itsyournature

We're in the dog days of summer so while you're listless, lying prostrate in the haze that is the end of summer, lift your head and squint at your computer screen for a minute and check out a great new website called GreenPaws.

Summer heat means more bugs and that can mean an increased risk of flea and ticks for your pet. There's a ridiculous amount of choice when it comes to treating both fleas and ticks, but what's not widely known is that there are dangerous toxins in some over the counter flea and tick medications. These toxic chemicals can not only poison your pet, they can be harmful to people as well. With a lack of adequate oversight regarding products for pets, owners are more often taking matters into their own hands and look to nongovernmental agencies, including nonprofits, bloggers, and websites, for information about making safe pet purchases. In the last eight years, the Natural Resources Defense Council has done a ton of work to get dangerous chemicals banned from flea and tick products, but sadly, there are still some out there. Check out their report or this handy fact sheet to learn more about how to keep your pet safe and healthy. And visit GreenPaws!

To get your pet photos on the page, send them to greenpaws@nrdc.org and include your pet's name.

Thanks to three years of hard work with the NRDC, the Boston Red Sox can now boast to not only one of the oldest ballparks in the country, but also one of the most sustainable. With solar powered trash compactors, recycled paper media guides and programs, a Green Team to collect bottles and cups from fans, and ARAMARK concessions providing recycled paper supplies and locally grown and organic produce, Fenway can now provide one more excuse for Sox fans to cheer.

Check out our video about the Red Sox sustainability plan on our widget or on facebook page

Feeling the crunch lately? Cost of gas, food, airfare, and nearly everything else getting you down? Well what if your energy costs reached $141 billion a year? What if you're water costs reached upwards of $950 billion a year?

According to a report from researchers at Tufts University commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the estimated cost of inaction on climate change could cost the U.S. as much as $3.8 trillion annually by 2100. The report takes both a comprehensive outlook as well as a bottom up approach looking at hurricane damage, real estate losses, increased energy costs, and water costs.

So yes, among the more devastating effects that will be caused by increased temperature, sea level rise, and erratic weather events, one more thing to look forward to if nothing is done is a big fat wallop to the U.S. Economy. Overwhelming? Mmm, just a bit, but perhaps the best way to combat feeling overwhelmed is to do something.

Though Senators chose not the continue the debate on the Climate Security Act earlier this month, it did show momentum and support towards comprehensive global warming legislation. And while talking seems to be of little comfort when it seems that action is more desperately needed, it is still an important and needed part of the process to combat this issue. So do something. In the next several months debate surrounding the upcoming presidential election will be a frenzy of policy, fundraising, and speculation. Why not make sure that global warming becomes one of the issues at the forefront of the election? Why not demand to know what real action will be taken by the next president? Demand that the national media make global warming part of the debate here. It may cost you a few minutes away from the pool, but hopefully it won't end up costing you trillions.

After an unnecessarily long legal battle, the NRDC, Greenpeace, and the Center for Biological Diversity finally won some protection for the polar bear. Now listed as a federally "threatened" species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the new classification forces the current administration to recognize the negative impacts of global warming.

We, or better yet, I can only speculate as to why the administration is choosing to fight against protecting the polar bear. Perhaps it's to prevent any hindrance to drilling in Alaska's protected habitats, or maybe the administration is afraid that counting the polar bear as endangered would mean *gasp* enacting some sort of stringent legislation that could reduce global warming pollution.

Take a minute to read the press release below and if you haven't already, urge your Senator to support a strengthened Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act.

Environmental Groups Win Protection for Polar Bear
Faced with Scientific Evidence on Global Warming, Court Order, and Public Pressure, Government Grants Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing Due to Global Warming

WASHINGTON (May 14, 2008) – Following a three-year legal battle to protect the polar bear from extinction due to global warming, three environmental groups won protection for the species with the announcement today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is listing the polar bear as a federally "threatened" species.

The decision was issued in response to a 2005 scientific petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and was required by a Court order in a lawsuit brought by the groups to end the administration's delay in issuing a final Endangered Species Act listing decision.

