At the National Wildlife Property Repository, only the imagination runs wild. Everything else is dead and lies on the crowded shelves of this warehouse outside Denver. There's a Hartmann's mountain zebra, its hide a rifle case -- the souvenir of a safari to southern Africa.
There are the alligators whose skins adorn eight pairs of $2,000 Air Force 1s, the scheme of a hip-hop-inspired importer.There are the black bears whose gallbladder bile was extracted and crystallized, a futile cure for hangovers and hemorrhoids.Some deaths here, however, defy imagining -- like that of the orangutan, whose skull, carved with decorative swirls and lightning bolts, is all that remains; or the caimans, standing on hind legs and holding silver trays like butlers; or the cheetah, with the frozen snarl and teardrop eyes.
Domestic and international laws protect roughly 5,000 animals against exploitation and extinction, and the National Wildlife Property Repository is the endpoint for all that is caught and confiscated by federal agencies in this country. Held for educational purposes, future undercover operations and possible use by the Smithsonian or other museums, the items in this building represent, in the words of one agent, nothing less than "the evil in mankind."The federal government may give the repository a fancy name, but it is really a mausoleum, a tomb for nearly 1.5 million mammals, insects, reptiles, birds and assorted sea life, testimony to one of the largest illegal, if not creepiest, trades in the world -- third behind drugs and guns -- worth an estimated $20 billion annually. Skinned, mounted, cut up and/or processed, the items arrive from U.S. Fish and Wildlife field offices around the country. Specialist Doni Sprague's job is to sort and document the pieces before wheeling them through the double doors and into a dusty oblivion.On a recent day she was processing a shipment of antiques from Detroit: opera glasses, snuff boxes, ink wells, each tricked out with elephant ivory or sea turtle shell.The seizure was nothing scandalous. An agent dropped in on an antiques store in the upscale suburb of Birmingham, Mich. He said he was a buyer, and he kept returning for the next few months until he learned that these particular items -- objets de vitrine as they're known in the antiques trade -- had been smuggled from England.In another age and era, they represented the privilege of empire. Today, they are a crime against the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act. In a plea bargain, the owner of the store agreed to pay a $15,000 fine and $10,000 to the Detroit Zoological Society's endangered species program.Sprague steps between a computer and the counter, bar-coding each item. The antiques gleam under the overhead lights, pictures of a diminished elegance. The illegal wildlife trade is colored by many shades of gray. Some violations are blatant: trafficking walrus tusks or polar bear skins. Others, such as selling these antiques, seem strangely innocent and are often prosecuted largely for the purpose of discouraging a potential market. Laws and regulations governing the trade cover the world like a net, tangled and knotted in an attempt to unite countries and cultures in one common mission. That mission -- to conserve ecosystems and save endangered and threatened species -- came of age in this country during the Nixon administration after nearly 200 years of vanishings. Birds that had once blanketed the sky, seals that had once crowded the Caribbean and sea turtles once so plentiful that a man could capture 100 in a single day off Cape Hatteras were gone or nearly gone, and Congress decided to act. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 put the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in charge of protecting various species. Two years later the national agenda took an international turn when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species was ratified. From the start, the Fish and Wildlife Service was overwhelmed by the task. The initial budget was $11 million, and no one could have imagined a need for the repository. Terry Grosz, at the time the endangered species desk officer for the Division of Law Enforcement, remembers being run ragged during those early days. Inadequate staffing and critics who wanted the Endangered Species Act declared unconstitutional added to the burden.The breaking point for Grosz occurred when 11,000 pounds of green sea turtle meat was intercepted in New York City. The importer said it belonged to the one turtle species that was not endangered. Grosz thought otherwise but had no way of proving it. The shipment was allowed into the country, a bitter loss that eventually led to the creation of a forensic laboratory in Ashland, Ore., that could provide DNA tests -- and positive identification -- of seized items. The lab opened in 1989 and is the only one of its kind in the world.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
UK 'must plan' for warmer future
Launching the UK Climate Projections 2009 report (UKCP09), Mr Benn told MPs that the UK climate will change even with a global deal on emissions.
