Jane Goodall, una primatóloga de fama mundial con cerca de 50 años de investigación sobre la conducta de los chimpancés en el parque nacional de Gombe, en Tanzania,  ha sido investida, este miércoles 25, como Doctora Honoris Causa por la Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Entre sus reconocimientos destacan el Premio Príncipe de Asturias de Investigación Científica y Técnica en 2003, el Premio Centenario de la National Geographic Society en 1988 y el Premio J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation en 1984. Además, Goodall es Doctora Honoris Causa por la Universidad de Alicante y por la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina), además de ser Dama del Imperio Británico.

Nacida en Londres en 1934, en 1965 se doctoró en Etología por la Universidad de Cambridge y regresó al Parque Gombe, donde a lo largo de su vida ha estudiado la vida de los chimpancés. En 1971 Goodall escribió En la senda del hombre, donde relata el comportamiento, habilidades y la forma de comunicarse de los chimpancés, y que se convirtió en una de las obras científicas más leídas. En 1977 fundó el Instituto Jane Goodall, destinado a la investigación de la vida salvaje, la conservación y la educación ambiental.

]]> http://lawofattractionenterprise.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/off-to-see-amma/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:52:21 +0000 loaenterprise http://lawofattractionenterprise.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/off-to-see-amma/

Amma

It is early morning, the sun is not yet up.  Soon I will wake  Hugh and the children.  Soon we’ll be on our way.  Today we are going to see Amma, my beloved Teacher, beloved giver of powerful hugs by my whole family.   Amma, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, is also known in the media as the hugging Saint.  Jane Goodall though, when introducing her at the UN where she was presented with the Ghandi-King award  described her as: God’s love in a human form.

At her feet I will pour all my sorrow and seek to remind myself and keep remembering that love never ends, that life never dies, that Andrew is only gone from sight.

I have been asked about Amma.  If you want to know more about her please go to www.Amma.org

www.Amritapuri.org

The Selfish Green es un debate que se realizó en el 2004 como apertura del Wildscreen Festival de ese año, moderado por Jonathan Dimbleby y con la participación de Sir David Attenborough, Prof. Richard Dawkins, Dr Jane Goodall y Dr Richard Leakey.

Estos especialistas no hablan de ecología y medioambiente desde un punto de vista naïf, ni intentan asustarnos con frases grandilocuentes sobre el fin del mundo. Es interesante escuchar sus diferentes puntos de vista y sus coincidencias. Por un lado son mucho más categóricos que otros exponentes marketineros y politizados que estamos más acostumbrados a escuchar, pero también son menos alarmistas y definitivamente más optimistas (aunque muy concretos en cuanto a qué cambios son absolutamente imprescindibles).

El debate: primera parte, segunda, tercera, cuarta, quinta, sexta y séptima. Es larguito, no tiene subtítulos, pero vale la pena.

Otros links: The Jane Goodall Institute, Leakey.com 100 Years of the Leakey Family in East Africa, David Attenborough The Life Series y The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

Today's screenshot of TED.com, Fair Use

About a year ago, I came across a “TED talk” on YouTube. I soon found out that I was late to the game on this one. If you have known about these talks since the 1980s, good for you. If you haven’t heard of the TED talks, you may have an afternoon of online video streaming in front of you.

The words behind the acronym say much for why everyone should be interested: Technology, Entertainment, Design. From the TED website, we learn that the small nonprofit began with the impetus to showcase “ideas worth spreading.” From musicians to psychologists, to famous figures like Jane Goodall and Al Gore, the TED talks cover so many arenas of knowledge that it cannot help but spark the imagination. No wonder Rosie O’Donnell traded in a Cher concert meet-and-greet for tickets to the TED talks care of Kathy Griffin/Steve Wozniak, all seen on The D-List’s season 4. TED talks beat Cher hands down.

If you gave a TED talk, what would it be about? After viewing a few, one may realize the best ideas are those that at first seem the least likely. A few examples of some wild ideas are below, but please explore the TED site. As Martha says, “It’s a good thing.”

Dan Gilbert’s fascinating look at the usefulness of happiness:

Aubrey De Grey suggest we will live until 1,000:

Evelyn Glennie tells us how we can listen without our ears:

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Índice de Programas emitidos de Sonidos de la Tierra
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Sonidos de la Tierra es el nuevo proyecto que he comenzado junto con varios compañeros de la facultad de biología. En la página de Sonidos de la Tierra teneís AQUÍ el audio y descargable del primer programa.

Se trata de la emisión de un programa sobre ecología que tendrá lugar todos los jueves de 22:00 a 23:oo en Radiopolis (dial 98.4)

El equipo de Sonidos de la Tierra somos:

Manuel (Biología en Red)

Álvaro ( La mirada del Lince)

Sete (Mil Máquinas Nunca Harán Una Flor)

Pablo (Concienci-acción)

Marco

Mª del Mar (Mente Natural) Aquí servidora

CONTENIDO DEL PRIMER PROGRAMA (19/11/2009):
Denuncia de la semana.
Situación del lobo ibérico.
Especies invasoras: “Opuntia ficus-indica”.
Breve reseña biográfica sobre Jane Goodall.

