A historic tiger summit took place this week in St. Petersburg, Russia, with key countries committing to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, the next “Year of the Tiger” in China. From about 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to approximately 3,200 today, tigers have been hunted mercilessly and are on the […]
Leonardo DiCaprio Giving $1 Million to WWF for Tiger Conservation Read More 👉
Department of Interior sets “critical habitat” area for polar bear along Alaska’s north coast. The Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of Interior, announced today that it plans to set aside more than 187,000 square miles — about 120 million acres — of onshore barrier islands, denning areas and offshore sea ice
Obama Administration Designates Critical Habitat for Polar Bear Read More 👉
Recently, an investigation and then a comprehensive analysis of bluefin tuna have shown some bad news for this magnificent creature. “New data seen by conservation organisations WWF and Greenpeace reveals that documentation for 2010 bluefin tuna catches in the Mediterranean Sea is as riddled with rule-flouting and inadequacies as ever before,” WWF reports. “Cases include catches
Huge Bluefin Tuna Black Market and Overfishing Identified Read More 👉
Killing off some of the most amazing creatures in the history of the planet, whales, is one of those things we are doing right now that make you really question the intelligence of humans. How can we do such a thing? Calling on humans to be more sensitive creatures but also to realize and protect
Help Stop Whaling in Iceland Read More 👉
We’ve written on bluefin tuna a number of times on Planetsave. This amazing fish, which can swim at up to 55 mph (it is the fastest fish in the sea) and can live for up to 30 years, is getting fished to extinction, and it’s time to do something about it… The Pew Environment Group (PEG) has
Help Protect Bluefin Tuna by November 17 Read More 👉
Our oceans, or more accurately, the creatures in our oceans, are in big trouble. Here’s some depressing news from Blue Planet Society: Our marine ecosystem is under threat like never before in the history of humanity. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 33% of cartilaginous fishes and 15% of bony fishes
Our Oceans are Seeing Red Read More 👉
A massive report published last week by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the international journal Science shows us exactly how bad we are doing as stewards of the world. The report, the culmination of 5 decades of work by 174 scientists, examined approximately 25,000 species in nearly 40 countries. The overall finding
1/5 of Animals Facing Extinction: Mass Extinction is Here Read More 👉
Reporting from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia last week, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) shared some disturbing news with the world. Endangered pangolins (aka scaly anteaters) are being massacred at a rate much higher than previously expected. Stunning figures in traffickers’ logbooks indicate massive illegal capture and trade in endangered pangolins or scaly anteaters, finds a
Pangolin Trade Much Worse than Expected, Seized Notebooks Show Read More 👉
In a rare win for protecting the beautiful creatures of the sea and biodiversity as a whole, the small Island nation of Palau is acting big. Yale Environment 360 reports: The Pacific Island nation of Palau has announced the establishment of a 230,000-square-mile marine mammal sanctuary that will protect whales, dolphins, and the endangered dugong
Island Nation to Create Massive Marine Mammal Sanctuary Read More 👉
With one of our dedicated readers, Becky Striepe, being a big fan of otters, how could I pass this story up? Plus, it is a great story. The UK’s Environment Agency recently announced that otters have “made a remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction,” the League Against Cruel Sports reports. While everyone must be
Otters Make Comeback from Brink of Extinction in UK Read More 👉
To many, including Native Americans, wolves are sacred animals symbolizing nature’s wild freedom… “The threat to wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies is real — and it’s happening now.” ~ Defenders.org Help stop the deadly Wildlife Services wolf-killing plan and urge constituents and Members of Congress to speak out against federal legislation that would remove wolves
A Future for Wolves? Read More 👉
The 2010 Convention of Biodiversity (CBD) was held in Nagoya, Japan last week. The atmosphere must not have been very pleasant, considering that most 2010 targets were not met. Nonetheless, representatives from all countries of the world except the U.S. and Andorra (pop. 83,000) met and worked on creating a strategic plan for 2011-2022. Yes, no
