The Extinction of the Wild

Only 100 Florida panthers exist in the wild today. The beloved state mascot is facing trouble from modern developments that encroach the 200 mile radius each male panther needs to itself to feel at ease. So far this year, more than eight panthers have been hit and killed by cars. Now a new proposed housing development in Collier County threatens to corner the panther even more. Many wildlife activists are hoping that President Obama will add the Florida panther to the endangered species list so they can receive more critical protection. In the meantime, zoo animals are being bred around the country to ensure that the species proliferate.

The San Diego Zoo has one of the most active species-preservation programs in the nation. Their Center for Conservation and Research raises endangered species, such as California condors, pandas, tigers and African black rhinos. Some of these species are bred in captivity and later released into the wild, while others proliferate in the zoo for their entire adult lives. To help preserve rare animals, the San Diego Wild Animal Park has a cryopreservation facility to freeze sperm and eggs of rare animals. In 2009, the San Diego Zoological Society was proud to announce the birth of a giant panda cub, a western lowland gorilla and two endangered Grand Cayman blue iguanas.

Over the years, the Oregon Zoo has held many fundraisers for endangered animals abroad and has participated in many zoo animals breeding programs. In recent years, they’ve successfully bred western pond turtles, pygmy rabbits, condors and Chinook salmon. The zoo houses a number of endangered or threatened species, including the Rodrigues flying fox, ocelot, Babirusa pig, Malayan sun bear, mandrill, black rhinoceros, Humboldt penguin, African slender-nosed crocodile, barn owl, Edward’s lorikeet, black howler monkey, emerald tree boa and many more.

Generally, animal rights groups do not support zoo animals breeding programs because they believe that it is immoral to tamper with wild animal species in any way — be it animal testing, meat and dairy production, domestication or wearing fur fashions. Wildlife biologists, on the other hand, support captive-bred animals, but also feel that their long-term survival depends upon a stabilization of the animals’ natural habitat. They also warn about the danger of inbreeding too close in blood lines, breeding for non-aggressive traits (that may be preferable for a zoo but not for the wild) and the possibility of introducing contamination into wild populations.

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed panic attacks help as well as tips on the various medications for panic disorder available at www.anxietydisordercure.com.

Technorati Tags:: animal exhibit, london zoo, oregon zoo, shops at the zoo, zoo directory, zoo keeper

Caring for the Wild Animals

There is some debate over the best way to save endangered animals. Some say zoo conservation programs and species survival plans are the best way to protect biodiversity and ensure that animals are reproducing and surviving those critical early years, when young offspring are so vulnerable. Others say the “adopt an animal” programs and donating money toward the purchase of nature preserves are best. Some animal rights activists believe in putting pressure on governments to regulate habitat destruction, poaching and human interference as the only way we’re going to see any progress. In the end, the solution may very well consist of a combination of all these ideas, as well as some new innovations.

The Sumatran tiger is one of the world’s most endangered animals, particularly because they are highly coveted in the world of poaching and their habitat is rapidly being destroyed by the logging industry. The island’s nature preserve houses 100 tigers but the poachers have managed to find their way into the park to kill. Three similar breeds of tiger — the Bali, the Java and the Trinil — have already gone extinct. It is believed that there are less than 400 Sumatran tigers in the wild. Similarly, the Siberian tiger has been whittled down to less than 200 existing in the wild. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has 1,000 tigers in their breeding programs, which has female tigers birthing several cubs each year.

Another one of the most endangered species in the world is the orangutan, which experts warn could be extinct within 10 to 20 years. In 2006, 1,000 apes were killed in raging forest fires that swept Indonesia; not to mention that 80% of their habitat has been destroyed by palm oil/bio-fuel loggers and farmers. Now only small pockets of orangutan exist in Borneo and Sumatra. Their numbers have dwindled from 300,000 to 50,000, with 5,000 of these endangered animals perishing each year. “Orangutans are in catastrophic decline and everything that is being done to protect them is not up to the challenge,” explained Ape Alliance chairman Ian Redmond. “It is all looking pretty bleak.”

