Sunday, April 20, 2014

SeaWorld loses appeal in death by killer whale The Associated Press – published Friday, April 11, 2014

WASHINGTON | A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a regulatory safety finding against SeaWorld in the drowning of a trainer who was pulled under by a killer whale at the theme park.
In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court said SeaWorld's challenge to the finding was unpersuasive and that the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission was correct when it found that the SeaWorld park in Orlando, Fla., had violated a federal workplace safety law.
The court said SeaWorld had exposed trainers to recognized hazards when working in close contact with killer whales during performances.
On Feb. 24, 2010, SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau was interacting with Tilikum, a killer whale, before a live audience in a pool at Shamu Stadium in Orlando when Tilikum grabbed her and pulled her off a platform into the pool, then refused to release her.
Tilikum became the focus of the 2013 documentary film "Blackfish."
The administrative record in the case establishes that the hazard arising from trainers' close contact with killer whales in performance is preventable, wrote federal appeals judge Judith Rogers. Given evidence of continued incidents of aggressive behavior by killer whales toward trainers, SeaWorld could have anticipated that abatement measures it had applied after other incidents would be required, Rogers added.
SeaWorld said it had not decided whether to seek an appeal.
"We voluntarily deployed several new safety measures, including removing trainers from the water during shows," SeaWorld said in a statement. "In so noting in its opinion, the court acknowledged that there will still be human interactions and performances with killer whales and, according to the court, the decision simply requires that we continue with increased safety measures during our shows. SeaWorld remains committed to providing a safe workplace for employees, healthy environments for the animals in our care, and inspirational and educational experiences with killer whales for our guests."
The general duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
In its arguments to the federal government, SeaWorld said the finding that it exposed its employees to a recognized hazard is unsupported by substantial evidence. The company contended that when some risk is inherent in a business activity, the risk cannot constitute a recognized hazard.
Rogers said the caution with which SeaWorld treated Tilikum even when trainers were poolside indicates that it recognized the hazard the killer whale posed, not that it considered its protocols rendered Tilikum safe.
The appeals judge said SeaWorld's incident reports demonstrate that it recognized the danger its killer whales posed to trainers. At the time of Brancheau's death, seven killer whales were at the Orlando park.
Even though SeaWorld had not recorded incident reports on all of its killer whales, a substantial portion of SeaWorld's killer whale population had at least one reported incident, Rogers said.
In a dissent, appeals judge Brett Kavanaugh took the opportunity to raise a broader issue.
"When should we as a society paternalistically decide that the participants in these sports and entertainment activities must be protected from themselves — that the risk of significant physical injury is simply too great even for eager and willing participants? And most importantly for this case, who decides that the risk to participants is too high?"
Kavanaugh said the bureaucracy at the Labor Department has not traditionally been thought of as the proper body to decide "whether to ban fighting in hockey, to prohibit the punt return in football, to regulate the distance between the mound and home plate in baseball, to separate the lions from the tamers at the circus, or the like."
"In this case, however, the department departed from tradition and stormed headlong into a new regulatory arena," Kavanaugh said. "The department issued a citation to SeaWorld that effectively bans SeaWorld from continuing a longstanding and popular — albeit by definition somewhat dangerous — show in which SeaWorld trainers play with and interact with whales."

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Free Captive Orcas from SeaWorld's Exploitation: Join the Boycott

Orcas belong in oceans, not tiny tanks. Tell SeaWorld putting profit above animal welfare won't earn your support or patronage.

Recently, Heart, Willie Nelson, and the Barenaked Ladies chose to cancel concerts at SeaWorld after viewing the Blackfish documentary. Stand with these entertainers by joining the boycott. Sign today!

