Travel Blog Video Continuation
The last of the Bamboo Trains- Battambang Cambodia
More about the bamboo trains. I was told that when this started, the villagers didn't even have an engine, they used a stick to row forward on the tracks. What happens when another bamboo train heads towards yours?! Simple, somebody has to move of course. It seems there is some form of unspoken train ethic that "governs" who should get off in such literally opposing situations. It usually is the one with the less goods, people and animals on it. And yes, everyone helps to remove the bamboo train not just the driver. Once removed from the track to give way to the other train, everyone and everything goes back on to continue the journey. Using revenue earned from tourists, they bought motors, and hopefully soon, their first shiny new train. Read the whole blog here
Video 1: Bamboo train preparation & removal link
Video 2: The last of the Bamboo Trains - Battambang Cambodia ">link
Jane Goodall calls for Youths to save Endangered Species
You can visit Goodall's Roots & Shoots and the On the Edge: Hope for Animals and Their World campaign to learn more and find a threatened or endangered species in your area and learn about ways to protect them and the environment.
Watch video &feature=player_embedded">here
One of the most remote islands in the world- Nightingale Island Oil Spill
By Andrew Evans
National Geographic Traveler, 23 March 2011
Ecological disaster is not the story I wanted to send from this place, but it’s the one that is happening here right now.
I sailed to the Tristan Da Cunha island group because I was following a lifelong dream. The remotest set of inhabited islands in the world promised serenity, calm and safety from the ills and pollution that plague other parts of the world. Alas, even those distant problems found their way to these pristine shores in the South Atlantic.
A week ago today, (March 16), the MV Oliva (Valetta) crashed on the rocks of Nightingale Island, spilling its cargo of soybeans and some 800 tons of fuel oil onto the coast. The ship was crossing the Atlantic from Brazil to Singapore when for reasons still unknown, it hit the island’s coast at a speed of 14 knots.
The captain and all crew escaped the vessel, but by last Saturday the ship had begun to break up in the heavy surf. The oil slick had spread around the island and then out to sea in the direction of Inaccessible Island.
Our ship, the MV National Geographic Explorer arrived at Tristan Da Cunha yesterday and sailed to Nightingale Island this morning, as intended on our original itinerary with Lindblad Expeditions. Instead of mere bird watching, we were met with the disturbing sight of penguins and seals coated in sticky black oil.
Nightingale Island is home to some 20,000 of the endangered sub-species of Northern Rockhopper Penguin. Sadly, these are the birds that were hit the hardest—thousands are expected to die from the effects of the oil spill. While this spill is relatively minor in comparison to so many in the world today, it represents a major calamity for the fragile birdlife on pristine Nightingale Island and a heavy blow to the small group of islanders of nearby Tristan da Cunha.
Today, I watched as 750 oil-soaked penguins were collected off Nightingale Island and removed to nearby Tristan da Cunha where they will be cleaned with detergent and hot water. I held a dead, oil-stained penguin in my hands, it’s tiny body showing the stress of the spill but also the season itself.
Read the full article here
On 26 March 2011, Million of people and animals around the world will join together for 60 minutes to honour Earth Hour.
Turn off your lights! View below or Click for video &feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">here
More details about Earth Hour here
" target="_blank">NATURE A Salmon's Journey
Follow a salmon swim into the Shannon River from the sea to spawn, or lay eggs. From the NATURE program IRELAND, airing on PBS Sunday, March 11 at 8 p.m. EST (check local listings). Major corporate support provided by Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Ford. For more information, visit www.pbs.org/nature.
Knut, Germany's most famous and first polar bear to be born in captivity in 30 years died on Saturday 19 March 2011. Apparently he dived into the waters in his enclosure, and the four-year-old died alone after a short spasm.
The cause of death is not yet determined, as Knut was not known to be ill. An earlier tragedy in 2008 before Knut's 2nd birthday, saw the zoo keeper Thomas Dorflein who had hand raised Knut, suddenly passed on at 44 after a heart attack. This seemed to affect Knut for several weeks with constant depression as the two had formed a strong bond.
This video shows Knut in happier days with Thomas. May they rest in peace together.
