Welcome to RTSea Archive!

Media outlets and academics, from grade school to college, are always looking for background research material.  The RTSea Archive provides a resource for searching articles and observations that cover a range of issues having to do with ocean conservation, sharks, and nature in general.  Some might be topical or time-sensitive, but many, unfortunately, represent issues that still challenge us today.

I will be less of a frequent contributor as I will be devoting attention to important projects that have been a bit neglected over the past year.  I'd like to think that what can be found in this archive is more insightful, well thought out information and not just cyberspace opinion and hyperbole. Personal blog postings will appear from time to time in my website's blog.

Please feel free to search the RTSea Archive using the two search tools listed on the site.  For those of you who have followed my contributions over the past 5 years, I truly appreciate your interest and hope that you continue to check in.

Remember that conservation is more than a fan club, a trend or a cause du jour.  It needs to be real, it needs to be proactive.  If you are dedicated, then work towards bringing it to the widest possible audience.

Cheers,
Richard Theiss
Cinematographer, Media Consultant, Project Manager
RTSea Media                  

Bison Return To The Wild: finding mankind's balance with nature

There is no greater image that represents the Great Plains of the United States as the wild bison or buffalo.  However, that iconic symbol is an emblem of a long ago past when massive herds of bison roamed free, when nature had not yet felt the sting of industrialized society.  By the late 1800's only a few dozen wild bison existed, the majority - in the tens of thousands - having been wiped out to meet the demand for their hide.

The nomadic Native American Indians that depended on these herds for meat, clothing, and shelter found the foundation of their lifestyle crippled with the loss of the bison.  Their ability to live in harmony with nature was in jeopardy as traders and settlers from the east encroached on their lands.  A culture was being undermined and cast to the winds.

In March, the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana received 61 genetically pure wild bison from one of the last remaining herds in Yellowstone National Park.  The transfer was many years in the making, with additional pressure being exerted on Montana state agencies by the Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation organization that focuses on many threatened wild species in the U.S. like bison and wolves.  The bison will run free within the reservation's over 7,000 acre reserve.

There is an ecological significance to the expansion of territory for this once prevalent species.  But the cultural significance is probably of greater import.  Bison are grazers and as such they kept prairie food supplies and the animal populations that depended on that grassland in check.  Occasionally a juvenile bison might be prey to wolves.  However, in today's world of bred cattle and urbanization, the extinction of the bison would probably not have any serious ecological consequences - not like the loss of, say, wolves which help control the deer and, in particular, the small varmint and rodent populations.

It is on a cultural level that the return of the bison has tremendous resonance.  Again, the bison is an iconic image of a lifestyle in harmony with nature, a reminder of a time before the loss of innocence to the forces of progress of western civilization.  

“These majestic animals have played a very significant part in the history, religion and culture of our native people of the Fort Peck Reservation. These bison have sustained our ancestors for thousands of years and they are in need of us returning the favor. We are here to make sure they will always be here for our children," told Floyd Azure, Fort Peck Reservation Tribal Council Chairman to the Associated Press.

That same attitude regarding mankind's role in the fabric of nature, that interaction and interdependency, can be found in other cultures, particularly with island nations and their relationship with the sea.  From Hawaii to the South Pacific to Malaysia and beyond, their histories are culturally intertwined with the oceans and the animals that live within.  It is a spiritual relationship that impacts their entire way of life.

"Civilized" industrialized man has chosen technology as its spiritual guru and while it has certainly improved the material quality of life, there is a price that we are now learning which must be paid.  All of the environmental issues we face today have their fundamental root cause in this greater devotion to technology over that of nature.

What to do?  Well, we're not ready to give up our cars, flat screens, and cell phones for teepees and buckskin.  However, we can learn from these nature-bound cultures as to how to strike a new balance, to redefine "in harmony with nature" in a manner that meets our needs while protecting our natural resources.

Conservation should not be viewed as a form of sacrifice or denial.  It should be seen as a means to preserve what we have so that we can responsibly continue to prosper in what we are realizing is a finite world.

Source: Defenders of Wildlife                        

Getting Inspired, Inc.: CA conservation group getting the job done

Getting Inspired, Inc. is one of many regional nature conservation organizations that keep a low profile but get the job done.  The organization focuses on bringing both land and sea ecology to schools through special outdoor classes or camps.  And Getting Inspired benefits California's local marine environment by spearheading a kelp restoration project that has been responsible for the re-planting of kelp forests in areas that have been, in some cases, barren for decades.

The organization is headed up by marine biologist and sea captain, Nancy Lightowler Caruso.  I knew Nancy when I was a dive team leader at the Aquarium of the Pacific and Nancy was just getting her kelp reforestation project off the ground.  It has grown into a project that includes 7,000 schoolchildren and 400 volunteer divers who assist in the aquatic greenhouse growing of young kelp and the eventually planting of the kelp along California's Orange County coastline.

Kelp is the basis for much of California's marine ecosystem.  It is the forest that provides food and shelter for a variety of different aquatic animals.  Kelp can be impacted by storms, which dislodges the kelp from the bottom, in addition to cyclical events like El Nino warm water currents, which heats the waters beyond the ideal growth range for kelp to flourish.  But these are natural events that constitute the normal ebb and flow of the kelp forest, just like brush and forest fires can be beneficial to terrestrial forests.

However, kelp has suffered from a variety of other threats.  In some areas, sea urchins, which feed on kelp, have exploded in numbers due to overfishing of the urchins' natural predators.  Then there's coastal pollution along with the effects of climate change which produces extended periods of warm water - all have taken a toll on the kelp forests.

Besides the concrete accomplishments achieved by the ongoing kelp restoration project, Getting Inspired also works with schools to enlighten and inspire kids to understand and appreciate the natural ecosystems that make California unique in many ways.  This includes getting schoolchildren involved in kelp, abalone, and white sea bass aquaculture and even an annual trip to Yosemite where they get to learn about the importance of land-based ecosystems as well.