Free Captive Orcas from SeaWorld's Exploitation: Join the Boycott

Goal: 40,000 • Progress: 17,755

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Getting the Word Out—and the Story Straight

In his review, David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle says that Apology, narrated by Lily Tomlin, is “impossible to ignore because of the irrefutable arguments made by its savvy combination of testimony from animal experts and images of elephants being abused.”
Since HBO began working on this project more than two years ago, PETA has been on board offering information and documentation. The documentary features pictures and video footage provided by PETA, including photos from a whistleblower that document the shockingly cruel way in which Ringling Bros. circus breaks the spirit of baby elephants and video footage from a Ringling elephant walk showing bullhook abuse. Viewers will see elephants Maggie—who suffered alone for years at the Alaska Zoo before being sent to a sanctuary following a lengthy PETA campaign—and Nosey, in whose behalf PETA has been working for years.
Among the experts who participated in the documentary are Dr. Mel Richardson and Dr. Joyce Poole. Also appearing is passionate young animal advocate Rose McCoy, who once schooled McDonald’s execs over their failure to reduce the suffering of chickens.

How You Can Help

Besides watching An Apology to Elephants yourself, encourage others to tune in, too—and tell them never to buy a ticket to any circus that uses animals.

Read more: http://www.peta.org/blog/hbo-elephant-doc-premieres-earth-day/#ixzz2lcktLUZ7

Ikea Tries to Stay Neutral on Gay Rights and Fails Miserably by Mindy Townsend November 23, 2013

The furniture store Ikea has come under fire for omitting an interview with a lesbian couple from the latest issue of the store’s magazine.
The interview they removed was with an England-based couple, Clara and Kristy. According to The Independent, the interview featured Kristy saying, “We’re two mums bringing up our baby boy in Clara’s loft. We’re not your average family in your average home, but if my nan can raise two sons in a tiny caravan, we can make it work in our little loft.”
Oh my gosh. This interview sounds as boring and trite and uninteresting as what you’d expect from a magazine from a furniture store, but apparently it’s too scandalous for a Russian audience. Ikea removed it and instead is featuring an article about a single Chinese designer.
According to an Ikea spokesperson, the company is just trying to follow the law against promoting homosexuality to minors. She also said that it was an effort to “remain neutral” on the issue.
I can’t fault a company — or a person, for that matter — for trying their best to stay on the right side of the law. Had that been Ikea’s only justification I’d still be angry, but not at the international furniture chain. I’d be angry at Russia for being such awful bigots. However, because Ikea took out this interview in an effort to be neutral on the topic, I have to be angry at them, too, for doing neutrality so, so wrong.
Here’s the thing about neutrality when it comes to systemic discrimination and oppression: It doesn’t exist. Ikea took affirmative steps — removing the interview — to appease a homophobic culture. That is taking a position.
Look at it this way. There is the world as it is currently; the status quo. It didn’t just pop into being out of thin air. It’s built on the past, and that past was dismissive and downright hostile to gay men and lesbians. Gay people hid in the shadows. Social pressures effectively erased them from history. (This is of course true for people of color and women, as well.) When a group is devalued in society, their contributions are not credited, and suddenly it looks like gay people just popped on the scene very recently, when of course they’ve been around the whole time. We just weren’t looking for them.
Burying oppressed groups doesn’t make their problems go away, it just hides them from people who don’t want to think about them. By taking part in that erasure, Ikea is actually promoting homophobia in Russia.
It’s such a shame, too. Ikea used to be very progressive on this issue. Back in 1994 they featured a gay couple in a commercial. In 1994, people! Gay people in a commercial seems like the least a company can do, but in 1994 that was kind of a big deal.
Ikea may have removed the interview for legal reasons, but, given the history (and present) of erasing gays and lesbians, they cannot argue they are doing it because they want to be neutral.