CANCIONES:
Ska de la Tierra – Bebe
I Love You, You Imbecile – Pelle Carlberg

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Índice de Programas emitidos de Sonidos de la Tierra
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On Friday we flew into Kigoma and arrived at our super sweet hotel (read hot showers, electricity, comfy beds, air conditioning and flat screen tv’s!!! – I showered three times that day just because I could!!) On Saturday we took a two and a half hour boat ride to get to Gombe Stream National Park. It’s the smallest national park in Tanzania (only 52 sq km) and was made famous by Jane Goodall who pioneered chimpanzee behavioral studies here in the 1960s.

Gombe and Kigoma are flanked by Lake Tanganyika which makes up the western edge of the country. Arriving in Gombe by boat while passing some amazing scenery was a beautiful experience by itself- you can see all these lush, tropical jungles blanketing the hills at the edge of the lake – dotted by a couple of small fishing villages. The hills rose into the clouds and the whole scene looked like it belonged in a movie (or “Lost”). Across the lake, are the silhouettes of the mountains in the Congo and Burundi.

Once we arrived and checked into the little lodge, we met our guides and headed off into the jungle (I love that word!) to look for the chimps. It was quite exhilarating to trek through the green jungle – trees and roots and weeds and weird mushrooms. We trekked up and then trekked down through a pretty steep part – had to hold onto the trees and roots to not slip!

The guide make chimp calls to find the “tracker”. The tracker’s job is to follow the monkey family around all day long and when a group is looking for the monkeys, they just have to figure out where the tracker is. So we found our tracker and sure enough, the chimps! We ended up following this group of chimps – about 15 of them for the next 2-3 hours.

The chimps were absolutely amazing! We were often just a few feet away and they were completely unfazed by our presence. The brothers and sisters fought each other and beat each other up just like my sisters and I used to – it was quite funny to watch! And then we saw several mating sessions and the guide explained how the brothers try to protect their sisters from mating with other male chimps. Some chimps were just lazy and lay around on the ground yawning and scratching themselves. Others helped their buddies pick lice or ticks or fleas. I was just in awe of being so close to them in their habitat! It was just too wild!! (pun intended!)

We aren’t allowed to be too close to the chimps or see them for too long because they are very prone to catching human diseases. So we had to head back and then the guides took us to see a waterfall. Another trek in a different direction (saw some baboons and red colobus monkeys), crossed quite a few streams and just as I asked if we were there yet, we were at the base! What a sight! I decided that I could not pass up the opportunity to stand underneath it since I don’t know when such an opportunity will present itself again! So I did it – fully clothed! The water was freezing cold and I was screaming like I was on a roller coaster!!  But it was such an incredible experience!!!

After that, we trekked back down and went for a swim in the lake and did some cannonballs off the pier! The water in the lake is crystal clear and all you can see are a few colorful fishing boats bobbing around in the distance with the Congo mountains in the background. We saw 2 rainbows at the same time – I’m taking that as a good omen for a double good year! We hung out on the beach for a few hours learning silly songs from one of the doctors and watching the sun set into the lake. Got some presents, which was very exciting (this day was getting better and better!) and some drinks followed by a great dinner! After that, we had a lovely bonfire on the beach until the embers were all that were left of the night.

You can read about our harrowing journey back on Cameron’s posting – it’s all funny now in 20/20! 
p.s. if you’re so inclined, you can “adopt a chimp” through the Jane Goodall institute. Worthwhile cause, I promise.

Es mujer, es inglesa, tiene 73 años, ganó un Premio Príncipe de Asturias y pasa 300 días al año en viajes de trabajo. Solo con esos datos, seguramente nadie sabría el nombre de la persona que hay detrás. Vamos a seguir dando pistas.

Se enamoró de su trabajo cuando viajó fuera de su pais con tan solo 23 años, en 1957. No tenía estudios porque su familia era demasiado humilde para poder costearle la universidad, pero eso no le impidió descubrir que aquel tema le interesaba, y mucho. El esfuerzo y la absoluta estoicidad, esperando a encontrar los resultados que necesitaba marcaron su primera etapa. Al final, tuvo recompensa y pudo hacer un doctorado en la Universidad de Cambridge, mientras continuaba trabajando.

Publicó un libro en 1986, con 52 años. En 1991 fundó su propia empresa y en la actualidad continua trabajando, apostando incansablemente por las nuevas generaciones. Sus colaboradores más cercanos dicen que es prácticamente imposible seguirle el ritmo; a pesar de su apariencia frágil de abuelita de 73 años.