By 2080, London will be between 2C and 6C hotter than it is now, he said.
Every part of the UK is likely to be wetter in winter and drier in summer, according to the projections.
Summer rainfall could decrease by about 20% in the south of England and in Yorkshire and Humberside by the middle of the century.Scotland and the north-west of England could see winter rainfall increase by a similar amount.
The government hopes UKCP09 will allow citizens, local authorities and businesses to plan for future decades.
It uses computer models of the world's climate to make projections of parameters such as temperature, rainfall and wind.
"Climate change is going to transform the way we live," said Mr Benn.
"These projections show us the future we need to avoid, and the future we need to plan for."
By 2080, London will be between 2C and 6C hotter than it is now, he said.
Every part of the UK is likely to be wetter in winter and drier in summer, according to the projections.
Summer rainfall could decrease by about 20% in the south of England and in Yorkshire and Humberside by the middle of the century.Scotland and the north-west of England could see winter rainfall increase by a similar amount.
The government hopes UKCP09 will allow citizens, local authorities and businesses to plan for future decades.
It uses computer models of the world's climate to make projections of parameters such as temperature, rainfall and wind.
"Climate change is going to transform the way we live," said Mr Benn.
"These projections show us the future we need to avoid, and the future we need to plan for."
Private Profit Projects, Economics of Private River Power in BC
Public purchase orders issued to private power licensees to date will cost British Columbians more than $30 billion dollars. A number expected to climb dramatically.
BC’s public rivers and public rights are being abused as is the public electric utility.
British Columbians are guaranteeing the costs of completely unnecessary private power developments while lucky licensees reap forty years of publicly guaranteed profits.
Behind a veil of confidentiality BC’s public utility is continuing to issue forty year contracts to buy electricity from license holders possibly appointed by the Premier. Inclusive of green credits and upcoming carbon offsets the public pays $120.00 for a megawatt of electricity made from private facilities built with public money based on free energy sources that yield no public benefits.
Private river power from BC, as it is sold to the US, will fall under US energy security rules and the people of BC will be left without recourse. Generations of British Columbians will shoulder compound losses occurring through losing control of rivers and access to water and watersheds which are being devastated today by private river power projects without public or First Nations consultation although a few exceptions do exist.
BC’s public rivers and public rights are being abused as is the public electric utility.
British Columbians are guaranteeing the costs of completely unnecessary private power developments while lucky licensees reap forty years of publicly guaranteed profits.
Behind a veil of confidentiality BC’s public utility is continuing to issue forty year contracts to buy electricity from license holders possibly appointed by the Premier. Inclusive of green credits and upcoming carbon offsets the public pays $120.00 for a megawatt of electricity made from private facilities built with public money based on free energy sources that yield no public benefits.
Private river power from BC, as it is sold to the US, will fall under US energy security rules and the people of BC will be left without recourse. Generations of British Columbians will shoulder compound losses occurring through losing control of rivers and access to water and watersheds which are being devastated today by private river power projects without public or First Nations consultation although a few exceptions do exist.
EARTH OBSERVATORY
World of Change
Inspired by our 10th anniversary, the Earth Observatory has pulled together a special series of NASA satellite images documenting how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—has changed during the previous decadEarth would not be the planet that it is without its biosphere, the sum of its life. This series of images illustrates the variations in the average productivity of the global biosphere from In the early 1980s, scientists began to realize that CFCs were creating a thin spot—a hole—in the ozone layer over Antarctica every spring. This series of satellite images shows the ozone hole on the day of its maximum depth each year from 1979 through 2008.1999 to 2008.The state of Rondônia in western Brazil is one of the most deforested parts of the Amazon. This series shows deforestation on the frontier in the northwestern part of the state between 2000 and 2008.Because of differences in geography and climate, Antarctica sea ice extent is larger than the Arctic’s in winter and smaller in summer. Since 1979, Antarctica’s sea ice has increased slightly, but year-to-year fluctuations are large.
