● NEWS ● #CounterPunch ☞ #Conservation Groups Stop Massive “Poison and Plant” Project on the North Fork of the Blackfoot River in Scapegoat Wilderness Area https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/08/16/conservation-groups-stop-massive-poison-and-plant-project-on-the-north-fork-of-the-blackfoot-river-in-scapegoat-wilderness-area/
Nature is our best friend which provides us all the resources to live here. It gives us water to drink, pure air to breathe, food to eat, land to stay, animals, plants for our other uses, etc for our betterment. We should fully enjoy the nature without disturbing its ecological balance, protecting this precious friend is our need of hour.
Also thanks to our Environment India team to give us such an incredible source of knowledge and motivating people for ethical living by their hardwork and researches.
'Our Helping Friends' 'a series of 16 articles' is a tribute to our friends from our team.
#environment #sustainability #climatechange #sustainable #conservation #circulareconomy #nature #ecofriendly #earth #sustainabledevelopment #team #india #people #inspiration #community #friendship #friendshipday #friendshipday2021
Electrocution threat to pachyderms in Odisha
From agri-waste to eco-textiles: crop residue finds a place in fashion
Chhattisgarh approves auction of 17 coal blocks, triggers wildlife concerns
Leopard skin, arms seized in Odisha: One arrested
Assam Orders Probe Into Death Of Scores Of Birds In Barpeta
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#wildlife #sustainability #scienceandenvironment #naturalworld #environment #india #nature #fashion #textiles #AgriWaste #Assam #Biodegradability #Birds #Chhattisgarh #coalmining #Coalplants #CoalIndia #CropResidue #Ecology #EcoTextiles #Electrocution #Elephants #environmentind #Forest #HumanGreed #Leopardpoaching #News #Odisha #Pachyderms #Poaching #Savewildlife #SaveElephants #SaveLeopards #ShroffIndustries #SpecialTaskForce #Sustainability #Sustainablefashion #sustainablejobs #SustainableSociety #conservation #climatechange #design
It’s no secret the world’s wildlife is in dire straits. New data shows a heatwave in the Pacific Northwest killed more than 1 billion sea creatures in June, while Australia’s devastating bushfires of 2019-2020 killed or displaced 3 billion animals. Indeed, 1 million species face extinction worldwide.
These numbers are overwhelming, but a serious global commitment can help reverse current tragic rates of biodiversity loss.
This week the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity released a draft of its newest ten-year global plan. Often considered to be the Paris Agreement of biodiversity, the new plan aims to galvanise planetary scale action to achieve a world “living in harmony with nature” by 2050.
But if the plan goes ahead in its current form, it will fall short in safeguarding the wonder of our natural world. This is primarily because it doesn’t legally bind nations to it, risking the same mistakes made by the last ten-year plan, which didn’t stop biodiversity decline.
Repeating mistakes: why the plan to protect the world’s wildlife falls short
featuring a burrowing bettong and an amazing shot of the Kimberley
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-08/australian-wildlife-photographer-wayne-lawler-true-hero/100270470
To know about ten reasons how nature is our friend and how can we protect it. Go ahead and read our article.
#nature #environmentfriendly #environment #protectearth #naturebeauty #climatechange #sustainability #climate #conservation #globalwarming #climatecrisis #biodiversity #climateemergency #sustainable #water #earth
A conservation photographer has documented the unique biodiversity found in the vernal pools of Appalachia and has released a free e-book that shares the result of his years-long passion and provides tips to others who are curious about this type of photography.
Steven David Johnson is a Virginia-based conservation photographer and professor who has been published across multiple magainzes such as Nature Conservancy Magazine, Virginia Wildlife, Orion, and others. Johnson has a lifelong dedication to documenting the natural world and is the Vice President of the Virginia Wilderness Committee and an Affiliate of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
Growing up in rural western New York state, Johnson was surrounded by forests, ponds, and the Genesee River and as a result, newts, toads, and fireflies became a regular part of his childhood exploration. His early love for nature grew into the pursuit of an art major with a photo concentration in college and continued through a degree in digital media studies in grad school.