Efectivamente, se trata de Jane Goodall: la mujer que vivió 22 años con chimpancés y que hoy tiene una fundación con su nombre, que recorre todo el mundo para contar a los más jóvenes lo que ella ha aprendido.

Sabe que la esperanza de conservar nuestro planeta está en los niños y los jóvenes: por eso viaja 300 días al año contándoles historias que en muchos casos hacen que los que escuchan la miren con ojos llenos de lágrimas.

Como Jane, yo pienso que hasta que no sintamos los daños en nuestro medioambiente como un daño en algo nuestro y en nosotros mismos, no servirá de nada.

Resulta que si alguien pisa las flores de tu jardín, te enfadas mucho. Pero si alguien tira basura al mar, sigue usando aerosoles o no recicla el vidrio, nos da igual. ¿Por qué? Porque no percibimos la Tierra como algo nuestro: no hemos pagado por ella, debe ser eso. Dice Goodall:

“Los seres humanos son más compasivos. En el caso del chimpancé se puede ver la compasión entre la madre y su cría, pero rara vez se halla en algún otro aspecto. La compasión es una característica muy humana”.

Espero que cuando lo necesitemos, los alienígenas que nos acojan en su planeta sean compasivos con nosotros.

(Este post es la reflexión arrancada después de ver 2012, el peliculón con más efectos especiales de la temporada que si bien no deja de ser ciencia ficción, ofrece imágenes absolutamente traumatizantes para una viajera como yo, como el Vaticano desplomándose o Times Square con imágenes apocalípticas)

Young Professionals and some of histories greatest conservationists gather at the Piedradeagua Hotel in Merida, Mexico, to enjoy some fine dining and discussions of how to conserve our planet. (Photo/Morgan Heim)

WILD9, thrusts you into a different world. Standing among so many of your heroes, legendary conservationists like Jane Goodall, and many of the world’s most renown conservation photographers can be an overwhelming experience, especially for a young professional. Everyone comes from a different background, science, conservation, communication, policy and business. Throw into that mix the intermingling of culture all around us, and it’s hard to know where to focus. And as any photographer can tell you, not knowing where to focus makes us just a little bit nervous.

But as the days pass, a transformation happens, and you start relating to each other as fellow human-beings with a common purpose. We are holding different parts of the puzzle and bringing it all together. We are participants. And after a few days, the mayhem begins to settle until you flow between roles and people and conversations.

Sasha, a young professional from Kamchatka, Russia jumps into a doorway to avoid streets flooded from the rains that hit Merida most likely in connection with Hurricane Ida.

I’ve been lucky. Much of this congress has focused on the role of conservation’s next generation. Of which, I am a part. I’ve had the opportunity to participate on panels, giving talks about how to use new media to further conservation messages. And work with the other young professionals on their media training day. It’s quite clear that we are here for a reason.

Last Tuesday night, many of the young professionals attended a special dinner in the ivy-walled gardens of the Piedradeagua Hotel in Merida. Fellow iLCP emerging league photographer Joe Riis was there, along with young professionals with veterinary backgrounds, community planning, and nature conservation management. And we found ourselves dining with the likes of Dr. Kenneth Miller, former Director General of the IUCN. To me this symbolized the culmination of our partnerships and the importance of meetings like the WILD9 World Wilderness Congress – a community of conservationists, each using a different toolbox, and spanning generations, but working together for the future.

Dictionary.com defines hope as the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.

As I mentioned in my first post, sometime it’s hard to have a positive outlook in this field.  There are so many problems, most of them compounded by other issues, and solutions are neither quickly nor easily come by.  Often, the solutions that are found require years and years of patient persistence before they pay off.  And then there’s the problem of financing all this long-term work.

Sometimes I think I must be an anomaly.  I fully believe that everything will turn out for the best – I have hope.  I don’t know where it comes from.  I don’t know how I found it.  But I have an unwaivering faith that we will find a way to prevent disastrous global climate change, and preserve species, and provide livelihoods for all the world’s poor and hungry people.

The question I most often ask myself is: how can I share that hope with other people?  How can I help other people believe what I believe?  Fortunately for me, and for conservation as a whole, there are a handful of amazingly talented, capable spokespersons who do just that.  One such person is Jane Goodall.  I had the opportunity to work for Jane, albeit briefly, as an intern in the Africa Programs Department at the Jane Goodall Institute.  Jane is an incredible person; with little training, just an innate sense of our obligation to our closest relative – the chimpanzee – Jane opened the eyes of the entire scientific community with her ground-breaking research on chimps in Tanzania.  And after spending nearly 30 years in Tanzania, Jane left her beloved Gombe Forest to travel the world and talk to people.  Even now, at the age of 75, Jane travels 320 days a year, speaking at conferences and universities and giving lectures.  Jane is an amazing speaker – she has the ability to reach every person in the audience.  The room falls silent as everyone strains to hear every syllable she utters.

