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Just a little conservation journal...

I generally focus on conservation issues effecting biodiversity, land use/abuse, research, and job opportunities that I have come across. Most of the opportunities come from the Opps page and you can click on the button below to take you there.
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Conservation News ~ 24 June 2022

6/24/2022

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  • Wild mammals are making a comeback in Europe thanks to conservation efforts
  • Dr. Jon Paul Rodríguez, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, is the recipient of the inaugural Wolfgang Kiessling International Prize for Species Conservation
  • Disappointing UN Climate Talks Leave 'Huge Task' For COP27 Egypt Summit
  • "Not Just for the Birds: Avian Influenza Is Also Felling Wild Mammals"
  • "Court Sends EPA Back To Work On Glyphosate Cancer Finding"
  • "Europe Wilts Under Early June Heatwave"
  • "Montana Governor Under Fire For Vacationing During Flood"
  • "Floods in India, Bangladesh Leave Millions Homeless, 18 Dead"
  • Farmers Restoring Hawaii’s Ancient Food Forests That Once Fed An Island
  • "Emperor Penguin Decline A ‘Done Deal’ Without Global Action"
  • Funding Needed For Climate Disasters Has Risen ‘More Than 800%’ In 20 Years
  • UPS Tests Tiny Battery-Powered Cycles For Deliveries In Congested Cities
  • "Unhoused in Phoenix’s Perilous Heat: ‘If I Don’t Keep Cool, I’ll Die’"
  • "Black Farming Projects Look To Recoup Historical U.S. Land Losses"
  • "Clean Energy, Water Projects Get Boost In Spending Bill"
  • WTO Finally Nets Deal Curbing Fisheries Subsidies, But Tables Key Bits
  • "In An Unusual Step, a Top Medical Journal Weighs in on Climate Change"
  • Court Says Calif. Utilities Commission Must Obey State Public Records Act
  • "Canada Lays Out Rules Banning Single-Use Plastics"
  • "Native American Tribes To Co-Manage National Monument For First Time"
  • "U.N. Nature Summit Set For Montreal as COVID-Hit China Steps Aside"
  • "Mountain Gorillas: The Ripple Effect Of Conservation"
  • Survey of California bumble bees fails to detect 8 species historically found in the state
  • New species of microscopic mud dragon discovered in Algarve
  • Forestry industry accuses Ministers of 'total policy failure' on tree planting
  • New species of carnivorous land snail discovered in Kolhapur Sahyadri
  • Floods in India, Bangladesh leave millions homeless, 18 dead
  • WTO finally nets deal curbing fisheries subsidies, but tables key bits for later
  • How unsustainable is Sweden’s forestry? Very. Q&A with Marcus Westberg and Staffan Widstrand
  • Consumer countries mull best approach to end deforestation abroad
  • Indigenous knowledge settles question of a Bornean tree species: Study
  • The war on journalists and environmental defenders in the Amazon continues (commentary)
  • Scotland changes course to save its last native wildcats
  • With sea ice melting, glacial ice could be a lifeline for polar bears
  • Deaths of Phillips and Pereira shine light on a region of the Amazon beset by violence
  • For Ecuador’s A’i Cofán leaders, Goldman Prize validates Indigenous struggle
  • Second Indonesian province moves to retake forests from palm oil companies
  • World’s worst air pollution slashes 7 years off life expectancy in Bangladesh
  • Podcast: New whale calls and dolphin behaviors discovered with bioacoustics
  • Farmers in Mexico fight coffee disease with resistant varieties and agroforestry
  • ‘Lost’ Amazonian cities hint at how to build urban landscapes without harming nature
  • Brazil shows no progress in response to U.N. calls on Indigenous rights
  • Sea restoration projects quilt a ‘mosaic of habitats’ with striking results
  • Draining tropical peatlands for oil palms isn’t just bad — it’s unnecessary, study shows
  • Nepal conservationists work to overturn ‘all snakes are venomous’ mindset
  • California Commission Deadlocks on Protecting Western Joshua Trees as Threatened Species
  • Neonicotinoids likely to harm endangered species
  • Tanzania accused of violence on Maasai protesting eviction
  • "Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Roundup Maker Over Cancer Claims"
  • Critical Mistakes By USFS Caused Devastating New Mexico Wildfire: Report
  • "Will EPA Use Special Power To Prod Trump Holdovers On Climate?"
  • Young People Go To European Court To Stop Treaty That Aids Fossil Fuel
  • California Must Euthanize 350,000 Hatchery Trout After Bacteria Outbreak
  • "Niger Is In The Eye Of The Climate Crisis – And Children Are Starving"
  • Virginia Governor Rolls Back Plastics Phase-Out, Seeks Recycling
  • "Biden’s New Regulatory Playbook Targets Climate, Opioids"
  • "Friendly Fungi Help Forests Fight Climate Change"
  • "Beyond Boundaries: Earth’s Water Cycle Is Being Bent To Breaking Point"
