ECOCLUB Blogs™

IUCN regularly issue updates of their famous "Red List of Threatened Species". The latest results for mammals show at least 1,141 of the world's 5,487 recognised mammal species to be threatened with extinction. Some, unfortunately even within the sustainability ranks, try to justify conservation via Economism, arguing that it pays to conserve an animal and 'sell' it many times over to tourists, rather than killing it. According to this argument however, the rarer (i.e. the more endangered) an animal, the higher would be its economic value. So it would pay to decimate numbers reducing them to an 'optimum' endangered level, that would also minimise human-animal conflict. Is this what is actually taking place? It would be interesting to research a correlation between countries that have successfully developed mass tourism in protected areas and those with a high percentage of endangered species. Some endangered species percentages in popular nature tourism destinations are: Australia 16%, Tanzania 9%, USA 8.4%, Kenya 7%, Tanzania 9%, Belize 4.6%, Costa Rica 3.5%

According to Rajendra Pachauri, who chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), meat production puts more greenhouse gases (18% of the total) into the atmosphere than transport. This 18% includes gases released by clearing forested land, making & transporting fertiliser, burning fossil fuels in farm vehicles and "the front and rear end emissions of cattle and sheep" as BBC politely puts it.So "offset" your meat, rather than your flights, and offset it the real way, by not consuming it!Which may also help you limit your rear end emissions

one of the axioms of economics is that there are no free meals. FreeRice.com disagrees. Play a word definition game, win and donate 20 grains of rice each time to the UN World Food Program, as an advertisers banner is displayed. Hmmm, every time the banner is from...Unilever. ...So I tried the word game and made Unilever pay for a whopping 2,500 grains of rice. What nonsense.

Once more, fires decimating what's left of suburban forests in Athens. 'Arsonists', 'usual suspects' etc. are blamed by gullible & hysteric media, as they are convenient for the inadequacy & indifference of officials, who can spend millions on fire-fighting aircraft (with some associates pocketing some nice commissions), but can find no funds to adequately pay, train, equip, dress or hire firemen, municipal workers and volunteers, so that the highly-flammable pine forests can be relatively clear of fallen branches and leaves, monitored and patrolled. Oh yes, and our army is busy cleaning toilets, fighting in exotic places where our good allies arm-twisted it to be, going shopping (and elsewhere) with the wives of generals, and heroically blocking the entry to fortress Europe to impoverished immigrants escaping the wars of our allies...

The Ancient Nemean Games (NEMEIA), one of the four major athletic events of ancient Greece (others were Olympeia, Isthmeia & Delpheia) were revived once more in the ancient stadium of Nemea, in the Peloponnese, Greece, on Solstice Day. 600 athletes from around the world, clad in tunics, run barefoot in the ancient stadium, to earn nothing more than palm branches and wild celery.BBC Video - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7470858.stmSociety of the Revival of the Nemean GamesNemea Excavations - University of California, Berkeley

QUOTEI am not a labor leader. I don't want you to follow me or anyoneelse. If you are looking for a Moses to lead you out of the capitalistwilderness you will stay right where you are. I would not lead you intothis promised land if I could, because if I could lead you in, someoneelse would lead you out. John dos Passos, The 42nd Parallel (1930)

Gunter Wallraf, father of undercover journalism, defender of human rights and immigrant rights, now turns his sights against supermarket chains and exposes the dark side of consumerism.See the video:http://www.zeit.de/2008/19/Wallraff-19This Giant was once arrested and tortured by my country's dictatorship, back in 1974 when he had the idea to protest in favour of human rights, by chaining himself to an electricity post next to the parliament, in Syntagma square (Constitution square) of Athens, handing out leaflets, and deliberately carrying no ID papers on him, so that he would be considered a Greek and certainly be detained.In his appearance in the court, he pointed out the ignorance/indifference of Tourists then visiting Greece about the ugliness of the dictatorship, and he attributed it to lack of information in the press.He was sentenced to 14 months, but was released in 3 months as the regime collapsed.How many tourists today visit similar regimes, just to bask in the sun? How long can human rights abuses be filed under 'cultural differences' , 'cultural sensitivity' & 'respect to local culture'. There is but one Culture, the Human one, and Gunter Wallraff shows the way to real travellers - each one can be an undercover journalist! And I would...

BBC reports a quite surreal campaign by a publisher of a history magazine to change the name of the "Gay & Lesbian Community of Greece" on the grounds that the name 'offends' the inhabitants of the greek island of Lesbos. If successful he then wants to take on the use of the word worldwide. A court will hear the case on June 10 and will most probably dismiss it as it should. How short-sighted (indeed for a historian) in terms of what is in the real interest of this beautiful island's tourism, which attracts gay women from all over the world, particularly in Skala Eressou, which has developed as a low-key open-minded resort, close to where the famous 6th c. BCE lyric poet Sappho (Sapfo), also known as the 10th muse, lived.>>Related:Poems of Sappho (original Greek & English)Skala Eressou in wikipedia

QUOTEA comparative review of this report with the previous one outlines a relatively slow pace of implementation for a number of the activities. This is also alluded to in the report of the [ ] where it is stated that a major delay for most of the activities stems from tardiness in feedback from key regional stakeholders as well as delays in submission of quotations for and the production of materials. I would propose that a review of the activities under this component be undertaken by [ ] and a determination made as to the current relevance of these programmes to the region and a updated plan of implementation should be developed and submitted to the contracting authorities for approval and endorsement. translation: there are implementation delays due to dyslexia

As a Greek, I have to ask my American friends: Why should I need a visa to travel to your country, when you do not need a visa to travel to mine? As a Greek I am also ashamed that my country grants refugee status to only 0.04% of asylum claims (even though refugees are fleeing the wars others have started...)To millions of travellers, visas are as a humiliating and racist experience, as border controls at airports and ports. Why does one have to justify the reason of their visit, and convince the uninformed uniformed asking offensive / insulting questions? Visas and border controls have also been proven to be a total waste of time in relation to security. Now the EU interior ministers have finally agreed to stand together and negotiate visa free travel to the US. And, to be fair, they should also agree to open their own borders to their African & Asian neighbours. Open borders & free movement for all, not just for capital!