A massive irrigation project in the Kyzylkum Desert of central Asia has devastated the Aral Sea over the past 50 years. These images show the continued decline of the Southern Aral Sea in the past decade, as well as the first steps of recovery in the Northern Aral Sea in recent years.
NASA satellites have monitored Arctic sea ice since 1978. Starting in 2002, they observed a sharp decline in sea ice extent.
Drought struck southern Utah in the early twenty-first century. The drought’s effects were easily seen in the fluctuating water levels of Lake Powell.
In the years following the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi residents began reclaiming the country’s nearly decimated Mesopotamian marshes. This series of images documents the transformation of the fabled landscape between 2000 and 2009.
Over the span of 11 years, the Sun's activity waxes and wanes as magnetic field lines that are wound and tangled inside the Sun periodically break through to the surface. This series of images shows sunspots and UV brightness generated by solar magnetic activity from 1999-2009
To expand the possibilities for beachfront tourist development, Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, undertook a massive engineering project to create hundreds of artificial islands along its Persian Gulf coastline.
Inspired by our 10th anniversary, the Earth Observatory has pulled together a special series of NASA satellite images documenting how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—has changed during the previous decadEarth would not be the planet that it is without its biosphere, the sum of its life. This series of images illustrates the variations in the average productivity of the global biosphere from In the early 1980s, scientists began to realize that CFCs were creating a thin spot—a hole—in the ozone layer over Antarctica every spring. This series of satellite images shows the ozone hole on the day of its maximum depth each year from 1979 through 2008.1999 to 2008.The state of Rondônia in western Brazil is one of the most deforested parts of the Amazon. This series shows deforestation on the frontier in the northwestern part of the state between 2000 and 2008.Because of differences in geography and climate, Antarctica sea ice extent is larger than the Arctic’s in winter and smaller in summer. Since 1979, Antarctica’s sea ice has increased slightly, but year-to-year fluctuations are large.
A massive irrigation project in the Kyzylkum Desert of central Asia has devastated the Aral Sea over the past 50 years. These images show the continued decline of the Southern Aral Sea in the past decade, as well as the first steps of recovery in the Northern Aral Sea in recent years.
NASA satellites have monitored Arctic sea ice since 1978. Starting in 2002, they observed a sharp decline in sea ice extent.
Drought struck southern Utah in the early twenty-first century. The drought’s effects were easily seen in the fluctuating water levels of Lake Powell.
In the years following the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi residents began reclaiming the country’s nearly decimated Mesopotamian marshes. This series of images documents the transformation of the fabled landscape between 2000 and 2009.
Over the span of 11 years, the Sun's activity waxes and wanes as magnetic field lines that are wound and tangled inside the Sun periodically break through to the surface. This series of images shows sunspots and UV brightness generated by solar magnetic activity from 1999-2009
To expand the possibilities for beachfront tourist development, Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, undertook a massive engineering project to create hundreds of artificial islands along its Persian Gulf coastline.
Angola: Environment Deputy Minister Suggests New Sources of Energy
The deputy minister of Environment, Mota Liz, on Wednesday warned that Angola should identify other sources of energy for the population, mainly for those ones in rural areas, if it wants to continue lessening the desertification phenomenon.
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The official, who said so in an ceremony to commemorate the World Day of Fighting Against Desertification and Drought, considered as worrying the situation in the country, mainly in the southern area, in which, he said, there is an excessive exploration of trees for wood and coal production, besides the destruction of plants for agricultural purposes.
He reminded that the cutting of trees for coal and wood production have an important meaning to desertification, suggesting, thus, the need for
replenishing forests with trees, in an intensive way, to avoid the spreading of deserts in Angola.
"If we have no response to give, like other sources of energy and the rational exploration of mineral resources, we might stimulate this tendency instead of contradicting it", he said.