  • IKEA Focuses on Forestry Management, Energy Efficiency, Adding Renewables
  • Imperiled Southeast Flower Proposed for Endangered Species Protection
  • "Biden Gas Tax Call Lands With A Thud"
  • "Biden Picks First Woman, Person Of Color As Science Adviser"
  • "Brazil's Lula Sets Out 'Net Zero Deforestation' Aim In Election Bid"
  • Enviros, Property Owners Sue To Block $2.5-Billion Dam In Santa Clara Co.
  • "Chesapeake Bay Group Cites Pollution Data Concerns"
  • "U.S. To Expand Monkeypox Testing At Commercial Labs As Outbreak Grows"
  • "From ‘Carp’ To ‘Copi’: Unpopular Fish Getting A Makeover"
  • Every Hour, This Gas Storage Station Emits Half a Ton of Methane
  • "How Fast Fashion Became Faster — and Worse for the Earth"
  • The Human Sensory Experience Is Limited. Journey Into Animals' World.
  • Climate change puts Bangladeshi farmers’ reliance on rice varieties to the test
  • To win island-wide conservation, Indonesia’s Talaud bear cuscus needs to win hearts
  • In Costa Rica, unlicensed fishers and regulators unite over a common enemy
  • Kenyan hunter-gatherers forced to farm now face increased evictions from their forest
  • Nickel, Tesla and two decades of environmental activism: Q&A with leader Raphaël Mapou
  • All eyes on Tesla as it invests in a troubled nickel mine
  • Book Review: ‘Slaves for Peanuts’ gets to the troubling roots of a beloved snack
  • Winter sanctuary in Nepal proves a killing field for yellow-breasted buntings
  • Helping empower the next generation of environmental journalists at Nature’s frontline
  • Mining company destroys Indigenous cemetery during expansion in Honduras
  • Beyond boundaries: Earth’s water cycle is being bent to breaking point
  • EU’s anti-deforestation bill leaves out critical ecosystems, study shows
  • In São Paulo, Indigenous Guarani unite over their reclaimed farming tradition
  • Giant stingray caught in Cambodia is world’s largest freshwater fish
  • A tale of successes and new challenges in Senegal: Q&A with ICCA coordinator Salatou Sambou
  • Indonesia’s Sangihe islanders score legal victory over mining company
  • First gharial hatchlings spotted in nearly two decades in Nepal’s Karnali River
  • Smart Parks, the Dutch technologists tackling poaching with technology
  • ‘The return of land to Indigenous people is key’: Q&A with Shinnecock Kelp Farm’s Tela Troge
  • Miners, drug traffickers and loggers: Is Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park on the verge of collapse?
  • Massive South African reserve with endangered species lists for $36 M
  • Rare Endangered Whooping Crane Hatches at Virginia Conservation Institute
  • 10-Year Study Finds New Species Of Bottlenose Dolphin On East Coast
  • New species of dragonfly found in Bangladesh
  • U.N. biodiversity talks in Nairobi push for conservation by 2030
  • Building a farmer-friendly future: Q&A with CROWDE’s Yohanes Sugihtonugroho
  • Study: Marine governance in Indonesia pursues exploitation over sustainability
  • For Brazil communities along a mining railway, impacts outweigh any benefits
  • Indonesian palm oil audit a chance to clean up ‘very dirty’ industry
  • Dig, dump, repeat, then watch the forest grow: Q&A with mangrove restorer Keila Vazquez
  • Study shines light, and raises alarm, over online trade of West African birds
  • Biden Administration Tosses Trump Definition of 'Habitat' for Endangered Species
  • New Species of Symbiotic Sea Anemone Discovered Off Coast of Japan
  • "Summer Swelter: Persistent Heat Wave Breaks Records, Spirits"
  • Biden Admin Tosses Trump Definition of ‘Habitat’ for Endangered Species
  • Haaland Lays Out Next Steps On Native Boarding Schools Probe, Legislation
  • "Biden Teams With East Coast Governors To Boost Offshore Wind"
  • "Biden’s Inner Circle Debates Future of Offshore Drilling"
  • At Colorado River Delta, A Pulse Of Water Brings New Life
  • "Trans Mountain Expansion a Money Loser for Taxpayers"
  • Fight To Crack Down On Air Pollution From Toronto’s Traffic Stalls
  • "U.S. Monkeypox Response Mirrors Early Coronavirus Missteps, Experts Say"
  • "UN Rights Body Expert Says He Will Fight For Climate Refugees"
  • Giant New Bacteria Species Is So Big It's Visible To The Naked Eye
  • Australian companies vying for $3.1 billion green hydrogen project in New Zealand
  • 660lbs – scientists say world’s largest freshwater fish is found in Cambodia
  • Scientists discover method to break down plastic in days, not centuries
  • WNC conservationists seek federal protection for native Hickory Nut Gorge salamander
  • Jeffrey Sachs wins 2022 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development
  • Plants appear to be breaking biochemistry rules by making secret decisions
  • The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act has passed in the House
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3 Things I Learned in Grad School This Week ~ January 29 2017