Another such person is Jeff Corwin.  Jeff defines the modern conservationist – witty, gregarious and intelligent, Jeff captures his audiences’ attention with his humor and every-man likeability.  I recently had the chance to hear Jeff speak at a reception held in his honor here in D.C.  You could tell the audience was drawn to him because they felt he was one of them.

One of the qualities that Jane and Jeff share that sets them apart from other conservationists is their ability to tell stories, illustrated in their respective new books, “Hope for Animals and Their World,” and “One Hundred Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth’s Most Endangered Species”.  Each auther uses examples from conservation to tell stories of the courage and determination that is required to conserve the Earth’s incredible diversity of life.  Beyond these moral lessons, the books demonstrate that it IS possible to rescue imperiled species.  The numerous conservationists profiled in these books believe unconditionally that there is reason to hope for a future for the our planet.  And Jane and Jeff have hope that future generations will be able to see these species in the wild.  Their message is: never give up hope.

Guess I’m not such an anomaly after all.  And I have to admit, I love the company.

For more information about Jane’s book, visit the website: http://janegoodallhopeforanimals.com/

For more information about Jeff’s book and the accompanying documentary, airing on MSNBC on Nov. 22, visit the website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29840099/ns/msnbc_tv-future_earth

Watching Grey’s Anatomy, House MD or visiting a hospital always makes me want to become a doctor. Or a vet (and I know I’m being ridiculous shaddap). An educated, responsible adult in a white lab coat or in blue scrubs (that I oh sooo love! I might *rape* my doctor-in-progress boyfriend when I see him in a lab coat/scrubs wtf) that acts professionally, treats patients with care and saves lives.

I imagine myself as a very perfectionist surgeon/dermatologist/cardiologist in a white lab coat with a boring ponytail, a sweep of mascara and an undying love for medicine. I imagine myself as respecting the nurses and understanding the patients. I imagine myself as Meredith Grey, a compassionate doctor with a great knowledge and a very sensitive attitude.

And then I wake up.

I wake up & I realise that I am 20 years old and studying Graphic Design which I like, but it’s not something I love. It requires much less work and it earns a lot more money (in Slovakia) than any other job. It makes my back hurt & my eyes itch but it’s fun in a way…although it’s not love for me, it’s a mere friendship with benefits.

I wake up and I realise I am struggling with layouts and grids and with Adobe Flash. I know my Graphic Design knowledge and expertise will grow over the years and I am still in the beginning, but I also know I will never push it too much in order to be the best Graphic Designer I can be, because I will be earning enough money even with mediocre work and I will be happy that way.

I wake up and I realise I was born to be a Veterinarian; a Doctor; a Nurse; a Veterinary Nurse; an Ethologist.

And I am on my way, but only on shy, very shy tiptoes.

And I am struggling with Chemistry; I am trying to squeeze in Biology and Society Studies revisions; I keep on reading Science Daily in order to know what’s happening in the world of science.

And I am still working on Graphic Design and learning the web design; and I am doing the assignments the best way I can because I do want to get the HND because with it I will have some education no matter what happens later on; and I am switching my left & right hemispheres like there’s no tomorrow.

And I am meeting weird psycho people on train like this retarded homeopathic old man who kept on telling me “how homeopathy cures cancers” and “how our aura can be healed” and “what is the role of woman in a society” (I think I proved to be a ZEN MASTER because I managed not to kill him when he said his sexist, primitive bullshit)…and I am able to talk to them about the role of proliferating genes and tumor-supressive genes and about psychosomatic diseases and sweeping away their FUCKED UP arguments with my scientific ones…

And I see I am passionate about science and medicine. And about helping others.

I wake up and I see all of the above…and I feel overwhelmed. O_o

So far I am a mere Graphic Design student lost in financial debts to her mother; an insane being that decided to finally be courageous enough to go and live her dreams; a confused, ambitous & overwhelmed someone in the whole wide world.

I dream about being a Vet, a Doctor, a Nurse, an Ethologist akin to Victoria Stilwell (helping clueless dog owners with their misbehaved dogs) or Jane Goodall (she’s my hero & muse) and I know there is a long way to go.

It started with a dream..it followed with a trip to the bookstore …the next step was starting the revisions…then I stopped revising during the summer holidays which really DIDN’T help me with my progress in Chemistry *fumes*…and I am back here and revising. I even have my university applications filled.

I had to compromise though and I am applying for Biology & Nursing only, because I know I can’t leave Bratislava after I finish Graphic Design; I have to stay here and earn my own money along the studies. I might apply to Medicine too but it won’t be Veterinary Medicine…because universities offering that are just too far.
I would love to be a Veterinary Nurse but I can’t be one – because in none of the central European countries are such studies offered on a university level.

So here is a way I am making towards my dreams; a way of compromises to dreams of compromises, but STILL A WAY; and I am hoping know I can make it happen.

Maybe one day I will be consulting your dog’s chewing on the carpet…or researching the behaviour of domesticated tigers…or maybe I will be healing you.

And until that lovely day…wish me luck.

