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#Post#: 6274--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: January 16, 2017, 8:35 pm
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[center]Australia ‘Deeply Disappointed’ by Japan’s Continued
Whale Hunt in Southern Ocean[/center]
January 16, 2017 by Reuters
A photo published Sunday by marine conservation society Sea
Shepherd shows a dead whale on the deck of the Japanese ‘whale
research’ vessel Nissan Maru. Photo: Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society (at article link)
ReutersSYDNEY, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Australia said on Monday it
was “deeply disappointed” Japan had continued whaling in the
Southern Ocean after anti-whaling activists published a
photograph of a dead whale and two days after Australian and
Japanese leaders discussed the issue.
Australia has long opposed Japanese whaling and the contentious
issue was raised in talks between Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Sydney on
Saturday, said sources familiar with the talks.
“The Australian government is deeply disappointed that Japan has
decided to return to the Southern Ocean this summer to undertake
so-called ‘scientific’ whaling,” Australian Environment Minister
Josh Frydenberg said on Monday.
“It is not necessary to kill whales in order to study them,”
Frydenberg added, without confirming the exact location of the
current hunt.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 2014, in a case
brought by Australia, that Japan’s whaling in the Southern Ocean
should stop, prompting Japan to suspend its hunt for one season,
though it resumed in 2015.
Japan maintains that most whale species are not endangered and
that eating whale is part of its culture. Japan started what it
calls “scientific whaling” in 1987, a year after an
international whaling moratorium took effect.
Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd published a photograph on Sunday
of a dead minke whale, which appeared to have been punctured by
a harpoon, on the deck of the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin
Maru. Sea Shepherd said the ship was hunting in an Australian
sanctuary off the Antarctic coast.
The photograph is the first of the Japanese whaling fleet
hunting in the Southern Ocean since the 2014 court ruling, Sea
Shepherd said in a statement. Footage shows the dead whale was
later covered by a blue tarpaulin.
Frydenberg said Australia will continue to press its strong
opposition to whaling at the International Whaling Commission.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Colin Packham; Editing by
Michael Perry)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017.
HTML http://gcaptain.com/australia-deeply-disappointed-japans-continued-whale-hunt-southern-ocean/
#Post#: 6297--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: January 19, 2017, 3:56 pm
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[center][img
width=240]
HTML https://wiki-gateway.eudic.net/wikipedia_en/I/m/Center_for_Biological_Diversity_logo.jpg[/img][/center]
[center]Center for Biological Diversity: 100-day Trump Action
Plan[/center]
Rather than waiting to see Donald Trump’s plan for his first 100
days in office, the Center for Biological Diversity has drawn up
our own plan to resist Trump during the earliest days of his
term.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-210614221847.gif<br
/> [img width=100
height=60]
HTML http://cliparts.co/cliparts/Big/Egq/BigEgqBMT.png[/img]
1.Rally Americans from coast to coast under the banner of
#Earth2Trump to resist Trump's extremist, authoritarian agenda.
2.Strengthen alliances with groups fighting for gender and
racial equality, American Indian sovereignty, LGBTQ rights,
freedom of speech, press and religion, workers’ rights and other
civil rights and values.
3.Hire 10 new attorneys, investigators and activists to
aggressively hold the Trump administration accountable when it
violates America's federal environmental laws.
4.Fight the confirmation of Trump's extremist, financially
conflicted, unqualified cabinet nominations, including Rex
Tillerson for secretary of State, Rick Perry for secretary of
Energy, Scott Pruitt for Environmental Protection Agency
director, Ryan Zinke as secretary of the Interior and Sonny
Perdue as secretary of Agriculture.
5.Stop the repeal or weakening of the Endangered Species Act.
6.Block efforts to rescind, radically shrink or defund America's
national monuments.
7.Stop the weakening of the Clean Air Act and revocation of the
EPA's responsibility to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
8.Stop Trump from revoking the Clean Power Plan.
9.Stop Trump from weakening protection for wetlands and streams.
10.Maintain the moratorium on new federal coal leases and ensure
a national assessment is completed of the environmental,
human-health and financial costs of the federal coal-mining
program.
11.Stop new offshore oil drilling in the Arctic, Atlantic and
eastern Gulf of Mexico by defending the Five-year Offshore
Leasing Program and preventing the repeal of permanent
protections against oil and gas leasing in the Arctic and
Atlantic oceans.
12.Fight in the courts, along with the state of California,
environmental and indigenous groups, to stop ocean fracking
along the California coast.
