News

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From fungi to bats, the latest Guardian article has scientists discussing the importance of numerous species. [|Read it at the Guardian.]
 * The Most Invaluable Species ** November 14, 2008

The birds whose populations are increasing don't rely on special habitats, and are better at adapting to change. Just look at these figures from a study in Europe:
 * __Study shows major decline in Bird Population. (Europe.)__**

Crested lark (95% decline) Lesser spotted woodpecker (81% decline) Grey partridge (79% decline) Wryneck (74% decline) Wheatear (70% decline) Nightingale (63% decline) Turtle dove (62% decline) Willow tit (58% decline) Lapwing (51% decline) Serin (41% decline)

[|Click here to read the news article!]


 * Which charities are most deserving? Those working on environmental issues tend to come low on most people's lists, judging by the paltry amounts they receive; yet, argues Sylvia Rowley, they can make a huge difference to some of the world's most pressing problems.**

What can UK charities do about climate change when China is building two new power stations every week? How can conservation charities make a difference when fish are being hauled from the oceans so rapidly that 70% of species are in danger of collapse by 2048? And when an area of Amazon rainforest the size of Belgium has been hacked down in one year, is the problem simply too big for charities to tackle? Climate change and the destruction of the environment are unprecedented global problems. In the face of the sheer scale of these challenges, charities may look impotent. But they are not. [|Read the rest of the article]

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 * Protecting the world's remaining tropical forests will play a vital role in preventing dangerous climate change in the future, says Peter Seligmann. In this week's Green Room, he calls for a global system that offers nations an economic incentive to halt the destruction of the Earth's "lungs".**


 * As a key UN climate change conference gets underway in Bali, Malini Mehra says the current global political system is "abysmally unfit for purpose". In this week's Green Room, she calls for nations to stop playing the blame game, and work together to deliver a low carbon global economy.**

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In his Nobel Prize [|acceptance speech], Al Gore explained the severity of the climate crisis. “We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency — a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential,” he declared. But Sunday political talk show hosts have ignored the issue. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) today launched a [|campaign] publicizing the fact that the top five TV political journalists have dodged the issue of global warming this year:
 * __Top Talk Show Hosts Ignore Global Warming__**

In the more than 120 interviews and debates with the [presidential] candidates in 2007, **the five political show hosts collectively have asked 2,275 questions. Of those questions, these journalists have only uttered the words “global warming” or “climate change” three times**. More over, only 24 of these questions touched even remotely on the issue of global climate change.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/12/19/lcv-sunday/ (includes video)