U.S. and Andorra Only Two Countries Not at Convention of Biodiversity Read More 👉
If you haven’t heard, there have been massive die-offs of bats across the U.S. recently. Scientists have been warning us about the main cause, White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), for years… but who listens to scientists? With WNS, a fungus leaves a white substance all over bats disrupting hibernation patterns, forcing bats to use up all of
Bat Die-Off Could Seriously Threaten U.S. Agriculture Read More 👉
A global analysis of the extinction risk for the world’s plants has found that more than a fifth of all plant species on Earth are threatened with extinction. This is the first time the true extent of the threat to the estimated 380,000 plant species has been revealed. The research was conducted by the Royal
One Fifth of Plants Face Extinction Read More 👉
Rather than wait until I do my global warming news of the week wrap-up to share this, here is another excellent video by top climate de-crocker, Peter Sinclair. While polar bears are one obvious species endangered by climate change, there are more than a few. Humans are causing the 6th mass extinction in the history
Extinction: Not Just for Polar Bears Any More Read More 👉
Fed by demand from growing markets in Asia, poaching of rhino horns in Africa has dramatically increased in the last three years, according to a recent article, as well-organized groups have started using high-tech equipment–including helicopters–to track and kill the endangered animals.
Rhino Poachers Go High-Tech, Rhino Kills Increase 2000% Read More 👉
Security officials opened a suspicious suitcase in a Bangkok, Thailand airport recently and found a young tiger, 2 and 1/2 months old, sleeping, drugged a bit, and stuffed in the suitcase near a stuffed animal tiger. The message to the Thai woman who was boldly breaking the law and offending animal lovers everywhere: “Please, don’t smuggle
Live Baby Tiger in Suitcase Rescued from Wildlife Traffickers Read More 👉
The world’s biggest cat, the tiger, is now living out its life in about six percent of the available habitat it could be living in. This according to a new peer-reviewed paper by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other groups who have identified 42 source sites scattered across Asia that will be the last
Last Remaining Tigers Living in Six Percent of Available Habitat Read More 👉
The decision by a Russian court to turn over 70 hectares of genetically unique species of plants to home developers caused an uproar world-wide, with scientists decrying the pending loss as “irreplaceable” and a major blow to agricultural biodiversity. Recently, however, the Russian government has stepped in and ordered a review of the decision — postponing the auctioning of land until at least October.
Threatened Russian 'Plant Bank' Gets Reprieve Read More 👉
Here’s a roundup of great activism news or important activism opportunities from the week (and some stuff from last week), other than the stuff we’ve already covered. Enjoy!
Activism News of the Week (or Two) Read More 👉
We’ve had a couple posts on sea otters on this site recently — a 10 Friday Photos post on otters and a post about the declining sea otter populations in California. I have to be honest and let you know that one particular friend has been the driver behind these posts. She also recently recommended
Sea Otter Populations Need Your Help Read More 👉
Fox thought to be extinct found in California. Three weeks ago, U.S. Forest Service biologists thought they found a fox in the mountains of central California that is supposed to be extinct. The biologists looked to experts at the University of California, Davis to confirm this finding. Sure enough, the fox they stumbled across was this
Extinct Fox Not Extinct, Found in California Read More 👉
12% of Mexican lizards have gone extinct from global warming in the past 25 years, 4% have gone extinct worldwide, and 39% are expected to go extinct worldwide from global warming by 2080. I’ve written on lizards going extinct from climate change in the past, and I’m sure others have as well since theoretical models
Lizard Species Going Extinct Rapidly from Climate Change Read More 👉
Costco has responded positively to its shareholders’ suggestions in a letter posted on its website last month. Costco has, as of 2009, voluntarily disclosed more information about its seafood suppliers.
Additionally, Costco has begun working with suppliers of farmed salmon to insure compliance with the Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue and will partner with the World Wildlife Fund to monitor Thailand’s compliance with the Shrimp Aquaculture Dialogue.