Rabbi's Commentary

Hope Amid the Devastation

November 22, 2013

Dear Friend of Israel,
The recent typhoon in the Philippines has caused large-scale devastation. Thousands have died, many more have been injured, and millions have been displaced.
The humanitarian response has been swift, and one of the first nations to send aid was Israel. Dubbed “Operation Islands of Hope,” the Israeli relief effort, spearheaded by the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) National Search and Rescue Unit, has already provided medical assistance and aid to thousands. The IDF repaired a school so that classes could go on as usual in the midst of the crisis. Israeli doctors have been treating hundreds of patients a day, including those with chronic illnesses who are seeing a doctor for the first time ever. Shortly after opening the doors of their field hospital, they even delivered a baby – the first among several they have delivered in the Philippines to date – and the grateful parents announced that they would name the boy “Israel.”
In fact, Israel’s response in the Philippines should come as no surprise. The Jewish state has a long history of reaching out to the world in the event of severe storms, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu put it after dispatching a relief team to assist survivors of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, "This is the true heritage of the state of Israel and the Jewish people. This act joins similar actions we have taken in the past in Mexico, Kenya, and Turkey. We may be a small country, but we are a country with a big heart. This is the expression of Jewish ethics and heritage – to help others."
This is a side of Israel the world sees far too little of, not because it’s not there, but because world governments and media choose so often to focus on Israel’s faults – real or imagined – to the exclusion of all else. But, as Netanyahu so eloquently said in his quote, the real story of Israel – of what Israel is as a nation, and who Israelis are as a people – differs greatly from the portrayal of Israel in the media. With Israel’s humanitarian efforts in the Philippines, the world is seeing that Israel is a nation that seeks to reach beyond its borders to make the world a better place – to be the “light unto the nations” mentioned in Isaiah 49:6.
In the wake of this tragedy, let us pray for the people of the Philippines who have suffered so greatly, and who face such formidable challenges as they seek to recover from this disaster and rebuild their country. And let us also give thanks to God for aid workers, including those from Israel, who have gone to the Philippines to help the victims – for those who give hope and comfort to those in dire need. May their efforts be successful, and may we all see the day when God blesses our world with His most precious gift of shalom, peace.
With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
Founder and President

You know that circuses such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus beat, chain, and electro-shock elephants, right? Do all your friends know?

Ringling doesn’t want photos like this of its baby-elephant “training” to get around.

The circus wants to continue saying that it’s “saving” elephants by breeding them, only to chain them for up to 100 hours at a time and force them to perform tricks. Well, too bad, Ringling—we know better!

Elephants never forget—and with your help, your friends won’t either!

August 3 is Elephant Awareness Day in Los Angeles, but you can help from any city on any day in the world by sharing the photo below online!

Share this pic and submit a screenshot for 1,000 points!

Don’t forget to submit your screenshot! Once you submit it, you’ll score 1,000 Street Team points that you can use later to get FREE peta2 swag like T-shirts, books, and more!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

07 November 2013 November is Manatee Awareness Month Elizabeth Fleming

07 November 2013

November is Manatee Awareness Month

Posted by: Elizabeth Fleming | 1 comment |

It’s Manatee Awareness Month – a time to celebrate the gentle giants that are our official state marine mammal here in Florida. Relatives of the elephant, manatees spend a lot of time grazing on seagrasses in shallow water, and are sometimes referred to as sea cows. Because Florida manatees are an endangered species, it’s especially important that people know more about these wonderful animals and what we can do to protect them.

Manatee at Crystal River, © David Hinkel/USFWS

Sadly, as we reported this spring, this has been a particularly brutal year for manatees. In fact, 2013 is now the deadliest year on record for the number of manatees killed: a total of 771 manatees as of November 5, 2013 and we still have nearly two months to go.
What made 2013 so deadly? It was due in large part to two unusual algal blooms, one on each coast. The toxic red tide bloom on the Gulf coast killed many manatees directly, while the “brown tide” in the Indian River Lagoon killed off much of their food supply. These two unprecedented events, coupled with the usual threats manatees encounter every year – especially injuries from watercraft – have dealt a significant loss to the population, estimated at around 5,000 animals.
With winter approaching, and so many manatees lost already, it’s more important than ever that they find safe, warm water in which to spend the next few months. The greatest long-term threat to manatees involves the loss of warm-water habitat that they need to survive. Manatees become susceptible to cold stress when water temperatures dip below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Because residential development has greatly reduced the natural warm-water springs used by manatees, many of the animals aggregate in the outfalls at electric power plants on cold winter days. A significant number of manatees could be lost in the next few decades if natural areas are not available to manatees as aging plants are shut down or experience equipment failure.
To help make traveling to and within warmer waters safer for manatees, a number of seasonal manatee slower-speed protection zones go into effect on November 15 throughout the state. Boaters can help these slow-moving animals by reducing their speed and being alert to the presence of manatees, such as seeing a snout, tail or a large swirl on the surface of the water. Obeying posted speed zones, wearing polarized sunglasses and watching out for manatees can all help save their lives.