Getting Inspired focuses its efforts on quantifiable results.  It does not engage in a lot of promotional hype or marketing as that would draw resources away from its core mission.  That's an admirable position that many other groups could follow. (Although I think Getting Inspired could use a good facelift to their website.  But that's a minor criticism.)

What's important here is that, as I have said many times in the past, we all should support worthwhile conservation organizations.  All have passion, many are dedicated and hard-working, but I prefer to focus my support on groups which can demonstrate action that equates into solid results.  Getting Inspired is one such group here in California.  Check them out.  And use that yardstick of quantifiable accomplishments to evaluate organizations in your area.

As a fundraiser, Getting Inspired is offering a Batik button-front shirt with a colorful kelp and garibaldi pattern.  It's a great gift item (I've ordered 6) that will also help support Captain Caruso's efforts.  You can learn more on Nancy's Facebook page (click here).

Source: Getting Inspired 

Children & Nature: Australian writer captures what conservation needs from our youth

Occasionally I will come across an article that needs no journalistic rephrasing, no "spin" or retelling.  It is succinct and delivers a message that must be presented undilluted.

Such is the case with an article I came across in the Opinion section of ABC News (Australia).  Written by educator and naturalist Warren McClaren, it addresss the impact on our children when there is a disconnect between ourselves and nature.

Growing up as I did in suburban Southern California, I can look back on my experiences with nature in a very positive way and I can see the roots of my current passion for preservation and conservation of our natural resources stemming from those early moments.  I was not someone who lived 24/7 in the outdoors, but I came in contact with enough to leave a lasting impact.  And, sadly, that is much more than what many children are experiencing today.

Children are hearing about threats and negative impacts on nature and they are voicing their concern.  And that is good.  But if those feelings exist in a bubble, devoid of the first hand knowledge, can we expect their concerns to carry them into adulthood? 

 Without nature, the little children suffer
Warren McLaren ABC Environment 12 Nov 2012

Most adults climbed trees and played outdoors when they were children. But today's young people don't play outdoors like their parents. It's an omission with grave implications.

We come alive for what we hold near and dear. It's hard to be impassioned for a cause which feels remote.

Charities know this. It's why they bring impoverished third world villagers, or cancer suffers, into our lounge room, via the telly: if they can make us connect with the issue, we are more inclined to support it.

Environmental activists are emboldened to speak up because they perceive they are about to lose something. Something they truly, deeply connect with.

"In wildness is the preservation of the world." With these few words, American philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, succinctly captured humanity's fate. Nature is unruly, untamed. But it is also our future.

Yet we so often talk of 'The Environment' as if it exists elsewhere else, a distant entity that humankind is not connected to. A naughty, wild child, whom we might put in a room and close the door on, for a bit of 'time out'.

We may have disconnected from nature, but we are delusional if we think we can live without it. Ignoring the value and contribution of nature to our well being is, quite literally, life threatening. 

But ignoring is exactly what we're doing. In his seminal 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods, author Richard Louv, gave this ignorance a term: Nature Deficit Disorder. While not a medically recognised condition, there is an ever expanding body of work which supports Louv's central theme: that deprivation of a relationship with nature is fraught with multiple health and welfare issues. For people. And planet. 

There's head-shaking anecdotal evidence of our disconnect with nature, such as the story I was told of kids too scared to play in their own backyard, because they'd heard that insects wee and poo out there.

Scientific corroboration is also abundant. The Children and Nature Network has a collection of research papers, published between 2009 and 2011, which explored benefits to kids from contact with the outdoors. The list of abstracts alone runs to 68 pages.

Research such as Planet Ark's recent examinations (pdf) of Australian childhood interaction with nature today, relative to a generation ago. One of the findings being that, "64 per cent of respondents reported climbing trees when they were children as compared to less than 20 per cent of their children." (pdf) 

The Danish Society for Nature Conservation observed very similar findings in their survey of 2,000 Danes:"59 per cent of grandparents reported visiting a natural setting every day during the summer when they were children, as compared to... just 26 per cent of children today." (pdf) 

Four hundred German and Lithuanian high school students participated in research that found "children's emotional affinity towards nature was a significant predictor of children's willingness for pro-environmental commitment."

A related study in the USA set out to "understand what leads children to continue participating in natural history-oriented professions/education/hobbies as a young adult." The research concluded that a such vocational choice results from "early childhood and is driven by direct, informal and unstructured experiences with nature (from wildlands to vacant lots)."

For many Aussies their introduction to camping and outside adventures began with involvement in Scouts and Guides. Five years ago the international Scout movement celebrated 100 years of life in the great outdoors. But it was a bittersweet centenary. In 2001, Australia had 2,126 Scout Groups, yet by 2011 this had shrunk to just 1,524. A noteworthy decline, coming on the back of a significant modernisation drive within Scouting.

Where did all those budding young Baden Powells go? Inside.

For 98 per cent of Australian children, "watching TV or videos out of school hours remains the most common recreational activity of children aged 5 to 14 years." So revealed the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in the 2003 study, Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities.

A follow up report in 2006 noted that "[N]ot only was the participation rate highest for 'watching television, videos or DVDs', on average, children involved spent more time on this activity than on any of the other selected activities." In a study published last year, the ABS reported that whereas a tad over half of all children were playing games online in 2006, by 2009 and this had increased to just shy of 70 per cent. The ABS also noted that 17 per cent of kids 8 to 14 had a computer in their bedroom.

Researchers at the University of Sydney discovered that "Children who spend more time in outdoor sport activities and less time watching TV have better retinal microvascular structure." Retinal blood vessels have been linked to cardiovascular disease risk factors and blood pressure.