Costco Adopts Sustainable Seafood Policy (correction) Read More 👉
I think everyone’s pretty familiar with The Cove by now (& if you’re not, you should be, so check out the link). Now, the director of this Oscar-winning documentary, Louie Psihoyos, has a new, bigger movie in mind. His new film, The Singing Planet: The whole world is singing, we just haven’t been listening, will
3D Mass Extinction Movie, by Director of "The Cove" Read More 👉
Here’s our weekly roundup of environment and wildlife news. Enjoy.
Latest News Weekend Roundup: 7 Environment and Wildlife Stories Read More 👉
The Galapagos Tortoise is one of the best known species on the famous Galapagos islands woff the coast of Ecuador. The region is now removed from the UN’s endangered species list. The Galapagos Islands have been essential to our understanding of the evolution of species and the origins of the animal planet. This exotic locale
Darwin's Species Will Continue to Evolve: Galapagos Islands No Longer Endangered Read More 👉
A variety of oil spill condoms, political condoms, or endangered species condoms are available for folks practicing safe sex these days. Want to help the Gulf of Mexico while also having safe sex? Exactly what you’ve been thinking about lately, right? Well, now you can! Practice Safe Policy has started selling Oil Spill Condoms. 20% of
Tons of big green news stories in one short article. There are tons of big green news stories out there every day. Although we can’t (and probably shouldn’t) cover all of them here on Planetsave, it drives me crazy not to cover everything I think is big news. Hopefully, a new idea I’ve had to
Green News Stories Read More 👉
Genetic barcoding is a technique that involves identifying segments of animal DNA (genomes) that are unique to each species. These unique genetic sequences are preserved in a database (the iBOL library) that anyone can access for free.
'Bar Code of Life' Project Gears Up for Global Test Run Read More 👉
470 endangered sea turtles and thousands of birds officially killed by BP oil spill so far. Many more covered in oil and on the brink of death. Well, BP has stopped burning endangered sea turtles alive and has apparently gotten the leak stopped, but official reports show that, as of yesterday, at least 470 endangered
470+ Endangered Sea Turtles Killed by BP Oil Spill (so far) Read More 👉
Industrial fishing fleets can catch fish in numbers unimaginable to fishermen a few decades ago. The capabilities are more than unimaginable, though. They are also unsustainable. With bluefin tuna on the brink of extinction, fishing quotas are set for these giants of the sea in the European Union. But annual quotas can be caught in
Annual Quota of Bluefin Tuna Caught in 1 Week Read More 👉
Updates on the International Whaling Committee decision about legalizing whaling of endangered species. Some organizations see the decision as a (temporary) win, some see it as a big failure. We wrote a few articles leading up to a major International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting that was supposed to involve a vote on whether or not
How Did the IWC Meeting About Legalizing Whaling of Endangered Species Turn Out? Read More 👉
A short video on Wired discusses the unique and interesting creatures that are seahorses and their near extinction due to unsustainable fishing practices. Used in Chinese medicine, and a common by-catch in industrial fisheries, especially trawling fisheries, seahorses are endangered and quickly getting closer to extinction.
Seahorses Threatened with Extinction [VIDEO] Read More 👉
Following up on a post I wrote a couple weeks ago about BP burning endangered sea turtles alive, the news is now that they have responded to the criticism (as if burning endangered sea turtles and blocking hired rescue crews from saving them isn’t something they could have seen was beyond wrong in the first
BP No Longer Burning Endangered Sea Turtles, They Say Read More 👉
Smallest whale population in the world is truly on the brink of extinction. The smallest known whale population in the world is down to 30 individuals, only 8 of them being females according to a study released last week.