While the polar bear listing is one of the administration's clearest acknowledgments to date of the urgent threat posed by global warming, the administration is simultaneously attempting to reduce the protections the bear will receive under the Endangered Species Act. It claims in the listing decision that federal agencies need not consider the impact of global warming pollution on the polar bear, and has also proposed a separate regulation reducing the protections the polar bear would otherwise receive.

"This decision is a watershed event because it has forced the Bush administration to acknowledge global warming's brutal impacts," said Kassie Siegel, climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, and lead author of the 2005 petition. "It's not too late to save the polar bear, and we'll keep fighting to ensure that the polar bear gets the help it needs through the full protections of the Endangered Species Act. The administration's attempts to reduce protection to the polar bear from greenhouse gas emissions are illegal and won't hold up in court."

Polar bears live only in the Arctic and are totally dependent on the sea ice for all of their essential needs. Global warming is an overwhelming threat to the polar bear, already suffering starvation, drowning, and population declines as the sea ice melts away.

"The polar bear is already on thin ice. Protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act is a major step forward, but the Bush Administration has proposed using loopholes in the law to allow the greatest threat to the polar bear--global warming pollution--to continue unabated," said Andrew Wetzler, Director of the Endangered Species Project at NRDC. "If the key threats to the polar bear are not addressed soon, zoos will be the only place our grandchildren will be able to see a polar bear."

"The administration's inclusion of this language exempts the impact of global warming on the polar bear and would gut any protections the ruling would have provided," said Melanie Duchin, global warming campaigner for Greenpeace USA in Alaska. "Global warming threatens polar bears with extinction, so to exempt global warming pollution from the formula for protecting the species violates the spirit and intent of the ESA."

Each step in the listing process has required legal action to enforce the Endangered Species Act's deadlines for protecting species. The three groups first sued the Bush administration in December 2005, because the government had ignored their petition to protect the polar bear. As a result of that lawsuit, in February 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that protection of polar bears "may be warranted," and commenced a full status review of the species. A settlement agreement in the case committed the Service to make the second of three required findings by December 27, 2007, at which time the administration announced the proposal to list the species as "threatened." By law, the administration was required to make today's final listing decision within one year of the proposal, or January 9, 2008. When the administration failed to comply with that deadline, the groups filed suit on March 10, 2008, to end the delay. On April 28, the District Court issued an order requiring the administration to issue a decision by May 15.

Scientists predicted and have now documented the grim impacts to polar bears as the Arctic warms rapidly. Shrinking sea ice drastically restricts polar bears' ability to hunt their main prey, ice seals. In the spring of 2006, scientists located the bodies of several bears that had starved to death. Reduced food availability due to global warming has also caused polar bears to resort to cannibalism off the north coast of Alaska and Canada. In September, the U.S. Geological Survey predicted that, based on polar bear distribution and current global warming projections, two-thirds of the world's polar bear population would likely be extinct by 2050, including all polar bears within the United States.

The Arctic melt is also outpacing predictions. September 2007 shattered all previous records for sea ice loss when the Arctic ice cap shrank a record one million square miles - an equivalent of six times the size of California - below the average summer sea ice extent of the past several decades, reaching levels not predicted to occur until mid-century. Scientists already predict this year's sea ice minimum could shatter the record previously set in 2007. Several leading scientists now predict the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in the summer by 2012.

Listing the polar bear guarantees federal agencies will be obligated to ensure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out will not jeopardize the polar bears' continued existence or adversely modify their critical habitat, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be required to prepare a recovery plan for the polar bear, specifying measures necessary for its protection.

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

I feel as if I have grown up with Global Warming like it was a sibling of mine. It was always an issue in my household. My mother used to write for an environmental newsletter and my dad is a scientist with an expertise in the issue, so climate change was perpetually discussed. In fact, they talked about it so much that when I was young I thought it was something good. I did not really understand its detrimental consequences until later in life. Because it was always coming up, the term lost its meaning. I did not care about the issue and when people asked me if I would become an environmentalist like my father I would look at them like they were crazy, “Me, an environmentalist?!”

