I love when my time trolling around the internet pays off with a “wow” video like this one.

Each winter evening, attracted by the heat of the city, 5 million starlings stream into Rome. Before they roost, their maneuvers create nature’s greatest aerial display.

But their spectacular performance isn’t for fun. The peregrine falcon is looking for his evening meal and he’s hunting the world’s best formation flying team. ~ Narrative excerpt from the video

I plan to watch the Earthflight series, whence this wonderful video was extracted, with my son and hubby! PS. Whence? I’ve been watching Game of Thrones.

* Originally posted on my blog, Putting It Out There.

Photo via flickr.com by amberlight1 ~ Video by John Downer Productions

photo by dudeguyfx09 via flickr.com

This 2 minute video explains it all.

sus·tain·a·bil·i·ty /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/ [suh-stey-nuh-bil-i-tee] noun

1. the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld, or confirmed.
2. Environmental Science . the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance: The committee is developing sustainability standards for products that use energy.

From the video:

Sustainability means things can keep going. Can sustain themselves. Can continue into the future and go on forever.

From a human perspective, sustainability for our planet means it can continue to do what it was designed to do: provide clean water, clean air, produce safe food and allow us all to have a high quality of life forever.

Unsustainability means it cannot. And that is where we are now.

Widespread BPA contamination in paper products, study suggests.

by Stephen Neese, originally published in Environmental Health News

Bisphenol-A (BPA) seems impossible to avoid. It contaminates food, thermal receipts and drinks served in certain plastic bottles. A new study finds its reach goes even further. Researchers detected trace amounts of the estrogen-like compound in a wide variety of paper products most of us touch every day, including toilet paper, paper towels, newspapers and business cards.

The chemical is associated with a wide scope of health risks, including reproductive cancers, low sperm counts, behavior problems, obesity and diabetes.

These paper products represent another source of BPA exposure for people, according to the study’s results, which are published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. While levels don’t compare to those found in food and are lower than levels measured in thermal paper receipts, the sheer variety of paper products identified with detectable levels of the chemical suggests widespread contamination.

The study is one of the first to report contamination in paper products other than thermal receipts, which are a major source of skin exposure to BPA. It follows another recent study that found BPA on paper money from countries around the world.

The non-thermal paper products analyzed in this study may not provide a considerable source of BPA exposure for most people.

Recycled thermal paper receipts, though, are a likely source of the BPA in the products tested in this study. People recycle about one-third of the thermal receipts used, and many products tested in this study were made from recycled paper.

BPA is used to develop the thermal receipts given to customers at checkout. But, it is loosely bound and is easily transferred to skin and other items that come into contact with the receipts.

BPA production exceeds 8 billion pounds per year.

It is used in plastic products and in the resin linings of food and drink cans. Human exposure is widespread and is mostly through diet but inhaling and skin contact are also recognized as sources of exposure. The chemical is associated with a wide scope of health risks, including reproductive cancers, low sperm counts, behavior problems, obesity and diabetes.

Read the rest of the article at EnvironmentalHealthNews.org

Citizens for Conservation (CFC) actively restores land, putting back in place the full biodiversity that once covered northeast Illinois. They educate and encourage a caring attitude towards the environment and open space and have saved over 3,000 acres of natural lands since 1971.

Located northwest of Chicago in Barrington, Illinois, CFC received a Conservation and Native Landscaping Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Chicago Wilderness for its Flint Creek Savanna restoration.

CFC also offers extraordinary classes for children and adults. My son and husband attended last year’s raptor class and haven’t stopped talking about it.

January 21, 2012 classes:

Leave No Child Inside: Raptors in Flight | 11:30-1pm | Kids 5+

Red-tailed Hawk with Dawn Keller courtesy of Pat Winkelman

Calling all kids! Enjoy a hike around the CFC-owned Flint Creek Savannah snow-covered prairie with stops to view and learn about live raptors. Then, witness a raptor in free flight under the professional guidance of Dawn Keller from Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation. Cool!

Check out Dawn’s breath-taking November 2011 release of two rehabilitated eaglets (video by irvineAP):

Afterwards, there will be hot chocolate and the chance to ask Dawn about her exciting work. Fee: $10/person.

Download and complete your registration form before January 13th. If there’s too much snow, the class will move to January 22nd, same time. Call CFC at 847-382 SAVE (7283) or email youth-ed@citizensforconservation.org with any questions.

Environmental Effects of Artificial Light | 9:30-10:30am | Adults

Photo by .Curt via flickr.com

From bats and songbirds to fireflies and fish, animals are known to change their behavior in response to light. A growing awareness of the importance of light and darkness to the natural world has led to questions in recent years about possible effects of artificial light. Drew Carhart from the Illinois Coalition for Responsible Outdoor Lighting will speak about man-made light at night with special emphasis on its ecological and biological effects.