A couple of years ago the Australian national depression initiative, Beyond Blue, engaged Associate Professor Mardie Townsend of Deakin University's Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences to investigate any health benefits from including the outdoors in our lives. She observed, "Experiencing nature in an outdoor setting can help tackle not only physical health problems such as obesity and coronary heart disease, but also mental health problems - and there is plenty of evidence to support the claim." Laying out that evidence in her 160-page report.

Drawing on the work of Kurt Hahn, pioneer of experiential learning and the guy behind Outward Bound and the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, Expeditionary Learning schools cite as one of their core principles, "direct respectful relationship with the natural world refreshes the human spirit and teaches the important ideas of recurring cycles and cause and effect. Students learn to become stewards of the earth and of future generations."

Developing this early connection with nature is not just some bucolic vision of the 'nuts and berries' crowd. It also has a deep and profound influence on children's intellectual health as well. Richard Louv's book is packed with examples, including the school who educated their kids out amongst local rivers, mountains and forests, "96 per cent of [their] students meet or exceed state standards for math problem-solving—compared to only 65 per cent of eighth graders at comparable middle schools."

I'm not suggesting that everyone need spend 738 days hugging a tree like Julia Hill or Miranda Gibson. There are a host of mainstream opportunities for our children to learn about, and from, the outdoors. There's school endorsed outdoor education experiences, or Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden programs as currently embraced by 267 Australian primary schools. From horticultural therapy to care farming. Or Scouts and Guides. And let's not forget family weekends camping in the bush; or simply get down and dirty, rolling in the grass and watching bees in the backyard or nearby park, with Mum and Dad.

For as William Shakespeare penned, "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."

Source: ABC News
         

Pricing Ecosystem Services: can conservation be achieved through economic values?

Came across an interesting article in UK's The Guardian, What's Wrong With Putting a Price on Nature?, that addressed the concept of placing a price or economic value on the ecosystem services that nature provides.  What is a forest's ability to sequester carbon worth?  How much would it cost to secure land and maintain it's undeveloped state if that helps provide a local source of fresh water?

Trying to place a monetary value on ecology has been around for a while as a concept.  It is often referred to as valuating ecosystem services, and it has been applied in several circumstances that have proved to be successful.  Determining a value of a live shark in related tourism dollars, as opposed to the revenue gained from a caught shark, has been used as a supporting argument for marine protected areas or shark sanctuaries.  And as shark conservation becomes more and more and international regulatory issue, economics plays a greater role in moving policy than does the emotional reaction to shark finning.

The Guardian reported, "Stuart H. M. Butchart, a researcher at BirdLife International, replies that embracing the ecosystem services idea doesn't necessarily mean abandoning the argument that species and habitats have intrinsic value. But making the economic case often 'has more resonance' for decision-makers."

However, pricing ecosystem services has plenty of critics.  There is concern that when economics forces get involved in determining the pluses and minuses of any ecological areas, you can find many of the same abuses that occur in the financial arena.  Undervaluing property, making environmental changes to cut costs that can then have serious environmental consequences, and just the idea that the environment could be turned over to the same free market forces - big corporations, etc. - that caused some of our ecological challenges in the first place.

I don't see it as a concept that can be applied broadly, like some silver bullet to all of the environment's problems.  If it were to be considered at all, it must be on a case-by-case basis.  However, in the realm of international environmental policy, economics can often play just as influential a role as scientific data and intrinsic value.

The article in the Guardian, written by Richard Conniff, is quite in-depth and I would recommend that you take a few minutes and read it.  You might find yourself to be in support of the concept or completely opposed, but at the very least, it must be considered as a strategic tool in some situations for selling conservation to those who may feel threatened by environmental policymaking that is done without a thorough concern for all that have a vested interest - the environment, threatened species, mankind itself and . . . business. 

Source: The Guardian

Nature At The Pols: essay reminds us that nature has no political ties

An essay caught my eye today that I would like to share.  Written by David Yarnold, president and CEO of the National Audubon Society, it is titled "Love of nature not right, left or center, it's common sense." 

It's a simple reminder that nature knows no political affiliation and, outside of Washington DC, there is a large number of people who see that nature is something to be preserve for all people.

David quotes several people from across the country, people who understand that conservation benefits all of us.

Said Lorie [no last name] from Pennsylvania, "Since when did breathing clean fresh air, drinking pure clean water and protecting our precious natural resources and environment become something that only Democrats should value? Too often now I hear key Republicans ridicule people that care deeply about the environment as over-zealous crazies. It makes me feel almost embarrassed to be a Republican." 

Mark from California said, "I sure would like to be hearing candidates even mention the environment during their campaigns. There's a lot of talk about the deficit and the burden it will place on future generations. Think of the burden placed on them if their world is deprived of clean air, clean water and an abundance of wildlife and wild places." 

Certainly we have pressing economic issues to contend with.  However, the challenges facing nature roll on 24/7; nature won't set them aside and wait patiently until we get around to addressing them.

And Nature and all the animals and plants within her domain don't vote.  What would happen if they could? 

Click here to read the essay in the Kennebec Journal.

              

Conservation Successes: zoologist talks and writes of progress

I'm wrapping up my work on the Weather Channel series Lifeguard! (more on that later this week) and am finally turning my attention to a lengthy laundry list of projects that need some attention, from project pitches to my involvement with this month's BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Event.  But I wanted to take a quick moment to point out an interesting podcast from the UK's Guardian Science Weekly.

Posted on Monday, the podcast features zoologist Andrew Balmford, author of Wild Hope: On the Front Line of Conservation Success.  In his new book, Balmford examines many of the success made in conservation - not to simply, in some Pollyanna fashion, contradict the negative outlook that can manifest itself when you spend any considerable time contemplating the issues of ecosystem decay, endangered species, and global environmental change, but rather to bolster the will and determination to correct them.  