" target="_blank">Coral Disease Monitoring on Marshall Islands
Posted on Youtube: by Dean Jacobson
College of the Marshall Islands
New from BBC Earth: Migrating with Mom
Any great journey starts out with a little trepidation, think back to your first day of school, walking out into the big wide world (or playground) and then looking back to see your guardian eagerly watching and willing you to keep going. These first steps are always the hardest, and as one of the the largest mammals on the earth there's no exception.
Scientifically classified as one of the "big-winged" (Megaptera) species, the Humpback Whale make their annual move north from the warm Hawaiian Island waters from March onwards. Seeking fresh food and cooler temperatures, these magnificent giants will travel through currents so challenging that only perseverance will see them through. And as a newborn, the first ocean crossing will be something to remember.
After approximately four months of not eating and living off her own blubber, it's not just the cow's instinct which is telling her that it’s time to move on. With calf in tow, she sets off. From the low-latitude breeding grounds, they will travel at 3-9 mph (5-15kph) or as fast as the calf can swim. Sometimes this can take up to three months, but at 1,000miles per month, at this stage they can’t afford to waste a moment of their time.
Purposefully, the pair follow the migratory path to the Alaskan waters where a great feast awaits. While the calf drinks up to 500 litres of its mothers rich milk every day, the waxing and waning moon only reminds the mother of the importance of this move. As the sea floor falls far deeper below them both, and tropical sandy shores are replaced with glaciers, the time has almost come!
With one final push, the tired pair finally arrive. And welcoming them are numerous other North Pacific Humpbacks, who have made the same trip and are already making the most of the plentiful supply of fish.
All the hard work isn't over yet. There’s breaching to practice, strengthening of fins and tail but most importantly, the skills of the hunt to master! The first mission is however behind them, and with cow and calf still together and gaining strength with each passing day, the memory of their journey will be with them for the rest of their lives — which can be anything up to 50 years. Check out the extraordinary fishing techniques used by watching the BBC Earth filming first below. Sea for yourself what makes them magnificent!
Check out this incredible new video at: http://bbcearth.posterous.com/first-journeys
&feature=player_embedded">Great Bear Rainforest
11 March 2011 - This week's post is rather different. We wanted to show how a simple idea could organically grow and spread positive change in peoples'; lives and just connect strangers. To tie this back to the environment/ technology, I think community projects and a similar goal should have the same effect to bring people together even for the first time.
Big Fish Decline Creating Imbalance
The boom in small fish may just add to a natural imbalance left by the absence of the bigger fish.
A lack of large predators leads "to less biologically diverse ecosystems [that] become much less resilient to pressures such as pollution, climate change, or changes in [ocean] currents or food supply," said Jacqueline Alder, coordinator of the marine and coastal branch of the U.N. Environment Programme.
For full report, View Source
Apple iPad 2 Revealed, 33% Thinner, in Black and White, in Stores March 11
Filmmaker: John D. Liu
Filmmaker/ Environmentalist/ Researcher/ Educator
John D, Liu is an American who has lived in China for more than 25
years. Mr Liu helped to open the CBS News bureau in Beijing at the
time of normalization of relations between the U.S. and China. He
worked for CBS News for more than 10 years leaving in 1990. He
also worked as a photo-journalist for Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI
Italian Television) and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF German
Television)
Since the mid-1990’s Mr Liu has concentrated on ecological film
making and has written, produced and directed films on Grasslands,
Deserts, Wetlands, Oceans, Rivers, Urban Development,
Atmosphere, Forests, Endangered Animals, Poverty Reduction
primarily for EARTH REPORT and LIFE series on the BBC World. In
2003, Mr Liu wrote, produced and directed "Jane Goodall - China
Diary" for National Geographic.
Since 1997 Mr Liu has directed the Environmental Education Media
Project (EEMP), which uses television to deliver ecological,
sustainable development and public health messages in China and
other countries. Mr Liu was also the driving force in the creation and
development of the China Environment and Sustainable Development
Reference and Research Centre (CESDRRC), the China HIV/AIDS
Information Network (CHAIN), and the Environmental Education
Media Project (Mongolia). For many years Mr Liu has studied and
worked to promote “EARTH’S HOPE”.
To read more of his bio, click here
Highlight Film: Hope in a Changing Climate
Other Films: Lessons of the Loess Plateau