From Green Right Now Reports:

Greenpeace followed up the release this week of its latest Carting Away the Oceans scorecard with a friendly and fishy demonstration outside Trader Joe’s stores in San Francisco.

Greenpeace members, two of whom dressed as orange roughy and others who parodied Trader’s by wearing Hawaiian shirts mimicking the store’s trademark uniform, handed out information on why its important to select and buy seafood that can be replenished and also asked prospective customers to sign petition postcards to privately held grocery company.

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By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

In 1986, the International Whaling Commission banned the catching and killing of whales for commercial purposes worldwide. Whale populations - such as the North Pacific gray and the North Atlantic right whale - were threatened because of centuries of unrestricted hunting.

That ban is still in effect, with two exceptions: aboriginal peoples whose survival depends on whaling (Alaska, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, Denmark and the Russian Federation) and whaling for scientific purposes.

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By Christopher Peake
Green Right Now

Bats have creeped us out since man and bat first met. But not many of us know just how important bats are to mankind’s existence and fewer of us know that at least five species of bats are battling an epidemic that could have devastating consequences for both bat and man.

To quote the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, “Worldwide, bats play critical ecological roles in insect control, plant pollination and seed dissemination” (seed dissemination is critical to rain forest regeneration). There are 25 species of North American bat.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

When you fish for seafood at your local grocery, it can be difficult to tell whether you are supporting sustainable fishing practices.

Was the snapper you selected caught using legal, sustainable fishing practices? Should you even be buying it? Is the Chilean Sea Bass you just purchased on the “Red List” of jeopardized marine species? Does the grocery you’re patronizing buy seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council?

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From Green Right Now Reports

A new study released today says refrigerant chemicals, also known as F-gases, are a more dangerous threat to global warming than had been previously predicted. The paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, projects that HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) emissions will rise rapidly in coming years and decades and may effectively cancel out some of the greenhouse gas reductions made through energy efficiency and clean energy deployment.

Scientists have projected that greenhouse gas emissions need to be capped now and that emissions need to be rapidly reduced by mid century to stabilize the atmosphere and avoid dangerous climate change. Uncontrolled HFC consumption and emissions growth would make attaining those goals more difficult.

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By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

Up close they are such delicate creatures, their bright orange wings outlined in black and accented with white spots. But when they migrate by the millions each year — from Canada through the United States and most to a specific mountainous region of Mexico and back - monarch butterflies become one of nature’s most breathtaking spectacles.

Their tiny brains are hard-wired with biological clocks, and their eyes detect ultraviolet light variations to guide them. Every year, generations of the beautiful monarchs travel from 1,200 to 2,800 miles to their winter and summer habitats. Because most adults only live four weeks, they only travel part of the way. Then their offspring continue the trek, and on and on until they reach their habitats.

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By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

Monarch butterflies can be found in every continental state in America. Seven states have even named the monarch their “state insect,” according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

That’s good news for those who would like to create a backyard space to attract monarchs as they make their way north or south for their long annual migrations.

The first step is a to do a little research to learn what monarchs and other butterflies are fluttering around your community. Books can provide information, but lepidopterists (people who collect and study butterflies and moths) or butterfly organizations in your area also will have details.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

The Obama Administration, via the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), issued a wake-up call today, a massive report on climate change called Global Climate Change Impacts in the U.S..

It concludes that the effects of climate change are here, they’re worsening and they must be dealt with soon if future generations are to enjoy ample food, water and comfortable living conditions

Quite simply, it’s a message about impending disaster. Average temperatures are getting hotter and could rise as much as 10 degrees by the end of the century. Our use of fossil fuels is mainly to blame. If we don’t stop polluting the air with heat-trapping gases, the ensuing climate changes will lead to drought, flooding, severe storms, stressed agriculture, thinning glaciers, earlier snow melts, rising sea levels, declining ecosystems and deteriorating air quality.

End of story. Literally.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
As summer sets in, many of us are looking to shade those windows any way we can, and one of the greenest solutions is to add greenery. Outside the window, that is.
A shade tree can mitigate the heat gain on a west or south-facing window and truly cut down on [...]

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By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

Frogs and toads across the country could use a helping hand.

Amphibians — from the endangered Houston Toad to the threatened Golden Coqui — are disappearing at an alarming rate, faster than any other vertebrate. Many species around the globe have disappeared entirely, according to the Animal Welfare Institute’s Endangered Species Handbook (as well as numerous other sources.)

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From Green Right Now Reports:

An ocean advocate who has been working to protect coral systems in Florida for three decades and developed a reef-friendly anchor and mooring buoys was honored for his work on World Oceans Day.

John Halas, a marine biologist, received Oceana’s first Ocean Heroes Award, which was created to honor people making a difference in helping preserve the oceans. He was selected from among nearly 500 nominees. Oceana experts chose a list of eight finalists and online members voted for the final winners in May.

In the early 1980s, Halas saw the damage done to reefs by anchors and developed a more environmentally friendly anchor and mooring buoy system. He’s since worked to export this anchorage system to 38 countries.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Get out your blue duds and put on your educator’s hat next Monday to participate in the first ever World Oceans Day on June 8.

Organizers are asking everyone who shares concerns about the decline of the oceans - which are being taxed from overfishing and industrial and agricultural pollutants as well as by climate change –to “Wear Blue and Tell Two” on that day.

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