13.File suit to stop intensive pollution of our oceans by
industrial plastics.
14.Defend the State Department's refusal to approve the KXL
pipeline and the Army Corps of Engineers' decision not to allow
the Dakota Access Pipeline to threaten the water supply and
cultural values of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
15.Defeat proposals to weaken trophy-hunting regulations and
expand U.S. imports of endangered species including elephants,
lions and polar bears.
16.Defeat efforts to give away federal public lands or turn
their management over to states and corporations.
17.Prevent the stripping of federal protection from grizzly
bears and wolves.
18.Prevent rollback of protections for imperiled greater sage
grouse and more than 300 other species dependent on healthy
Sagebrush Sea habitat.
19.Stand with reproductive-rights organizations defending the
Affordable Care Act, abortion rights, access to birth control,
and international funding for family-planning programs.
20.Mobilize college students across the country around clean
energy, sustainable food and population issues.
21.Stop the construction of a massive new wall on the
U.S.-Mexico border that would destroy wildlife habitat, pollute
rivers, violate national parks, wildlife refuges, forests and
rivers, and cause massive social and economic disruption of
border towns and cities.
22.Petition the Department of Agriculture to cease the use of
dangerous, unnecessary predator-killing poisons.
23.Ensure the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and Department of Agriculture are not stripped
of their authority and responsibility to protect people and
wildlife from dangerous pesticides.
HTML http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/earth2trump/action_plan.html
Agelbert NOTE: Below please find, an example of the Trump
Administration's Plans to make [s]himself[/s]Amerika Great:
[center][img
width=640]
HTML http://americanmoon.org/trump/TrumpMoonSecureDollar.jpg[/img][/center]
[center]Brought to you by the Brooklyn Bridge Realtors for
Trump. ;D [/center]
#Post#: 6309--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: January 20, 2017, 2:10 pm
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[center][img
width=640]
HTML http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/happy-elephant-01.jpg[/img][/center]
[center]A monumental win for elephants: China will ban ivory
trade by 2017
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/za4.gif[/center]
[center]We celebrate another big win for elephant conservation
with China’s game-changing decision to end domestic ivory trade
by 2017. [/center]
December 30, 2016
Author: Maru Valdes
Today, we celebrate another big win for elephant conservation
with China’s game-changing decision to end domestic ivory trade
by 2017. The new regulations come as part of the government’s
efforts to reduce demand for elephant ivory and help end the
global elephant poaching crisis.
"China’s announcement is a game changer for elephant
conservation," said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF.
"The large-scale trade of ivory now faces its twilight years,
and the future is brighter for wild elephants. With the US also
ending its domestic ivory trade earlier this year, two of the
largest ivory markets have taken action that will reverberate
around the world."
Last September, President Barack Obama and China’s President Xi
Jinping made a joint commitment to impose near-total elephant
ivory bans in their countries. The US finalized new regulations
in June that will help shut down commercial elephant ivory trade
within its borders and stop wildlife crime overseas.
China and the US are two of the world’s biggest consumer markets
for wildlife products. Their historic decision to phase out
commercial elephant ivory trade in both countries is a
monumental step that few would have predicted a year ago.
The decision helped shape discussions at the world’s most
important wildlife trade conference which took place in South
Africa this past September. Representatives from 182 Parties to
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) gathered to discuss critical trade
issues impacting species under threat, including a proposal to
end all commercial domestic elephant ivory markets. In 2013,
China and 18 other Asian and African countries were asked to
develop and put into effect National Ivory Action Plans to
address the poaching crisis.
Poachers kill between 20,000 and 30,000 African elephants each
year for their tusks, primarily to satisfy the demand for ivory
products in Asia, where China is a key part of this trade. The
epidemic threatens Asian elephants as well, but on a smaller
scale.
Now that two of the world’s largest domestic ivory markets—the
US and China—have shown great leadership in taking significant
stands towards elephant conservation, it is WWF’s hope that
other consumer markets follow suit.
A recently published study by WWF and TRAFFIC says that an ivory
trade ban in China is feasible and could help reduce current
threats to African elephants. Creating that ban could set an
example for and influence other countries to tackle the illegal
ivory trade.
We’d like to see China continue its efforts to reduce demand for
ivory; raise public awareness about wildlife crime; and work
with other governments, conservation organizations, the private
sector and local communities to help end the illegal ivory
trade—and give elephants a future free from poaching.
Do your part to help stop wildlife crime.
