We Are Stardust

Approaching the end of another journey around our creator

For the vast majority of humans around the world who will be celebrating the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, the dawn of a new year is a major marker in time, a signpost, a reminder that we are inexorably moving out of the past and into the future.

Indeed, there are few, if any, moments when nearly the entire human population is cognizant of a shared sociocultural event as the Gregorian calendar-based New Year's Eve.

The ancient Romans also recognized January 1 as the first day of the new year ever since Julius Caesar established the big event in 46 BC. He dedicated the day to Janus (hence the name of the month, January), who was the god of doors, beginnings, endings and time and who had two faces -- one looking at the past, the other looking to the future.

Even the Chinese, in their vast numbers -- and who won't be celebrating their new year until February 3 -- are quite aware of tomorrow's momentous nature. It is, after all, the first day of the year on the internationally accepted civil calendar.

YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION

But amidst the flurry of anticipation, preparation, celebration and the habitual tendency of humans to use such a portentous moment as an opportunity for intense self-reflection (e.g., "What I Didn't Accomplish Last Year"), self-adjustment (e.g., "This Is the Year I Will Quit Smoking") and self-congratulation (e.g., "My Top 10 Albums of 2010"), it is easy to forget why we have marked our history thusly every 365 days. It is simply the amount of time it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun.

In regard to this solitary fact, we are the only species who cares a feather or a fig. The 365-day journey is real. The portent...well, not so much.

A prominence erupting from the Sun's surface in October 2003, observed with the international Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). A scale-sized image of the Earth was added to the bottom right section of the image to illustrate size comparison. (source: Nustar. credit: JPL/NASA and ESA.)

Unless something really unpredictable happens between today and tomorrow, Homo sapiens will successfully survive yet another revolution around our parent star onboard spaceship Earth, just as our species has done for the past 200,000 or so years. But Earth has made this 365-day-long journey much longer than we have been around -- about 4.6 billion times.

IN THE BEGINNING

After the moment of singularity caused by the Big Bang, the universe cooled, causing the conversion of energy into neutrons, protons, electrons and other subatomic particles. After thousands of years, electron combined with nuclei, producing the first element: hydrogen. Traces of helium were also present. Gravity forced these elements to form stars.

Around 4.6 billion years ago, a star at the edge of our Milky Way galaxy died, collapsing into a supernova. While in the throes of death, it ejected the superheated contents of its core out into space, where the particles collided with a hydrogren molecular cloud. Gravity pulled the particles towards the cloud's dense center, sparking a nuclear reaction that created the Sun.

The remaining debris formed the protoplanetary disk, and soon after (a few to a hundred million years, a timeframe that constitutes "soon," at least in cosmological terms), through accretion, the Earth was born, along with the other planets and the asteroids. It was a chaotic time of collisions.

A meteorite found in Antarctica called GRA 06129 may have come from a large body that was blasted apart in a collision early in the solar system (image: NASA)

All of the planets in our Solar System are bound by the Sun's gravitational pull and revolve around it. Earth, like its other planetary siblings, was born as a by-product of the Sun's formation.

LOOKING AT AND LISTENING TO THE SUN

According to University of Cambridge astrophysicist Douglas Gough, understanding the immense power at the core of the Sun, where the nuclear reactions are so violent that new particles are born, "helps us to understand the basic physics of elementary matter." In other words, our Sun, like all other stars, is a creator. "To understand the universe," Gough says, "we need to study the stars." But there's only one star that gave birth to and sustains life on Earth.

The Sun photographed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). (credit: NASA/SDO (AIA))

Seeing the core of the Sun -- where all the creation happens -- is currently technologically impossible. But scientists have been listening to the Sun's interior by recording the sounds that it makes. Every six minutes or so, the Sun "breathes" in and out, an activity that causes a complex pattern of ripples on the surface -- a key to the fire that rages in its belly.

Sound wave of solar sounds generated from 40 days of Michelson Doppler Imager data (Stanford University)

Alexander G. Kosovichev, a senior research scientist at the W.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory at Stanford University, studies the sounds made by the Sun. The recordings he analyzes were taken by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI), a device onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft that measures underlying magnetic fields and gas flow patterns on the solar surface.

THE CREATOR

If we humans must worship a god, we could do much worse than picking the Sun as the object of our devotion. Ultimately, it is the reason we are here and continue to be here. No matter our different races and religions, nationalities and political parties, cultures and beliefs, there are just a few fundamental elements from which all of us -- and indeed, all things in our Solar System -- are made, and they came from within the violent thermonuclear cauldron deep within the core of the Sun.

In his 1770 epistle "Épître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs" ("Letter to the Author of the Three Impostors"), French philosopher Voltaire wrote, "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer." ("If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.") And invent him we did. Over and over and over again.

Ra-Horakhty is a combined deity of Horus and Ra, and is usually depicted as a falcon-headed man wearing a sun disk on his head. By themselves, Ra and Horus sometimes share similar iconography. Based on New Kingdom tomb paintings. (Wikipedia).