*

They say the bigger your investment, the bigger your return. But you have to be willing to take a chance. You have to understand, you might lose it all. But if you take that chance, if you invest wisely the pay off might just surprise you.

~Meredith Grey

Monday, November 16th, 2009

This month Greenfox Schools is highlighting five excellent resources for sustainability education. The following list includes organizations listed in alphabetical order that provide useful tools for schools going green.

Read below and click on the links to learn more.

Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education

The Cloud Institute is a non-profit based in New York City that works nationally and internationally to promote sustainability education. The Cloud Institute’s approach to sustainability directly engages young people to work with their communities.  Cloud’s model for sustainability begins with its mission: to ensure the viability of sustainable communities by leveraging changes in K-12 school systems to prepare young people for the shift toward a sustainable future.  During the first phase of work, Cloud facilitators develop an awareness and shared understanding for Education for Sustainability (EfS) among staff, faculty, and administrators at a given school.   They work with the whole school system to collect baseline data, and assess the extent to which the school is teaching for sustainability.  Teachers work with the Cloud Institute to design EfS outcomes and indicators and to develop a pilot EfS unit.  Over time, facilitators work with the school to collectively develop an EfS Scope and Sequence that is mapped across the entire school curriculum.  This process allows teachers to collaborate and build on one another and to integrate the broader school community, and beyond, into their classrooms. These outcomes are achieved by differentiating professional development, coaching, and capacity building with participating faculty and administrators, trustees, parents, community partners, and students.

Facing the Future

Facing the Future is a non-profit based in Seattle, Washington, that supports teachers by providing resources that teach students about complex global issues, the linkage between local and global communities, and environmental sustainability. Facing the Future delivers curriculum workshops to middle and high school teachers, and maintains an online database of teaching material related to service learning projects of local and international interest. Serving public and independent schools, Facing the Future develops curriculum across all subjects, including math, science, history, geography, language arts, and more.

Sustainable Schools Project

The Sustainable Schools Project (SSP) is sponsored by Shelburne Farms, and is a partnership with Vermont Education for Sustainability. A dynamic new model for school improvement and civic engagement, the program helps schools use sustainability as an integrating context for curriculum, community partnerships, and campus practices. The SSP aims to improve communities economically, environmentally, and socially for current and future generations by facilitating curriculum and campus projects, offering professional development, and identifying funding sources for schools.

Roots & Shoots

Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute, and seeks to initiate positive change for communities, animals and the environment. With tens of thousands of young people in almost 100 countries, the Roots & Shoots network connects youth of all ages who share a desire to create a better world. Young people identify problems in their communities and take action. Through service projects, youth-led campaigns and an interactive website, Roots & Shoots members make a difference across the globe. Here is Dr. Jane Goodall’s inspiring vision for Roots & Shoots: “Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation. Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light, they can break open brick walls. Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet. Hundreds of thousands of roots & shoots, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls. We CAN change the world.”

U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development

The U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development unites leaders in education, environment, and business to promote sustainability education and government policy. The U.S. Partnership was established to fulfill the goals of the United Nations declaration of a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), a declaration that was established to promote the local and global acceptance of principles of “sustainable development.”

The K-12 Sector page provides a variety of resources from useful links to actual national K-12 sustainability education standards developed by the U.S. Partnership. The U.S. Partnership has launched the first national listserv for K-12 educators focused specifically on the topic of education for sustainability. Educators involved in teaching students in any subject in the K-12 arena are encouraged to join. The goal of the Sustaink12 listserv is for educators to communicate and collaborate on strategies to integrate education for sustainability into the teaching and operations of K-12 schools.

To join the listserv go to https://listserver.itd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=sustaink12

-Kristen von Hoffmann

About a week ago, Oprah featured a woman named Charla Nash (see part 1 of the video here). She came on the show behind a black veil, guided by Oprah into her chair. The story that brought her to national television happened in February, 2009. Nash received a call from her friend, Sandra Herold, asking help to get her 200-lb pet chimpanzee, Travis, back into his cage. Upon Nash’s arrival, the chimp suddenly attacked her and started to rip off her nose, eyes, and upper jaw. By the time the police arrived, Nash’s face and fingers was almost completely gone. Travis went for a police, and was subsequently shot and killed.

Humans have a desire to be in control. Our technology gives us the ability to manipulate our surroundings, which only adds fire to the appeal of conquering nature. The romanticized idea of being in control of a wild animals is present in stories throughout history, real and fictional. Being the proud owner of a vicious animal is looked upon with admiration. But bringing a wild animal to one’s home as a pet will only cause trouble on both sides, and Nash’s story is just another reminder of that fact.

