Last season NRDC announced it’s mission to save the Hawaiian island’s Whales, and now that this decision is facing the president we’re asking the Obama Administration to protect Hawaii’s false killer whales under the Endangered Species Act because the loss of even a few whales could endanger the survival of the entire population. These whales are among the most imperiled wildlife in the Hawaiian Islands with only 120 of them alive today.

Help grant federal protection to Hawaii’s coastal population of false killer whales. Shown below is one of my letters urging the Obama Administration to protect Hawaii’s false killer whales.

Here is my letter:

Officials from 13 nations are meeting to discuss conservation efforts to save the endangered tiger.   Officials from countries where tigers still roam - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam -  are taking part in the Asia Ministerial Conference (AMC) on Tiger Conservation. The conference runs from January 27 to January 30, 2010,  in Thailand.
 
The World Bank and Global Tiger Initiative are urging the closing of tiger farms.  Tiger farms, located primarily in China, also exist in other parts of the world. Despite a 1993 ban on the domestic tiger trade in China, the demand for tiger parts is still high and tiger farms continue to thrive.  The domestic tiger trade harvests skin, bones, organs and other body parts often used in traditional medicines or as aphrodisiacs.

Not only do off-shore wind turbines not harm marine life, but they actively encourage more of it, a very encouraging study has just concluded, after closely following the effects of the off-shore wind farms being built off the European coast.

A Swedish Scientist at the Stockholm University’s Zoology Department studying the effects of off-shore wind turbines discovered that marine life has become more abundant and diverse near the foundations.  Dan Wilhelmsson found that offshore wind turbines constitute habitats for fish, crabs, mussels, lobsters and plants.

The seabed in the vicinity of the wind turbines had higher densities of fish compared to further away from the turbines and in control areas. This was despite that the natural bottoms were rich in boulders and algae. Blue mussels dominated on the wind turbines that appeared to offer good growth conditions.

A relatively rare form of transmissible cancer–known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD)–has been decimating Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harisii) populations in Northeast Tasmania over the past 23 or more years. First identified in 1996, the spread of this cancer has gotten so pervasive that the animal–the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial–has now become one more of the world’s most endangered species.
 
Recently, researchers have performed large scale genetic analysis of DFTD tumor cells and have discovered many clues to the cause and nature of the cancer. After sequencing tumor cell genes and analyzing small pieces of genetic material known as microRNAs (miRNA), the team has determined that the cancer is a “single clonal cell line propagated as a tumor allograft” and is transmitted from devil to devil through biting. An “allograft” is a transplantation of cells (or tissue) from one (non-genetically identical) member of species to another. Devils are generally solitary hunter-scavengers but are known to occasionally associate in small groups.

It’s a long-standing debate; just how much of a role should humans be playing when it comes to the environment and their influence on the natural order of things with regards to ecosystems and the animal kingdom. There is even more controversy when humans choose to be involved to rectify species decline that have occurred as part of nature and not as a direct result of human impact. A new situation in the UK brings this debate to light.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has decided to re-integrate insect species that have become scarce due to the natural processes of nature. As far as anyone can tell, direct human impact has not been responsible for the decline of 4 insect species, including a rare form of moth (the dark bordered beauty moth. Though, some researchers have suggested it may have been because of their role at the bottom of the food change, or changing ecosystems.

In an effort to prevent animal abuse, China is taking steps to end a centuries-old tradition.  Recently proposed legislation would outlaw the human consumption or sale of cat and dog meat, often called “fragrant meat,” which is still considered a delicacy in some parts of China. 

Sadly, many of the animals that end up on dinner tables are believed to be pets, stolen from families then brutally slaughtered. According to a report by Chinese Animal Protection Network (CAPN), 10,000 cats are eaten each day during the winter months in the GuangDong province of China.

Probably 80% of the time, when I tell someone that I’m vegan, the first words out of that person’s mouth are, “I could not live without cheese!” The other 20% are usually a comments about steak or bacon, sometimes in a mean-spirited way and sometimes not. Today, though, I wanted to talk a little about the cheese thing, since it seems to be what gets folks the most.

I will not lie to you: giving up cheese was probably the toughest part of going vegan for me. Cheese is delicious, and I had what you might call a “cheese problem.” I loved it, but it did not love me. Instead, it played heavily into my high cholesterol (over 250 at age 25).

In order to save human lives and study the effects of being buried in avalanches, researchers buried live pigs in snow while monitoring them as they died.  The research was conducted in order to better understand the effects of oxygen deprivation from being buried in the snow as well as study the timescale of death. A total of 29 pigs were part of the two-week study.

Earlier this week, an international group of scientists sedated the animals and then buried them under the snow in the Tyrol region of the Austrian Alps. Some of the pigs were completely buried and suffocated.  Other pigs, covered up to their necks, reportedly froze to death.

Despite opposition, the Welsh government has given the green-light for a limited badger cull in an effort to combat bovine tuberculosis (TB) in Wales. The slaughter is expected to kill “around 1000” protected badgers. 
 
In an effort to reduce the badger population “as far as we can,” the animals will be trapped and shot to death in a “bovine TB endemic area” where 42 percent of cattle owners in the area had at least one case of TB in their herd since 2003.  According to reports, Affairs Minister Elin Jones said that bovine TB is “out of control” and compensating farmers costs the taxpayers.

Going Meatless on Mondays doesn’t have to mean deprivation of all your favorite foods. By making some simple changes to recipes, you can easily swap out the animal products for vegan options. Here is a simple veganized muffin recipe, so you can start your Meatless Monday off with delicious, healthy, energizing and decadent baked good.

Tibetan Goji Berries are regarded in Tibet as the “Fruit of Longevity and Well Being”. Goji berries have been traditionally regarded as a food that offers your body longevity, strength-building, and sexual potency. Goji’s are a complete protein source and a low calorie snack that strengthens your immune system, increases energy and helps to curb cravings. It has one of the highest antioxidant contents in all food, which helps to fight free radicals, keeping you young and vibrant. Goji’s contain 18 amino acids, vitamin C, beta-carotene, 20 rare trace minerals, vitamin B1, B2 and B6 and vitamin E.

Beauty comes with a price, and for fruit flies, the toll is upon their reproductive system, according to a new study. The most attractive females have compromised survival due to attention that they receive from male fruit flies.

Male fruit flies are highly attracted to the largest females and in turn receive the most attention. This brings forth some similarities to the human population - where males see larger human assets as highly attractive and deserving of attention. Like in the human world, these attractive fruit flies steal male attention, and another similarity is that many of them don’t desire it because it can compromise their survival.

For the first time in decades, a controversial wolf hunt is underway in Sweden.  The Swedish Environment Protection Agency approved the limited cull of 27 wolves, or about 10 percent of the Swedish wolf population.  In October, the Swedish parliament voted to limit the wolf population to 210 animals for the next five years.

Nearly extinct decades ago, the wolf population in Sweden has grown over the years. But wolves have become increasingly unpopular in the country. The animals have reportedly attacked livestock and pets and sightings of wolves in cities and suburbs have also increased.