Environment Forum
Global environmental challenges
Will Zoo crunch bite U.S. science education?
President Barack Obama has pledged to “restore science to its rightful place” and educate a new generation of scientists able to transform America into an environmentally sustainable “green economy.”
But with endowments and private donations falling and public funds under pressure, the recession is making it harder for zoos and aquariums to keep inspiring kids in science.
My colleague Claudia Parsons has done a report on this issue which you can read here.
A new report by the National Academy of Sciences said informal learning — such as visits to zoos or other outdoor activities such as fishing or gardening — is a powerful tool in science education.
What do you think? Do zoos play a vital inspirational role for budding young scientists? And should they receive public funds at a time of crisis when needs are many and funds are few?
(Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park/Handout)
Environment falls as priority for Americans – Pew
2009 may not be such a green year in America after all.
According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, environmental protection has fallen off sharply as a priority issue among Americans. You can see the whole survey here.
“Of the 20 issues people were asked to rate in both January 2008 and January 2009, five have slipped significantly in importance as attention to the economy has surged. Protecting the environment fell the most precipitously – just 41 percent rate this as a top priority today, down from 56 percent a year ago,” Pew said.
It said green concerns and others such as illegal immigration had been overtaken by growing anxiety over the souring economy.
“The share of Americans saying that strengthening the nation’s economy should be a top priority has risen from 68 percent two years ago to 75 percent last January to 85 percent today,” it said.
The poll comes in the first week of the presidency of Barack Obama who has clearly signaled that the economy is his top priority. But Obama has also promised to reverse much of the environmental legacy of former president George W. Bush on issues such as climate change and the creation of so-called “green jobs” is high on his agenda.
The New York Times reported yesterday that a battle is heating up (pun intended) over the Obama administration’s global climate change policy. On the one side are the East Coast states and California, which have been leading the country in environmental regulation, and on the other are the Midwest and Plains States, which are dependent upon coal and manufacturing – leading contributors of the CO2 emissions that lead to climate change. Full story.
President Obama’s insistence on addressing global climate change, as promised during his campaign, is a refreshing change and an encouraging step forward. While recent polls indicate that environmental issues register fairly low on the national priority list of most Americans, these are nevertheless issues that we must continue to tackle whether the global economy is hearty or at a standstill.
Given the contentiousness of focusing upon manufacturing and coal emissions, perhaps the Obama administration would be better off turning its attention to an area that is responsible for 20% of all carbon emissions worldwide — the destruction of the world’s forests. One important manner in which the United States could have an impact in this area would be in promoting tropical hardwood certification. By certifying that tropical hardwoods have been harvested in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable manner, we could provide American consumers with information that would allow them to make purchasing decisions based upon their effects upon the environment. Rather than contribute further to the conditions that lead to global climate change, consumers may be made aware of the effect of their consumption decisions.
Certification is just one way of raising consumer consciousness. If we are to truly begin to address carbon issues, we must all become more aware of our personal impact upon the globe. The next time you are shopping for food or household goods, take a moment to consider where those goods are coming from and how they have arrived in your local store. Often the price on the tag does not reflect the true cost of the product.
Chinese turtle species depends on two very old zoo guests
The fate of a Chinese species may rest on whether the turtles in this photo mate.
Biologists believe only four Yangtze giant softshell turtles are left on the planet. So this month they shipped a more than 80-year-old female that had been living in China’s Changsha Zoo more than 600 miles to the only known male in China, who is more than 100 years old and lives at the Suzhou Zoo.
“I hate to call this a desperation move, but it really was,” said Rick Hudson, a conservation biologist at the Fort Worth, Texas Zoo who helped coordinate the move. “With only one female known worldwide, and given that we have lost three captive specimens over the past two years, what choice did we have?”
Biologists blame hunting, pollution and rampant development for leading to the dire situation.
The good news is the female still lays eggs, but not as many as the up to 100 that younger ones do. And although in this picture she may appear to be ignoring the male, whose head can be seen emerging from the water in the bottom right, biologists say her journey went well and that the two are getting used to each other nicely.
I used to teach high school biology in Baltimore, MD, USA.Field trips and museum visits are VITAL to science learning!Young students are question producing hurricanes when they get in open environment like a zoo or museum. They get excited and want to learn.