Petitions & Letters

Just click for the cause you wish to help. :)
Safe and effective non-animal testing methods for the CSPI
Ask Iams to stop cruel experiments on animals
Tell Congress to End Military Training on Animals! (Must be American)
Urge Britney Spears not to use animals for her new CD, Circus!
Stop the Russian killing of hibernating endangered brown bears!
Ban ivory sales and save African elephants!
Tell Canada to support the Animal Welfare Declaration!
Stop inhumane killings!
Tell the US to stop inhumane animal experiments!
Tell Harper (Canadian Prime Minister) to ban bear baiting!

The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger

HUGE OIL SPILL!

Notified by Grist.org, based on two articles:
First; Second

On Monday December 8th, 2008 more than 27 barrels of oil, 1,134 gallons, leaked from the drilling plaform A in the Santa Barbara Channel. According to Singleton, the spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Reponse, no oiled seabirds have been sighted. She stated, "Sometimes oiled birds are not spotted until they wash ashore, dead or dying because the oil has ruined their ability to keep warm." The leak was the result of a finger-sized hole that was reported at 8 am on Sunday. Company officials were un willing to comment.

Pedro Nava, a state assemblyman D-Santa Barbara, said "This spill is another reminder that the calls for increased drilling in our coastal waters are short-sighted and unnecessary. There is no need for more coastal drilling. We must do everything necessary to prevent a larger catastrophe in the future." Rep. Lois Capps, D-California, said the spill was a reminder that authorities must be vigilant in protecting the coastline. Capps also said, "Yesterday [Monday] — at the same location as the infamous 1969 oil spill nearly 40 years ago — we had yet another painful reminder that drilling for oil is a dirty and dangerous business."

This event was comparatively small to the previous leak in the same location that occured in 1969. This previous infamous spill unleashed 200,000 gallons of oil across 800 square miles, causing the blackening of 35 miles of coastline and the death of thousands of birds and fish.

The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger

UN Conference on Global Warming

Based on article Warning Warming from Grist.org; click title for link.

The 12 day UN Conference on global warming was heard on Monday December 1st. They heard that "War, hunger, poverty and sickness will stalk humanity if the world fails to tackle climate change."

The 192 members at the Conference, held in Poznan, Poland, started with warnings and continued in a step to a new worldwide treaty to reduce greenhouse gases and help countries exposed to the wrath of an altered climate. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) is halfway through a two-year process that is leading up to a new contract/ pact in Copenhagen in December of 2009. They hope to condense the current 82 page document into a workable blueprint for negotiations.

Scientific proof from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) proves that the climate change is getting worse. The head of this Panel said, "The impacts of climate change, if there is inaction, can be extremely serious." He went on to list the facts:
The number of people living in severely stressed river basins is projected to rise from 1.4 to 1.6 billion in 1995 to 4.3-6.9 billion in 2050. Between 20 and 30 percent of species assessed will be at increasingly high risk of extinction as global temperatures exceed two to three degrees centigrade (3.6-5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

"Humankind in its activity just reached the limits of the closed system of our planet Earth," said Polish Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki. He continues, "Further expansion in the same style will generate global threats of really great intensity -- huge droughts and floods, cyclones with increasingly more destructive power, pandemics of tropical disease, dramatic decline of biodiversity, increasing ocean levels...All these can cause social and even armed conflict and migration of people at an unprecedented scale."

Rich Western countries, the major polluters historically, are lobbying for emerging giant countries, such as China and India, to tackle their surging emissions since they will be the polluters of tomorrow. Whereas developing countries want the Western countries to help pay for them to expand their economies. They hope for a breakthrough, but the conference was darkened by the global economic crisis.

However, prime minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, argued the optimistic side: that investing in green technology created growth and jobs. "I feel confident that the financial crisis will be overcome. The recovery will come. However climate change is not going to become less of a problem in the coming years," he said. Greenpeace agreed saying that the global recession was "nothing compared to the trillions of dollars that climate change will cost us." World Wildlife Fund also agreed, saying "The current finance crunch was the result of ignoring major risks, so let's not repeat this mistake by ignoring the even bigger risks from climate change."

The new American president-elect Obama also brings home globally. He has set a goal of reducing US emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050, using a cap-and-trade system and a 10-year programme worth 150 billion dollars in renewable energy.

The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger

PS: Copyright 2008 -- Agence France-Presse

Authors Note: I know that this is old, but I felt it was important and relevant.

Confronting a Fur-Wearer

For many people, being an animal rights activist is hard. Many activists don't like making others feel guilty or uncomfortable, but sometimes you need to be a voice in defense of those who do not have a voice.
Usually, I start by asking if its real fur.. Then usually explain politely yet firmly mention that the animals who are bred in the fur industry are kept in deplorable conditions and are anally electrocuted and then encourage them to donate their coat to homeless people (who are the only people who have an excuse to use a fur to keep warm, as they are unable to purchase coats for themselves) or just say, "Shame. You won't need it in hell."

It is suggested to keep stickers and leaflets in your coat pockets. Often when on the go and just briefly whisking by someone in a fur, you only have time enough to hand them a leaflet. Do be sure to fold the leaflet so that an image of a skinned animal is not the first thing they see, as they will be unlikely to take it from you. There are plenty of beautiful and warm alternatives to fur. Encourage these alternatives.

The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger

Petitions & Videos

There's a few petitions that I received, and I signed them all but failed my duty to send them to you - my readers.

Here are the links to the petitions:

Tell Congress to End Military Training on Animals! (Must be American)
Urge Britney Spears not to use animals for her new CD, Circus!
Stop the Russian killing of hibernating endangered brown bears!
Ban ivory sales and save African elephants!
Tell Canada to support the Animal Welfare Declaration!
Stop inhumane killings!


There's also quite a few new videos that are out.
For the complete list, check out my youtube subscriptions.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=msmango17&view=subscriptions


Repower America (We Can Solve It):
Obama says it's time to repower America
See the reality behind "clean coal"
Clean energy job
Reality Ad


PETA:
Cute animal videos to teach children to not wear fur!
Religion & Vegetarianism Podcast


Friends of the Earth:
How we can stop climate change - Book recommendation

Nature conservancy:
A healthy future for the Great Bear rainforest


World Wildlife Fund:
New wildlife in Mekong (See future article)


Humane society of US:
Inspirational animal video

The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger

Behind

Hello readers.
I am terribly apologetic about not giving you anything for the past couple of weeks.
I've been so caught up in school and my email inbox just kept growing and growing and growing, and now I fear it.
So, I've vowed that I will start anew in the New Year and promise not to let this happen ever again!
I know I missed all the chances to tell you how to be eco-friendly this holiday season and all the great stores and charities that would help you out with gift buying and I'm sorry.

However, if there are any emails that I feel are really important then I will give them to you in breif over the next couple of weeks.

Sorry again.
Hope you still read. :)

The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger

Canadian Coalition

I know. I'm behind on my updates. Again.
But I've been so busy lately, and I'm sorry.
But please sign this petition to support the Canadian Coalition!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/coalition_for_canada/?cl=15296966

Thank you. :D

The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger