Although called sometimes called Lily of the Nile or African Lily, Agapanthas isn’t actually in the lily family at all. Native to South Africa, it is now naturalized in much of the hilly regions of Asia and Central America, commonly growing in the high ranges of Kerala above 1000 meters. Continue reading
On behalf of elephants, the 1.5 million people who signed a petition to this end, and all the other people who care about their welfare, including the ecosystems where they continue to exist in the wild, we extend our strongest thanks for this announcement–years late but still very much appreciated. We hope, following the smiling moment at this important meeting, you will back it up with strict enforcement (click the image to the left for the full press release on the CITES website):
On behalf of the Government and people of the Kingdom of Thailand, I would like to welcome all of you to Bangkok, for the 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or CITES CoP16. Continue reading
When we invite an artist to visit us, it is mostly but not always because we think their work would fit well with the natural environments where we work. And, of course, because we love what we have seen of their art. The slideshow above includes current and boyhood illustrations by an artist who would hopefully appreciate our daily attention to his beloved creatures in various places:
…The artist and author James Prosek uses vivid and highly detailed watercolors to capture the natural world. He’s compared often to Audubon, though unlike the 19th-century artist’s focus on birds, Prosek’s work most often focuses on animals with fins instead of feathers. Continue reading
Pure nostalgia. That’s how I felt when I looked through the photos on my computer of my trip to Honduras two years ago. I was reminded by a previous post about my experience with AguaClara, a Cornell project team that designs and builds water treatment plant for impoverished communities in Honduras. The team has grown in size and prestige ever since I left, and it’s garnered multiple awards (from the EPA and Katerva, most recently).
AguaClara team members walking across a narrow suspension bridge in rural Honduras.
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
The Thookkuvilakku or traditional brass lamp, is an integral part of all rituals and ceremonies in Kerala and lighting the lamp on any occasions is believed to be auspicious. Bronze, popularly known as Odu in Kerala, is used for making all types of brass lamps. Continue reading
Photo Credit: John Mason
Mole National Park, Ghana
The Oxapampa-Ashaninka-Yanesha UNESCO biosphere reserve in central Peru. The Welsh funds will help the Ashaninka preserve their forests. Photograph: Nicholas Gill/Alamy
âFor Wales? Why Richard, it profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. . . but for Wales!â â Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons
When Richard Rich betrayed, he did so for rewards related to Wales. Thomas More, in top shelf literary insult, takes him to task for it by emphasizing the pathos of having betrayed for profits as meager as Wales.
If you have been to Wales, you know it has nothing to be ashamed of in terms of physical beauty.  And as for cultural beauty, Dylan Thomas or Richard Burton could tell Robert Bolt or Thomas More for that matter a thing or two about Wales.  But now, Wales shows a creative streak in this contribution to conservation, perhaps a deeper greatness than other classics in its history. Continue reading
TED’s blog has this description of the man who it awarded $1 million this year:
Itâs a question on so many minds: what will the future of education look like?
Itâs something Sir Ken Robinson has asked for decades…Robinson got the opportunity to announce the winner of the 2013 TED Prize, someone who has a bold answer.
âSo many kids are disengaged from education and thereâs a tendency to confuse testing with learning,â says Robinson in his introduction. âWhat drives learning is curiosity, questioning ⌠What fires people up to learn is having their mind opened up by possibilities.â
And with that, he revealed the winner of the $1 million TED Prize: education innovator Sugata Mitra, who has given two TED Talks over the years and released a TED ebook called Beyond The Hole in The Wall.
In one of its last posts before dissolving, Green Blog has this interview that serves as an excellent primer on climate change:
Dieter Helm has long been frustrated that, despite more than two decades of international negotiations, the world has failed to tackle climate change. So he got angry, he said, and decided to write a book about it: âThe Carbon Crunch: How Weâre Getting Climate Change Wrong â and How to Fix It.â Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Vegetables and fruits typically constitute an essential part of the daily diet in India and they are in great demand year-round by most sections of the population. Open markets are very common in both small towns and cities of South India, where people buy and sell their fresh vegetables and fruits. Continue reading
From an article linked in one of our alumni emails we learned about an organization with a worthy set of initiatives and actions:
Katerva is building unique platforms to create and leverage its global action network:
- The Katerva Awards â The pinnacle of global sustainability recognition. Through them, the best ideas on the planet are identified, refined and accelerated for global impact. Continue reading
Kacheripady, Ernakulam
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Ottanthullal is a combination of music, dance and linguistic variations, which is characterized by wit and humor. The most appealing aspect of the performance is the combination of storyteller and dancer in one actor, who effortlessly switches from one to the other. Continue reading
Associated Press. Stuart Chapman, a regional representative of the World Wildlife Fund, presented a petition for a blanket ban on the ivory trade to Thailandâs prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, on Wednesday.
You might want to lend your signature to the petition mentioned below, for which we thank WWF:
As my colleague Erik Olsen just noted here, many threatened species will be competing for attention when officials from 177 countries open a conference on the trade in endangered species on Sunday in Bangkok. Continue reading
Click the image above to take action. Thanks to Oxfam for the insistence that we hold the usual suspects accountable for the foods that make their way to our grocers:
Youâre more powerful than any of the Big Ten food companies. Without you, they wonât stay big for long. Use Facebook and Twitter to nudge your favourite brands. Contact the CEO personally and tell them what needs to change. Weâll be constantly updating the scorecard so you can see the impact youâre having. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Mutthukkudas are one of the main attraction in Kerala’s religious and political ceremonies, especially at the Thrissur Pooram, the state’s primary festival. During the pooram festival time there is one attraction called kudamattom (exchanging umbrellas) which is the most important aspect of the Trissur Pooram, were hundreds of beautiful long stemmed glittering umbrellas are exchanged rhythmically along with a traditional music orchestra and chenda melam played in the back ground. Continue reading