Mota Liz reminded the fact that there is a growing absence of trees from Namibia desert to Angola's central Benguela Province.
GA_googleFillSlot( "AllAfrica_Story_InsetA" );
The official, who said so in an ceremony to commemorate the World Day of Fighting Against Desertification and Drought, considered as worrying the situation in the country, mainly in the southern area, in which, he said, there is an excessive exploration of trees for wood and coal production, besides the destruction of plants for agricultural purposes.
He reminded that the cutting of trees for coal and wood production have an important meaning to desertification, suggesting, thus, the need for
replenishing forests with trees, in an intensive way, to avoid the spreading of deserts in Angola.
"If we have no response to give, like other sources of energy and the rational exploration of mineral resources, we might stimulate this tendency instead of contradicting it", he said.
Mota Liz reminded the fact that there is a growing absence of trees from Namibia desert to Angola's central Benguela Province.
Environment: Indian Prez appeals for conserving natural resources
On the World Environment Day, Indian President Pratibha Patil has called for greater efforts at ecologically sustainable development. International community, she told an audience which assembled at Rashtrapati Bhavan to witness the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskaar (IGPP) awards, is currently engaged in the process of negotiations on climate change. It is a challenging issue. Eradication of poverty and the imperatives of economic and social development are equally important. One is not to the exclusion of the other. The over-riding priority for developing countries is sustainable development and environment.
Underlining that the campaign demands financial resources and technology transfer, the Indian President said developed and developing countries should work together and come up with cost effective technological innovations.
Referring to theme for the World Environment Day this year, “Your Planet needs you – Unite to respond to climate change”, President Patil said she said that the new theme is a reminder of the need for collective efforts to tackle the threats from climate change. ‘This challenge impacts each one of us in our habitats and affects our way of life’.
She quoted a ‘shloka’ from Varaha Purana to drive home the message that as long as there are mountains and green forests on Earth, till then we and our future generations will survive and live happily.
President presented Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskaar (IGPP) to eminent to organizations and individuals who made a major impact in the protection of environment. For the year 2006, Bongaigaon Refinery and Petro-chemicals Limited, Assam and 130 Infantry Battalion (TA), Ecological, Uttrakhand were the joint recipients of the award in organization category. Dr. J. Raghav Rao from Chennai, Tamil Nadu and S. Annapurna from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh received the award in the individual category.
IGPP Awards for the year 2007 went to BAIF Institute of Rural Development, Tiptur, Karnataka and Antyoday Nirbal Durbal Shoshit Mahila Evam Bal Kalyan Samiti, Luknow, Uttar Pradesh in the organization category.
Afzal Khatri and Nusrat Khatri from Mumbai jointly and Dr. Rachna Gaur, Rajsamand, Rajasthan got award in individual category.
The Young Environmentalist of the Year 2009 Award went to Master Aviral Saxena, a Class X student of Jawaharlal Nehru School, Bhopal. He received Rs. 10,000 in cash, a trophy, a certificate, a medal and a scroll. The selection was made on the basis of National Level Written Quiz Competition held on April 22 to mark the ‘Earth Day’.
New flora and fauna have been ‘discovered’ last year. Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have published these findings. Copies of ‘Animal Discoveries – 2008’ and ‘Plant Discoveries – 2008’ have been presented to President Patil.
The ZSI’s scientists have discovered 37 new species where one each is from Nepal and Sri Lanka. Two scientists outside ZSI have also contributed to new species and one new record of sea spider from India. Scientist from BSI and other institutions discovered three genera, 108 species, fourteen sub-species, twelve varieties and one forma as new to science. Twenty-Four species and three varieties have been discovered as new records for Indian flora.
Underlining that the campaign demands financial resources and technology transfer, the Indian President said developed and developing countries should work together and come up with cost effective technological innovations.