The endangered species study also found that 99% of the threats to wildlife are man-made. For instance, the Bornean Orangutan and the Sumatran Orangutan are threatened by illegal logging operations to obtain palm oil plantations. Even though it is illegal, the locals can’t help but try to obtain these valuable resources — at all costs, even if it means wrecking the home of precious endangered animals. The Sumatran tiger has been hurt significantly by the illegal animal trade since the killing of one tiger can feed a whole family for a year. Hippos are slaughtered for their ivory teeth, reducing their numbers by 95%. Chimpanzees are often hunted for bush meat and for use in Southeast Asian medicines.

Jeremy Larson is a foremost expert in the acid reflux cure. He has had extensive experience and conducted countless experiments in finding natural remedy for acid reflux treatment. He is also a highly acclaimed writer in the medical field and you can find out more at RemedyForAcidReflux.com.

Technorati Tags:: animal exhibit, london zoo, oregon zoo, shops at the zoo, zoo directory, zoo keeper

What Can I Expect With Solar Panel Projects In Winter?

You may be wondering how solar panels can function in an area that has severe winters. After all, days or weeks of overcast skies, snow flurries or heavy rains hardly seem compatible with a technology that relies on the sun to run it.

But the past 10 years have brought a lot of innovation and progress to solar panel technology. Now this technology has progressed to the point that solar panels can easily produce electricity even on cloudy, snowy or rainy days.

Should We Risk Using Solar Panels in Winter? See The Review Here!

If you have an off grid system which works separately of a public utility system, your solar energy system will include a set of back-up batteries. These batteries are like the ones used in autos. They are made to hold any extra energy that your solar panels make during the daylight hours. The back-up storage system should have enough of these batteries to store power in correspondence to the number of overcast days typical for your geographical region.  

If you have a system that is connected to the grid of your local electric utility company, then you won’t need support batteries. After the sun goes down or if there is a prolonged period of inclement weather blocking the sun, your system will automatically use electricity from your local power company. You’ll still be getting the benefit of reduced power bills because on sunny days your electricity will be generated by your own solar panels.

Upkeep and More on Home Solar Power

In some areas, you may even be able to sell power back to your local electric company. This is yet another way solar panels can prove cost effective. The way this works is that excess power generated by your solar panels goes back into the grid and you received credit for it on your account.  So even when you have to use power from the grid at night or on overcast days, the surplus that was generated by your solar panels will still be used to lower your overall utility costs.

Take A Look At These Solar Power Projects

Technorati Tags:: build solar panels, build solar power, build solar water heater, building solar panel, homemade solar cell, how solar power works, how to make solar cells, how to solar cell, how to solar panel, make a solar panel, make solar power, off grid solar power, Solar panel

Why it is Important to Recycle Mobile Phones

There are many reasons to recycle mobile phones. As people continuously change their old mobile phones the number of unused handsets which end up at the ‘tip’ is on the rise. Therefore damaging our environment and threatening all living things nearby.

It is estimated that by the end of this year the number of new mobile phones being purchased will be over a billion! Meaning that a lot of people are going to want to recycle mobile phones in the not to distant future. The good news is that there are already many companies online that will recycle your old phone and even pay you for it!

Get Paid to Recycle Old Mobile Phones

Should you decide to recycle mobile phones don’t you reckon that you might as well receive a cheque in the process? Well, if your mobile is in good nick and not totally obsolete you may be in luck.

You should take a look on the internet and compare prices from the different mobile recycling companies to find the best deal for your old mobile phone. The process is pretty simple, go to one or more of the many sites available and enter all the relevant information, such as make, model and condition of your phone to see what they offer you for it.

When you find the best deal, you will be required to fill out a form on that particular recycler’s site and wait for your free postal bag to arrive. This will allow you to send in your mobile for free, although this offers you no insurance on the package. With this in mind, you really should consider paying a small amount to send it with a courier.

Non-working Mobile Phones

Has your phone ever fallen in the pool? Maybe it just stopped working the last time you dropped it? Sadly, if this is the case you may not get much for the phone, however you can feel satisfied that you helped protect the earth from the harmful substances, such as cadmium, found in all mobile phones.

