Environmental Protection

Adventure Activism, Charitable Giving, Environmental Protection, Kids in Nature, Outdoor Recreation, philanthropy / 01.07.2011

Ten outdoor activists are vying for a cash prize to support their unique causes. Product manufacturer L.L. Bean is looking to you to cast your vote to select the fourth annual Outdoor Heroes Award. If you’re looking for a way to help make a difference in the world here’s something quick and simple you can do right now to lend a hand to at least one individual who’s working to make life on the planet a little better for all of us. It just takes a few minutes to make a selection and cast your vote!
0 Likes
Destinations, Environmental Protection, Interview, National Parks, PBS, Podcast, Television, Yosemite / 19.04.2011

01 Lee Stetson 1 Yosemite Valley California, president day: I’m walking with my recorder along a wooded path with a long bearded man wearing period clothing circa 1890, a tweed coat, a wool vest with a red pocket square and wide brimmed hat. Ahead of us is Yosemite Falls, a massive flowage of water running white and fast, churning with melted snow from the high country upstream. The man describes a fanciful vision of what we see. "Can you imagine? Can you imagine if in the midst of its headlong descent with all this whirling fairy springtime spray and those rushing comet tails that the fall was suddenly frozen solid and then carried bodily out into the middle of the valley that we might go around it and see it from all sides in the sunshine,” he says. “Oh was a show it would make. This colossal white pillar half a mile tall adorned with airy flowing drapery as if chiseled out of white marble.” Who better with whom to tour one of America’s greatest National Parks than the man himself John Muir. As if transported back in time I had the rare opportunity to get his impressions on Yosemite today.
0 Likes
Adventure Media Review, Environmental Protection, National Parks, PBS, Television, Yosemite / 18.04.2011

The idea of wilderness conservation would seem to be a foregone conclusion. But at the turn of the last century private interests of corporate greed may well have developed the wild and scenic places we enjoy today well out of existence. Prized then for their vast resources of timber, fresh water and minerals these lands are valued now more for their intrinsic beauty and awe-inspiring tranquility. Had it not been for the passionate and articulate voice of a Scottish-American from Wisconsin our system of National Parks and Conservation Areas may have never been established. John Muir will long be remembered as the founder of the Sierra Club and a great advocate for the protection of the natural world. A new PBS American Masters documentary of his life tells the story of early experiences that formed his character to become the man we know today. Directed by Catherine Tatage John Muir in the New World provides the back-story that details many of the little known influences of his upbringing that inspired him to venture west and explore what remained of the North American frontier.
0 Likes
Environmental Journalism, Environmental Protection, Expedition News, National Geographic, National Parks / 24.03.2011

 

National Geographic Young Explorers Dashiell Masland and Trevor Frost are contending to save the world, at least a small piece of it. Hoping to continue work in progress both are angling to raise awareness for the preservation of wild animal species in remote corners of the planet. Going head-to-head in a competition for funding to support their respective conservation projects, the two want your vote in the Expedition Granted contest.

As part of Expedition Week that starts April 3rd on the National Geographic Channel, viewers are invited to register online and cast their ballots for the explorer they like best. With the added incentive of winning a free trip to the Galapagos Islands for themselves, voters have the chance to provide Trevor or Dash with an expedition grant worth $10,000.
0 Likes
Assignment Earth, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Protection, Sustainable Living / 23.03.2011

  Making the growing season grow longer, that’s the idea for Daphne Yannakakis, an organic farmer in western Colorado. Along with husband Don Lareau on Zephyros Farm, they’re growing vegetables in wintertime as part of a study by Colorado State University. The vegetables grow under the protection of unheated green houses called high tunnels, which hold in heat stored by the Earth at night and capture solar heat during the day. They also provide protection from the wind. These farmers plant a variety of cold hardy vegetables at monthly intervals and record weather data electronically with custom software. The data is collected from five farms across Colorado and will be compiled and made available to other small-scale farmers. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and called the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program or SARE, the study is intended to help small-scale farmers in the Rocky Mountains remain productive and profitable through much of the winter by utilizing high tunnels. Even when outside temperatures reach sub-zero extremes these simple structures allow vegetables to survive harsh winter conditions and enable farmers to grow more.
0 Likes
Assignment Earth, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Protection / 11.03.2011

  Collisions with automobiles make it pretty clear where Mule Deer don’t make it across the road. But what researchers want to find out is where they do. The answer is important as officials in Wyoming get ready to expand major highways -some up to five lanes- that run through this wildlife rich gateway to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.   “If we can figure out where animals are crossing, we can at least hope to reduce some of those wildlife vehicle collisions, which will help from a population perspective to keep the animals alive,” said Embere Hall of Teton Science Schools. “Secondly it will help improve human safety. No one wants to hit an animal with their car.” A three-year study is underway to better understand the highway-crossing behavior of mule deer. At a cost of my more than $300,000 this labor intensive project aims to discover exactly how animals maneuver through this increasingly busy valley.
0 Likes