Wednesday, November 28, 2007

More Than 1 Billion Trees Planted in 2007 - UN

More Than 1 Billion Trees Planted in 2007 - UN
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NORWAY: November 29, 2007
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/45614/story.htm


OSLO - The world has surpassed a UN goal of planting 1 billion trees in 2007 to help slow climate change, led by huge forestry projects in Ethiopia and Mexico, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Wednesday.


The global tree-planting drive, inspired by Kenyan environmentalist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, is meant to counter deforestation from logging and the burning of forests to create farmland.

"An initiative to catalyze the pledging and the planting of one billion trees has achieved and indeed surpassed its mark," UNEP head Achim Steiner said in a statement on plantings by governments, companies and individuals.

"It is a further sign of the breathtaking momentum witnessed this year on the challenge for this generation -- climate change." Trees soak up carbon dioxide, the main gas blamed for stoking global warming, as they grow.

UNEP said Ethiopia appeared to be the runaway leader with 700 million trees planted in a national reforestation drive. Only 3 percent of Ethiopia is now forested, down from 40 percent centuries ago.

Other top planters were Mexico with 217 million trees, Turkey 150 million, Kenya 100 million, Cuba 96.5 million, Rwanda 50 million, South Korea 43 million, Tunisia 21 million, Morocco 20 million, Myanmar 20 million and Brazil 16 million, it said.

The billion-tree target was set in Nairobi in November despite criticism that it would be impossible to verify. It was declared passed less than a week before the start of a Dec 3-14 meeting of the world's environment ministers in Bali, Indonesia.

"You responded beyond our dreams," said Maathai. "Now we must keep the pressure on and continue the good work for the planet. Plant another tree today in celebration."

China, Guatemala and Spain were expected soon to announce new plantings of millions of trees, UNEP said.

Indonesia plans to plant 80 million trees in one day before the Bali conference, which is meant to launch two years of talks to work out a new international deal to fight global warming.

UNEP says it checks planting pledges, which now cover 1.5 billion trees, to see if they sound credible but does not ensure all are planted. It said the totals were still being collated.

-- For Reuters latest environment blogs click on: http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/ (Editing by Robert Woodward, Reuters messaging:


Story by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

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Extinction Of More Than 1/4 of US Bird Species Threatened



The problems of urban sprawl and the resulting loss of habitat are critical
the human relationship with the environment is off-kilter
The sea level rise caused by global warming puts pressure on bird populations
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[Notice - This issue is caused by people not the birds. This and many other nature & people issues can be directly influenced for the better by better policies and actions by individuals and the various decision makers in corporations, governments and other groups.

Today's decisions are being tested by the birds and others. Further testing of these decisions will get similar disastrous results. Adjusting decisions that are no longer working for the better can help. The birds would be much happier to test better decisions.

This issue like many is a local issue that can not be solved locally.

These issues can only be resolved at the global level.

This too can be tested. The birds show the current results of decision making using thinking with artificial borders and boundaries - nations, markets, states, counties, religions, ideologies, isms and all the rest. Even the USA Audubon Society all to often uses the constricted focus of artificial borders. Birds can never recognized these artificial borders. Border free decision making for the better can certainly help the birds.]

Links:
The 2007 Audubon WatchList
http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/browseWatchlist.php

The 2007 Audubon WatchList
http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/
===


More Than 1/4 of US Birds Threatened - Report

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/45599/story.htm
US: November 29, 2007


WASHINGTON - More than a quarter of all US bird species are vulnerable to extinction, according to a comprehensive list compiled by two conservation groups released on Wednesday. Global warming may be partially to blame.


The new WatchList 2007, compiled by the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy, found 178 species in the continental United States and 39 in Hawaii in danger.

Of those, 98 are on the "red list" of greatest concern, and 119 in the "yellow" category, indicating their numbers are seriously declining or the species is rare.

Global warming, the loss of habitat due to urban and suburban sprawl and the current US administration's policies on endangered species are all to blame, a co-author of the list said in a telephone interview.

"It's a sign that basically the human relationship with the environment is off-kilter and these are some of the species that are suffering from that," said Gregory Butcher of the National Audubon Society.

The sea level rise caused by global warming puts pressure on bird populations, Butcher said.

Coastal bird habitats of species like the seaside sparrow and the piping plover are likely to be inundated, he said.