Humans have invented so many names for the "creator" so many it's difficult to keep track of them all. Atum. Unkulunkulu. Coatlicue. El. Vishvakarman. Ra-Horakhty. Pangu. Demiurge. Brahma. Waheguru. Allah. God. But in the Universe as we know it, there is only one kind of creator, and it is a star. And there are many of them. As American astronomer Carl Sagan famously said, "A galaxy is composed of gas and dust and stars -- billions upon billions of stars."

The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates that there are somewhere on the order of 10²² to 10²⁴ stars in the known Universe. As far as our own Solar System is concerned, there is only one star, one creator -- that hot ball of fire around which we revolve every 365 days.

If, as Wikipedia states, religion is "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of life and the universe," then the world's astrophysicists could make a strong case that their line of work constitutes a big chunk of that set -- at least the "cause" and "nature" parts. As far as the "purpose" part goes, well...perhaps the monks should chime in on that.

In the 2005 documentary film about him, American astronomer John Dobson (who also happens to be a Vedantic monk of the Ramakrishna Order) suggests that physicists and Vedantics are really searching for the same thing. As he notes, "There are only three ingredients in this universe: hydrogen, helium and the dust of exploded stars." Scientists and philosophers are living in the same reality, so if science and philosophy are to find agreement on the nature of being and existence, agreeing on this basic fact is sine qua non. Perhaps the essence of reality and spirituality can be found forged inside the creators of our universe -- stars.

So, if at the stroke of midnight, you happen to be viewing a fireworks display, try to look beyond the shallow depth-of-field filled with colored lights of exploding gunpowder and peer deep into the night sky. You won't be able to see our Sun, for it will be shining on the other side of the Earth, but perhaps you will be able see a different star. Much more distant than ours, to be sure, but in its lifetime, no less influential to the celestial bodies that may be drawn to it by the lure of its gravitational pull.

So go ahead, worship the Sun. After all, you are stardust.

[Editor's note: December was Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. Posts this month considered various victories that were made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions; sending letters to elected representatives; asking companies to rethink standards, practices and policies; changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved in the discussion, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you. And good luck on your next journey around the Sun.]

[top image of sand timer: Bindaas Madhavi]

They Can Run (and Fly, Swim, Crawl or Slither), but They Can't Hide

Welcoming over 100 newly discovered fellow Earthlings to life's family tree

Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions; sending letters to elected representatives; asking companies to rethink standards, practices and policies; changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved in the discussion, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

We are in the middle of what scientists call the "Sixth Extinction," spurred on by man-made global warming, pollution, overfishing and expanding human development for tourism, agriculture and industry.

IUCN director-general Julia Marton-Lefèvre said, “Within our lifetime, hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live."

"Plants, animals, and microorganisms are disappearing thousands of times more rapidly than they have for more than 65 million years, and for the first time in Earth's history, human activity is the predominant force behind this mass extinction," according to the California Academy of Sciences. But when it comes to species conservation, the Academy notes that "we have only documented and described an estimated 10 percent of the species on Earth, and it's hard to save a species when you don't know that it exists."

In 2010, scientists at the Academy went on a year-long quest to discover our undiscovered fellow Earthlings and as a result, have added 113 new relatives to our family tree: 83 arthropods, 20 fishes, four corals, two sea slugs, two plants, one reptile and one fossil mammal.

"Proving that science still requires a spirit of adventure and exploration, the scientists made their finds over five continents (the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia) and three oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian), hiked through rainforests and dove inside submersibles, and looked everywhere from their own backyards (San Mateo County, California) to the other side of the world (the Seychelles)," according to the Academy's press release.

"Their results, published in 27 different scientific papers, come during a year of heightened international interest in the conservation of life on Earth. The United Nations designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity and held a Biodiversity Summit in Nagoya, Japan this October, in which 18,000 participants representing more than 150 countries adopted strategic goals to combat ongoing biodiversity loss compounded by climate change."

GET INVOLVED

• Support Conservation International campaigns to protect global biodiversity hotspots
  
• Sign a petition to the United Nations to support biodiversity
• Sign the Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare
• Follow 13.7 Billion Years on Twitter

RELATED POSTS

• Sustainable Energy and Spirituality in Indonesia's Forests (December 24, 2010)
• Saving Gola (December 22, 2010)
  
• A Million Trees Breathe New Life Into Uganda (November 4, 2010)
• Betty Crocker vs. Orangutans (Guess Who's Winning) (October 19, 2010)
• Fighting for the Freedom of One Species, Taking It Away from Others (May 31, 2010)
• Stamp of Approval for Species Conservation (May 13, 2010)
• Which Countries Are Killing the Environment? (May 12, 2010)

image: California Academy of Sciences

Taking Down the "Hanging Walls of Death"

After years of pressure, Morocco and Turkey have finally banned "the most destructive fishing technology ever devised by humankind"

Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions; sending letters to elected representatives; asking companies to rethink standards, practices and policies; changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved in the discussion, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

Drift netting is a fishing technique that uses nets that float in the open ocean. They range in length from 80 feet to 30 miles.