The threats are real, they are on our doorstep, and now is the time to do something about it.  Balmford and his book offer proof that progress is being made.  Give a listen (click here to listen to the podcast) and check out Wild Hope: On the Front Line of Conservation Success if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I plan to.  

Source: Guardian Science Weekly       

Nature's Indomitable Spirit: New Zealand wilding pines, a reminder about the will to survive

Was just finishing a short opinion piece by Brian Taylor for New Zealand's Otago Daily Times about how best to deal with the wilding pines that spread throughout both the north and south islands. Wilding pines, also referred to as wilding conifers, are invasive species of pine trees, the result of a combination of early settlers stripping indigenous scrubland for agriculture and cattle grazing which provided a fertile base for various imported pine tree species to explode across the valleys and hillsides.

With New Zealand spending millions of dollars annually to try to stem the tide of the ever-expanding wilding pines, Taylor was questioning the wisdom of current strategies. Yes, the pines are an invasive species that is altering the natural landscape and the result is both an economic and environmental threat, but it's a result due in part to man providing the trees with the initial foothold. Taylor questioned whether current land management use - grazing and burning techniques to maintain economically important grasslands - would forever be at odds with wilding pines and whether there could be other natural buffers developed to help manage the pines' growth and expansion, rather than the felling of mature trees and removal of seedlings which has not yielded hoped for results.

Interesting article but what caught my attention most of all was Taylor's description of nature's tenacity, as it is applicable to all environments - land or sea, plant or animal.

"Mother Nature can be a rather intractable old matriarch, and no matter how strenuously Man tries to thwart her advances, she will invariably be the clear winner in a marathon. After all, she has been around far longer than mankind and has not survived millions of years by simply taking a back seat when threatened. She is a formidable contestant, smart, very smart in fact, versatile, highly adaptable, and loves a challenge. When the chips are down, she will always be one jump ahead, ever ready to override our mistaken endeavours by taking control of regeneration her way.

She abhors nudity and will make sure that all of her domain remains well covered. There will be no bare spots for her, no sir. Pull out a weed and see what she does, she will plant another one straight back and will continue to do so as long as we constantly annoy her by perpetuating our misguided attempts at laying the ground bare."

Taylor is describing nature's will to survive. Despite all that can be heaped upon it, whether through natural occurrences or man-made interference, nature will do what it can, do whatever is necessary to carry on. It will adjust; it will adapt. But what we must keep in mind is that to evolve and continue its existence, nature can make some cold, harsh decisions - such as extinctions if that's what it takes. And that can involve the loss of the smallest insect all the way up to the largest mammals in the sea. And it can include us just as easily. For all our accomplishments and all our self-importance, if we push nature too far, it can shake us off like a bad case of fleas.

After pondering whether New Zealand could adopt land management policies that work with nature rather than continually fighting it, Taylor closes with a thoughtful reminder about ecological perspective - in whose playground we are briefly being allowed to roam.

"We live in a mere moment of time in the history of the planet. It has constantly evolved throughout the ages, and will continue to do so long after we have gone. We are able to exist on earth only because nature provides us with all our needs for survival. Yet in this modern world of rapidly diminishing forest cover, some are still prepared to promote the age-old slash and burn mentality - in this case, 'for the good of the view, rather than for the good of the planet'.

Maybe it is time we reconfigured our response strategies and embraced greater biodiversity, which is, after all, the key to a balanced and healthy ecosystem."

Here, here.

Source: Otago Daily Times

Renewable Energy: report paints hopeful picture for EU if properly planned

In the U.S., the Thanksgiving holiday is just a few days away. It's a time when we reflect on what we have, despite all the bad news that is swirling around us, and give thanks. It can be an optimistic day as we consider how far we have come as a nation and a people, and we consider a future filled with many more Thanksgivings by resolving to tackle the challenges we face.

That's a recipe for the whole world to follow as we consider our natural resources and the environment, and the threats that beset them.

So, from across the pond, coming from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in the UK is a report that caught my eye. "Meeting Europe's Renewable Energy Targets in Harmony with Nature" examines the importance of expanding the European Union's renewable energy capabilities and how it can be done without sacrificing nature at the same time. It's a report whose goals and objectives could be applied worldwide.

With renewable energy sources providing EU countries with an average 20% of their energy by the end of the decade as a declared EU goal, the report focuses on the importance of energy sources that have a low impact on nature, such as solar panels, rooftop solar thermal systems and electric vehicles. The report categorizes wind and wave power as medium-risk, while biofuels are placed in a high-risk category.

Martin Harper, RSPB conservation director, said the report was "a call to arms for nature conservation. Climate change is a grave threat to wildlife, and we need ambitious renewable energy targets in order to tackle it. Our study shows that it is possible to meet these targets without putting nature at risk--but there are consequences for nature if we get it wrong."

That, of course, is the trick: avoiding rushing into implementing a particular energy technology without proper planning to consider both short-term and long-term implications. The report reviews many of the issues regarding biofuels, which is an energy source that many feel is a disaster due to the amount of habitat destruction that goes into producing one gallon of fuel. However, the report also brings up the need to, in essence, look into a crystal ball to try to anticipate future issues regarding energy sources. An example from years past would be hydroelectric dams which produced plenty of power but over time severely damaged many rivers, estuaries, and the ecosystems they supported.

Overall, the report lays out a predominantly positive future if we can energize ourselves in committing to renewable energy and if we carry it out carefully and judiciously. "With so much exciting and innovative technology out there from solar arrays and geothermal extraction to electric cars and wave power systems, there is clearly a healthy future for renewable energy and wildlife in the UK and Europe," Harper said.

To download the report, click here.
Learn more from the RSPB website.