As renowned primatologist Jane Goodall said in this opinion piece, “a chimpanzee can never be totally domesticated”. Wild animals are called wild for a reason: they have primal instincts that can’t be nurtured away. In Travis’ case, the chimp had done commercials as a baby, wore humans clothes, and entertained himself with TV. However, even living a life in captivity couldn’t erase the violent nature of the animal. Because of his captivity, the abilities Travis should have had, like knowing how to interact with other chimps and finding himself food, had been replaced by human traits such as being toilet trained and eating from a table. This results in the chimp losing the life it could’ve had in is natural habitat, and instead, received a life of confinement and forced adaption. No matter how good we are at using nature to our advantage, there are some things that we just can’t change.

Sometimes the wild should remain in the wild.

Dr. Jane Goodall chatted with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show Thursday night.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-november-12-2009/jane-goodall

Watch this hilarious video of Jane Goodall’s appearance on The Daily Show with John Stewart!

Photo: Three Trumpeter Swan Cygnets by David K. Weaver

On the road some 300 days a year lecturing as an advocate for wildlife, Dr. Jane Goodall discovers many fascinating stories of endangered species and the people who have labored to save them.  In her latest book, Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink, Dr. Goodall chronicles many of these inspiring efforts.

With co-authors Thayne Maynard and Gail Hudson,  she has collected the stories into a 392 page volume that focuses on the very most endangered species in the world.  On her associated website, Hope for Animals and Their World, she highlights additional species, including the Trumpeter Swan.  You’ll find rich descriptions of her personal experiences with Trumpeters portrayed in prose. She describes standing close to them, the sounds they make, the size of their feet.

Jane Goodall chronicles the decline of Trumpeters and the establishment of The Trumpeter Swan Society, which began with a small group of dedicated individuals committed to the swan’s secure restoration.  She writes about a mid-1970’s TTSS conference near Yellowstone where managers weighed the merits of restrained populations held by the tether of winter feed. In attendance was Ruth Shea, currently a TTSS Director. Listening to those how envisioned had a larger vision, one that has fueled a life passion and years of professional work with swans. Ruth’s vision and life story resonates with Dr. Goodall’s. Both have experienced intense field research time that inspired them to become advocates for their species.

Dr. Goodall continues with the 1960 launch of Trumpeter restoration at LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, located in South Dakota on the border of Nebraska. She describes a personal visit to the area, guided by biologists Tom Koerner and Shilo Comeau on a bitter cold day. She shares rich memories of seeing two swans in flight.

 She goes on to describe restoration in western Montana, and gives a great description of swan biologist Greg Neudecker, a former University of Minnesota football player.  Greg is quite at home handling tenacious swans, working with conservation-minded landowners, and inspiring public participation in restoration efforts. Applauding that Trumpeter restoration success is possible in a region where high quality wetlands are held by private ranchlands, author and activist Jane Goodall says that nowhere on Earth is there a better model for conservation than the Blackfoot program.

Her closing section holds a sweeping quote from TTSS’ Ruth Shea who concludes that the Trumpeter Swan “was nearly destroyed by the unthinking actions of many people across North America. But it also was restored by the thoughtful and dedicated actions of many people, who shared a common vision and worked together.“

If you share this vision, please take action! Join TTSS and help us be more effective today!

Inside each of us is a dormant, latent desire to look at our past – not our recent past, our deeply past, past – our DNA past, straight out of the Rift Valley. To that end, it is the luring attraction to other primates.

Living on the edge of the Kaptawrakwa Forest, I know there are monkeys and once caught a glimpse of one climbing a tree. Despite leaving out cut passion fruits and mango, not one monkey came by where I lived.  My learners and others at the school knew I would love to see a monkey. It happened, it a strange and tragic way – I received what I had wished for.

Apparently some people had set a trap in the maize fields and a nursing monkey got caught and was killed.  She had a baby that could have only been a few days to a week old. A physics  teacher at my school, Bernard Misiko, saw some people trying to let the baby nurse from the mother and knew it would not work as the mother was dead. He brought the baby back to school so we could care for it.

Since I am one of the few who have had the rabies vaccine (thank you Peace Corps!), I became the adopted mother for four days until I could get the baby to Kenya Wildlife Service in Iten.  The baby monkey was named Kimutai (the one which travels about) in Kalenjin.

I fed him with a medicine dropper – milk, honey, mashed bananas and rice congee (Japanese) every hour……and I do mean every hour. Kimutai was either have starving to begin with or just had a high metabolism as a new born in a cold climate. He slept by the bed at night or wrapped in a kitenge on my chest.

Not only did I feel like I was looking into my own past each time I looked at his face and hands, everyone else here enjoyed looked at him as well – and everyone here pretty much has lived by the forest their whole life. We all had the existential moment of looking at ourselves in the past – ourselves in the Rift Valley – ourselves before the time of hominids.

Kimutai took his first leaping steps on my living room floor – straight to the cats scratching post which he loved…..my cat Finley loved Kimutai and slept with him in the box one night.