As they are "non-targeted," they collect just about everything that comes their way, including dolphins and turtles. Since 1987, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has campaigned against their use, even ramming several drift netting vessels. In 1992, the United Nations issued a moratorium on driftnets. In 2003, the EU imposed on ban on their use. But they are still in use -- illegally.

"Because of its well documented history of destruction of marine fisheries and wildlife populations, drift netting is now widely considered to be the most destructive fishing technology ever devised by humankind," according to the Hawaii-based non-profit conservation group and Pew Fellow organization EarthTrust, which has dubbed the nets "hanging walls of death."

"Combined mortalities to dolphins and other small cetaceans impacted by these nets were measured in the early 1990's to be in excess of several hundred thousand each year. In addition, millions of seabirds, tens of thousands of seals, thousands of sea turtles and great whales, and huge quantities of non-target fish species were killed in these nets each year."

After many years fighting the illegal use of drift netting in the Mediterranean, Oceana (the marine conservation group of which the actor Ted Danson is a board member) scored a big victory in August when Morocco passed an amendment banning the use, possession, manufacture or sale of driftnets. According to Oceana, those convicted of breaking the law face up to one year in prison and up to $110,000 in fines.

A month later, Turkey -- where an estimated 70 to 150 drift net vessels have been operating -- announced that it too will stop the use of drift nets, following an intense campaign by Oceana Europe, which estimates that more than 500 vessels have been operating illegally in the Mediterranean, some with nets up to 12 miles long.

Last year in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, Oceana identified at least 30 Turkish vessels using drift nets to catch swordfish and bonito.

There are ways to catch fish sustainably. Hopefully, other countries will follow the lead taken by Morocco and Turkey and ban the use of destructive drift nets.

GET INVOLVED

• Download the Environmental Defense Fund's "Pocket Eco-Friendly Fish Selector" to make sustainable choices
  
• Watch a trailer for "The End of the Line," the first major documentary about overfishing
• Take the Sea Turtle Restoration Project Seafood Pledge

RELATED POSTS

• Off the Menu: Shark Fin Soup (December 21, 2010)
• Nothing But Net (April 7, 2010)
• The Monaco Proposal (December 28, 2009)
• No More Lox for Bears (November 24, 2009)
• The Rime of the Modern Mariner (November 10, 2009)
  
• Atlantic Salmon Dying in Chile's Pacific (August 4, 2009)
• Another Inconvenient Truth: Overfishing (June 18, 2009)

image: Dead baby dolphin entangled in high-seas driftnet (credit: EarthTrust)

Thirty Monkeys Get a Big Christmas Gift: Their Lives

NASA has canceled its planned monkey radiation experiments

Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions; sending letters to elected representatives; asking companies to rethink standards, practices and policies; changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved in the discussion, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

Since last year, NASA had been planning to fund radiation experiments at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York, on 30 live squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus), New World monkeys that live in the canopy layer of tropical forests in Central and South America.

But after many protests, over 100,000 calls, emails and letters -- and the advocacy of the several celebrity PETA spokespeople such as Sir Paul McCartney, Bob Barker and Alicia Silverstone -- NASA has abandoned this inhumane, $1.75-million-dollar plan.

The monkeys "would have been exposed to a harmful dose of radiation and then isolated in cages and subjected to years of behavioral experiments in order to measure the damage caused by the radiation. Such damage likely would have included cancerous tumors, cataracts, brain damage, loss of motor control, and early death," according to PETA Youth Campaign Manager Marta Holmberg, in an email.

"NASA had planned to irradiate 30 live squirrel monkeys in a misguided attempt to learn the effects of deep-space radiation," said Noah Gittell, Research and Education Programs Coordinator at the non-profit Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, in an email. "Due to the basic anatomical, biological, and physiological differences between squirrel monkeys and humans, these experiments were destined to fail."

"Because of your hard work, these monkeys will not be irradiated or otherwise abused. Furthermore, we have sent a powerful message to all federal agencies that they must consider the interests of animals in the pursuit of research," Gittell said.

"Almost one year ago, IDA and Shirley McGreal of the International Primate Protection League issued an official complaint to NASA and Brookhaven National Laboratory, criticizing NASA's proposed squirrel monkey radiation experiment," according to a statement by In Defense of Animals (IDA). "We condemned the cruelty, and presented alternatives that would give better scientific results. Our complaint prompted a written response from the Principal Investigator (or PI -- the scientist in charge of the experiment), an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) request for more information from the PI regarding the concerns in our complaint, and another response from the PI to the IACUC -- a mandatory response this time."