You can also help manatees at our Wildlife Adoption Center! Click the photo to learn more.

There are also other ways that everyone, whether you live and boat in Florida or not, can help manatees. You can visit our website to learn more about these fascinating marine mammals, and share what you know with family and friends; conservation starts with awareness! You can also help by supporting programs that strengthen the Endangered Species Act, which has been vital to manatees’ survival, and Everglades restoration, which will be extremely important to their future. And of course, you can help by supporting Defenders’ efforts. We work to conserve and recover the Florida manatee by protecting habitat, reducing watercraft strikes, improving coastal policies and increasing enforcement of those policies. We advocate for officials and state wildlife agencies to preserve and restore natural springs, conserve seagrass habitat, expand protected areas, designate and enforce protective speed zones and safeguard state and federal policies that protect manatees.
Elizabeth Fleming is Defenders’ Florida Representative

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Newly-Discovered Species Could Be Just What Humpback Dolphins Need to Survive by Judy Molland November 2, 2013

7:00 am

Researchers have identified a previously unknown species of humpback dolphin living off the coast of Australia. This is exciting in itself, but could also be an important first step in efforts to conserve the dwindling numbers of dolphins.
As Care2 reported last year, when it comes to the Endangered Species List, some animals stand out as celebrities: polar bears, giant pandas, rhinos and snow leopards, for example. But sadly, the list is so extensive that there are many species you may never have suspected are endangered.
The dolphin is one of those species.
Researchers have identified four species in the humpback genus: the Atlantic humpback dolphin, found in waters off West Africa; the Indo-Pacific humpback, whose habitat ranges from the central to western Indian Ocean; another species of Indo-Pacific humpback, which inhabits the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans; and this fourth, previously unknown, Australian species.
Will this new discovery save all these dolphins from extinction? That is indeed the hope.
The humpback dolphin is named for an unusual hump just below its dorsal fin.
The researchers say the discovery will improve decision-making about conservation policies to protect the dolphins’ genetic diversity and their habitats.
Discovery of the Australian humpback dolphin is announced in the latest issue of Molecular Biology.
An international team, including researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the American Museum of Natural History, analyzed samples from humpback dolphins found from the eastern Atlantic to the western Pacific oceans, looking for significant variations in DNA.
The team also compared physical features from 180 humpback dolphin skulls found on beaches in Atlantic and Pacific regions or from museum collections and concluded that this is indeed a new, genetically distinct species.
The newly identified species grows to 2.5 meters in length and ranges from dark gray to pink or white in color.
From The Telegraph:

The yet-to-be-named species has been identified through a decade-long scientific collaboration that involved genetic mapping and the physical examination of hundreds of specimens. The process, which has led to what scientists call a ‘split,’ has revealed that rather than just two species of humpback dolphins in the world there are in fact at least four.

Guido Parra, who co-authored the report that revealed the dolphin to the world, has called for the urgent re-evaluation of the species’ conservation status, and told the Telegraph he has serious concerns for its long-term survival.