HTML https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/SPageServer/;jsessionid=AA84E60D919BEDF3E31DB40BF5D76BEC.app245a?pagename=enews_signup&_ga=1.88753691.1249604236.1484942642
#Post#: 6323--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: January 21, 2017, 8:24 pm
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[img
width=140]
HTML http://www.nwf.org/~/media/Design/Footer/logo-homepage-footer.ashx[/img]
[center]The National Wildlife Federation Calls on Senate to
Reject Nominee for EPA Administrator [/center]
[center]For First Time in 80-Year History, Bipartisan NWF
Opposes Cabinet Nomination. [/center]
01-19-2017 // Miles Grant 39 26 .
WASHINGTON – The National Wildlife Federation today announced
its opposition to the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General
Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency. It marks the first time in the history of the National
Wildlife Federation, founded in 1936, that the organization is
asking Senators to oppose a presidential cabinet appointment.
NWF will launch a national campaign to mobilize its six million
members and supporters to contact their U.S. senators to urge a
no vote on Pruitt’s nomination.
Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife
Federation, said today:
“When Attorney General Pruitt was first nominated, the National
Wildlife Federation was willing and eager to hear his vision for
the EPA.
We have a basic three-part test that we use to evaluate
nominations:
1. Does the nominee support science-based decision-making?
2. Will the nominee uphold our nation’s environmental laws?
3. Is the nominee willing to put the interest of the American
people above those of special interests?
Unfortunately, at yesterday’s confirmation hearing the nominee
made it crystal clear that he does not meet any of these tests.
For these reasons, we must oppose his confirmation. Simply put,
Mr. Pruitt cannot be pro-outdoors and anti-science.
“As a nationwide Federation comprised of millions of Republicans
and millions of Democrats, we are proud of our history working
with Administrations of both parties to fulfill government’s
sacred duty to conserve and steward America’s wildlife, fish,
healthy waters, clean air, and public lands as public trust
resources for all — including for future generations — using the
best available science.
During previous Republican Administrations, we worked closely
with President Nixon and Bill Ruckelshaus to create the EPA and
we worked closely with Tennessee Senator Howard Baker, Maine
Senator Ed Muskie, and Michigan Congressman John Dingell to
develop and pass the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
We worked with President Reagan to confront the threats to the
ozone layer and coastal resources, President George H.W. Bush to
address acid rain and cross-state air pollution. We worked with
President George W. Bush to better protect millions of acres of
wetlands. A commitment to sound science was the foundation of
each of these accomplishments.
“In contrast, Mr. Pruitt’s record and policy positions represent
a stark break with the Republican Party’s conservation legacy.
He has sought to undermine climate science and questioned
whether mercury pollution was bad for public health. He has
repeatedly used the power of his office to fight to overturn the
water and air safeguards that protect our fish and wildlife,
public health, natural resources, and climate. He sued to stop
the EPA from reducing water pollution entering upstream
tributaries and wetlands. He sued to stop rules to reduce toxic
mercury pollution, oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur dioxide, and
sued to block the Clean Power Plan.
During yesterday’s hearing, Mr. Pruitt did not say anything to
suggest he would change course from this record to represent all
Americans, rather than special interests. Because of this track
record and the positions he stated in yesterday’s hearing, his
nomination is completely unprecedented in the agency’s nearly 50
year history and must be rejected.”
“It is clear Mr. Pruitt does not share America’s cherished
bipartisan conservation values and cannot effectively lead the
EPA. We agree with former Republican EPA Administrators,
including Bill Ruckelshaus, Bill Reilly, and Christie Todd
Whitman, who have made it clear that Mr. Pruitt cannot lead the
EPA without a strong respect for science. For the first time in
our 80-year history, the National Wildlife Federation asks
Senators from both parties to join us in opposing this
nomination by voting no.”
HTML http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/General-NWF/2017/1-19-17-NWF-Calls-on-Senate-to-Reject-Nominee-for-EPA-Administrator.aspx
#Post#: 6438--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: February 10, 2017, 1:07 pm
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Email from Senator Sanders
[quote]
February 10, 2017
Dear Mr. Gelbert:
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). As a longtime conservationist, I
share your support for the ESA and your concern that some
members of Congress would like to weaken this landmark
legislation.
The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 to protect
species from the threat of extinction. The ESA set up the
framework to scientifically determine which species are
endangered, and take steps to conserve them and their habitat.
