S. Navy and President Bush so protecting whales from injury by navy sonar in waters off California, Hawaii, the Galapagos, the Great Barrier Reef…
6	The Congolese government set aside 12,000 square miles of rainforest for the Bonobo - one of our closest relatives - of which there might be as few as 5,000 left.
(You’d think the little fella would be a bit happier at that news, wouldn’t you?)

Continue Reading »