"Our actions, as well as those of other activists and organizations, made all the difference," said IDA. "Together we pressured Brookhaven into reviewing the experiment in their Community Advisory Council, we negotiated with officials to make time for our public statements, and, ultimately, we pushed the issue into high-level meetings between NASA and the Department of Energy. None of this would have happened without your thousands of letters, e-mails, faxes, and phone calls."

This is a great victory for those fighting against the use of animal testing. The fact that NASA -- a large governmental organization -- has responded to the concerned taxpayers who fund it is certainly a step in the right direction. But there is still much work to be done.

As the comedian George Carlin once observed, "Just 'cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town."

GET INVOLVED

• Support the International Primate Protection League
  
• Sign the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights
• Sign the Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare
• Sign a PETA petition urging President Obama to ban military trauma exercises on animals
• Sign an NRDC letter telling the Navy to stop harming whales with sonar
• Purchase Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals
• Follow 13.7 Billion Years on Twitter

RELATED POSTS

• Pamela Anderson Is an Animal (July 19, 2010)
• With Liberty and Freedom for All? (July 2, 2010)
• Fighting for the Freedom of One Species, Taking It Away from Others (May 31, 2010)
• A Peculiar Evil Grows in Austria (May 26, 2009)
• Military Torture: Not Just for Humans (May 17, 2009)
• The Gloomy Dean (January 30, 2009)
• Use of Lab Animals on the Rise in UK (July 26, 2008)

image: Baker, a squirrel monkey who rode a Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) into space and back in 1959. (Wikipedia)

Australian Designer Answers Bentham's Famous Question on Ethics

Another fashion designer stops using fur

Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions; sending letters to elected representatives; asking companies to rethink standards, practices and policies; changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved in the discussion, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

Acceding to public pressure, Australian designer Camilla Franks has agreed to stop using fur in her clothing lines.

"Camilla now joins other kind designers such as Kit Willow, Jane Rhodes, Gail Elliott, Ginger & Smart, One Teaspoon, Alannah Hill, Fleur Wood, High Tea, Justin Davis, Nicola Finetti, Joveeba and Gail Sorronda in pledging never to use real fur," according to a recent email from PETA Asia-Pacific.

"Undercover video footage reveals the truth behind fur farms in China -- where there are no penalties for abusing animals and where animals are bludgeoned and beaten until they can be skinned, often while still alive. Workers on these farms often stomp on the necks of terrified animals after they are kept in cramped, unsanitary cages for their entire lives."

Franks' laudable decision is a reminder of the critical question put forth by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham regarding the ethical treatment of animals: "The question is not, 'Can they reason?' nor, 'Can they talk?' but rather, 'Can they suffer?'"

GET INVOLVED

• Sign the pledge to be fur-free
• Sign a PETA letter to Yohji Yamamoto asking him to stop using fur in his designs
• Sign an IDA letter urging American lawmakers to support and co-sponsor "Truth in Fur Labeling" legislation H.R. 891/S. 3610
• Help end the sale of fur at Nordstrom's
• Sign an IFAW petition supporting the Harb Bill to end Canada's seal hunt
• Tell Canada what you would be willing to do if they ended their seal hunt
  
• Sign the PETA petition to boycott Canadian maple syrup as long as the seal hunt continues
• Sign the Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare
• Follow 13.7 Billion Years on Twitter

RELATED POSTS

• Fur Free Friday (December 3, 2010)
• To Stella McCartney, PETA and the MoD! (August 5, 2010)
• God Saves the Queen, Men Kill the Bears (July 21, 2010)
• Canada Increases Seal Hunt Quota (March 18, 2010)
• Fighting for the Freedom of One Species, Taking It Away from Others (May 31, 2010)
• From Syrup to Seals in Canada (February 15, 2010)
• How Much for That Polar Bear Rug? (February 1, 2010)
• Fur Free Friday (November 27, 2009)
• Keeping Their Coats On (September 24, 2009)
• Exclusive Interview with Francois Hugo, Founder, Seal Alert-SA (July 15, 2009)
  
• Europe to Canada: Stop Killing Seals (May 6, 2009)
• The Devil in Human Form (March 7, 2009)
• The Gloomy Dean (January 30, 2009)

image: PETA Asia-Pacific

Sustainable Energy and Spirituality in Indonesia's Forests

Finland plans to produce renewable biomass energy from Indonesian forests next year

Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions; sending letters to elected representatives; asking companies to rethink standards, practices and policies; changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved in the discussion, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

On August 29, 2002, Professor Reijo E. Heinonen from the faculty of theology at the University of Joensuu in Finland presented guidelines for forest ethics at the Panel for Global Forest Ethics in Johannesburg, which was organized by Finland and Indonesia in connection with the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

"'Interconnectedness' is a catchphrase of our world today," said Prof. Heinonen. "Economists, biologists and politicians employ this term in various guises. But do we see the true nature and scale of how significantly each action impacts on another? Do we perceive human life in its entirety in a holistic way? Can we understand how seemingly concrete areas, such as economics, can be greatly influenced by, for example spirituality?"