Class will take place in the main floor meeting room at the Barrington Area Library. Coffee, conversation, handouts, and displays begin at 9:00. Fee: $10.00 for non-members (paid at the door); CFC members attend free. RSVP by calling CFC at 847-382-SAVE (7283) or send an e-mail to cfc@citizensforconservation.org.

More about CFC’s notable 2011 EPA and Chicago Wilderness Award

Back row L to R: volunteer Gene Branson, Board Members Diane Bodkin + John Schweizer. Front row L to R: Board members Patsy Mortimer, Staff Director Sam Oliver, Volunteer Joyce Allen. Photo: Diane Bodkin

Citizens for Conservation received a 2011 Conservation and Native Landscaping Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Chicago Wilderness for its Flint Creek Savanna restoration. The award recognizes “sites that are exemplary in the use of native landscaping, ecosystem restoration and protection, and/or conservation design. These practices create and protect habitat for a variety of native plant and animal species and result in important environmental benefits for both people and nature.”

Chicago Wilderness and EPA commended CFC’s commitment to Flint Creek Savanna, including the dedication of CFC’s active volunteer base. They were impressed with the enhanced habitat and biodiversity of prairie, wetland, and oak woods as well as the sharing of seed and plants with other local conservation groups and restoration projects

The judges also cited CFC’s protection of habitat for nesting migratory birds and its public education and communication initiatives.

The award capped Citizens for Conservation’s 40th anniversary celebration of Saving Living Space for Living Things.

Photo Credit: Sarah209

Who Will be The Biggest Farm Bill Loser?

It is often argued that subsidies have lead to the overproduction of commodity crops like corn and soybeans, creating cheap junk food that makes us fat. The farmers lose and so do consumers. Watch this video to learn more…

Make Your Voice Count:

It is our responsibility to decide who will emerge victorious from this battle of the bulge! Sign the Food & Water Watch petition to show your support for making our food system fair for all! Click here.

Please share this post to help spread the word!

* * *

A letter from our friends at Food & Water Watch:

A new episode of America’s favorite weight-loss reality show, The Biggest Loser, airs tonight and we’re reminded, once again, that we all struggle to maintain healthy lifestyles with good, whole foods and exercise. But how much of the problem is our own and how much of it is the result of bad farm policy?

Because you’re one of our valued supporters, we want you to be the first to see our “reality show” debut: The Biggest Farm Bill Loser!

It is often argued that subsidies have lead to the overproduction of commodity crops like corn and soybeans, creating cheap junk food that makes us fat. This seems like a logical argument but it is grossly oversimplified. When you take a closer look, we find that the deregulation of commodity markets — not subsidies — has driven down the price of these commodity crops. Deregulation has made big corporations rich while farmers have struggled to survive. Based on this, can you guess who The Biggest Farm Bill Loser will be?

This is not an easy issue to understand so we put together this animated video to help. It is vital that we share this video to help educate and empower our fellow consumers and farmers to speak out for real change in our food system. Watch the video, share it with friends, post it on your social networks, spread the word!

Thanks for taking action,

Meredith Begin

Education & Outreach Organizer

Food & Water Watch

mbegin(at)fwwatch(dot)org

The Delaware is the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi, flowing freely for 330 miles as it travels from New York state, through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Delaware’s 13,539 square mile watershed is only about four-tenths of one percent of the continental U.S. land area, but it supplies water to five percent of the nation’s population — over 15 million people.

Your Voice Counts!

• Call the Army Corps of Engineers to urge them to vote no fracking in the Delaware River Basin.  Tell them you will hold President Obama accountable for the vote and make it clear that you know that it is his decision.  703-697-4672  Leave a message for Jo Ellen Darcy, Obama’s rep on the DRBC.
• Call Governor Jack Markell of Delaware.  Delaware has been sitting on the fence on fracking.  We need them clearly and unequivocally voting no.  Tell him to vote no fracking on the upcoming DRBC vote.  302-577-3210
• Call Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York.  Tell him to oppose fracking in the Delaware River Basin watershed, just as he has in the New York city and Syracuse watersheds.  518-474-8390
• Join the protest in Trenton, New Jersey: November 21, 8 am at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive Trenton, N.J. Coming from another location?  Bus sign up HERE. Sign up for email updates HERE. Delaware Riverkeeper Network will host a training session in lawful, peaceful, first amendment activity on November 2oth in New York City and Trenton.

Update:

As of 11/17/2011, due to our steadfast efforts, the voting has been canceled. Huge victory, but the battle is not over. The Trenton protest will proceed as planned.

For more information…

Please read this letter I received from Josh Fox, Oscar-nominated director of GASLAND:

Dear friends-

We’ve come a long way in the fight against fracking. The flaming faucets in GASLAND has been seen by upwards of 40 million people in 20 countries.  A recent study shows that 4 out of 5 Americans say that they are concerned about the effect of fracking on drinking water.

But our most crucial stand is less than a week away.

