Miranda Kerr Reveals Her Worst Eco-Sin

Miranda Kerr Reveals Her Worst Eco-Sin | ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip:

1/30/11

"...Kerr hasn’t jumped on the vegan bandwagon yet, but that doesn’t mean she won’t someday. And if you think that’s the celeb’s biggest eco faux pas, think again. When asked what her worst eco-sin has been, the 27-year-old replied, “Flying, but it’s a necessity for my job. However, I try to do my best by offsetting my miles.”"

Actualizing the theology of global warming

This is what I'm talking about, people!! Let's get serious about the theology of carbon. This guy totally gets it.

-- Fr. Paul R. Bear

Actualizing the theology of global warming | The Jakarta Post

Ali Sobirin, Jakarta | Fri, 01/28/2011 9:49 AM | Opinion

"...As a nation that believes in God, with Muslims making up the majority of the population, Indonesia has begun to build and manifest a theology of global warming and climate change.

The theology suggests that natural resources, especially energy, have limitations (ajalin musamma), as mentioned in the Koran 46:3, 30:8, 22:32 and 13:2. Therefore, these must be managed wisely and sustainable energy conservation must be promoted.

There are at least three principles laying the foundation for this theology. First, the Earth is a place of ideal life, as stated in the Koran 55:10, 7:24 and 7:74. Second, the sky (atmosphere) is a protector of life as quoted in the Koran 2:22 and 21:32. As a material that serves as both a habitat and guardian of life, the Earth and sky should be managed and utilized properly. Arbitrary treatment could potentially destroy life, both directly and indirectly. Third, global warming is anthropogenic, which means it is a result of erroneous human behavior in managing natural resources and the environment.

As we know, fossil-based energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas have been used as sources of energy and produce huge emissions, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and various other toxic gases, into the atmosphere. These various gases are responsible for climate change and global warming, better known as the greenhouse effect. At the same time, deforestation is widespread.

The third principle emphasizes that caring for the Earth and the sky is a religious duty (Koran 7:56 and 28:83) and becomes a prerequisite for realization of the goals of sharia (maqashid shari’ah).

In failing to take care of the Earth and sky, the five basic tenets of the good of human life (al-dlaruriyat al-khamsa), which are to maintain religion (hifdz al-din), keep the soul (hifdz al-nafs), keep the lineage (hifdz al-nasl), keep the mind (hifdz al-‘aql) and maintain property (hifdz al-mal), will not be fulfilled.

According to the World Health Organization, climate change was responsible for 2.4 percent of diarrheal diseases and 6 percent of malaria infections in low-income countries in 2000. Climate change has also caused 150,000 annual deaths, and will double by 2030..."

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Walrus protection can wait: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Reuters

Walrus protection can wait: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Reuters:

By Yereth Rosen

ANCHORAGE, Alaska | Wed Feb 9, 2011 9:30am EST
(Reuters)

"...The Pacific walrus, hampered by vanishing sea ice in Arctic waters, deserves protection under the Endangered Species Act but must wait in line behind more imperiled animals, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman said on Tuesday.

The decision dashed environmentalists' hopes that the lumbering, long-tusked marine mammal would soon join the polar bear as a federally protected icon of global warming."

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Polar bears having fewer cubs due to global warming

Kudos to Iranian journalists for reporting on this issue.

tehran times : Polar bears having fewer cubs due to global warming:

2/13/11

"...Polar bears numbers could plummet with climate change, according to a new study that showed females are giving birth to fewer cubs due to the loss of sea ice.

Researchers at the University of Alberta looked at how melting sea ice in the 1990s effected the breeding success of polar bears.

During the spring and summer months the females are hunting seals on the ice to build up energy for the autumn and winter when they will hibernate for up to eight months and give birth.

The study found the early melting of the ice made it more difficult for the bears to hunt seals successfully and build up energy."

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Pika driven from traditional habitat by warming trend

As temperatures have risen, populations of the American pika have moved from lower elevations to cooler climes upslope.

Enlisting Endangered Species As a Tool to Combat Warming
Environment 360
by todd woody

While a high-profile battle raged over listing the polar bear as a threatened species due to melting Arctic sea ice, U.S. environmentalists were quietly building a case to protect a critter closer to home, one whose existence also seems gravely threatened by a warming world.

A pocket-sized member of the rabbit family with a distinctive squeak and large ears that frame dark eyes and a button nose, the American pika lives on rocky slopes high in alpine mountain ranges from the Sierra Nevada to the Rockies. Sporting a thick gray-brown coat, the pika does not hibernate and so maintains a high internal temperature to survive frigid winters. Because it can’t turn off its heater, the animal can die in the summer if its body temperature increases by as little as 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 F).

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Paul Krugman: Who Cooked the Planet?

Op-Ed Columnist - Who Cooked the Planet? - NYTimes.com:

By Paul Krugman

July 25, 2010

"...[I]t wasn’t the science, the scientists, or the economics that killed action on climate change. What was it?

The answer is, the usual suspects: greed and cowardice.

If you want to understand opposition to climate action, follow the money."

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