Save the Frogs!

Save the Frogs:

Due to the increasing deforestation of the Amazon, several species have become at risk of extinction. One of these species is the blue poison dart frog. These frogs are only found in very few areas of Southern Suriname, South America. The species is labeled “vulnerable” on the World Conservation Union’s red list of threatened species

Keepers at the Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire Oaks are ambitiously recreating an environment that will stimulate the frogs to breed at the aquarium with the help of heaters and water spray devices to replicate the rainy season. The hope in all of this is to increase the pattern of breeding among the blue dart frogs and raise the numbers of the species from endangered.  

The aquarium has in possession two male and two female dart frogs. Adam Mitchell of the Blue Planet Aquarium describes the mating ritual as “In the breeding season the male sits on a rock and calls to females, who fight over him. Afterwards, the victorious female begins the courtship ritual by gently stroking his snout and dorsal surface with her forelegs.”
He added: “When the female lays the eggs, the male fertilizes them and it’s then left up to him to look after them until they hatch into tadpoles.”

The distinctive name of the blue poison dart frog derives from native tribe’s practice of using the toxin on the frog’s skin to lace their darts and arrows with the poison. Scientists confirm that the toxicity of the frog comes from the accumulation of the poisonous insects that they feed on.

Brazil's First Female President: Feminist and Pro -Development???

Dilma Rousseff, newly elected president of Brazil as of last week. She is already taking a stand for the woman Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani who was convicted of adultery in Iran and sentenced to death by stoning in 2006. Rousseff stated that it would be a “barbaric” act to execute a woman for adultery.  Brazilian officials offered to take the woman into Brazil as a citizen if Iran would spare her life. The offer was rejected. Brazil was trying to use the friendly ties with Iran to influence the case in the convicted woman’s favor.

As for the environment, it doesn’t look like the newly elected female president will take action for the environment including deforestation and carbon reducing emissions. “Rousseff had privately resisted Brazil's decision to present voluntary carbon reduction targets at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen last December.”

Arguably, Rousseff had to win the votes of the 20% of green party voters that supported Ms.Silva for environmental reasons. Silva was a third party in the race to president placing much promise in saving the Amazon from deforestation and carbon reducing industry. Carlos Minc, Ms Silva successor as environment minister, was sent to try and save Rousseff’s face by saying. “I’m not saying Dilma is a card-carrying environmentalist,” Mr Minc told Estado de São Paulo, a newspaper. “She’s pro-development, but pro-development with environmental sensitivity.” He has been authorized by Rousseff to promise a variety of green-friendly policies, including lower taxes on equipment for solar- and wind-power generation and a review of a proposed amnesty for illegal logging.

Only time will tell for the decisions regarding the Amazon from this first time woman president who is so passionate for women’s rights and is pro-development.

S.O.S.: Amazon is in a Drought

S.O.S.: The Amazon is in a Drought

By~Nichole Rose

Brazil’s rivers have hit an all time low, leaving 38 already impoverished communities at the mercy of emergency aid. This is approximately 62,000 people. Thousands of boats are stranded on dry river beds. The drop in water level has exposed banks of sand and rock, preventing the river from being navigable. The communities depend heavily on the river to transportation and fishing. The fish are dying due to the shallower, warmer water.

The Rio Negro River, a large black water river that runs through the Amazon dropped on Sunday to 45 feet. The Brazilian Geological Service states this is the lowest it has been since record keeping began on the river in 1902.  Last year, the area received a widespread flood that raised the level to the Rio Negro River to a record high of 98 feet.

"I've worked in the region about 30 years and never seen anything like the last few years. This has everything to do with climate change." said Rosival Dias, a coordinator with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation environmental group who has visited affected areas.

The Brazilian Government announced that they are giving $13.5 million for emergency aid along with 600 tons of food that must be carried by plane.

All 33 Chilean Miners Rescued Without a Hitch ~Nichole Rose

It was like clockwork on October 12th and 13th for the rescuers at the head of the Chilean mine where 33 men were trapped since August 5, 2010. The process of rescuing these men one by one continued into the night till the last miner was rescued at 2200. Taking precautions by greasing the wheels between descents of the Fenix 2 capsule for the smooth assent of another miner, the rescuers are victorious and miners are grateful. The process was smooth and went without a hitch.

