Birds plan ahead, study shows

Clever scrub jays can plan on saving tasty treats for the future and do it in a way that shows they are truly planning ahead, British researchers reported Wednesday.

Okay, it's from about a week ago but it's new to me. I love reports like this which undermine the standard anthropocentric mindset that only humans are members of the moral community because a species has to be rational to have moral standing and most believe that only humans are rational. According to this report, it has been proven that scrub jays plan ahead for the future and store food through two experiments involving two rooms and different kinds of food.

"Knowledge of and planning for the future is a complex skill that is considered by many to be uniquely human," Nicola Clayton and colleagues at the University of Cambridge wrote.

I was raised believing that there is more to animals than base instincts (most people that are pet owners tend to think this way, I think) and I think it's hugely conceited of us humans to think that we don't have a moral obligation to the other inhabitants of this planet because popular thought deems them as irrational beings. Even if my higher opinion of the mental capabilities of animals is wrong, to me it certainly doesn't justify any ill treatment or destruction of habitats. I think it's nice to find reports that show animals capable of higher thought, even if experiments like this will not change the thinking of many people, it brightens up my day.

Oscars: Some celebrities who made green issues cool

Whether it's forsaking a gas guzzling limo in favor of driving a hybrid car to the Oscars, or fitting their homes with solar panels, many celebrities embraced green causes long before they became fashionable.

Just as a famous face can sell a perfume, stars of stage and screen can sell a cause and scores of them are doing more than merely putting their money where their mouth is.

I don't usually pay much attention to awards shows, but seeing as many people enjoy following the lives of celebrities, I think this is a great way to get people aware that they need to change their lifestyles.

"Early adapters, like Cameron Diaz, led the way and now with everyone from Kirsten Dunst to Maroon 5 to Will Ferrell driving hybrid cars, (it) sends the message that it's cool to think and buy green," Levin said. (emphasis mine)

Trends are possibly the greatest motivator in our consumerist society (I once teased this kid I worked with about his Livestrong bracelet, he swore that he would still wear it if it wasn't in style... if it wasn't in style, he would never have heard about it in the first place). If many big names (and this short article concludes with a list of celebs who are promoting environmental consciousness) are doing something to help the environment, many, especially the younger generations, will follow.

It's a good way to start a change towards "green" living, but at the same time we need education to shape the minds of people and promote a deeper reason for this lifestyle than "it's cool. Otherwise, people will get tired of conserving and lose interest.

I'm also really glad that Gore's An Inconvenient Truth won two Oscars.

ENN: Fight Brews Over How to Address Climate Change

Now that it is official -- humans are almost certainly causing the most dramatic climate shift the planet has seen in thousands of years -- it is time to stop arguing and get down to the serious work of solving the problem, right?

This is a good article from ENN (link in title) about what's going on right now with politics about global warming. I really hope our next president is (tons) more forceful about creating laws to lower green house gas emissions and finding other, more eco-friendly sources of fuel, because, honestly, I think this is the biggest problem the global community is facing right now. Everything else can pretty much wait. And a lot of other issues, such as aspects of poverty (if you look at the environmental justice theory, for example), are tied to environmental issues. But Bush believes that a free market economy will regulate everything, and uh, sorry, so far it hasn't. A lot more needs to be done.

Yeah, of course no one wants a drop in our standards of living which is what will probably have to happen if we as a nation become serious about slowing/stopping (is that possible?) global warming, but it's pretty selfish to have the mindeset that I'm not going to change my lifestyle, that I need to have four cars for my family and air conditioning keeping me at 65 degrees all summer -- forget about future generations. But it's also going to be hard for people to change unless there's a massive force around it, I mean, realistically, who wants to be the only one sweating all summer and riding their bike to the grocery store? Being able to pat yourself on the back only gets most people so far. We like following the crowd, so in order to change the mindesets of crowd, laws need to be put in place.

Why I decided to start this blog

This morning I posted on my personal blog about an article I read from the ENN newsletter that I thought would be of interest to others (which I'll repost in this blog) and it prompted an idea that I should create another blog strictly to post and comment on environmental/animal rights news that I'm interested in. I almost started it right then.

But then some doubt entered in my mind: who am I to comment on environmental issues? I'm only a college student taking a class called Environmental Ethics, obviously I don't have that much scholarly background. Also, am I being a hypocrite? I drive my car around town when I'm home, waste water and electricity, and enjoy a meat-filled diet like the majority of my fellow Americans. But I do care and think that big changes need to be made and soon.

All day I've been thinking that this is something I want to do, especially with graduation in sight and the thought that I might want a job in a field related to environment and/or animal rights, and if I can keep this thing up, then maybe it is something I really want to do.

Also, it gives me a chance to spout my opinions, and hopefully learn a thing or two.