Nature's Value: conservation group CEO writes about "green" conversion strategies

I am re-posting something I just read in the Huffington Post. Mark Tercek, CEO of The Nature Conservancy, wrote a post about how to re-think conservation. Many passionate conservationists often view large corporations as the "enemy" and condemn them for their less than environmentally-friendly ways. But we need to work with these companies or other non-"green"-thinking groups, not against them, if we ever expect to bring them into the fold. Mark cites examples in his post - a reasonable approach to getting corporations to see the value of nature, terminology that businesses can better understand and appreciate.

Changing the Conversation: From Nature's Wonder to Nature's Value

Earlier this month, I spoke at the inaugural South by Southwest Eco. I began by mentioning my former career on Wall Street-a topic unlikely to win me many fans.

Then why bring it up?

The theme of my speech was broadening support for conservation by crossing boundaries --talking about nature differently and reaching beyond the usual suspects of those we ordinarily work with.

A little over three years ago, I crossed a personal boundary, leaving my career as an investment banker to follow my passion for protecting nature.

And as head of The Nature Conservancy, I am now committed to helping the conservation movement cross boundaries, reaching out to everyone from businesses to kids to demonstrate why protecting nature is in their best interest.

Take our collaboration with Dow Chemical, for example. The Nature Conservancy is working with Dow to determine how the company's operations rely on and affect nature. Dow's factories are enormously dependent on water supply. They also depend on mangroves and other natural systems to provide buffer from coastal storms. Our goal is to create tools and methods other companies can test and apply.

Some critics ask why we would work with companies that have a big environmental footprint. I say, why wouldn't we? In my view, it would be irresponsible of us to shy away from the opportunity to guide companies whose decisions affect the places we want to conserve.

Are partnerships with companies a panacea? No.

Are there risks to engaging businesses? Of course.

But change is not possible without risk.

And change is critical given the great challenges we are up against. By 2050, the world's population is expected to reach 9 billion people. Soaring demands for food, water and energy put enormous pressure on the natural systems we seek to protect. And climate change will only multiply existing problems.

Solving these challenges will require new ways of thinking. It will require reaching beyond our core supporters. And it will require a shift in thinking, from "Isn't nature wonderful?" to "Isn't nature valuable?"

Specifically, we need to talk much more about the benefits nature provides to people -- clean air, healthy soil, fresh water, coastal buffers from storms.

This notion of "natural capital" is not new. In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concluded that these services are in sharp and worrisome decline.

What's exciting is that environmental organizations around the world are turning this concept into reality. We are crossing boundaries to put these ideas into practice, connecting the value of nature to a broader audience.

Last year in Iowa, for example, a coalition of conservationists, sportsmen, farmers, community leaders and businesses banded together to support a constitutional amendment that will direct $150 million per year of the next sales tax increase toward wetlands restoration, water quality programs and other projects that will help prevent and reduce impacts from flooding.

We had our work cut out for us, campaigning in a conservative state, during a deep recession and facing a tough political climate. But the amendment passed with more than two-thirds of the vote.

Voters understood that their lives and livelihoods, including Iowa's $21 billion agriculture industry, are closely linked to clean and productive water systems.

Finally, all of our efforts will be wasted if we don't foster the next generation of conservationists.

Only about 10 percent of today's kids say they spend time outdoors every day. Meanwhile, the vast majority uses a computer, watches TV, or plays video games on a daily basis. This growing disconnect with nature threatens kids' physical and emotional well-being. It also makes them less likely to care about environmental issues.

But it's not all bad news. A recent study found that when youth are given more opportunities to have a meaningful experience outdoors, they will be more likely to value nature, engage with it and feel empowered to do something about it.

One initiative my organization has launched to address this problem is called Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF). The program matches urban high school students with summer internships on nature preserves across the country. Programs like this are key to closing the gap between nature and people -- especially among urban and youth audiences -- and building tomorrow's conservation leaders.

Environmental organizations need new strategies like these to deal with the difficult challenges ahead. That's not to say that other strategies don't have their place. Is our work helped by more confrontational organizations that challenge businesses and governments? Yes. Are there times when different approaches will be more effective? Of course. The more strategies the better. We're all on the same team.

As South by Southwest has proven in the areas of technology and music, the best new thinking and creative ideas often emerge when we cross boundaries to seek out new relationships and ideas. We will never achieve our mission by talking to ourselves. We have to reach out to all sectors of society -- from businesses to farmers to children -- to demonstrate the value of nature to our lives.

From The Huffington Post, Tuesday, October 25, 2011.

Losing Touch With Nature: writer looks at how nature can help our children

Are we losing touch with nature? Is there a generation(s) of children coming up who can only relate to nature distantly, without the true experience of touch, sight, and smell? Today there is more information than ever - more books, more videos, more connections via the Internet for children to learn about nature. But are the oceans, the forests, the plants and animals all becoming just words and images from which we hope that children will grow to respect, protect, and conserve?

Let's hope not, but it is a real concern. I come from a generation who, even when growing up in the populated suburbs of Southern California, chased the butterflies, ate a little dirt, and dreamed of being an explorer. But today, in our hand sanitized, digital screened, concrete mall existence, there can be a real disconnect between the indoor world and the outdoor world.

From the United Arab Emirates, comes an interesting article written by Louisa Wilkins and published in the GulfNews. In How Nature Can Help Your Child, she writes of the changes in how children experience nature and what that can mean not only to the collective fate of the outdoors but to the health, mental and physical, of coming generations.

"In the same way that children need food, water and sleep in order to grow and develop to their full potential, so they need nature. Not only because an hour of play outside in the elements is more physical than an hour on the sofa, but because there are other, more subtle, consequences of children losing touch with nature. [Author, Richard] Louv says, 'Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.' According to his research, the disorder is not just limited to individuals, but entire families and communities. He says, 'Nature-deficit can even change human behaviour in cities, which could ultimately affect their design, since long-standing studies show a relationship between the absence, or inaccessibility, of parks and open space with high crime rates, depression, and other urban maladies.'"