I gave Kumutai to Kenya Wildlife Services on Tuesday 3 November so he could have a much better life at the animal orphanage in Nairobi and where they could hopefully feed him correctly. I know he will never be back in Kaptawrakwa Forest, his birth home, as he has now had human contact and the other monkey tribes would not be fond of this.  The best I could do for him was to keep him alive – it is what his nursing mother would have wanted.

Upon giving him up, even though it was the right thing to do, I could not help but ponder how in the far past, he was a distant,  genetic relative – he looked like me, a primate.

NON-PROFIT ‘THE WORLD IS JUST A BOOK AWAY’ APPOINTS LEADING BUSINESSMAN EMILIO DIEZ BARROSO AS NEW CHAIR

TWIJABA WILL END INAUGURAL YEAR PROVIDING OVER 10,000 CHILDREN WITH BOOKS AND LIBRARIES

Los Angeles, CA, USA (November 2009) – Non-profit organization The World Is Just A Book Away (TWIJABA)—which supplies books, and builds libraries and schools for children in developing countries—is honored to announce Emilio Diez Barroso as its new Chairman.  Overseeing an impressive Board gathered over the organization’s successful inaugural year and a half by Founder James J. Owens, Diez Barroso’s impressive resume, business acumen and contacts make him a premiere choice to lead the next phase. Chairman and Founder of NALA Investments, LLC, Diez Barroso is recognized as one of the most powerful Latinos by Poder Magazine (2009) and The Hollywood Reporter (2007).

“It is an honor and pleasure to be involved with The World is Just a Book Away,” says Diez Barroso, who is also an avid reader. “I believe in the vision of its founder, James Owens, and what the organization stands for. This is an opportunity to leverage my resources and collaborate with a great group of people with the intention of bringing value through books to the lives of children.”

Diez Barroso’s company is a private investment holding company with operations across various industries including communications, transportation, energy, consumer products, real estate, IT infrastructure, media and entertainment. He has held senior level positions and sat on the board of most NALA owned businesses including most recently NALA Films, a production company that produces and finances feature films, television content, and new media.  Diez Barroso was raised in a highly successful business world:  his family created the two largest Spanish-language media companies in the world, Televisa (NYSE:TV) and Univision (NYSE:UVN),

He has been recognized with multiple awards in Latin America and currently sits on the board of directors of Summit Entertainment, a worldwide theatrical motion picture production and distribution studio; of MLA Partner Schools, a non-profit organization working to improve schools and empower neighborhoods in some of the most disenfranchised communities in Los Angeles; and Affinity Mobile, LLC, a telecommunications solutions provider, to name a few.

The continued mission of The World Is Just A Book Away (www.JustABookAway.com) is to bring hope—in the form of books, libraries, and schools—to thousands of children in developing countries. The program was launched in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, site of the mudflow disaster that displaced more than 60,000 people and destroyed many schools.  By the end of 2009, TWIJABA’s first year: 10,000-plus children will have access to books, 20,000-plus books will be provided, 22 school libraries will be built, and one Mobile library will serve an additional 28 schools.

Diez Barroso, who reads two to four books each month and calls The Alchemist “one of the most impactful books for me”, is looking forward to picking up on Owens’ momentum and accomplishments. “I want to have a positive impact in everything we do, from our internal meetings to our outreach to the communities we touch. I want to help grow the organization into a self-sustained entity with a qualified team executing on every front and secure stable funding sources that allow us to implement long term strategies.”

TWIJABA has attracted a strong and varied list of supporters across business, entertainment and academia. Advisory Board members include Jenny Ming, former President of Old Navy and one of Fortune magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in American Business”; Jim Ellis, Dean of the USC Marshall School of Business; and Tim Monich, highly-respected dialect coach of Hollywood.  Prominent non-Board supporters include Queen Noor Al-Hussein, Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Lois and Buzz Aldrin, Shirin Ebadi (2003 Nobel Peace Prize), Yo-Yo Ma, Muhammad Yunus, and the late Natasha Richardson.

The non-profit also enjoys the enthusiastic support of students and young professionals, dispelling the idea that being on a Board is restricted to the over 40 age group.  TWIJABA’s Board has members in their 30s, and Owens created the “Ambassadors” program as a stepping stone for the younger participants.

With Diez Barroso taking on the day-to-day Chairmanship, Owens is able to focus on the overriding mission of TWIJABA and attend significant events where he is invited to participate, and spread the word about his organization. The first weekend in November, he will attend “Festival of Thinkers” in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which brings thinkers together from across the world to share ideas, foster thinking, and inspire college-age men and women in the region.  In March, he attended Education Without Borders 2009 Conference in Dubai, UAE, as a Distinguished Guest and Mentor. Owens, who is assistant professor of clinical management communication at the USC Marshall School of Business Center for Management Communication, is also focused on the completion of his book featuring submissions from more than 70 of the world’s most prominent people about their love of reading and books that inspired them.  He plans to donate all the profits from the future book sales to non-profits, including TWIJABA.