Now, eight years later, Finland is planning to produce renewable biomass energy from Indonesian forests next year, following Norway's widely celebrated $1 billion agreement to deal with Indonesia's high rate of deforestation.

Though the Finland deal is small in comparison at 4 million euros, it is "a sign more countries may look to do bilateral deals if U.N. talks in Cancun fail to produce a global climate pact, asserts Chris White in a Reuters article.

On Thursday, Australia announced it would increase its climate change financing of Indonesia with an additional $45 million for projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).

"Protecting forests is seen by some as the easiest and cheapest option in the fight against climate change," White writes. "The Finnish project aims to support the forestry industry turn toward renewable energy production."

"The focus will be on the utilization of forest biomass and the residues of the wood processing industry as renewable energy sources," Päivi Alatalo, the deputy head of the Finnish embassy in Indonesia, told Reuters.

In the 1990s, Brazil and Indonesia had the highest net loss forest in the world. And while the rate of global deforestation has been showing signs of decreasing, the 2010 United Nations report Global Forest Resources Assessment asserts that it is "still alarmingly high."

Last year's United Nations report State of the World's Forests notes the "potential negative impacts on forest resources could include reduced investment in sustainable forest management and a rise in illegal logging...Land dependence, which had been easing, could increase, raising the risk of agricultural expansion into forests, deforestation and reversal of previous forest gains."

According to White, "Indonesia has promised to slash its emissions by at least 26 percent from business as usual levels by 2020 but President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also vowed to boost economic growth to 7 percent or more by 2014, with development of resources from palm oil to coal helping drive the economy."

The palm oil part of the discussion is likely to inflame conservationists and indigenous peoples' rights activists. In Indonesia, habitat loss due to palm oil deforestation has destroyed the habitats of orangutans, Sumatran tigers and elephants, and has also put some 20 million of the nation's indigenous and forest-dependent people at risk. It is estimated that a rainforest area the size of 300 soccer fields is being destroyed every hour in the country. At the current rate of habitat loss, both species of orangutans are on target to become extinct in the wild within 20 years.

Reducing deforestation rates is not just about combating climate change -- it's also about keeping ecosystems and natural habitats healthy, and preventing species from becoming extinct due to human activity.

When that piece of the puzzle is brought fully into the climate change debate and its various solutions, then Prof. Heinonen's idea of interconnectedness will be put to the test. Chances are, we will find that economics can indeed be influenced by spirituality. The denizens of Indonesia's Sacred Monkey Forest would likely agree.

GET INVOLVED

• Protect an acre of rainforest through Conservation International
• Sign a Greenpeace letter thanking Kimberly-Clark for protecting ancient forests
• Download a PDF of "Do I Dare Eat That Banana," a document created by RainforestRelief.org that outlines rainforest products to avoid
• Download the Greenpeace Tissue Guide to find out which tissue brands are sustainably-sourced and which are made from clearcutting ancient forests (PDF download)
• Download a Rainforest Action Network list of rainforest-destructive palm oil products to avoid
• Sign a petition urging Food Standards Australia and New Zealand to make it the law to label products containing rainforest-destructive palm oil so consumers can make informed decisions
  
• Sign up with Rainforest Action Network to sleuth your local bookstore for rainforest safe books
• Follow 13.7 Billion Years on Twitter
  

RELATED POSTS

• Saving Gola (December 22, 2010)
• The Forgotten Forests (November 18, 2010)
• Cracking the Mango of Africa (November 12, 2010)
• A Million Trees Breathe New Life Into Uganda (November 4, 2010
• Betty Crocker vs. Orangutans (Guess Who's Winning) (October 19, 2010)
• Stamp of Approval for Species Conservation (May 13, 2010)
• Which Countries Are Killing the Environment? (May 12, 2010)
• The World's Most Important, Most Destructive Edible Oil (January 26, 2010)

image: Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia (credit: StrudelMonkey)

Nasty, Brutish and Short

Improving the sorry lives of the animals raised and killed to feed us

[Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions; sending letters to elected representatives; asking companies to rethink standards, practices and policies; changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved in the discussion, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

The fight against the cruel practices of large-scale industrial farming made some major advances in 2010. Several major companies have taken important steps to improve the conditions at factory farms and to ensure that more humane techniques are used.

KFC, Burger King, Safeway, Whole Foods and McDonalds -- companies long execrated for animal welfare abuses -- have recently received praise by major animal advocacy groups like PETA for forward-thinking policy changes. As evidenced by the success of such films on the food industry as "Food, Inc." and "King Corn," and books like Michael Pollan's "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," consumers are more curious than ever about where their food comes from. Some businesses have reacted to the changing climate in positive ways.