Parra explained even when there was believed to be only one species of humpback dolphin in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, that species was considered near threatened. Now, with the reclassification in to four species, Parra believes that they should be reclassified as highly vulnerable, or even endangered.
One major threat to the dolphin off the coast of Australia is habitat degradation due to coastal development and mining and resource exploitation, including shipping associated with mining developments.
According to Scientific American, there are six coal export-related development or expansion proposals under assessment by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. It seems that Australia’s coal industry wants to build a series of ports adjacent to the reef to expedite the exportation of their toxic product.
Even worse, Australian local media is reporting that members of the body charged with protecting the Great Barrier Reef, one of the habitats in which the dolphin is found, have links to mining and resource companies and could benefit from port developments.
Australian environment minister Greg Hunt ordered an inquiry into the conflict of interest allegations yesterday. Hopefully, this will lead to restraining orders on those coal companies, instead of yet another senseless destruction of nature by mankind.

The Record that Changed My Life: Lamb of God's Mark Morton Discusses Megadeth's 'Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?' Posted 09/12/2013 at 9:53am | by Mark Morton

FROM THE ARCHIVE: Lamb of God's Mark Morton chooses (and discusses) the record that changed his life.
Megadeth
Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? (1986)
Peace Sells made me realize I could take all my adolescent rebelliousness and negative energy and craft it into something that was both sophisticated and dangerous.
Basically, it made me want to be a metal guitar player. Before I heard the record, I was a 13-year-old skater listening to a lot of punk: Black Flag, Bad Religion, JFA, Sucidal Tendencies, G.B.H. and Sex Pistols. It was in that context that I got a guitar and started making noise, punk-rock style.
When I heard Peace Sells, I was struck by its punk edge. It was really raw, chaotic, unrefined and dirty, in the same way punk records were. It snarled and seemed to be giving the middle finger to everything.
There was nothing classy about it, but at the same time it was smart and meaningful. I thought it was the best punk rock I'd ever heard — except it was made by dudes who could play their asses off.
I can still go back and listen to that record and get things out of it. The riff work at the end of "Wake Up Dead" is still a lesson to me. They flip time and veer off into odd time signatures, but they still maintain the groove and chunk. When you can make someone's head bob in 15/8 time, you've really achieved something. And the socially conscious lyrics are great, too.
Megadeth seem to be selling the idea that you can be rebellious and still be smart, that you can make a statement with your music and not lose any power or danger. That was a big influence on Lamb of God. We've had the opportunity to work with [Peace Sells guitarist] Chris Poland on two of our records, and those were among the coolest moments in my career.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Hands Off! Don’t Touch the Pregnant Woman’s Belly by Robin Marty November 1, 2013

No one would ever consider placing a hand on the stomach of another man or woman without permission under normal circumstances. Yet for many people, a visibly pregnant woman is often seen as an open invitation for unwanted and non-consensual touching.
It’s a phenomenon so common that pregnancy message boards devote threads to it and lines of pregnancy t-shirts warding strangers off have been spawned because of it. Now, finally, one pregnant woman in Pennsylvania has had enough and called it what it is — harassment — and has gotten law enforcement involved.
After a Pennsylvania man came over to visit and allegedly gave his pregnant neighbor an unwanted hug, followed by a belly touching despite her objections, the mother-to-be called the police to have him charged with harassment, defined as an “action [a person takes] that has an intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person,” according to NBC.
The issue, in this case, appears to be the repeated violation of the woman’s bodily autonomy, as explained by attorney Phil DiLucente, who although not involved with the case itself explained the circumstances to CNN. “Here was a woman who was pregnant and (a) man had touched her belly area, which women have to go through all the time, and she didn’t permit him to do that, and then he repeated it, so she decided to file charges.”
We don’t have any issue with the idea of pressing charges if a person does any other inappropriate touching, be it strangers or friends. In fact, no means no in any other type of physical situation. Why do we find the line blurred when it comes to a pregnant belly?
Corporations spend thousands of dollars per company doing extensive sexual harassment training seminars, of which the basic principal is unwanted touching is never acceptable, sexual jokes and comments that make other people uncomfortable are inappropriate, and the performance of either in the workplace is a considered an offense worthy of employer reprimand or even dismissal. Few people would bat an eye over the idea of a lawsuit against a colleague or workplace that allows such a thing to continue after a person has asked for the harassing behavior to be addressed and stopped.
Yet for some reason, pregnant women are treated in a completely different sphere, as if their bodies belong to the public. Strangers on the street feel welcome to comment on a woman’s body, ask her when she is due or if she is having multiples as a means of telling her that she physically looks too large. At a time when many pregnant people are feeling more vulnerable and anxious, their behavior is up for public scrutiny as well, from what they are eating to their physical activities, such as the pregnant woman who became the focus of national attention after a picture of her lifting at 8 months pregnant hit the internet. In the tempest, critics accused her of being willing to put her baby in harm “just to stay in shape.”
If charging strangers with breaking the law is what it takes to finally convince the general public that all unwanted touching is still unwanted touching, and that a pregnant body is still the sole property of the person who is pregnant, maybe it is time. Your body belongs to you and whomever you give permission to share it with. That right stands for all people, even those who are gestating.