There is a segment of readers to this blog who are parents and who have thanked me for some of the information I have provided for their children. I am most flattered by this as it is the next generation or two who will really have to move the bar forward regarding conservation, building on the awareness that adults today are trying to generate, and making it the norm. Louisa Wilkins' article is a great read for those parents - and for all of us - as a reminder of how we saw and experienced the outside world growing up and what our children may be missing today.

Read the entire article in the GulfNews.

Nature's Resiliency: inspiration helps keep our hopes up

As a nature writer and reporter, I have to constantly be mindful that the issues I bring up in my work will best serve my readers if they can inspire or provoke a response or action. It may be a serious problem but there are solutions if we act now, if we let the decision makers know we are watching them.

But it can get overwhelming. And so, every once in a while, some good news can go a long way. In that vein, here is an uplifting story written by Scott Poyton of The Forest Trust, in the Huffpost Green. Good work, Scott.

Resilient Nature -- The Hope in the Gibbon's Call
Posted: 05/ 2/11 02:50 PM ET

There is no shortage of deeply concerning news around the environment these days. It isn't hard to get a strong sense that we're on a fast track towards a nasty precipice. Yet, news continues to pop up that gives a sense that all isn't lost; that there is some hope that nature might be more resilient against our travesties than we had imagined. Just last week there was news that the almost extinct Red Kite was making a dramatic comeback in the UK. Back in January there was the incredible story of a polar bear spending nine days swimming in search of sea ice. Whilst that story shows us just how seriously we've changed the planet, we can only marvel at the spirit and resilience of that bear.

It is important to tell positive stories if only to offer something of a counter to the constant stream of bad news that greets us each day. We do tend to dwell on the negative but the human spirit needs to be nourished and uplifted by hope and good news from time to time as well.

I had my own recent experience of how resilient nature can be in January when visiting a palm oil plantation in Indonesia. I was in a seriously degraded forest in the middle of a palm oil plantation in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The plantation company had set this remnant forest aside many years ago when it developed the area. We'd wandered in off the road to get a look at the forest from within, to feel its heartbeat, if it still had one. Loggers had hammered the forest in advance of the plantation company taking over. There was no proper canopy, only a few scattered emergent trees left behind after the bulldozers had hacked their way through. My sense wandering in had been that it was a desolate place, devoid of richness and that the company's effort to protect it was an admirable though fruitless gesture.

Standing by a riverbank in the morning stillness, I wondered if the silence was because the house was empty. Then I heard it. At first it didn't register; no gibbons here surely? You don't hear something your mind tells you cannot exist but then, again. "What's that?" I asked my Indonesian colleagues.

"Gibbons" they responded.

"There are gibbons here?" I asked.

"Yes, and orang-utans too" they replied.

"Here, in this forest?"

"Yes, here are our records." The two forest guards produced their observation notebooks. Over the previous two years, they had recorded all the animals they'd sighted during their daily patrols. I was stunned. How did these animals survive here? The forest covered around 1,400 hectares, a long and thin snake of seriously damaged habitat running either side of the river yet it still supported a rich biodiversity of primates, birds and other creatures.

We stayed a good hour in there listening to the gibbons. I heard at least three or four; far less than what you hear in a virgin forest but what hope it stirred in me! What resilience! If these animals could survive here, what else might we achieve?

I subsequently went back to Indonesia in early February to launch the palm oil company's forest conservation policy. If implemented, the policy will see more forest, just like the gibbon's in Kalimantan, set aside, protected and given a chance to re-grow. It's long-term stuff. There are many mountains to climb before we'll get to where we need to be but the hope inherent in that gibbon's call is driving me, and others, forward.

That gibbon's call is a real symbol of nature's resilience and of what just might be possible. Many news items reflect how low we go with our disrespect of nature. Yet we owe it to nature, struggling to hang in there just like that gibbon, to hold on to the idea that there could be a better future if only we all work harder.

We each can do something every day to reduce our environmental impact. When everything is gloomy and you can't imagine things ever getting better, the human spirit takes flight and determines to find a better way. A sense that something is possible, that yes, we can do what was thought impossible has recent history of bringing about dramatic change. Let's take hope from that gibbon's call and redouble our efforts to bring change to how we treat nature. Go on, let yourself go.

Follow Scott Poyton on Twitter.

Rally 'Round the Rodent: small mammals are ecological foundation

When one thinks of animals and conservation, a range of iconic images come to mind: whales, sharks, polar bears, wolves. These tend to be larger species and, while they certainly deserve our attention, there is a large group of land-based animals that also deserve protection. Rodents.

Rodents, you say? Are we talking rats here? Protect the rat, save the rat? Well, yes and no. Of course, when one thinks of rodents, rats and mice and other pests that have thrived because of man's presence, particularly in our urban areas, come to mind. And they have been a problem through destruction of stored seeds and grains or through transmission of disease. However, rodents serve an important ecological role and, in so doing, deserve a measure of protection as much as any other land animal.

Of the approximate 4,000 species of mammals on the planet, about 1,500 fall into the rodentia family, primarily identified by having a single pair of incisors - front teeth that require continually being worn down through gnawing on hard surfaces. In fact, that's where the name comes from, "gnawing animal." In addition to rats and mice, rodents also include squirrels, beavers, porcupines, prairie dogs, and many more. In fact there is an incredible range of rodents in tropical and jungle environments from tiny little critters up to 110-pound capybaras found in South America.