Referring to theme for the World Environment Day this year, “Your Planet needs you – Unite to respond to climate change”, President Patil said she said that the new theme is a reminder of the need for collective efforts to tackle the threats from climate change. ‘This challenge impacts each one of us in our habitats and affects our way of life’.
She quoted a ‘shloka’ from Varaha Purana to drive home the message that as long as there are mountains and green forests on Earth, till then we and our future generations will survive and live happily.
President presented Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskaar (IGPP) to eminent to organizations and individuals who made a major impact in the protection of environment. For the year 2006, Bongaigaon Refinery and Petro-chemicals Limited, Assam and 130 Infantry Battalion (TA), Ecological, Uttrakhand were the joint recipients of the award in organization category. Dr. J. Raghav Rao from Chennai, Tamil Nadu and S. Annapurna from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh received the award in the individual category.
IGPP Awards for the year 2007 went to BAIF Institute of Rural Development, Tiptur, Karnataka and Antyoday Nirbal Durbal Shoshit Mahila Evam Bal Kalyan Samiti, Luknow, Uttar Pradesh in the organization category.
Afzal Khatri and Nusrat Khatri from Mumbai jointly and Dr. Rachna Gaur, Rajsamand, Rajasthan got award in individual category.
The Young Environmentalist of the Year 2009 Award went to Master Aviral Saxena, a Class X student of Jawaharlal Nehru School, Bhopal. He received Rs. 10,000 in cash, a trophy, a certificate, a medal and a scroll. The selection was made on the basis of National Level Written Quiz Competition held on April 22 to mark the ‘Earth Day’.
New flora and fauna have been ‘discovered’ last year. Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have published these findings. Copies of ‘Animal Discoveries – 2008’ and ‘Plant Discoveries – 2008’ have been presented to President Patil.
The ZSI’s scientists have discovered 37 new species where one each is from Nepal and Sri Lanka. Two scientists outside ZSI have also contributed to new species and one new record of sea spider from India. Scientist from BSI and other institutions discovered three genera, 108 species, fourteen sub-species, twelve varieties and one forma as new to science. Twenty-Four species and three varieties have been discovered as new records for Indian flora.
INVITATION OF NOMINATIONS FOR THE NATIONAL AWARDS FOR
Nominations are invited for the National Awards for Prevention of Pollution and the
Rajiv Gandhi Environment Award for Clean Technology for the year 2008-2009 in the
following identified categories of highly polluting industries, of industries which have
made a significant and measurable contribution towards development or use of clean
technologies, products or practices that prevent pollution and find innovative solution to
environmental problems:-
Large Scale industries:
1 Sugar 2 Fertilizer 3 Cement 4 Fermentation and Distillery 5 Aluminium 6 Petrochemicals
7 Thermal Power 8 Caustic Soda 9 Oil Refinery 10 Sulphuric Acid 11
Tanneries 12 Copper Smelting 13 Zinc Smelting 14 Iron and Steel 15 Pulp and Paper 16
Dye and Dye Intermediates 17 Pesticides 18 Pharmaceuticals.
Small Scale Industries:
1. Tanneries 2 Pulp and Paper 3 Dye and Dye Intermediates 4 Pesticides 5
Pharmaceuticals.
Nature of Awards:
The National Awards for Prevention of Pollution will be bestowed on 23 industries (18
large scale and 5 small scale industries), one each for the above mentioned categories of
industries based upon their performance during the financial year 2008-2009. The Rajiv
Gandhi Environment Award for Clean Technology is given to the one which is the best
among these industries, particularly from the angle of adoption of the clean technology.
The Awards comprise a Cash Award of Rupees one lakh in addition to a silver Trophy
and a Citation.
ELIGIBILITY:
The industrial units belonging to the above mentioned categories of industries which
meet the prescribed standards would be eligible for nomination for the aforesaid Awards.
For details please refer to this Ministry’s website http://envfor.nic.in or contact the
undersigned or Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi or Chairman of
the respective State Pollution Control Board.