The following are few key victories that can be shared by business executives and animal welfare advocates alike, as noted by the non-profit advocacy group Farm Forward:

• KFC Canada reached a groundbreaking agreement with PETA that stands to dramatically improve the lives of the chickens raised and killed for KFC’s Canadian restaurants. Although KFC’s U.S. operations have not yet made any improvements, KFC Canada will now be using a progressive system of auditing and verification to ensure that changes are implemented and benchmarks achieved.
• Burger King is now purchasing more than 5 percent of its eggs cage-free and plans to double that percentage. (If those numbers sound small, consider the fact that Burger King purchases 40 million pounds of eggs a year: Just 2 percent represents more than 6 million eggs.) The fast food company has also begun purchasing 10 percent of its pork from producers that do not confine breeding pigs in gestation crates. The volume will double to 20 percent by the end of the year. And they are now giving preference to chicken processors that use a more humane method of poultry slaughter called controlled atmosphere killing (CAK).
• Safeway is now purchasing 6 percent cage-free eggs and plans to double that percentage in just two years. Safeway is also beginning to favor CAK processed turkey meat and is pledging to increase the amount of both chicken and turkey purchased from CAK processors as supply becomes available. They are also phasing out pig meat from operations that use gestation crates. Female pigs used for breeding are confined most of their lives in these crates which are so small that they cannot even turn around.
  
• Whole Foods Market has made it a policy to refuse pork from producers that confine sows in crates, and along with Wild Oats Natural Marketplace and Trader Joe’s, it is now implementing cage-free-egg policies. By January 1, 2011, most of the fresh meat products sold at Whole Foods will be rated using Global Animal Partnership (GAP) standards.
• McDonald’s has begun purchasing eggs from suppliers that give hens more space, and in the past it has terminated relationships with suppliers that withhold food and water in order to increase egg production.

Also, in July, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a landmark egg bill into law that requires that all eggs sold in California must come from hens that are not crammed into cages so small that they cannot even spread their wings.

"The law requires all eggs sold in the state as of Jan. 1, 2015, to come from hens able to stand up, fully extend their limbs, lie down and fully extend their wings without touching each other or the sides of cages," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Cambridge professor of divinity William Ralph Inge once said, "We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form."

This year saw some positive changes in the lives of the animals that are raised and killed to feed humans, but it only takes a brief review of how the vast majority of those animals are still mistreated to realize how far we as a society have yet to go in ridding that Devil within us. In the end, the solution must be something that consumers, businesses, scientists and activists all support.

GET INVOLVED

• Sign the Woof Petition to give pigs that same rights that dogs have
  
• Sign Pamela Anderson's pledge to explore vegetarianism for 30 days
• Learn more about transitioning to an animal-friendly and earth-friendly vegan diet
  
• Read a list of famous vegetarians
  
• Download a free vegetarian starter kit from FARM (Farm Animal Rights Movement)
  
• Check out Meatout
  
• Read about the HBO documentary "Death on a Factory Farm"
• Read PETA's "The Hidden Life of Pigs"
  
• Read the Yale College Vegetarian Society's "Top 10 Reasons to Become Vegetarian"
• Purchase Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals
• See the 4-year-old McDonald's cheeseburger and fries
• Follow 13.7 Billion Years on Twitter

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image: Female pigs used for breeding (called 'breeding sows' by the industry) are confined for most of their lives in "gestation crates" which are so small that they cannot even turn around. (credit: Slim Virgin)

Saving Gola

One of the most biodiversity-rich ecosystems in the world is now protected

[Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions, sending letters to elected representatives, asking companies to change their policies, changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

The Gola Rainforest is the home to elephants, leopards, chimpanzees and 50 other mammal species, 13 of which are threatened, as well as over 250 bird species, over 20 of which are threatened. Gola is part of the Upper Guinea forest in West Africa, one of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems.

But since the 18th century, Gola has been cleared for timber, agriculture and charcoal mining. Today, less that 30% of it remains intact.

Now the two countries that this 75,000-hectare area straddles -- Liberia and Sierra Leone -- have designated Gola as a national park.

"There is every reason for us to protect the Gola Forest on both sides of our border, since doing so will ensure that it will continuously provide ecological services to the surrounding communities," said presidents of Liberia H.E. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Sierra Leone H.E. Dr Ernest Bai Koroma in a joint statement presented at a recent conference in Sweden, according to the African Conservation Foundation.

"Our 20-year dream is becoming a reality now that both governments are pushing ahead with the vital processes of designating their shared Gola Rainforest as a national park", said Dr. Paulinus Ngeh, West Africa Sub-regional Coordinator of BirdLife.