Stop Arctic Drilling

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is putting the Arctic Ocean in the hands of the oil industry.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is preparing to sell leases in the Chukchi Sea, an important habitat for polar bears, whales, walrus, and numerous species of migratory birds that depend on clean waters for feeding and breeding. As Shell’s doomed 2012 efforts showed, these companies clearly are not prepared to operate in the icy, remote seas of the Arctic.
Oceana supporters and other ocean advocates successfully kept offshore oil drilling out of the Arctic in 2013. This potential sale could open millions of additional acres to oil companies looking to drill in the Chukchi’s remote and fragile waters. Oil companies like Shell have yet to explore the leases that they already own and they have not shown that they can prevent spills, air pollution, water pollution, or noise impacts that threaten the Arctic ecosystem.
We must continue to fight to keep dangerous oil drilling out of the Chukchi Sea. Sign your name below to join a united call for a clean, healthy, oil drill-free Arctic Ocean.

SeaWorld, Inc.: humanely release the Orca whale known as Tilikum to a seapen for rehab

Petitioning SeaWorld, Inc.

2. Petition by
  
  Katie Emmons
  
  wells, VT

Monday, October 28, 2013

Greenland’s First Female Prime Minister Says ‘No’ To Arctic Drilling by Judy Molland April 13, 2013

The new government of Greenland will not grant any fresh offshore oil and gas drilling licenses in the country’s Arctic waters and will also place existing licenses under greater scrutiny. The moratorium is a result of concerns raised by Greenpeace about the risk of oil spills and the fear that offshore oil and gas operations will increase climate change.
At the end of March, 47-year-old Aleqa Hammond became Greenland’s first female prime minister. Earlier in the month, her social democratic Siumut party won 42.8% of the vote, beating the sitting prime minister and his socialist Inuit Ataqatigiit party, which came in at 34%.
This is the first change in parties in 30 years, and it looks like Ms. Hammond is determined to make a difference.
Greenland is officially a part of Denmark, but has a great deal of autonomy in almost every area. The country is four times the size of France, but has a population of just 57,000.
It is the world’s largest island, with a total area of around 2.2 million square kilometres. It used to be that only about 410,000 square kilometres were not covered by ice, but this is rapidly changing. When my nephew traveled there a few years ago, he carried a map from London’s Royal Geographical Society, but the map wasn’t always so helpful: so much snow and ice had melted over the past 25 years that much of the topography just didn’t match what was on the map.
This ban comes just as one of the Arctic drilling pioneers, the British company Cairn Energy, has failed in a bid to keep an injunction on any protests organized against it by Greenpeace.
From The Guardian:

Jon Burgwald, Arctic campaigner for Greenpeace in Denmark, said it was good news for everyone: “Until now, the people of Greenland have been kept in the dark about the enormous risks taken by the politicians and companies in the search for Arctic oil. Now it seems that the new government will start taking these risks seriously. The logical conclusion must be a total ban on offshore oil drilling in Greenland.”

