Safari Notes

In the seven years since the release of An Inconvenient Truth , Box says that Earth’s melting polar ice has been speaking loudly and clearly to scientists—and the message is terrifying : “If we’ve learned anything, it’s that we’re under-predicting the sensitivity of the cryosphere,” he says. “The ice is telling us that abrupt climate change is well underway. You’ll hear people say we’re going into uncharted territory, but that’s not correct. We are already in uncharted territory.” Simply put, we’re melting the world’s ice-covered regions. And this extreme thaw is a problem for two big reasons. One, the excess water will cause sea levels to rise, thereby threatening countless coastal communities. And two, increasing amounts of water vapor in the atmosphere will effectively prime the pump for more and more extreme weather events. In 2012,  the Arctic ice cap shrank  to a record low, with only 24 percent of the Arctic Ocean covered by ice, a 50 percent drop from 1979, when

We believe our future can, and should, be powered by nature. The energy systems in place across the planet within the next four years will define the world’s climate change path for generations. All countries have a right to develop, yet we need to invest money now in clean and renewable energy – to limit dangerous climate change, to reduce the risk to human health from fossil fuels, to fast-track access to energy, and to safeguard our collective future. We call on financial institutions and governments worldwide to act immediately to invest more in sustainable energy powered by wind, water and the sun. They must phase out investments in coal, oil and gas and enable a just transition from the dirty and unsustainable energy of today. The world needs investment in nature, and there are good reasons to do so now more than ever. We stand for a future in which people live in harmony with nature. Investing in fossil fuels threatens the natural world and the stability of communitie

Spectacular Selous Game Reserve As a child, I and my family spent some years in Iringa, Tanzania and areas around it - Iringa is a town with beautiful surroundings and an excellent climate. Not far - South East of Iringa, is one of the most breathtaking, wonderful and pristine wilderness and game reserves in the world: the Selous Game Reserve. Selous ( pronounced Seloo , is named after Englishman, Frederick Courtney Selous - conservationist, hunter, explorer and author)   is the largest g ame reserve in Tanzania and due to its uniqueness, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reserve is approximately 55,000 square kilometers - about 21,236 square miles (that is four times the size of the Serengeti, more than three times the size of Swaziland and more than twice the size of Rwanda; almost five times the size of Qatar; larger than Costa Rica or Netherlands or Denmark or  Bhutan or Switzerland; and more than twice the sizes of  Massachusetts or Vermont or New Hampshire) . I quo

The Snow Leopard. They scale the great, steep slopes of mountains in Central Asia with ease, blending into the landscape. They are known for their beautiful, thick fur, with white, yellowish or soft gray coat and ringed spots of black on brown - which help camouflage them from prey. Here are some basic facts about these beautiful cats :

The evidence is in: Renewable energy is viable, reliable, and ready to go – all that’s missing is the political will to kick start an energy revolution in South Africa and the rest of Africa. Here are some of the most common myths about renewable energy - just that – myths that don’t stand up to reality. Not only for South Africa, but for the rest of the African countries - the facts are overwhelmingly in favor of using renewable, sustainable, clean energy: Right now, renewable energy is actually already cheaper than coal and nuclear power at every step.  Renewables technology is ready to go, and is working reliably in countries around the world.  The key to getting a constant supply of electricity from renewable energy is to have a mix of sources: solar and wind power, natural gas, and anaerobic digestion plants. By having a mix of sources which are spread over a wide area, we ensure there will always be a supply of energy.  The reality is that South Africa’s and other Afric

Anyone using Gmail can have the new brand inbox Gmail look which allows you to 'select the tabs you want from all five to none, drag-and-drop to move messages between tabs, set certain senders to always appear in a particular tab and star messages so that they also appear in the Primary tab.' To have the new look - sign in to your Gmail, (as shown above) and on the right hand corner, click 'Settings', click 'Configure inbox' and enable the new look by clicking 'OK' as shown below. You will have the new look as shown below. I believe, by now, everyone - by clicking on 'Settings', and clicking on the 'Configure inbox' option in the drop down - can now have the new look. If you still don't have the option to change to the new inbox look, keep on checking; you will have the option soon. The changes are available for Android and iOS users.  'If the new inbox isn't quite your style, you can simply switch off all opti

The Kakapo Parrot If asked to choose which animal is their most favorite, most people's choice would be an animal that is common and known to most people. My choice is the elephant ; of all animals, for many reasons - I like and love elephants . ARkive , a charitable non-profit organization, recently asked people around the world to vote on and say what their World's Favourite Species is, and the result is surprising but very encouraging. Furthest from my thoughts, was a creature that very few people know of or have heard of; and even fewer, have seen: a critically endangered, flightless, heavy parrot found in the wild only in New Zealand. The Kakapo - scientific name Strigops habroptila . The magnificent kakapo stole 9% of the total votes. It’s a beautiful bird that cannot fly and is only found in New Zealand. But from the many thousands of creatures with which we share our precious planet, what made the kakapo stand out from the crowd? For most of you, tragically, it