GET INVOLVED

• Protect an acre of rainforest through Conservation International
• Sign a Greenpeace letter thanking Kimberly-Clark for protecting ancient forests
• Download a PDF of "Do I Dare Eat That Banana," a document created by RainforestRelief.org that outlines rainforest products to avoid
• Download the Greenpeace Tissue Guide to find out which tissue brands are sustainably-sourced and which are made from clearcutting ancient forests (PDF download)
• Download a Rainforest Action Network list of rainforest-destructive palm oil products to avoid
• Sign a petition urging Food Standards Australia and New Zealand to make it the law to label products containing rainforest-destructive palm oil so consumers can make informed decisions
  
• Sign up with Rainforest Action Network to sleuth your local bookstore for rainforest safe books
• Follow 13.7 Billion Years on Twitter
  

RELATED POSTS

• The Forgotten Forests (November 18, 2010)
• Cracking the Mango of Africa (November 12, 2010)
• A Million Trees Breathe New Life Into Uganda (November 4, 2010
• Betty Crocker vs. Orangutans (Guess Who's Winning) (October 19, 2010)
• Stamp of Approval for Species Conservation (May 13, 2010)
• Which Countries Are Killing the Environment? (May 12, 2010)
• The World's Most Important, Most Destructive Edible Oil (January 26, 2010)

image: Thomas Breuer

Off the Menu: Shark Fin Soup

The U.S. Senate has passed the Shark Conservation Act

[Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions, sending letters to elected representatives, asking companies to change their policies, changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

To fuel a global demand for the Chinese delicacy known as shark fin soup (popular since the Ming dynasty), the barbaric practice of shark-finning maims and kills millions of sharks every year.

But thanks to public pressure, the U.S. Senate has passed the Shark Conservation Act, making shark-finning illegal in American waters.

The cruel practice involves cutting a shark's fins off and putting it back into the water, where, unable to swim, it is eaten alive by other predators at the bottom of the ocean.

"Sharks are vitally important to our marine ecosystems, but commercial fishing has drastically depleted shark populations around the world, in some cases by 99%," said Beth Lowell, Federal Policy Director of the non-profit marine conservation group Oceana.

"Shark fin soup is an expensive dish that drives the shark finning trade, but the role sharks play in marine ecosystems is priceless," Lowell said. "By improving shark conservation, the U.S. is improving overall ocean health...To everyone who took an online action, shared your advocacy on Facebook and Twitter, told your friends about this important issue -- thank you! Contacting your Senators and Representatives about shark protections worked."

Sharks are a tough species -- the earliest of them appeared before the dinosaurs. If they do ever become extinct, it certainly shouldn't be because Homo sapiens happen to enjoy the way their fins taste in soup.

GET INVOLVED

• Sign a Shark Angels Alliance petition urging the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board to work on a plan to abolish the nets and work on a zero-kill plan
• Sign the Coral Reef Care petition supporting an E.U. Plan of Action for the protection of sharks

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• Model of Marine Hope: Glover's Reef (April 27, 2010)
• The Disaster of Drilling (April 26, 2010)
• Acid Waters (February 24, 2010)
• Senatorial Taste Test: Shark Fin Soup (December 8, 2009)
• The World's First Shark Sanctuary (October 14, 2009)
• The Island Mouse That Roared (July 22, 2009)
• If Fish Could Talk: Get Off of Our Lawn (July 8, 2009)
• Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Is A Time Bomb (July 5, 2009)
• South Africa's Shark Tale (June 24, 2009)
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• Ghosts in the Water (May 10, 2009)
• Once Upon A Time, Arctic Gators (May 4, 2009)
• Photographing the Coral Triangle (April 23, 2009)
• Enter the Dead Zone (April 20, 2009)
• Coral Reefs: Here Now, Gone Tomorrow? (April 3, 2009)
• 13.7 BILLION YEARS EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Philip Renaud, Executive Director, Living Oceans Foundation (Part 1 of 5) (March 15, 2009)
• Oceanic Acid Trip (March 10, 2009)
• Singapore's Dolphin Deal with the Solomons (December 8, 2008)
• Indonesia Creates Asian Reef Conservation Group (November 24, 2008)
• Sharks Get a New Best Friend in Galapagos (October 23, 2008)
• One-Third of Coral Reefs Face Extinction (July 11, 2008)

image: Macorig Paolo

Obama: No More Crush Videos

It is now illegal to make or sell videos of small animals being crushed to death

[Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions, sending letters to elected representatives, asking companies to change their policies, changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

On December 9, President Obama signed into law the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010, which immediately criminalizes the creation, sale and marketing of videos that depicts small animals being crushed to death by humans for sexual fetish purposes.

The new law "makes it a crime to sell or distribute videos showing animals being intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury. It exempts depictions of veterinary and husbandry practices, the slaughter of animals for food, as well as depictions of hunting, trapping or fishing," according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

"This new law -- targeting the market for these gruesome depictions -- will give law enforcement a much-needed tool for stemming the proliferation of these videos."

A great victory for animal welfare, indeed. Still, it is a bit frightening that there is actually a need for a law like this.

GET INVOLVED

• Sign the Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare
• Follow 13.7 Billion Years on Twitter

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image: Animal Legal Defense Fund

UMASS: No More Lethal Trauma Testing on Pigs

The University of Massachusetts Medical School has stopped killing pigs

[Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions, sending letters to elected representatives, asking companies to change their policies, changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

Bowing to public pressure, the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) has permanently ended the lethal use of pigs in their trauma training program.