World's Smallest Whale Population Close to Extinction Read More 👉
Endangered sea turtles are being burned alive in BP oil spill “clean-up” efforts. Bad enough, right? But why are rescue crews hired by BP to save and protect these turtles being blocked from doing so? Is this on purpose in order to burn costly legal evidence? Yes, you read that title correctly, endangered sea turtles
[social_buttons] Ancient lizards from the time of dinosaurs may go extinct due to climate change in the coming decades. A 200-million-year-old lizard, the three-eyed Tuatara, may go extinct due to climate change, scientists warn. The problem is that climate change is reportedly turning the whole species into males.
Lizard that Outlived Dinosaurs May Go Extinct from Climate Change Read More 👉
Sperm whales in the Gulf were already at risk before the BP oil disaster, and now their endangered population may be even more threatened. A young sperm whale carcass was found by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship on Tuesday a mere 77 miles from the center of the Gulf Coast oil spill
BP Oil Disaster Kills Baby Whale: NOAA To Confirm Cause of Death Read More 👉
Although there has been some local, positive improvements in stemming or reversing biodiversity loss (primarily in protected areas), globally, the findings in this aggregate analysis show that the rate of increase in biodiversity loss is stable.
World's Biodiversity Loss Not Slowing, Major Analysis Finds [Video] Read More 👉
Tell President Obama to vote “no”on commercial-whaling at the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting next week. This is it! It’s the final hour. If you don’t want to see the international commercial-whaling moratorium come to an end, now is the time to make your voice heard. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is meeting from June
IWC Voting on Whale Hunting Moratorium Next Week Read More 👉
The recent Gulf oil spill threatens the habitat of two species of sawfish–the smalltooth and largetooth sawfishes–as it works its way into the loop current and into the Gulf Stream, passing by Florida’s treasured marine habitats.
U.S. Endangered Species Listing Proposed for Florida's Sawfish Read More 👉
Environmental groups debate whether it’s more humane to euthanize or save the wildlife impacted by the BP oil disaster in Louisiana. The great debate is on as environmental groups and other agencies around the world attempt to find the best way to manage wildlife, specifically birds, that have been victimized by the oil spill in
Should the Birds Affected by the BP Oil Disaster Be Saved or Euthanized? Read More 👉
Four fishery stocks have been rebuilt to healthy levels. [social_buttons]The Atlantic scup, Atlantic black sea bass, and St. Matthew’s Island, Alaska, blue king crab and Atlantic swordfish, have all been rebuilt to healthy levels, and the report shows a continuing year-over-year improvement across the US. A lot of the time we focus on the big
Four Fishery Stocks Healthy Again Read More 👉
A controversial new proposal would allow nations (i.e. Japan, Norway and Iceland) to kill endangered whales. Quotas will be based on politics, not science. In 1986, commercial whaling was officially banned by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), an entity established to protect dramatically declining whale stocks. Despite this ban, certain nations, most notably Japan, Norway
Controversial New Whaling Quotas Proposed by IWC Read More 👉
“The Obama Administration is backing a deadly deal that would make it legal once again to kill whales for profit. Please call on the President to reverse course,” explains Pierce Brosnan. [social_buttons] Help OO7! To the rescue James Bond! Brosnan is saving the whales and needs our collective help. Assist Pierce and his campaign with
Pierce Brosnan Pleads US to Help End the Killing of Whales for Profit Read More 👉
Sea turtles are getting killed in the millions from large-scale fisheries. See how this happens, potential solutions to the problem, and what you can do below. [social_buttons] A new report published in the journal Conservation Letters shows the results of the first global assessment of turtle “bycatch” by longline, gillnet and trawl fisheries. Basically, bycatch
Millions of Endangered Sea Turtles Killed by Fisheries Read More 👉
The Wildlife Conservation Society lists 10 animals that they have dubbed the Rarest of the Rare. [social_buttons]The Wildlife Conservation Society has released a list of “Rarest of the Rare” in the 2010-2011 edition of State of the Wild. The ten animals in the list have been extracted from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s
Rarest of the Rare Brought to Light Read More 👉