The Fenix 2 is on display today in the nation's capitol, Santiago at the opening of a public exhibit outside the presidential palace.

Reports that the miners were terrified and requested to leave the mine the day it collapsed are being investigated. Some of the men heard loud cracking and creaking sounds that signaled the miners to evacuate three hours before the collapse. Permission was denied to the miners for evacuation by their owners and managers of San Esteban Mining Company. These allegations are being looked into and the miners are being questioned one by one.

The miners have banded together for a silent vow so that they may write a book together and share the profits equally among the 33 of them. So hope is futile for interviews regarding the first two weeks of the collapse in the mine. All will be disclosed in the future proposed book.

Chilean Miners See The Light Today! ~Nichole Rose

After months of darkness and half a mile into the Earth, Chilean miners will finally be rescued today.  A capsule will be lowered into the shaft and rescue the men one by one.  Each trip could take between eleven to sixty minutes. The rescuers have run four test runs to make sure the capsule and the drilled pathway is smooth and safe.

The relatives of the miners have made a tent city heartily named Camp Hope. The relatives are very excited to see their loved ones rise from the Earth. They are waiting with homemade food and champagne. Also 1400 journalists have flooded into the area to broadcast the rescue from the first miner to surface to the last miner to emerge. The rescuers say that to rescue all the men will take about 48 hours. CNN is expected to cover the rescue throughout the night.

The Chilean president, Sebastian Pinera, arrived on site of the mine today as well. He has made the rescue his number one priority, sparing no expense or technological innovation. This has increased his popularity considerably.

What is interesting is the miners are not debating on who would be first to go up the shaft but who shall be the last.   The Chilean miners have already reached the record of being trapped underground for the longest period of time but the importance is in the last individual to emerge to hold the actual record.

Vampire bats Wreak Havoc on Awajun and Wampis Community ~Nichole Rose

Local health officials have reported that vampire bats in the region of the northern Amazon region have bitten over 3,500 people. The bats have killed 20 people with a recent child that makes the 5^th child to die from the rabies infected bats. The ages of the children that have died are between 5 and 10 years old. Rabies is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain and is fatal, especially in children.

Peru’s health ministry has sent emergency units to the area to vaccinate the people of the Awajun and Wampis tribes. So far they have immunized 900 people but some are hesitant to take the vaccine and have refused to receive it. Many fear that the death toll will rise because of the cost of obtaining the vaccine and the difficult means of getting it to the tribes.

Vampire bats usually feed on livestock and other mammals by night but since the rainforest is undergoing utter destruction of habitat, the people are more susceptible to being bit by these bats.

Chilean Miners Update: The Rescue Pod Arrives! ~Nichole Rose

Chilean miners update:

San Jose, Chile~ The 33 miners of Chile that have been trapped in a mine since August 5 are receiving many luxury items to aid in the comfort of their situation. They have not only received cots that were sent down disassembled to be re assembled by the men trapped, but they have also received water to drink and shower through tubes that pump 100 liters of water a day to them.

The cage arrived at the mine head to rescue the men from the mine shaft that is half a mile deep into the Earth. The steel case is named Phoenix from the Greek mythological bird that rose from the ashes. Once a rescue shaft is drilled large enough for the steel cage to be lowered into the mine shaft, it will pull the men up one by one. Rescuers estimate that it will take between 20 and 30 minutes to pull up each miner. The case is equipped with communication devices and oxygen that will last for 90 minutes. The case also opens from the bottom for safe entrance for the miners and for emergency precaution that if the case gets stuck, the miner can wedge his way back down to the other miners safely.

The trapped miners have families that are camping at the mine head for support of their loved ones, clapped when the cage arrived. Many of them even got a chance to stand in the cage and see for themselves the roominess of it and how it will operate for the rescue. Mining Minister, Laurence Golborne says that they are ahead of schedule for the rescue and plans to start pulling miners up as early as first week of November. As of Saturday, the first of three holes has been drilled to 1,458 feet deep. Progress in underway.