The summer after 10th grade I went on a trip to the Galapagos with a teen program. We were involved in community service on the islands, by cleaning up beaches and weeding out invasive plants. During the trip, I could tell that many people who live in the Galapagos appreciated our efforts. They needed help in preserving a place that is extremely precious and vital to them, and unique. This is when a yearning to conserve became ingrained in me. The next school year, I became active in my school’s Environment Committee. I no longer felt as though the environment was some distant concept that I was obligated to be concerned about, but instead a cause that actually was important to me. The next summer, I went on an Arctic exploration, cruising past islands with polar bears and other Arctic wildlife. The experience was literally otherworldly. I found myself wishing that I could bring everyone I had come across who shrugged at the effects of global warming to the Arctic and prove to them that this is a cause worth fighting for. The spectacular ice and exotic animals are not going to survive much longer if we do not take a more aggressive role in curbing climate change.

This year, I am co-head of my school’s Environment Committee. I organize many initiatives like the school-wide compact fluorescent light bulb sale. We are in the process of publishing an environmental newsletter. Now when people ask me if I want to be an environmentalist like my father I no longer scoff at the idea. I know that no matter what I do, I will always have a concern for the environment and a desire to preserve it. It took nearly 17 years to wake up and realize the importance of what Rachel Carson once said: “One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, ‘What if I have never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?’” Because unless we take action we may not.

While most political news lately has been a wash of scandal, political backstabbing, and campaign, campaign, campaign (repeat until the page is full), a still pressing and important issue is seeing decidedly less attention. Pending Climate Legislation holds the possibility of being a real first step for change, or yet another misstep in the current government's reaction (or inaction) in the fight to curb the effects of global warming.

A recent meeting of Senators and leaders of environmental organizations aimed to drive home the message that unity, action, and strong legislation are urgently needed to lead the country towards a significant change in its policy towards global warming pollution. The comments below are taken from an NRDC press release and represent a wide community of committed leadership striving to move individuals, communities, nations, and the world towards a more economically sustainable environment. While they are working tirelessly towards this goal, we can help show our support by letting our government know that we want effective global warming legislation to be a priority. Sign our petition urging the support and strengthening of the Climate Security Act of 2007.
Read what environmental leaders are saying:

"The clean, efficient energy solutions needed to curb global warming constitute a huge economic opportunity for this country. The environmental community is unified on the urgent need to strengthen the Climate Security Act and pass comprehensive global warming legislation that cuts emissions by unlocking this potential," said Frances Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The groups gathered today represent tens of millions of Americans committed to protecting ourselves, our children and grandchildren from the worst impacts of global warming. All the environmental groups are committed to solving the problem of global warming fairly and effectively."

"The science is clear on the need to cut global warming pollution swiftly and dramatically," said Kevin Knobloch, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Now is the time for policymakers to put an economy-wide system in place to reduce emissions that will expand clean energy, produce jobs and increase community investment."

"This Congress received a mandate for a new direction in no small part because the American people were frustrated by a lack of leadership on energy policy by the previous Congress," said Gene Karpinski, President of the League of Conservation Voters. "Last year it took the first step toward fulfilling that mandate by raising CAFÉ standards. Now, in the face of an economy dragged down by $100-plus per barrel crude, record oil company profits and a growing recognition of the need for immediate action on global warming, 2008 will be a year when the American people expect more. The best thing members of Congress can do this year -- for the future of the planet, consumers, and the economy -- is to support a strong global warming bill that achieves the emissions reductions the science shows are necessary."

"Action on global warming is urgently needed, but we also believe that any bill passed by Congress and signed into law must be a strong one," said Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. "A bill must do what science demands; ensure that polluters pay; aid workers and affected communities with a just transition; and prioritize and aggressively pursue energy efficiency, renewables and other technologies that offer the cleanest, cheapest, and safest emissions reductions. We are working with our allies on the Hill and will continue to mount a vigorous campaign to strengthen this bill at every possible opportunity. We are also unified in our efforts to defeat any weakening changes like direct subsidies for nuclear power, a so-called 'safety valve' provision, and any other changes that would take this bill backward."