Greenland, along with Alaska and Russia, has been at the forefront of oil company hopes to uncover an estimated 25% of the world’s remaining oil and gas reserves lying under and around the Arctic ocean. So where do Alaska and Russia stand?
Arctic Drilling In Alaska
In February, Shell announced that it would not conduct offshore drilling operations in the Alaska Arctic this year. Despite much public outcry, the Obama administration in 2011 gave Royal Dutch Shell permissions to begin drilling for oil in the waters of Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas.
However, in March 2013, Shell “screwed up” drilling for oil in Arctic waters and will not be allowed back without a comprehensive overhaul of its plans.
From rawstory:

Shell announced a “pause” in Arctic drilling last month. But Ken Salazar, the interior secretary, told a reporters’ conference call that the company will not be allowed to return without producing a much more detailed plan, one tailored specifically to the harsh Arctic conditions.

“Shell will not be able to move forward into the Arctic to do any kind of exploration unless they have this integrated management plan put in place,” said Salazar, in one of his last acts before standing down as interior secretary. “It’s that plain and simple.”

But this leaves open the possibility of drilling in the future.
Arctic Drilling In Russia
Meanwhile, it appears that the Russians are unconcerned about potential environmental damage related to drilling in the Arctic waters.
Care2′s Joel Boyce reports that Russia is leading the charge for oil exploration in the Arctic circle. Even though it may be the most environmentally-damaging region to have an oil spill, the Kremlin has already turned an industrial port city, Severodvinsk, from an assembly site for nuclear submarines into a manufactory for massive oil platforms.
Kudos to Greenland’s prime minister, Aleqa Hammond, for standing up for the environment.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Exclusive: Trivium Premiere “Strife” Music Video Damian Fanelli

| Sep 09, 2013

Today, RevolverMag.com presents the exclusive premiere of “Strife,” Trivium’s new music video, which was directed by Ramon Boutviseth.
The track is from the band’s new album, Vengeance Falls, which will be released October 15 by Roadrunner Records. The album, which was produced by David Draiman (Disturbed, Device), follows 2011′s In Waves.
“Vengeance Falls is the culmination of everything we’ve gone through,” says Trivium vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy. “The representation of struggle endured from within and experienced from the world, every failure and every success has led us to this moment. Vengeance Falls is this moment in time.”
“Vengeance Falls is a masterpiece of metal,” Draiman adds. “It is their finest work to date, and a record so strong that it will blow the doors open to a world they deserve to dominate.”
Trivium will hit the road hard in support of Vengeance Falls, kicking off with a North American co-headline tour alongside DevilDriver. The dates get under way September 12 at Boise, Idaho’s Knitting Factory and then continues through mid-October. In the meantime, the Orlando, Florida-based band will spend the remainder of the summer lighting up Europe. For tour information, visit trivium.org/tourdates.
Trivium is Matt Heafy: vocals, guitars; Corey Beaulieu: guitars; Paolo Gregoletto: bass; Nick Augusto: drums.
Vengeance Falls is available for pre-order now. For more about Trivuim, visit trivium.org and their Facebook page.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Animal Fighting Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate—Take Action!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - 3:45pm

We are thrilled to share with you that on Monday, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), David Vitter (R-LA) introduced the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act in the U.S. Senate.
This legislation, which is also being considered in the House, would make it a federal offense to attend an organized animal fight and impose additional penalties for bringing a child to a fight.
The Senate passed identical legislation during the last session of Congress, so we have high hopes that it will do so again—but we need your help! The bill didn’t become law last year because it stalled in the House, even with over half the House supporting it. We need to remind all Members of Congress that protecting animals from barbaric fighting ventures is important to their constituents.
Ask your two U.S. senators to support and cosponsor this important anti-fighting legislation! Please visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to send a quick email to your senators—as well as to your representative in the U.S. House—urging them to make this the year that we finally close a major loophole in our federal animal cruelty law.

