"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Henry David Thoreau  CLICK TO ENTER THEIR WEBSITE STRAIGHT FROM FSC'S WEBSITE: FSC's mission is to improve the management of the world's forests. There are many ways you can support FSC and help us to achieve our mission:
WHAT IS FOREST CERTIFICATION? 06/26/2010
A sure investment in improved forest stewardship Forest certification is widely seen as the most important initiative of the last decade to promote better forest management. Responsible forest management is a key component of WWF’s vision for a future in which people live in harmony with nature. The sustainable use of renewable forest products can provide people with shelter, fuel, medicine and other services, while providing essential habits for plants and animals. WWF understands the threats facing forests today. But trying to prohibit the use of forest resources isn’t a viable solution. What can work is a system of certification that ensures sustainable management of these vital resources. What is forest certification exactly? Forest certification is a system of inspection and tracking timber, pulp and other forest products to ensure they have been harvested according to a strict set of guidelines. It’s more than just which trees to cut – forest certification also accounts for the social and economic well-being of workers and local communities. The certification process begins in the forest and continues through the entire chain of custody, so the end consumer can be certain he or she is buying an environmentally sound product. Who can you trust? Certification will only protect forests if the system is credible. Otherwise it’s just a green label. Currently WWF considers the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) the most credible certification system to ensure environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests. GO TO WWF WEBSITE National Wildlife Federation 06/25/2010
 Click image to go to Born Free Straight from Born Free's website: "At the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary, we put our beliefs about animal protection into hands-on, caring action." Located on 186 acres near Dilley, Texas, the Sanctuary provides a safe, permanent home for more than 500 nonhuman primates, many of whom were rescued from abusive situations in research facilities, roadside zoos, or private possession. READ FULL ARTICLE  Adopt A Primate Currently, four residents are part of our Adoption Program. Each of these individuals has a powerful and poignant story to tell of abuse, rescue, and hope. READ MORE Lions Rescued From Bolivia Circus Set Free 05/28/2010
 Straight from ADI website: Four neglected lions that performed in the Bolivian circus will be spending Memorial Weekend as VIP’s in their new retirement home at the ARK2000 Sanctuary. They are the first of the animals to be freed and transported out of the country since Bolivia enacted a ban on circuses from using animals in their acts. The New York Times reported, the journey for these kings of the jungle was organized by, Animal Defenders International (ADI). The lions will all retire in a specially built habitat at the northern California sanctuary, which is run by the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). PUT AN END TO DON'T ASK DON'T TELL 03/27/2010
It's hard for me to fathom the depth of ignorance and prejudice regarding the whole gay/lesbian issue. We're a decade into the 21st Century and yet a person in the United States can legally be fired from his/her job for being gay. A report from the Times Online had this story: Dutch outrage as US general blames gay soldiers for Srebrenica "A retired American general has blamed the UN's historic failure to protect the Bosnian "safe haven" of Srebrenica on the fact that there were openly gay soldiers in the Dutch peacekeeping battalion assigned to it. " READ IN FULL View YouTube below for a news clip with the retired General. IN OTHER NEWS ABOUT GAY RIGHTS ...  Directly from Care2.com website written by Steve Williams: On Tuesday, (March 23, 2010) U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled that Constance McMillen's rights were indeed violated by the Itawamba County School District when they chose to deny her permission to wear a tuxedo to the school prom, and to attend the event with her girlfriend. The court also found that the board was wrong to cancel the prom when the ACLU, who represented McMillen in the case, got involved. However, the court decided that it would not force the school to reinstate the original prom as the injunction filed by the ACLU requested, given that a private prom was now being held instead, but there was one clear caveat to this. The court did not press the school to put the prom back on, in part, because the court received assurances that Constance will be allowed to attend the private prom. As you may remember from our previous coverage, Constance had previously been excluded from the event, but this appears to no longer be so. Judge Davidson emphasized that this was a strong factor in his decision, commenting that “defendants have made representations, upon which this court relies, that all IAHS students including the plaintiff are welcome [at the event].” Judge Davidson also gave McMillen's representation permission to amend their lawsuit so as to seek monetary damages in the light of the school's actions, saying that he felt “a substantial threat that irreparable harm" could have occurred due to the board's canceling of the prom. READ MORE UPDATE ON OUR VANISHING RHINOS 03/26/2010
Check out the updated links on OUR VANISHING RHINOS and lend your support to help save these beautiful creatures from extinction. Also read how buying products with PALM OIL are killing the rhinos and orangutans. More info on PALM OIL  photo is courtesy of artist Brenda Thour  click to go to Students For a Free Tibet THIS IS GREAT NEWS!! I received an email from Students For A Free Tibet announcing that Google closes Chinese search engine. Here's what the email said: On Monday, (March 22, 2010) just over two months since Google announced it would stop censoring search results in China, the company made history by replacing Google.cn with Google.hk.com. By redirecting Internet users in mainland China (and Tibet) to its uncensored search engine in Hong Kong, Google has taken an important stand on the side of rights and freedom for all people. Read an interview with Google's co-founder Sergey Brin on the decision. (Very interesting article.) This is a landmark victory for freedom. It also exposes the Chinese government as an insecure, authoritarian dictatorship afraid to allow its own citizens to access information freely and draw their own conclusions about the world. As Xiao Qiang, Director of China Digital Times said it best: "The fact that Google cannot exist in China, clearly indicates that China's path as a rising power is going in a direction different from what the world expected and what many Chinese were hoping for." Read the full New York Times article here. This important development is a big step forward in fighting China's criminalization of information sharing. This is critical for Tibetans who continue to be jailed for sending information abroad. We will work to ensure that all companies recognize that partnering with the Chinese government in the repression of Tibetans and Chinese alike will not be tolerated by the global community. LOGGERHEAD TURTLE ENDANGERED 03/23/2010
From World Wildlife Fund watch a short film about protecting the loggerhead turtle... INVISIBLE CHILDREN 03/21/2010
Read up and become a part of one of the most important movements of our time. The website INVISIBLE CHILDREN is dedicated to ending the recruitment of child soldiers and the conflicts that are devastating Africa and its people.  | Author BLOG FOR CHANGE ArchivesJuly 2010 CategoriesAll |
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