Currently over 1,400 species have protection under this law. As
we celebrate 40 years of successful conservationism thanks to
the ESA, I am proud to say that 99 percent of the species that
have been placed on the endangered list are alive today.
Though the ESA has saved hundreds of plants and animals from
extinction, not all of my colleagues see its value. Some members
want to see critical species' habitats opened up to industrial
and commercial interests, rather than protected for all
Americans to enjoy. Several pieces of legislation have been
introduced that would be detrimental to the conservation of
endangered species because they would turn a decision that ought
to be based solely on science into a political issue.
That is why, like you, I oppose efforts to weaken the ESA. As a
member of both the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee please
know that I will keep your thoughts in mind should legislation
threatening the ESA be brought up for consideration.
Thank you again for contacting me, and please feel free to stay
in touch about this or any other subject of interest to you.
For up-to-date information on what I am working on, please
sign-up for my e-newsletter, the Bernie Buzz, at
HTML http://sanders.senate.gov/buzz/.
Sincerely,
BERNARD SANDERS
United States Senator
[/quote]
#Post#: 6440--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: February 10, 2017, 1:26 pm
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[move]Watch Swedish Couple Rescue Moose From Frozen Lake [/move]
Jordan Simmons
A wild moose in Sweden struggled for its life after falling
through the ice on a frozen lake. Fortunately for the moose, a
couple came along and worked 30 minutes to rescue it.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/19.gif
Watch this video to see how they did it:
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/TxK-C2KmBdk[/center]
English translation:
"On our way to the hole, we saw the moose make several attempts
at getting out of the water, but it could neither get up nor
break the ice to get into shore. My partner, Sigrid Sjösteen,
eagerly started to chop a pathway to shallower water, where it
could reach the bottom and get out. We took turns chopping for
about 30 minutes before the moose was out of danger."
HTML http://www.ecowatch.com/moose-rescue-video-2250087137.html
[center]
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/computer3.gif[/center]
#Post#: 6517--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: February 19, 2017, 1:17 pm
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[img
width=100]
HTML https://c402277.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/photos/9031/images/original/WWF_25mm_no_tab.png[/img]
[center]Can LED lights save sea turtles? [/center]
In other words: Could a simple lightbulb be the answer that
keeps sea turtles out of fishing nets?
Issue: Spring 2017
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles are accidentally killed by
fishing gear—caught on dangling hooks or entangled in nets—every
year. To reduce that risk, some experts have proposed modifying
the design of fishing gear. But what if you could simply change
the way turtles perceive it?
That was the question behind an illumination device developed by
John Wang, an ecologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).
He submitted the idea to the WWF International Smart Gear
Competition, a challenge designed to identify innovative ideas
for reducing bycatch in fisheries, in 2011.
“Turtles can see certain light wavelengths that a lot of fish
species can’t,” says Mike Osmond, a senior program officer on
WWF’s Oceans team. “Wang’s theory was that if you used a light
with the right wavelength, you could help turtles see and avoid
the nets while still catching fish.”
The device, which won a runner-up prize, started out using a
glow stick. Through funding from WWF, Wang then switched to LED
lights, testing the effects of various light colors at field
sites in Mexico and Indonesia. Eventually he settled on green
and ultraviolet.
The test results showed an up to 60% reduction in turtle
bycatch—and at the Indonesian site, a 20% boost in the target
catch for participating fishers. WWF and NOAA are now working
with a small company to develop a better case for the light, and
exploring the potential of testing it in the Philippines and
Indonesia, key feeding sites for endangered leatherback turtles.
HTML http://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/spring-2017/articles/can-led-lights-save-sea-turtles
#Post#: 6688--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: March 16, 2017, 3:23 pm
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][img
width=140]
HTML https://wiki-gateway.eudic.net/wikipedia_en/I/m/Center_for_Biological_Diversity_logo.jpg[/img]
[center]Grim Toll: Wildlife Services Killed 2.7 Million Animals
in 2016 [img
width=50]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-070814193155.png[/img][/center]
The latest numbers are out on the deadly toll on animals taken
by Wildlife Services' killing program. Last year this secretive
arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture wiped out more than
2.7 million animals, including 415 gray wolves, 76,963 adult
coyotes, 407 black bears, 334 mountain lions, 997 bobcats,
21,184 beavers and 3,791 foxes.
The Center has worked for years to reform this rogue program,
whose killing -- with traps, poisons, guns and gases -- is
mostly done as a misguided favor for agriculture.