"There is no doubt that this victory is due to your swift action," said Dr. John J. Pippin, Senior Medical and Research Adviser at the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a non-profit organization that promotes compassionate and effective medical practice, in an email. "Within just a few days, more than 10,000 of you contacted the dean’s office."

"UMMS has joined the overwhelming majority of institutions that use only nonanimal methods for Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) courses, which are designed to train physicians to treat acute trauma injuries. PCRM’s survey of ATLS courses shows that out of the 227 surveyed ATLS courses in the United States and Canada, only 10 continue to use animals," Pippin said.

While this is significant victory, there is still a long way to go in regard to animal testing. It is estimated that up to 100 million vertebrates are tested on worldwide every year.

GET INVOLVED

• Sign a petition urging the president of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to end the use of live sheep in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS ) courses
• Sign a petition encouraging the Nobel Foundation to support alternatives to animal testing
  
• Sign a petition reminding Proctor & Gamble that butylparaben is already an approved ingredient so that they stop unnecessarily force-feeding it to thousands of animals
• Sign a petition to stop lethal nicotine experiments on mother monkeys and their babies
  
• Sign a PETA petition urging President Obama to ban military trauma exercises on animals
• Download a list of companies that DO TEST on animals
• Download a list of companies that DON'T TEST on animals
  
• Learn more about animals used in testing
• Visit StopAnimalTests.com
  

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• Testing Animals, Testing Ethics (April 19, 2010)
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• Jane Goodall Urges EU to Review Animal Testing (June 9, 2008)
• Breeder Offers Greyhounds to Medical Research (June 2, 2008)
• Animal Testers Pressured After Week of Global Protest (May 10, 2008)
• No Alternative to "Lethal Dose 50" (April 14, 2008)

image: Matt Hintsa

The Sun Shines Brighter on Old Kentucky Homes

Acceding to public pressure, a Kentucky energy company drops plans for a coal-fired power plant

[Editor's note: December is Victory Month on 13.7 Billion Years. As the year comes to a close, each post will review a big or small victory that was made possible in 2010 in part by actions taken by the public, such as signing petitions, sending letters to elected representatives, asking companies to change their policies, changing personal habits or making statements at the cash register as consumers. By taking a moment to get involved, you have helped to make a difference. Thank you.]

For decades, America's landfills and ponds have been the repositories for coal ash, the toxic waste produced by coal-fired power plants. The waste -- which can include environmental toxins such as arsenic, lead, mercury and dioxin -- has not only been detected in rivers and streams, but has also polluted drinking water.

But for residents of Clark County, Kentucky, the threat of new coal ash has been held at bay, as the East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) announced that it will drop plans for a new coal-fired generating plant near the Kentucky River, acquiescing to the demands of several environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the Sierra Club and the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. The agreement was spurred by a lawsuit against the cooperative.

"Instead of increasing its reliance on dirty, coal-burning technology, the cooperative now plans to work with local citizens and activists to develop efficiency strategies and renewable-energy alternatives," according to CBD.

Kentucky relies on coal for 90% of its electricity, but this move is a powerful step in the right direction towards a cleaner, more efficient and more renewable energy future.

"We can all breathe a little easier and steer our time and attention towards energy solutions that better address our common concerns for the health, economic and environmental benefit of co-op members and others in EKPC's service area," said Elizabeth Crowe, executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, according to the Richmond Register.

The co-op is working to ensure greater energy efficiency, said Nick Comer, a spokesman for EKPC, which called the move a "prudent business decision."

In an email, CBD applauded "the coalition of activists and community advocates who achieved this remarkable success -- one that will help protect the climate, threatened species and public health while also saving the Cooperative and its customers money."

In the 1912 Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Rev. Thomas B. Gregory wrote about American pioneer Daniel Boone's "first glimpse of the fair region now known as Kentucky," the state for which the folk hero would later be famous for exploring and settling. Gregory wrote that on April 30, 1769, "the Father of Kentucky... stood on a mountain path and looked down upon the Watauga winding along through its enchanting valley, and he resolved that it should not be his last vision of the earthly paradise."

If the Bluegrass State continues to move away from its fossil fuel past towards a clean energy future, Boone's earthly paradise may remain intact after all -- and the sun will certainly shine brighter on those "Old Kentucky Homes."

GET INVOLVED

• Sign a Change.org petition to stop a coal-fired power plant in Borneo, the home of 75 percent of all known coral species, more than half of the world’s reefs, 40 percent of the world's coral reef fish species, six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle and the world's 40 remaining Bornean rhinos
• Tell your senator to extend renewable energy tax credits to support clean wind energy
• Take the Public Agenda quiz and find out how much you know about energy
  

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• Ashes to Ashes (and Drinking Water) (July 8, 2010)
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image: Hideki Okuno