1/29/2017

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I'm being overwhelmed and learned way more than 3 things. For the sake of expediency and just processing this stuff, here are 3: Construal Theory, Pro-environmental Behavior, and 4 Ways of Knowing Something

Construal Level Theory
From Wikipedia: “The more distant an object is from the individual, the more abstract it will be thought of, while the closer the object is, the more concretely it will be thought of.” On the face of it, this seems like a no duh. But, when you consider the impacts of this it has some important ramifications. The biggest one that I can relate to is that we do a poor job of trying to predict the future and how we will behave and what we will value in the future. CLT uses several dimensions to explain events, including: temporal, spatial, hypothetical distances and social distances. Basically, the further “away” something is (in any of the dimensions listed above) the less we think, or even value, the details. There are high and low level types of construal and both affect our engagement with the world in different ways- low focuses on the details and high thinks more abstractly. The difference between the two and how and why we mix them up leads to all kinds of cognitive biases and mistakes we make unconsciously like: stereotyping, categorizing, temporal discounting, procrastination, self-control, social conflict, to name a few.
 
Pro-Environmental Behaviors
I found a paper that rocked my world. It is called “Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior?” by Anja Kollmuss & Julian Agyeman
 
This paper is a meta-analysis of models to explain environmental education. They aren’t really advocating for one over the other, merely sharing the different ones that have been developed. The reason it is called Mind the Gap is that the way environmental education has been taught is basically: knowing leads to caring. But research has shown there is a significant gap between knowledge and action. This paper tries to explore the different ways and reasons why it is more complex.
​
Below are a bunch of figures increasing in complexity of trying to explain this:
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One of the more accessible theories is a simple equation.
Stern et al. propose that environmental concern is caused by a combination of these three factors: Motivation= V (egoistic orientation) + V (social orientation) + V (biospheric orientation)
 
This final quote describes perfectly my own difficulties with understanding environmental issues (and probably a big reason why I am in graduate school):
“Environmental awareness is constrained by several cognitive and emotional limitations. Cognitive limitations of environmental awareness include: 1) Non-immediacy of many ecological problems…2) Slow and gradual ecological destruction…3) Complex Systems…” Additionally, we have a complexity of emotional involvement that manifest itself in: “1) Emotional non-investment (a) lack of knowledge and awareness (b) emotional reactions …” Finally, we feel as if we have no “locus of control” (we don’t feel like we have the ability to make any change) and our responsibilities and priorities are affected as well.
 
4 Ways of Knowing
I learned that there are 4 Ways of Knowing Something:
  • Experience
  • Religion/Spirituality
  • Philosophy
  • Empiricism (or Science)
 
I’ve looked this up and there are apparently all kinds of theories about this. Some folks say there are 8 different ways and others only 1. However, I find this useful as a tool to help explain how different knowledge is “known” and by whom it is “known” by.
 
One of the thoughts that I had is what happens when we include augmented reality? What happens when we add the prosthetics of faster-than-human-leg legs? The experience of running is heightened. Or, what about improving our own eyes? Currently, we can only see a small sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum. What happens when we increase our eyesight and see the whole spectrum? How would our “knowledge” change if we can see regularly in ultraviolet, infrared, or radio waves? This will change our experiential knowledge but it is one we currently live in now. I’m also thinking of virtual reality: what if we can change genders, turn into a bird, alter gravity, or exist in 4-dimensions? 
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