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Standing outside a non-descript door in a long dark windowless hallway of offices at the Stanford Medical Center, I took a deep breath and swallowed several times to clear my dry throat. I hoped I had found the correct office, as there was only a number– no nameplate to confirm who was inside.

I was about to meet a childhood hero, someone whose every book I’d read and every TV documentary I had watched. I knocked with what I hoped was the right combination of assertiveness (“I want to be here to talk with you and prove my interest”) and humility (“I hope this is convenient for you as I don’t want to intrude”). I heard a soft voice on the other side say “Come in” so I slowly opened the door.

It was a bit like going through the wardrobe to enter Narnia.  Bright sunlight streamed into the dark hallway as I stepped over the threshold. Squinting, I stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind me as I realized there were at least four birds flying about the room.  They were taking off and landing, hopping about feeding on bird seed on the office floor and on the window sill. The windows were flung wide open with a spring breeze rustling papers on the desk. The birds were very happy occupying the sparsely furnished room, which contained only one desk, two chairs and Dr. Jane Goodall.

She stood up and extended her hand to me, saying, quite unnecessarily, “Hello, I’m Jane” and offered me the other chair when I told her my name. She was slighter than she appeared when speaking up at a lectern, or on film. Sitting back down at her desk, she busied herself reading and marking her papers, seemingly occupied and not to be disturbed.  It was as if I was not there at all.

It was disorienting. In the middle of a bustling urban office complex containing nothing resembling plants or a natural environment, I had unexpectedly stepped into a bird sanctuary instead of sitting down for a job interview. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do or say. Jane didn’t really ever look directly at me, yet I was clearly being observed. So I waited, watching the birds making themselves at home in her office, and slowly feeling at home myself. I felt my tight muscles start to relax and I loosened my grip on the arms of the chair.

There was silence except for the twittering of the finches as they flew about our heads.

After awhile she spoke, her eyes still perusing papers: “It is the only way I can tolerate being here for any length of time. They keep me company. But don’t tell anyone; the people here would think this is rather unsanitary.”

I said the only thing I could think of: “I think it is magical.  It reminds me of home.”

Only then did she look at me. “Now tell me why you’d like to come work at Gombe…”

The next day I received a note from her letting me know I was accepted for the research assistantship. I had proven I could sit silently and expectantly, waiting for something, or perhaps nothing at all, to happen.  For a farm girl who never before traveled outside the United States, I was about to embark on an adventure far beyond the barnyard.

If you caught Larry King’s discussion, you know he was asking the qustion “Should Americans banish the burger?”

I was impressed with Mark Bittman’s argument in Food Matters on reducing the amount of red meat that you consume and Jane Goodall in Harvest of Hope argues that raising beef that’s fed by massive quantities of corn that draws down on water supplies is extravagant.

In a final message from his post at Gourmet magazine, Barry Estabrook writes about the “Conscientious Carnivore,” describing more sustainable beef ranching techniques.

The Library of Congress presents a wonderful Webcast entitled, Jane Goodall Discusses “Hope for Animals and Their World.”  You can watch it Here.  It is just wonderful.  Enjoy!

By the middle of June, I had read some books, and was about to give up on some others.

Fiction:

I was about ready to give up on The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, realizing too late that although the stories did interest me one at a time, reading nothing but one story after another made me really bored really fast.

I finished The Mauritius Command by Patrick O’Brian (I had been three-quarters of the way through when the challenge started.)

-Last Call by Tim Powers — started
-Good Morning, Young Lady by Ardyth Kennelly — started
-Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson — started

I couldn’t commit too much to any of these books at the time.

Non-Fiction:
I finished Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda, Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss, Lucy’s Bones, Sacred Stones, and Einstein’s Brain: The Remarkable Stories Behind the Great Objects and Artifacts of History, from Antiquity to the Modern Era by Harvey Rachlin, and In Search of Robinson Crusoe by Tim Severin (which I had been about halfway through this for over a year).

And I left the longest one for last: Africa in my Blood: An Autobiography in Letters by Jane Goodall.

I went through my unread shelves and pulled out five fiction and five non-fiction books I felt had been drifting there for a while, and deserved a shot.

Here are the books I chose:

Fiction:
-Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson
-The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
-The Mauritius Command by Patrick O’Brian
-Last Call by Tim Powers
-Good Morning, Young Lady by Ardyth Kennelly

Non-Fiction
-Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda
-Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
-Africa in my Blood: An Autobiography in Letters by Jane Goodall
-In Search of Robinson Crusoe by Tim Severin
-Lucy’s Bones, Sacred Stones, and Einstein’s Brain: The Remarkable Stories Behind the Great Objects and Artifacts of History, from Antiquity to the Modern Era by Harvey Rachlin

Now I freely admit that I was biased in some these choices. First of all, they were all books I already owned, so clearly I had been interested enough in them to acquire them at some point. Second, I must admit that I was a third, a half, or even three-quarters through three of these ten books when I chose them.

But even more reason to finish them, no?