WWJD?

I did say you'd be hearing more about this From NPR today:
When You're Almost Extinct, Your Price Goes Up

When a species gets rare, its market value rises. The higher its price, the more it's hunted. The more it's hunted, the rarer it gets. Not a happy cycle, and this keeps happening ...

The article links to an article in the latest National Geographic on Blood Ivory. Did you know that one of the main drivers of elephant poaching is now the demand for ivory for religious statues?

Although the world has found substitutes for every one of ivory’s practical uses—billiard balls, piano keys, brush handles—its religious use is frozen in amber, and its role as a political symbol persists.

Even the Vatican:

“Ivory, ivory, ivory,” says the saleswoman at the Savelli Gallery on St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. “You didn’t expect so much. I can see it in your face.” The Vatican has recently demonstrated a commitment to confronting transnational criminal problems, signing agreements on drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime. But it has not signed the CITES treaty and so is not subject to the ivory ban. If I buy an ivory crucifix, the saleswoman says, the shop will have it blessed by a Vatican priest and shipped to me.

The home of a Filipino collector is lavish with ivory religious icons. “I don’t see the elephant,” says another Filipino collector. “I see the Lord.”

The Environmental Crisis Finds Religion

Here are the book reviews that I mentioned in class last week "The Environmental Crisis Finds Religion". Also, here is a link to an old post that I made concerning a world summit on Religion, Science, and the Environment that may be of interest.

Also, there is a working group dedicated to Religion and Conservation Biology within the Society for Conservation Biology.

As we read in Ehrlich's piece last week "scientific analysis points toward the need for a quasi-religious transformation of contemporary cultures." If anyone has any evidence of these scientific analyses or any record of this transformation taking place, feel free to add your comments here!

Harry Potter killed my owl

Owls with "ears" are thought to possess greatest magical powers, so birds like this owlet are given false decorations

A former student in this class passed on this news report to me from the Time newsfeed:
Are Harry Potter Fans Killing India's Owls?
India has a problem, an owl problem, and the government is blaming Harry Potter.
Following a report released by conservation group Traffic this week, Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh blamed fans of the Harry Potter series for the dwindling number of wild owls.

Check out the linked report, Black magic behind illegal owl trade in India, it's interesting and eye opening (albeit less Harry Potter related).

Shri Jairam Ramesh, Hon. Minister of Environment and Forest said at the launch, “Diwali should be a time for celebration across our nation, not one when our wildlife is plundered to feed ignorant superstition. India's wildlife already faces many pressures; the additional burden of being killed out of ignorance and fear is not one that has any place in our modern society.”

“Owls are as important to our ecosystem as the Tigers or any other better known charismatic species. It is important that the threat to owls is brought to light during the festival of Diwali and concrete ground action is undertaken to curb such trade” he further added.

The TRAFFIC investigation also finds that besides black magic, owls are trapped and traded for use in street performances; killed for taxidermy and for their meat; their parts are used in folk medicines; even their claws and feathers are sometimes used in headgear. Live owls are also used as decoys to catch other bird species. 

Just as an aside if any of you would like to see an owl in action then take a walk up the road that goes from the bridge between Devereaux Slough and the Ocean Meadows golf course towards the Venoco Oil storage containers at dusk. You access this road from Storke Road opposite the Santa Catalina Dorm. There are at least two large owls that hang out there that will silently swoop down at your head. I'd always heard this about owls but it is worth experiencing to find out just how silent they really are when they fly.  If you continue on into the Eucalyptus you'll then encounter a lot of bats at dusk which seem tiny after you've just been mugged by an owl. The bats tend to fly right at you and swerve at the last minute.

Religion, Science & the Environment

In Friday's discussion, we discussed how it may be time for a new "conservation religion". Here is more information about the Religion, Science & the Environment group of religious leaders and scientists I mentioned. The group travels all over the world (including the Arctic) to look at and raise awareness about environmental issues.

The professor I met who is directly involved with the group is Dr. Jane Lubchenco. She has many publications on climate change and ecology, and it an inspirational female scientist and role model.

Religion, Science, and the Environment

Here is the website of the "Religion, Science, and the Environment" movement I mentioned in section today. Dr. Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University among other scientists were invited to participate in this international symposium, which recently met in Greenland to discuss the role of religion and science in the face of climate change.

As a side-note, Jane founded the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program that teaches environmental scientists to be effective communicators of scientific information to the public, policy makers, the media and the private sector--definitely an important skill for science to influence conservation measures.