PROCEDURE FOR SUBMISSION OF NOMINATIONS:
Any past awardees of National Environmental Awards e.g. Indira Gandhi Paryavaran
Puraskar(IGPP) etc. or any organization connected with the industry and commerce, such
as, Industrial or Commercial Associations or Industrial Promotion Corporations, State
Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees may nominate any industrial unit
from the categories of Industries given above for the Awards along with an application
from the industry concerned, in the prescribed Proforma duly filled in, as given below:-
1. Name and address of the industrial unit, 2. Name and address of the proposer
(person/organization), 3. Category of the industrial unit (large/small scale), 4. Details of
previous awards received, if any, 5. Significant contribution made by the industrial unit (a
brief write up on the specific contribution on innovative clean technology, sustainability,
broader users or target groups etc.):
Self-nominations will not be considered.
The nominations duly certified by the proposer should be sent in duplicate to
Additional Director (Dr. R.K.Suri),
Control of Pollution Division,
Ministry of Environment & Forests, Paryavaran Bhawan,
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
(Telephone No. 011-24361668 email: rk_suri@yahoo.co.uk)
The last date for receipt of nominations is 31st August, 2009.
Rajiv Gandhi Environment Award for Clean Technology for the year 2008-2009 in the
following identified categories of highly polluting industries, of industries which have
made a significant and measurable contribution towards development or use of clean
technologies, products or practices that prevent pollution and find innovative solution to
environmental problems:-
Large Scale industries:
1 Sugar 2 Fertilizer 3 Cement 4 Fermentation and Distillery 5 Aluminium 6 Petrochemicals
7 Thermal Power 8 Caustic Soda 9 Oil Refinery 10 Sulphuric Acid 11
Tanneries 12 Copper Smelting 13 Zinc Smelting 14 Iron and Steel 15 Pulp and Paper 16
Dye and Dye Intermediates 17 Pesticides 18 Pharmaceuticals.
Small Scale Industries:
1. Tanneries 2 Pulp and Paper 3 Dye and Dye Intermediates 4 Pesticides 5
Pharmaceuticals.
Nature of Awards:
The National Awards for Prevention of Pollution will be bestowed on 23 industries (18
large scale and 5 small scale industries), one each for the above mentioned categories of
industries based upon their performance during the financial year 2008-2009. The Rajiv
Gandhi Environment Award for Clean Technology is given to the one which is the best
among these industries, particularly from the angle of adoption of the clean technology.
The Awards comprise a Cash Award of Rupees one lakh in addition to a silver Trophy
and a Citation.
ELIGIBILITY:
The industrial units belonging to the above mentioned categories of industries which
meet the prescribed standards would be eligible for nomination for the aforesaid Awards.
For details please refer to this Ministry’s website http://envfor.nic.in or contact the
undersigned or Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi or Chairman of
the respective State Pollution Control Board.
PROCEDURE FOR SUBMISSION OF NOMINATIONS:
Any past awardees of National Environmental Awards e.g. Indira Gandhi Paryavaran
Puraskar(IGPP) etc. or any organization connected with the industry and commerce, such
as, Industrial or Commercial Associations or Industrial Promotion Corporations, State
Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees may nominate any industrial unit
from the categories of Industries given above for the Awards along with an application
from the industry concerned, in the prescribed Proforma duly filled in, as given below:-
1. Name and address of the industrial unit, 2. Name and address of the proposer
(person/organization), 3. Category of the industrial unit (large/small scale), 4. Details of
previous awards received, if any, 5. Significant contribution made by the industrial unit (a
brief write up on the specific contribution on innovative clean technology, sustainability,
broader users or target groups etc.):
Self-nominations will not be considered.
The nominations duly certified by the proposer should be sent in duplicate to
Additional Director (Dr. R.K.Suri),
Control of Pollution Division,
Ministry of Environment & Forests, Paryavaran Bhawan,
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
(Telephone No. 011-24361668 email: rk_suri@yahoo.co.uk)
The last date for receipt of nominations is 31st August, 2009.
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