VICTORY! Senate Confirms Richard Cordray as Director of the CFPB!

Thanks to overwhelming activism from consumers like you the Senate voted 66-34 to confirm Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau!

Some lawmakers had refused to consider any nominee unless changes were made to the CFPB that would weaken its ability to protect consumers. A deal was reached today and a bipartisan group of Senators voted to move forward on the confirmation. Today, led by Senator McCain, the Senate reached a reasonable compromise and consumers have won a hard fought victory.

Again, thank you to the thousands of Consumers Union activists that took action and joined us in the fight for consumer protections. Your calls, emails, and lobbying efforts made a difference!

Protect Endangered Rhinos from Poacher Gangs

author: Care2.com
target: Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister of India's Environment and Forests Ministry
signatures: 51,663

51,663

50,000

Kaziranga National Park turned into an arena for bloodshed recently when a gang of armed poachers fought off park rangers for several hours in India to kill an endangered rhinoceros. This was the thirteenth atrocity of its kind in two months, the result of a recent surge of poaching in the area.

Tell Minister of India's Environment and Forests Ministry, Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, that the government cannot continue to ignore this threat! Get park rangers the adequate funding and support they need to protect endangered rhinoceroses.

One-horned rhinoceroses were on the brink of extinction only twenty years ago. Two-thirds of their global population inhabit the Kaziranga National Park, where illegal activity occurs at the expense of ranger's safety and the lives of rhinos. If the government fails to check these poachers, many believe the rhinos are on the path to extinction.

Tell Minister Natarajan to help these endangered animals, heighten the security in Kaziranga National Park!

Schools Send Kids Home With Fat Letters September 4, 2013 by Patricia-Anne Tom

In hopes of conquering a growing childhood obesity problem, schools in 19 states are weighing kids, measuring their body mass index, and sending notes home with students informing parents whether their kids are "healthy" or "overweight." But these "fat report cards" have created a firestorm among parents, who say such letters can harm kids' self-esteem and potentially trigger eating disorders, ABC News reports.
Officials say the measurements are useful in tackling the childhood obesity problem where kids spend 50 percent of their time — in school. BMI readings are "the best means we have to determine whether a child's weight is healthy or unhealthy," says Dr. Lanre Omojokun Falusi, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrician.
Yet critics of the program say BMI readings are not always accurate, such as when a child has a lot of muscle mass, which increases their weight. Nor are BMI readings helpful, they say, when kids are entering adolescence, and receiving a number about weight can add to a child's stress.
"Their bodies are changing . . . And then they get this number that says, 'Oh, you know, you're not the right number.' It's just a horrible way to start womanhood," says Shannon Park, a mother of a 9-year-old and 13-year-old daughter. Many parents would like to see the weigh-ins, and subsequent report cards, banned from schools. But in the meantime, parents can notify their schools that they want to opt out of the weigh-ins. Does your child's school conduct weigh-ins — and do you find them appropriate?

Monday, September 23, 2013

Dinnertime Crunch: 26 Easy 30-Minute Meals For the Entire Family August 19, 2013

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by Rebecca M Gruber 0

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School's in session, extracurricular activities have begun, and the family's schedule is crazier than ever. Having a family dinner — one where everyone sits down together to eat and talk about their days — may sound daunting when juggling so many schedules, but it isn't impossible.
To accomplish the family dinner, we turned to some of our favorite celebrity chefs and restaurateurs — all parents themselves — to sneak a peek at the 30-minute meals they prepare for their own families. With chefs like Everyday Foods' Sarah Carey, Weelicious's Catherine McCord, Jessica Seinfeld, Michael Chiarello, and more sharing everything from tacos and paninis to grilled shrimp and pretzel-crusted chicken, we've got more than a month of school-night dinners right at your fingertips. Take a look, and then tell us which work best for your family!

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Officials in Malaysia Attempting to Ban Lamb of God as Satanists Posted 09/03/2013 at 10:44am | by Guitar World Staff

Lamb of God