"And because there's so many people living close to the oceans, we're not sure that the natural habitats at the edge of the sea will continue to exist in the face of sea level rise," Butcher said.


'LOOMING THREAT'

Arctic birds that breed in Canada and Alaska, such as the puff-breasted sandpiper and the snowy owl, are losing their tundra habitat as the planet warms. "We're very concerned about those species due to global warming," Butcher said.

David Pashley, a co-author from the American Bird Conservancy, agreed that global warming was a "looming threat" but said, "This is not something the bird conservation community can tackle."

The problems of urban sprawl and the resulting loss of habitat are critical, Pashley said by telephone.

Both authors said the Bush administration's policies on endangered species had not helped.

"Unfortunately we've been seven years in an administration that really doesn't believe in the Endangered Species Act, so they've sort of been looking for excuses not to list species that should be added to the act," Butcher said.

Some of the "most imperiled" birds on the WatchList are not protected under the Endangered Species Act, the two groups said in a statement.

These include the Gunnison sage-grouse, whose numbers have been reduced by drought and habitat destruction in Colorado and Utah; the lesser prairie-chicken, which has isolated populations from Kansas to New Mexico; the ashy storm-petrel, whose breeding populations are restricted to the West Coast; and the Kittlitz murrelet, whose breeding and feeding habitat appears linked to Alaska's tidewater glaciers.
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The 2007 Audubon WatchList
http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/browseWatchlist.php

You can view information about the natural history and conservation status of each species on the WatchList as well as the threats to each of these species. Species are grouped by family and listed taxonomically within each group. To select a species, first click on the family from the options below. The color before the species name will indicate if the species is on the red list or yellow list. 

Family Groups

Swans, Geese, Ducks Crane
Gallinaceous Birds Plovers
Loons, Grebes Snipe, Sandpipers, Phalaropes, allies
Albatrosses Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
Shearwaters, Fulmars, Petrels Auks, Murres, Puffins, Guillemots
Storm-Petrels Pigeons, Doves
Boobies, Gannets Parrots
Cormorants Cuckoos
Frigatebirds Owls, Nightjars
Herons, Bitterns, Egrets Swifts, Hummingbirds, Trogon
Condor Woodpeckers
Hawks, Kites, Osprey, Eagles Songbirds
Coots, Rails  

  

 

Swans, Geese, Ducks 

Emperor Goose 
Trumpeter Swan
Mottled Duck
Steller's Eider
Spectacled Eider
Hawaiian Duck 
Hawaiian Goose
Laysan Duck

Back to top

Gallinaceous Birds 

  Greater Sage-Grouse
  Gunnison Sage-Grouse
  Sooty Grouse
  Greater Prairie-Chicken
  Lesser Prairie-Chicken
  Mountain Quail
  Scaled Quail
  Montezuma Quail

Back to top


Loons, Grebes 
  Yellow-billed Loon
  Clark's Grebe

 
Albatrosses 
  Laysan Albatross
  Black-footed Albatross
  Short-tailed Albatross

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Shearwaters, Fulmars, Petrels
  Bermuda Petrel
  Black-capped Petrel
  Hawaiian Petrel
  Cory's Shearwater
  Pink-footed Shearwater
  Greater Shearwater
  Buller's Shearwater
  Sooty Shearwater
  Manx Shearwater
  Newell's Shearwater
  Black-vented Shearwater
  Audubon's Shearwater

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Storm-Petrels
  Ashy Storm-Petrel
  Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
  Black Storm-Petrel
  Tristram's Storm-Petrel
  Least Storm-Petrel

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Boobies, Gannets
  Masked Booby


Cormorants
  Red-faced Cormorant


Frigatebirds
  Magnificent Frigatebird

Herons, Bitterns, Egrets 
  Reddish Egret


Condor
  California Condor

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Hawks, Kites, Osprey, Eagles
  Swallow-tailed Kite
  Swainson's Hawk
  Hawaiian Hawk

 

Back to top

 Coots, Rails
  Yellow Rail
  Black Rail
  Clapper Rail
  King Rail
  Hawaiian Coot

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 Cranes

  Whooping Crane

Plovers
  American Golden-Plover
  Snowy Plover
  Wilson's Plover
  Piping Plover
  Mountain Plover