On November 21st the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will vote to approve a plan that will allow for 20,000 or more fracked gas wells in the Delaware River Basin.  We need you to come out and protest the vote in huge numbers.

Because this moment is so important, I made a new video, my first video addressing fracking since GASLAND.

The crucial decision to frack or not to frack the Delaware is in the hands of President Obama and the Governors of Delaware and New York.  We need you to take charge and push them to do the right thing.

I have traveled all over this world, in over 30 states in the USA, to Africa, to Europe, Asia and Australia and one thing is clear:  Fracking is not only one of the most destructive forms of extreme energy development, creating water contamination, horrific and hazardous air pollution and a health crisis, it is a world wide scourge that pushes us farther away from the renewable energy future that we need.

Now the fight comes back to my home, the Delaware River Basin, where it started for me.  But this fight isn’t about me.  It’s about the drinking water for 16 million people that the Delaware River provides.

If enough of us get out there, we can save the Delaware River and we can win a huge battle in the fight against fracking nationwide and worldwide.  We can inspire the nation and the world to rid ourselves of this dirty form of energy.

THE CRUCIAL VOTE:

The Delaware River Basin Commission is an interstate body with five voting members, the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey and the Obama Administration as represented by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Three out of five votes will either pass or reject the plan to frack the Delaware River.

It seems clear that the Governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania will vote to allow fracking on a huge scale in the River Basin, which is why we need all three remaining votes in order to prevail.

Like the massive actions these past few months against Tar Sands development and the Keystone XL pipeline, this decision will be a “watershed” moment for President Obama and a must win for us fighting against extreme energy development.

Not only is the Delaware River the source of drinking water for 16 million people (or 5% of Americans), it is a designated Wild and Scenic river, a tourist destination for 5.4 million people a year and a national treasure.  The proposed plan to frack the Delaware would forever industrialize and contaminate this precious and currently pristine watershed.  We can work together now to protect our water.

We are asking you to do two things:

1) Make calls.  2) Come join us in an amazing protest effort on November 21st.

MAKE CALLS RIGHT NOW:

Call the Army Corps of Engineers to urge them to vote no fracking in the Delaware River Basin.  Tell them you will hold President Obama accountable for the vote and make it clear that you know that it is his decision.  703 697 4672  Leave a message for Jo Ellen Darcy, Obama’s rep on the DRBC

Call Governor Jack Markell of Delaware.  Delaware has been sitting on the fence on fracking.  We need them clearly and unequivocally voting no.  Tell him to vote no fracking on the upcoming DRBC vote. 302-577-3210

Call Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York.  Tell him to oppose fracking in the Delaware River Basin watershed, just as he has in the New York city and Syracuse watersheds.  518-474-8390

PROTEST on NOVEMBER 21st in Trenton, N.J.

When: November 21, 8 am

Where: Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive Trenton, N.J.

Coming from another location?  Bus sign up HERE.

Sign up for email updates HERE.

Delaware Riverkeeper Network will host a training session in lawful, peaceful, first amendment activity on November 2oth in New York City and Trenton.

NYC, Sign up HERE.

Trenton, Sign up HERE.

Questions: savethedelawareriver@gmail.com and/or continue to check back.

AND just for a shot in the arm, here is a special statement from our friend, Bill McKibben:

“We’re obviously deep in the trenches in Keystone XL pipeline fight, which has galvanized the whole country. But it’s not just the pipe we’re fighting, it’s the carbon it carries. And that carbon–that extreme energy, the second round of fossil fuels now that the easy stuff is gone–doesn’t just come from tarsands. It also comes from removing mountaintops for coal, and from drilling deep under the ocean–and, urgently, from fracking. We’ve simply got to somehow slow the rush to this new and dangerous technology, which promises to overwhelm the atmosphere with global warming gases. “

I’ve never had more resolve, I’ve never been more challenged and yet I’ve never felt more proud of us and our strength that I do right now.  I know we can win. Please join us and act quickly.

For more info go to www.savethedelawareriver.com.
Thank you,

Josh Fox
Director, GASLAND
Milanville, PA

P.S. Pass it on.

Image by FrontCurtain

Millions of cars are recycled every year in the United States

The metal, plastics, tires, glass, and other materials from those cars are used to create thousands of new products. Did you ever wonder how many cars are recycled every year, what materials are recycled, and what can be made out of those materials? This handy Infographic from Kars4Kids is all you need to learn everything you ever wanted to know about car recycling. Check it out and then grab the easy embed code at the bottom of the post.

Embed Code.

<a href=”http://www.kars4kids.org/blog/how-many-cars-were-recycled-last-year-infographic/” ><img src=”http://www.kars4kids.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/recycled-cars-3.jpg” width=”644px” height=”3676px” alt=”How many cars were recycled last year”/></a><br />Infographic produced by the <a href=”http://www.kars4kids.org” >Kars4Kids car donation program</a>.<br />