"Despite mounting public outcry to reform these barbaric,
outdated tactics, Wildlife Services continues its
taxpayer-funded slaughter of America's wildlife," said the
Center's Collette Adkins. "These cruel practices not only fail
to effectively manage targeted wildlife but also pose ongoing
threats to other animals, including endangered species and
pets." [img
width=30]
HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_2955.gif[/img]
Read more in our press release.
HTML http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/wildlife-services-03-14-2017.php
#Post#: 6699--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: March 17, 2017, 12:48 pm
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[img
width=140]
HTML http://www.vectorsland.com/imgd/l58674-world-wildlife-fund-eps-logo-62154.png[/img]
[center]A tiny aircraft gives researchers a big-picture view of
Thailand and Myanmar [img
width=100]
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/8.gif[/img]
[/center]
Issue: Spring 2017
Author: Mark Silverberg
Conservationists have been working in the Dawna Tenasserim
Landscape—which spans the Thailand/Myanmar border—for years. It
is the largest intact block of forests in Southeast Asia, and
home to most of the region’s tigers and Asian elephants. WWF
staff travel for days at a time on the unpaved roads that
traverse the 40,000-square-mile area, conducting research,
training park rangers, and more.
Rarely, though, do they get to see this magnificent wilderness
area from the air. That’s why I am here—to provide WWF with an
entirely new perspective. It’s why I spend days driving into the
heart of this jungle while towing my paramotor—a flying machine
that looks like a two-seat recumbent bicycle with a propeller on
the back. It’s why I spend the day before our flight using my
shovel and machete to clear debris from the dirt roads that will
serve as runways, and why I meticulously check every component
of my machine.
It’s all worth it. I rise before dawn to take advantage of the
calm morning air, strap WWF-Thailand scientist Gordon Congdon
into a seat with no walls or floor around him, and soar to 3,000
feet. From the sky, Congdon gets an awe-inspiring unobstructed
aerial view of the forest. He is able to see access roads to
illegal logging sites, but also long stretches of forest that
are home to critical and endangered species.
Images captured by photographer Adam Oswell during a second
flight that day will help Congdon inspire those who will never
get into the air to appreciate this amazing place. The photos
stick in my head, too, as record of a time when I felt lucky
enough to combine the joy of flying with saving a portion of the
planet I love.
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/n8St36dOZMA[/center]
HTML https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/spring-2017/articles/a-tiny-aircraft-gives-researchers-a-big-picture-view-of-thailand-and-myanmar
#Post#: 6722--------------------------------------------------
Re: Defending Wildlife
By: AGelbert Date: March 21, 2017, 12:20 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[center]This Man [img width=25
height=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]<br
/>Has Spent 40 Years Re-Planting Forests Lost to Cattle Ranching
in Brazil[/center]
Natasha Brooks
March 21, 2017
Few stories are as inspirational as this one about Antonio
Vicente, a man who has dedicated the past forty years of his
life to reforesting the precious natural ecosystems of Brazil.
As one of fourteen children raised in a farming family, Vicente
saw firsthand the adverse effects of clearing forests for
farmland. He saw his father chop down trees at the order of
wealthy landowners for the production of coal and cattle.
Eventually, the natural water sources were depleted and the land
dried up.
Far ahead of his time, Vicente saw this as a giant warning sign
and made it his mission to re-plant the trees lost to
deforestation. Beginning at a time where Brazil’s government
encouraged the expansion of farmland, most people laughed at
Vicente for his proposed initiative. However, no one’s opinion
stopped Vicente from acting out his mission.
It is estimated that in the past four decades, Vicente has
planted over 50,000 trees on 77 acres. His Serra de Mantequeira
property on the mountainside in Brazil is a beautiful sight.
Seeing images of this towering lush green forest, it can be hard
to believe that Vicente grew each and every tree from seed.
When asked by the Guardian what has motivated him over the
decades, Vicente replied, “I didn’t do it for money, I did it
because when I die, what’s here will remain for everyone…People
don’t call me crazy any more.”
Check out this video to see Vincente in action:
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/19.gif
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/ndWyBU9mWlM[/center]
If you are inspired by Vicente and his applaudable mission,
please share this story with friends and family. If he has
inspired you to act even further, consider taking his example
and plant trees in your own home and neighborhood. Planting
trees not only connects us with the earth, it also helps ensure
a brighter future for the planet.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/treeswing.gif
HTML http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/man-re-planting-forests-lost-to-cattle-ranching-in-brazil/
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