As an adult, Johnson moved to Virginia in 2005 and became a photography teacher at Eastern Mennonite University. He tells PetaPixel that nature photography became a way for him to understand and communicate about his new environment, most notable learning about the central and southern Appalachians, which provide biodiversity hotspots for salamanders -- with more than 50 species in Virginia alone. Johnson says that this fueled his macro photography skills as he learned to document salamanders, frogs, and other -- often hidden -- life forms in the forests. He eventually moved to underwater photography to capture complete life cycles.
The vernal pools of Appalachia -- which is the central stage for Johnson's photography work and the basis of his e-book -- are temporary bodies of water formed from seasonal rains and snowmelt. This environment is ideal for many egg-laying creatures and in late winter and early spring, these pools host breeding events for amphibians and macroinvertebrates.
"There’s a tiny world of beauty and complexity that deserves appreciation and protection," writes Johnson in his e-book.
Although documenting vernal pools life cycles is cyclical -- because the same events happen annually -- each year brings an additional layer of complexity, depth, and new discoveries about behavior.
"It's a dramatic cycle that takes place on a minute scale," explains Johnson.
Johnson's goal is not just to document biodiversity and behavior, but also to "help viewers to experience an emotional connection with the amazing creatures that live in vernal pools," which means getting close with a low perspective using macro and wide-angle lenses.
To capture the fascinating underwater world, Johnson uses two sets of cameras. The first one is Sony Alpha a6500 in a Fantasea underwater housing with Sea&Sea YS-01 strobes and Light and Motion Sola video lights. He uses either a Sony f/2.8 Macro lens or a Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 lens in conjunction with a Nauticam WWL-1 Wet Wide lens.
His other camera setup uses a Sony a7R III in a Seafrogs underwater housing with the same lighting tools along with either Sony FE 50mm F/2.8 Macro lens or a Venus Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra-Macro lens.
Johnson switched to mirrorless cameras in recent years as he says that it is much easier to observe an LCD viewfinder than an optical one when the camera is submerged in water. Although, in deeper pools, it is sometimes necessary to position the camera a couple of feet below the surface, which makes viewing the LCD difficult. At times, Johnson also positions the camera and tries focusing without actually seeing the camera screen.
Shooting late at night -- during winter and early spring -- makes good lighting a necessity. The Sola underwater lights serve as general flashlights for his fieldwork and as focus lights. In addition, he uses one or two underwater strobes attached to an underwater housing for most of his vernal pool stills, although positioning them requires a lot of patience and experimentation.
"I’ll often experiment with lighting setups on action figures at home before heading out into the field," he says. "Yoda and Hammerhead are my standbys."
Although this is his personal choice of equipment, Johnson explains that shouldn't deter beginners. Shallow freshwater environment photography equipment can range from setups as simple as a waterproof phone to a full-blown underwater housing with attached strobes and video lights. Just using a smartphone can be enough for burgeoning photographers to try their hand at documenting underwater life, especially when choosing an app that allows manual focus and even underwater time-lapses. The ability to shoot video on smartphones can be helpful as are add-on lenses that allow macro or wide-angle photography below the surface.
As an experienced professional, Johnson is familiar with health and safety practices. For example, when he descends into deeper water with chest waders, he moves slowly and chooses his steps with care. In order to reduce the possible transmission of disease, he dips his wader boots into a mild bleach solution and scrubs off any mud before traveling between watersheds. Johnson also notes that he avoids using insect repellent because it can impact fragile freshwater environments.
Johnson also says that a reliable GPS is essential since this type of work requires shooting in the dark forests, as is an extra load of batteries for the equipment. To protect himself and his equipment in the case of rain, Johnson dresses in layers and brings a poncho and a camera bag cover. He also started wearing shoulder-length waterproof gloves to extend his working time seeing as early-season vernal pools can make fingers numb.
Regardless of the available equipment a photographer has access to -- whether it is a smartphone, a compact camera, a DSLR, or a mirrorless -- Johnson recommends simply starting by taking photos in their own backyard. Observing the living world that photographers have at their doorstep will provide a good entry to documenting it, such as "jumping spiders ambushing flies inside of flowers, spicebush caterpillars mimicking snakes, and green frogs competing for mates," and more.