Rodents constitute some of the earliest prehistoric mammals. While dinosaurs were stomping their way into eventual oblivion, as far back as the Paleocene era, rodents were scurrying about their feet. Actually, there were some incredibly large rodents in prehistoric times, some as large as a bear. However, those toothy behemoths, along with other over-sized animals like dinosaurs, couldn't survive the radical climatic changes that the earth has gone through, from ice ages to meteors.

Today, while rodents in developed countries can be pests, causing billions of dollars in crop losses or pest control expenses, in many parts of the world they provide food and fur for local or tribal populations. And in the big scheme of things, they are a major food source for a variety of other animals. Just like with the predator-prey pyramid for marine species wherein plankton and small bait fish are highly reproductive to balance out the fact that they also are prey to a wide range of other animals, rodents serve as a cornerstone and key foundation for the chain of life in the terrestrial world.

Conservation International recognizes the significance of the rodent in a properly maintained ecology. With a little humor, they are making the case that rodents deserve our understanding and protection. They have a Facebook page designed for visitors to choose a favorite rodent for Valentine's Day. Here's Conservation International's take on why rodents deserve something more that a trap baited with cheese:

"We share our planet with millions of incredible species.

Just consider the bright color of spring flowers, the morning calls of migratory birds, or the snow-covered plumage of emperor penguins. We're lucky to live in a world where these creatures exist.

At Conservation International (CI), we've been working since our founding to protect and preserve species around the world. And with Feb. 14 quickly approaching, I hope you'll join me in sending a valentine — to some amazing species of rodents.

Rodents? Amazing? Yes, amazing. Sure, they're sometimes household pests. But they underpin the ecosystems that provide us with clean air and water, regulate our climate, and give us medicines.

And in many cultures, species play an important role — yes, even rodents. The Chinese zodiac has not one but two rodent representatives (the rabbit and the rat). And in the U.S. and Canada, today is Groundhog Day, a quirky holiday that, folklore says, determines how long the continent will remain under a winter chill.

Some rodents are even kind of cute.

Yet around the world, on land and at sea, species like rodents are in trouble. It's estimated that one species goes extinct, on average, every 20 minutes. Human activity, such as habitat destruction and pollution, is largely responsible. And for every species of plant or animal that disappears, we forever lose the unique and sometimes critical benefits that people receive.

How can you get involved in protecting species like these? Join us in celebrating rodents this Valentine's Day — and help us spread the word that people need nature to thrive.

Visit CI's Facebook fan page and click on 'Vote Now' to vote for your favorite rodent: http://www.facebook.com/conservation.intl

You can also visit Crowdrise, an online fundraising site that makes it easy for you, your friends, and your family to donate small amounts of money to CI if you'd like. Each of our four rodents has its own Crowdrise page, so you can vote for your favorite not just with a click, but with your wallet!

The rodent with the most votes and dollars raised by Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, will be named the most loved rodent (as voted by CI supporters). So this Groundhog Day, send a valentine to a furry creature. Vote for your favorite rodents on CI's Facebook fan page and on Crowdrise."

Read more about rodents from UCMP.

Microbes: new life forms on Earth and perhaps beyond

Bacteria, microbes, single-cell organisms - the planet is teeming with them, literally in the billions. There are tens of thousands in a single drop of seawater and, worldwide, they constitute the greatest biomass on Earth. If their numbers are an indication of success then perhaps that success is due to both the simplicity of their existence and their ability to adapt to changing environments.

Two recent announcements regarding these tiniest of creatures caught my eye (no pun intended) because they had to do with the aquatic world and involved places I've been or would very much like to be.

Bacteria that challenges our notions of life
In the arid, alien-like landscape of Mono Lake, researchers have found bacteria that has adapted to an arsenic-rich environment. What is most unusual in this adaption was that the bacteria incorporated arsenic into its basic metabolic structure, replacing phosphorus. This is rather unique as phosphorus is one of nature's building blocks for all living things. Scientists have long held that carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus are the basic elements of life as they help make up nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and other fundamental components of all living matter.

However, researchers from Arizona State University have found in the water of Mono Lake, in east central California, bacteria that has exchanged phosphorus for the more prevalent arsenic, thereby challenging our notions of what constitutes what or where life can exist either here on Earth or elsewhere.

"At the moment we have no idea if life is just a freak, bizarre accident which is confined to Earth or whether it is a natural part of a fundamentally biofriendly universe in which life pops up wherever there are Earth-like conditions," said Paul Davies, the Arizona State University and NASA Astrobiology Institute researcher.

The researchers are very cautious not to draw too many conclusions from this preliminary research. Though the implications are tantalizing, with the possibility of life forms on other planets based on a totally different structure than what exists on Earth, there is still a considerable amount of work to be done before scientists decide to re-define our established notions of what constitutes life. Still, it makes you wonder just what our planetary probes in space should be looking for.

John Elliot, a UK researcher who has been involved in the search for extraterrestrial life, said, "It starts to show life can survive outside the traditional truths and universals that we thought you have to use... this is knocking one brick out of that wall."

Microbes that went down with the ship, way down
Ever since I read my parent's original copy of A Night to Remember by Walter Lord when I was a child, I have had a soft spot for anything Titanic. I'm not alone in this fascination with the great ocean liner that epitomized both man's industrial might and arrogance. But while the name and the vessel represent all things huge, scientists also study some of the wreck's smallest features - like a new form of iron-eating bacteria.

The genus Halomonas covers salt water bacteria that slowly breakdown metals, typically leaving behind evidence of their handiwork in the form of long, trailing icicle-like structures known as rusticles. Covering the Titanic along its hull and decaying metal superstructure, rusticles form a bizarre wintry scene to remind us of the cold depth 2.5 miles below the surface where the ship lies in two great pieces.