Many online phone recycling companies exist that will happily pay you decent amounts of money for your old phone. The list below outlines some important things to consider when you choose to recycle mobile phones.

Many companies that recycle mobile phones often remove small delicate pieces from a damaged phone in order to repair another. On the other hand, they may simply scrap them for the precious metals contained inside.

One thing that you should know is that virtually all mobiles contain small amounts of precious metals such as gold, copper and silver. Just one phone would not pay for the trouble of extracting these precious materials but when you multiply 0.3 oz by thousands or even millions of phones you can see how this could become a lucrative activity.

Search Around

When you are ready to recycle mobile phones, make sure to search for the best offer amongst a few websites before proceeding.

Do not let those old mobile phones collect dust at the back of your drawer any longer, find out how much cash you could earn today!

The Global Water Crisis

Berkey Filter Review

Water is a unique and fascinating substance! Everyone knows that life cannot exit apart from the presence of clean, liquid water. While we are able to live several weeks without food, we can only live days without water. Recently NASA bombed the surface of the moon in hopes of detecting the presence of water, for future colonization will be virtually impossible without finding a source of it.

The earth contains plenty of water for us all. If we divide the total 326 million trillion gallons of water on earth by the current population, 5.8 billion, we see we have 56 billion gallons apiece. For sanitation, bathing, and cooking needs, the average person in the world has a daily requirement of about 13.2 gallons of water. Thus we have enough water down here to last each of us over 11 million years (not counting population growth)! That doesn’t take into consideration the free recycling system provided for us called evaporation and condensation.

The problem is that most of this water is unusable in its present form. Ninety-eight percent of the water on the planet is in the oceans, and is, therefore, unusable for drinking because of the salt. About 2% of the planet’s water is fresh, but 1.6% is locked up in the polar ice caps and glaciers. Most of the rest (0.36%) is out of reach in aquifers and wells. Only about .036% of the planet’s total water supply is found in lakes and rivers. That’s still thousands of trillions of gallons, (in fact, 392 million gallons each) but it’s a very small amount compared to all the water available. But even of that, less than 1% of the total fresh water, (and 0.007% of all water on earth,) is accessible for our use.

Another problem is that the available useable water is not distributed evenly to the population. The average American uses more water taking a five-minute shower than the typical person living in a slum in a developing country uses in a whole day. Nearly one billion people lack access to safe water. More precisely 884 million people lack access to safe water supplies, approximately one in eight people. Further, two and a half billion do not have improved sanitation, that is, a means to separate drinking water from waste water.

Insufficient sanitary drinking water throughout the world brings with it major health issues. One estimate is that half of all those in hospital beds at any one time are there because of a water related disease. This results in one child dying from a water-related disease, usually from diarrhea, every 15-20 seconds. That adds up to a staggering 1.4 million children each year. Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time. Think of it: 88% of the cases of diarrhea worldwide are caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, or insufficient hygiene.

Poor water results not only in deaths, but also in more crime, more disease, increase in birth defects, and decreased ability to do well in school, among other things. In short, it results in general economic decline. An investment in pure water sources, even desalination of the sea water, is an investment with dividends. Some have estimated that every US dollar invested in providing adequate water supplies returns a benefit to them of eight US dollars.

Some want the western civilization to feel guilty for taking a shower or watering their lawns. This reasoning is flawed. Lowering our living standard in use of water only borrows their problems. America has good, clean water because we have learned where to find or clean it, and how to preserve it. We shouldn’t feel guilty; we should be more aware of our need to be good stewards of it, and we should be more willing to share our technology with others. When we are frugal and generous with our water, we will set a higher standard for other nations to follow.

But what if you are on well water or city water that has bad taste or odors. You would be benefited by an activated charcoal water filter. The Berkey Water Filter are the best line of activated charcoal filter we are aware of. Check out the Imperial Berkey or another model. One amazing feature is that each set of filters they ship with can be re-cleaned to purify up to 6,000 gallons of drinking water.