"Congress must act quickly to address global warming, but it is just as important that we act boldly," said Environment America Executive Director Margie Alt. "Our country's response to global warming must be proportionate to the challenge confronting us. This bill must be strengthened to reduce pollution as quickly and deeply as the science requires and to set up the economic framework that will deter pollution, protect consumers, and adequately invest in the transition to a clean energy economy."

"Virtually every week new evidence comes forward making clear the urgency of strong action on global warming. We need significant emissions reductions, and we need them now. Delaying only means higher costs and a greater chance we will fail to achieve the goal," said Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund.

"It is vital that Congress pass strong legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions and we're grateful to those congressional leaders who have championed the issue," Wilderness Society President William H. Meadows said. "Legislation must provide the means for helping some of our most environmentally sensitive, much-loved public lands adapt to climate change. Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to the ecological integrity of our nation's national parks, forests, wilderness areas and wildlife refuges and to the plants, animals and people who rely on them."

"Global warming is the single biggest threat to wildlife, and every year we wait to address it creates a bigger problem for our children and the future of America's natural resources," said Larry Schweiger, CEO, National Wildlife Federation. "Congress must pass strong legislation that starts us on the path to cutting global warming pollution by at least two percent a year, protects consumers as we transition to a new energy future, and defends America's natural resources from the climate changes already underway."

"The ocean provides the air we breathe and the protein much of the world consumes and while the ocean is essential for life, it will be among the first ecosystems to suffer the effects of global warming. Now is the time to act," said Vikki Spruill, President and CEO of Ocean Conservancy. "With our economy on the brink of recession, our elected leaders have a responsibility to address threats from global warming to protect vulnerable natural resources that our country depends on and create new energy jobs - what is good for the environment is good for our economy."

"In towns, cities and states across this nation, elected representatives - Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike - are heeding the warnings from the scientific community and are tackling the climate challenge. It is time for Washington to step up to the plate and implement a national framework for cutting carbon emissions," said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund. "I applaud Chairman Boxer and Senators Lieberman and Warner for their leadership in crafting this bill and steering it through Congress. While we will continue our work to strengthen some of its provisions, the Lieberman-Warner bill demonstrates our serious commitment to addressing global warming and puts the U.S. one step closer to regaining the trust and respect of the international community on this vitally important issue."

"The sooner Congress begins full debate on global warming, the sooner we will be able to pass legislation that addresses the greatest environmental challenge of our time," said John Flicker, President of National Audubon Society. "I applaud Senators Boxer, Lieberman and Warner for their steadfast leadership. Without them, we would have little hope of making real progress this year."

"We are mobilizing citizens to support clean energy choices and aggressive action on global warming," said Clean Water Action President John DeCock. "The bill should be strengthened to achieve the reductions science tells us are needed, to limit polluter give-aways and to promote energy choices that protect water resources while building strong local economies. These goals can not be met if the reduction targets and other provisions of this bill are weakened or if further subsidies for nuclear, coal and other unsustainable energy sources are added."

"The more we learn about the impacts that global warming is already having on America's wildlife, the more apparent it becomes that we must act now, both to curb emissions of greenhouse gases and to provide the means to help wildlife survive global warming's effects," said Rodger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders of Wildlife. "It is essential that Congress move quickly to enact strong legislation to address both these goals."

Supporting organizations:
Audubon
Center for International Law
Clean Water Action
Defenders of Wildlife
Earthjustice
Environment America
Environmental Defense
League of Conservation Voters
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
Ocean Conservancy
Pew Environment Group
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Sierra Club
Union of Concerned Scientists
The Wilderness Society
World Wildlife Fund

Our friends at Simple Steps just put up a great post about energy efficiency and your TV. Since we've made it to the other side of the writer's strike and the possibility of better programs beckons, you might want to check out how to make your couch potato time, and non-couch potato time for that matter, more efficient.

Check out their post here.