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Snipe, Sandpipers, Phalaropes, allies
  Wandering Tattler
  Eskimo Curlew
  Bristle-thighed Curlew
  Long-billed Curlew
  Hudsonian Godwit
  Bar-tailed Godwit
  Marbled Godwit
  Black Turnstone
  Surfbird
  Red Knot
  Sanderling
  Semipalmated Sandpiper
  Western Sandpiper
  White-rumped Sandpiper
  Rock Sandpiper
  Stilt Sandpiper
  Buff-breasted Sandpiper

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Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
  Heermann's Gull
  Thayer's Gull
  Iceland Gull
  Yellow-footed Gull
  Red-legged Kittiwake
  Ross's Gull
  Ivory Gull
  Gull-billed Tern
  Elegant Tern
  Roseate Tern
  Least Tern
  Aleutian Tern
  Bridled Tern
  Black Skimmer

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Auks, Murres, Puffins, Guillemots
  Razorbill
  Marbled Murrelet
  Kittlitz's Murrelet
  Xantus's Murrelet
  Craveri's Murrelet
  Ancient Murrelet
  Whiskered Auklet


Back to top

Pigeons, Doves

   White-crowned Pigeon

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Parrots

  Green Parakeet
  Thick-billed Parrot
  Red-crowned Parrot

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Cuckoos, Anis

  Mangrove Cuckoo


Owls, Nightjars

  Flammulated Owl
  Elf Owl
  Spotted Owl
  Short-eared Owl
  Antillean Nighthawk

Back to top

Swifts, Hummingbirds, Trogon

  Black Swift
  Blue-throated Hummingbird
  Costa's Hummingbird
  Calliope Hummingbird
  Allen's Hummingbird
  Elegant Trogon

Back to top

Woodpeckers

  Lewis's Woodpecker
  Red-headed Woodpecker
  Williamson's Sapsucker
  Nuttall's Woodpecker
  Arizona Woodpecker
  Red-cockaded Woodpecker
  White-headed Woodpecker
  Gilded Flicker
  Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Back to top

Songbirds
  Olive-sided Flycatcher
  Willow Flycatcher
  Thick-billed Kingbird
  Bell's Vireo
  Gray Vireo
  Black-capped Vireo
  Florida Scrub-Jay
  Island Scrub-Jay
  Pinyon Jay
  Yellow-billed Magpie
  Hawaiian Crow
  Elepaio
  Mexican Chickadee
  Oak Titmouse
  Millerbird
  California Gnatcatcher
  Kamao
  Olomao
  Omao
  Puaiohi
  Bicknell's Thrush 
  Wood Thrush
  Varied Thrush
  Wrentit
  Bendire's Thrasher
  California Thrasher
  Le Conte's Thrasher
  Sprague's Pipit
  Bachman's Warbler
  Blue-winged Warbler
  Golden-winged Warbler
  Virginia's Warbler
  Colima Warbler
  Lucy's Warbler
  Bay-breasted Warbler
  Golden-cheeked Warbler
  Hermit Warbler
  Grace's Warbler
  Kirtland's Warbler
  Prairie Warbler
  Cerulean Warbler
  Prothonotary Warbler
  Swainson's Warbler
  Kentucky Warbler
  Canada Warbler
  Red-faced  Warbler
  Abert's Towhee
  Rufous-winged Sparrow
  Bachman's Sparrow
  Five-striped Sparrow
  Brewer's Sparrow
  Black-chinned Sparrow
  Sage Sparrow
  Lark Bunting
  Baird's Sparrow
  Henslow's Sparrow
  Le Conte's Sparrow
  Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
  Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
  Seaside Sparrow
  Smith's Longspur
  Chestnut-collared Longspur
   McKay's Bunting
  Varied Bunting
  Painted Bunting
  Tricolored Blackbird
  Rusty Blackbird
  Audubon's Oriole
  Black Rosy-Finch
  Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
  Lawrence's Goldfinch
  Laysan Finch
  Nihoa Finch 
  Ou
  Palila
  Maui Parrotbill
  Oahu Amakihi
  Kauai Amakihi
  Anianiau
  Nukupuu
  Akiapolaau
  Akikiki
  Hawaii Creeper
  Oahu Alauahio
  Maui Alauahio
  Akekee
  Akepa
  Iiwi
  Akohekohe
  Poo-uli


Story by Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
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