Technorati Tags:: global water crisis, water crisis, water shortage, world water crisis

Farming Methods In UK Should Set Example

The national scientific debate committee known as The Royal Society has put forward a recommendation to UK government, stating that they should be investing more time and money into sustainable farming techniques and setting an example to other countries. Further to this they state that the UK needs to consider how to support farmers and rural populations through their farming methods, when most advances in agriculture seem to be promoting mechanical and automated farming systems that are putting people out of work. From new roaming seeding machines to factory glassware production for product bottling, they are not taking the local communities into consideration.

One of the government’s top agricultural scientists, Professor John Beddington, has responded to the Royal Society’s claims and even elaborated on them. He has stated that “a number of solutions” are required to not only solve some of the problems that UK farming currently has, but also to be able to share knowledge and resources with those countries than follow the UK’s lead when it comes to agriculture.He stated that people are eating larger amounts of dairy and meat products currently, and this is increasing the demand for agricultural commodities needed to feed livestock. In fact, Beddington suggests that the UK will see a 50% increase in food demand by the year 2030.

In addition to the £50m that is already spent on scientific research for food production each year in the UK, the Royal Society recommend that another £2bn be injected to firstly overcome domestic issues, but more importantly start the process of solving the issues faced in third world and developing countries. It is these countries that have the most pressure on them to produce crops at unreasonably low cost and many have turned to the less stable farming methods in order to achieve this, which can mean they have very hard habits to break

For more information on food and drink issues and related products such as a wine rack, wine glasses and wine cooler fridges visit Wineware, the store that supports ethically sourced products.

Technorati Tags:: ethical, farming, food, glasses, sustainable

Do you think it would be easy to build a solar powered car? It’s not But

Hybrid Cars are now very easy to come by these days and the prices have really dropped.  They are also a great way to do your part in saving the Environment.

However If you want to build your own Car using Solar Power - Green Energy Source

Most cars are powered by fossil fuel or better known as Gas.There is do much volatitlity in the price of oil and it is not even a renewable energy source. It is going to be gone one day… Yes, Gone!!.The countries that have all of these resources are ripping our money out of our pockets as we lean back and pump this junk into our cars and then into the air we breath.  I believe that we have to do something before it’s too late.If solar energy can be used to power a small community then it stands to reason that you could power a car.This sounds very difficult doesn’t it?

But what do you need to make this work?  A lot of things but the two most important are the solar array and the batteries.  The solar array is vital this is used to collect the sun’s rays and then it converts into electrical energy. There is the prefabricated type and the individeual kind that you have to set up yourself.

You can get branded parts from places like Siemens and ASE Americas they sell terrestrial grade cells and the space grade cells. Terrestial grade is the lower end and it does produce a significant amount of power.

You must complete the wiring properly in order to make sure your vehicle keeps moving even if one of the panels stops working.  The voltage of the solar array should match the system voltage of your motor, you should not to worry because it will still run.

The battery is so important because all of the energy captured will be stored in the batter until use.  There are a few options in batteries and they are lead acid, lithium-ion or nickel-cadmium.  You engines voltage will determine how many you will need to purchase.After purchasing these two parts, you are going to have to connect them to your engine. Do you know how to do this.So you know how much juice is left in your batteries, you will also need to install instrumentation similar to the heads up display console on regular cars which tells you your speed, mileage and gas.

If you are not into building things you may not even create a vehichle that works. So why would you take on this type of task if you could simply purchase a hybrid car.If you use a hhybrid car, it is much better than driving a 1976 Coupe Devill and there are cars that can travel many miles on only one gallon of gas.  Take the Toyota Prius as an example.  They have tested this vehicle on 2 gallons of gas and they traveled 100 miles and still did not run out of gas.Adam Carolla took on this challenge only a few weeks ago and was featured on SPEED television.

Well I guess my point here is that you can build your own solar powered car and drive around with a large solar panel on the top of your car or you can take advantage of the new technology being provided by the car industry and drive a hybrid car.

Technorati Tags:: hybrid car