Reported in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, researchers from universities in Ontario, Canada and Seville, Spain have discovered a new bacteria, named Halomonas titanicae, by studying rusticle samples taken by the Russian submersible, Mir 2, back in 1991. Cultured in the lab from the 19-year old samples, these bacteria are of interest beyond just the fascination in lifeforms that are able to survive in some of the planet's harshest environments. The fate of offshore oil and gas pipelines at the hands of these metal-devouring microbes is an important area of research, particularly in the aftermath of this year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Additionally, understanding how these smallest of creatures can breakdown and possibly "recycle" some of mankind's largest structures could assist in developing safe and effective disposal methods of ships and oil rigs.

From the deepest depths of the ocean to perhaps beyond the stars, life continues to show scientists that it has a tenacious drive to survive, adapting to its surroundings sometimes in the most fundamental of ways.

Read about the arsenic bacteria in BBC News.
Read Titanic microbe study in the IJSEM journal.

Fins to Limbs: study identifies possible gene trigger

In the complex web of evolution, one of the pivotal moments occurred with the transition from aquatic animals to land animals - an event marked by the change from fins to limbs. While fossils have shown us evidence of this transition, the actually biological processes, what accomplished this change, has not been clear.

In a report recently published in Nature, a research team from the University of Ottawa conducted experiments that could shed some light on evolutionary change. Their studies identified a group of genes responsible for the supportive fibers found in fish fins, not found in tetrapods (land animals). These genes, known as actinodins, were found in both the researchers' primary laboratory specimen, the zebrafish, and in the elephant shark - an example of an ancient fish that has changed very little from its millions year old ancestors.

By chemically suppressing the actinodin genes in zebrafish embryos or in adults that were regenerating new fins, the resulting fins lacked the supporting fibers. What could not be tested is the causal event that might have triggered the gene change millions of years ago or whether the gene loss occurred as the instigator of change or as a reaction to some other evolutionary biological process.

"It's a very nice example of how changes in one or two genes can be responsible for a huge evolutionary transition," says Axel Meyer, a evolutionary biologist at the University of Konstanz. "We tend to think that new genes bring new functions, but this study shows that the presence of genes constrains or directs development in certain directions. Gene loss is actually a creative force in evolution."

Evolution is an incredibly complex process that not only provides historical insight but has the potential for unlocking secrets into the processes that impact species today in their ability to alter or adapt to changing circumstances. While some people do not subscribe to theories of evolution for religious reasons, I find that, if there is a higher power, there is no clearer evidence than in the intricacies of evolution, from single-celled organisms eons ago to the diversity of life that graces this planet today - a diversity that is being threatened by one of its most successful species.

Read more about the study in Scientific American.

Conservation of Nature & Faith: author brings two ideologies together

What motivates someone to care about the environment and conservation? Is it political ideology or commercial interests, something personal or a broader altruistic concern? Obviously, there can be as many reasons as the number of micro-organisms in a seasonal plankton bloom, but one motivator was recently brought to my attention that, frankly, I have not given much thought about: religion.

I received a copy of Beauty of the Lord, part of a four-volume paperback set of books on environmental theology, written by Richard Austin, a Presbyterian minister. This book - and indeed the entire series - tries to establish a Christian perspective on why we should appreciate and protect the environment. Through detailed biblical references, the author establishes a religious foundation for accepting our need and moral responsibility to be active conservationists.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I do not adhere to any form of organized religion. In fact, I believe that some of the tenants of Judeo-Christian dogma have contributed, perhaps subtly, to our current ecological crisis. For man to have dominion over the earth, I feel, has been subverted over centuries to mean to dominate, taking only for our personal gain - and we are now realizing the price to be paid.

Austin recognizes this viewpoint:
"In Western culture Christianity has been a major interpreter of life's meaning and purpose. Like other social institutions, though, our churches were not prepared for the change in perception of the earth. This lack of foresight has generated resentment among some who are frustrated by our society's sluggish response to this new reality and look for a scapegoat. In his famous essay, 'The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,' Lynn White, Jr. claimed that the primary culprit of the contemporary crisis was the traditional Christian affirmation of the right of humanity to dominate nature. White's view is accepted widely, often uncritically, in the environment movement."

Rather than debate this issue, Austin lays out a path for re-orienting religious thinking, citing biblical passages that support the need for man to actively participate in preserving our natural resources. He makes the argument that man is not truly whole in a religious sense without an appreciation for nature.

"The Christian event of 'awakening' or 'conversion,' characteristic in the American religious tradition, may lead to a more creative personal identity; yet human identity is not complete without an affectionate relationship with nature and a sense of moral purpose that reaches beyond human culture to other life. Regard for nature may contribute to the moral beauty of our faith."

This volume from the four-volume set makes many references to Jonathan Edwards, an 18th century theologian, and in other volumes Austin turns to John Muir and others for support. For myself, in reviewing the book as an agnostic - or to be contemporary and hip, as an adherent to a "personal spiritualism" - I found the book to be impressive (almost overwhelmingly detailed) in its position that a religious foundation exists for conservation.

And Austin brings a positive spin to a situation that often seems mired in doom and gloom: "Campaigns for environmental protection are often built on fear - fear of the disaster which will ensue if we do not, for example, control pollutants or protect genetic diversity. However, I believe that love for the earth is a stronger motive than fear. It is more likely to generate creative action, and it is more likely to persist through the long effort required for change."

I am not too particular as to what motivates a person to embrace conservation - the why is less important to me than the what, what is accomplished. I have said that industry will probably be pulled kicking and screaming until they realize a commercial incentive. And politicians may act for fear of retribution at the voting booth. So, if you are a person of religious faith and you are struggling with, or even just mildly curious, as to where your beliefs and nature intersect, I would suggest you take a look at this environmental theology series of books by Richard Austin.

"We have built our nest in the tree of life; now we must save the tree."

The books are available online individually or as a set at Creekside Press.