In his free e-book, titled "Vernal Pools: Documenting Life in Temporary Ponds," Johnson provides a detailed insight not just into his own findings and the resulting imagery but also practical equipment suggestions, lighting strategies, and general tips on working with this type of environment.
More of Johnson's conservation photography can be viewed on his website and Instagram page.
Image credits: All images by Steven David Johnson and used with permission.
#educational #features #inspiration #conservation #insectmacrophotography #macro #nature #ultramacrophotography #underwater #underwaterhousing #underwatermacro #wildlife #wildlifeconservation
Every year on the third Friday in May, thousands of people around the world participate in Endangered Species Day by celebrating, learning about, and taking action to protect threatened and endangered species.
Scientists tell us the best way to protect endangered species is to protect the special places where they live. Wildlife must have places to find food, shelter and raise their young. Logging, oil and gas drilling, over-grazing and development all result habitat destruction. Endangered species habitat should be protected and these impacts minimized.
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#conservation #wildlife #nature #biodiversity #india #environmentind #animals #AnimalFriends #AnimalProtection #Endangered #EndangeredSpecies #EndangeredSpeciesDay #Environment #indenvironment IUCN #May21 #SaveAnimals #savebirds #SaveCheetah #saveearth #SaveElephants #Savelife #Savenature #SavePangolin #Savetigers #Savewildlife #savebuxwahaforest #species #Wildanimals #life
https://theconversation.com/water-wells-are-at-risk-of-going-dry-in-the-us-and-worldwide-160147
https://www.dhakatribune.com/climate-change/2021/05/04/water-is-life
"Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink"
#water #wells #us #worldwide #bangladesh #paniijibon #environment #climatechange #drinking #shortage #groundwater #aquifers #crisis #helvetas #agriculture #irrigation #conservation #quality #security #videos
TED · Thomas Crowther
#climate #change #nature #environment #ecology #innovation #biodiversity #trees #forest #science #technology #conservation
Biodiversity is the key to life on Earth and reviving our damaged planet, says ecologist Thomas Crowther. Sharing the inside story of his headline-making research on reforestation, which led to the UN's viral Trillion Trees Campaign, Crowther introduces Restor: an expansive, informative platform built to enable anyone, anywhere to help restore the biodiversity of Earth's ecosystems.
https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_crowther_the_global_movement_to_restore_nature_s_biodiversity
Snow Leopard, watercolor on ivorine, ©Rebecca Latham
I went to a lecture recently themed around conservation. After the session, one young woman asked the speaker "but why do you bother saving this species?" If they are so threatened, if it will cost large sums of time, effort, and currency, why bother? Why care? It's a losing battle.
She wasn't stating this regarding her own convictions. She was dedicated to supporting wildlife and environmental causes in need. However, she receives this stance (apparently regularly) against her support for saving species.
The question remains. Why do we?
One argument, because humanity has unfortunately aided in their decline to this point. We push them out of their habitat, clearing land they call home. Sometimes they have special needs and can't just adapt. ..or hunting or pet trade has diminished their population. Are we responsible? Then shouldn't we be obligated to fix it?
A second point.. as the common idiom states, "Variety is the spice of life". Do we really want to lose that variety? Forever?
We live in an elaborate web. All species are connected in some way, with each other, and our environment. If one loose thread is pulled, one species falls off the map, etc., things begin to unravel in other places. It has happened already, and sadly, we only see the impact in hindsight. We do not yet fully understand the workings of this vast ecosystem we live in. Are we really prepared to start willingly pulling threads?
Personally, I am the type that slams on the brakes on the highway for the hen mallard and her seven ducklings crossing the road at midday. (yes, true story) ..because, rare or not, they have just as much right to be here as we do.
Do you support conservation? Why do you 'bother'?
©Rebecca Latham
http://lathamstudios.com/rebecca/2013/07/conservation-why-bother/
#art #artist #fineart #painting #watercolor #originalart #realism #miniature #miniaturepainting #environmentalart #kunst #kunstler #maler #gemalde #arte #artiste #peinture #aquarelle #inspiration #article #conservation
