Eat A Camel or Kangaroo to Save Planet

Australians first received patriotic pleas to eat kangaroos. Based on a three year study, the next request is more urgent, the wild and proliferating camels are destroying the desert ecosystem. Eat them. It is part of the new age million camel herd control plan urged by the government. To ensure the example starts at the top, civil servants in Canberra are putting a camel on the "barbie" for their annual BBQ. Water, already an issue is a commodity that is being consumed by the animals that are now reaching out of control numbers. Same could be said for humans too - but we already know which will consume which and blame the other in the name of preservation. What a way to get over the hump.

But as they increased in numbers, they also increased greenhouse gasses and helped turn some environments into deserts, destroying plants and animals.

According to the Northern Territory natural resources department, Australia's feral camel population is doubling every nine years.

Says department spokesperson Glenn Edwards: "Because camels are cautious animals and beautifully camouflaged, and because these areas are sparsely settled, most people are simply unaware of the sheer numbers of these introduced pests – or of the extent of the damage they are causing." (Camel Herd Photo: Hans Boessem)

More than a century ago in the name of progress and needing animals better suited to the dry conditions, the great camel pack "horse" arrived for immigrants to make their way to the Australian interior hauling their survival necessities. Transportation methods drastically improved making the camel no longer required. They were set free and Voila!, a veritable camel population explosion ensued. Now, Australians in charge of policy are tying novel culinary methods to change the balance of environmental power and justice.

While Territory Camel sends some meat interstate and overseas, most is eaten in and around Alice Springs.

Camel dishes include a camel, kangaroo and crocodile pizza served at the King's Canyon Resort, and the traditional Middle Eastern "baked camel", in which carp are stuffed into turkeys, which are stuffed into a sheep, which is stuffed into a camel, which is wrapped in banana leaves and baked in coals for two days.

Monir Samad, owner of Afghan Village restaurant in Camberwell, has never eaten camel — watching them being slaughtered outside his house when he was a child was enough to put him off — but said he would certainly serve camel meat in his restaurant if it became readily available.

I am not sure about the image of being replete after eating a marsupial versus consuming filet of camel hump, but it appears to be of no concern to many. On the other hand, eating the animals to control their numbers has been part of the human condition since walking upright. Meat eating is a known accelerant to global warming so there is an "upside" to partaking. These are the latest to be put on the list as causes of methane gas that heat the earth, especially in drought stricken Australia.



One of the great food books that talks about where the food originates to the time it hits the taste buds is from author Michael Pollan. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals puts it all in perspective. Carnivores have ruled the earth for eons, now find out what greens and vegetables have been hiding along with all the processed food available at every price point. Eye opening, but not exactly mouth watering.

Whales Under Attack

Whales are having trouble finding mates due to overfishing, collisions and being mercilessly hunted. There are not enough (healthy) fish for whales to eat to sustain their numbers. Lonely whales are choosing to die rather than live without mates. So What says Japan, Norway & Iceland as they petition the sixty year old International Whaling Commission (IWC) to hunt down haunted undernourished whales to increase the coffers of their own economic engines. It is 77 nations against 3 clueless countries that stubbornly refuse to accept that hunting whales for commercial profit was pretty much over in the twentieth century. Japan, deservedly, has been under international fire and surveillance for its constant flouting of the treaty with whiny exhortations that they have people for centuries who lived off of whale hunting and that should not change. Talk about out of touch with the times and the very real threat of extinction of certain whale species.

The psychological impact of over-hunting on the highly intelligent and sociable animals has been identified as the latest threat to the survival of the species.

The whale population has already fallen dramatically over the past few centuries because to culling by Japan, Norway and Iceland, and the poisoning of oceans which kills off their food.

But now a French scientist has said the majestic mammals - which can reach 80ft in length and weigh the same as a passenger jet - could also suffer from heartbreak.

Paris naturalist Yves Paccalet said: 'It may be that these intelligent animals are so exhausted from their combat with humankind that they have simply have given up the fight.

An International Whale soap opera continues for the next week in Santiago, Chile as the debate rages led by three outlaws to have the twelve year old ban lifted or relaxed. Greenpeace's ship, Esperanza, already tailed Japan's pseudo research fleet as they chased whales for a biological study project in the South Seas of Antarctica earlier this year. Japan, now, wants to "shop" for whale meat closer to home. After a ten year absence from the IWC, returning in 2002, Iceland just plain ignores the commission's treaty using scientific study because Icelandic fisherman claim whales eat too much fish. Competition.

The Japanese delegate to the IWC, Joji Morishita, did not confirm his country's agenda at the meeting but he reaffirmed support for commercial whaling, according to an interview given to Chile's El Mercurio newspaper.

Morishita said his country's consumption of whale meat went back hundreds of years and should be respected by the rest of the world.

"This is a case of accepting the coexistence of different cultures," he said.

Japan kills some 1,000 whales a year using a loophole in the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling that allows "lethal research" on the ocean giants. Norway and Iceland defy the moratorium altogether.

The IWC seeks an Ocean whale preserve on the same scale as the UNESCO World Heritage site, Mount Kenya National Park, on land for conservation and encouraging observation in their natural habitats. Australian Environmental Minister, Peter Garrett, seeks an overhaul of the whaling forum's charter as the debate needs to encompass conservation and environmental concerns. Australia has been a loud and vociferous critic of Japan's whaling practices as well as sending Oceanic Viking in pursuit of Japan's whalers. Iceland hunts Fin or baleen whales which are an endangered species.

A démarché, diplomatic warning notice, was delivered to an unconcerned government in Reykjavik. The irony is that the excess whale meat Iceland killed was for export to Japan which claims no way no how would they be purchasers. It takes 75% of the IWC membership to make a change and no consensus is yet happening. Japan threatens to leave the IWC in dramatic fashion if their proposal is rejected. Major negotiators that settle wars are trying to close the commercial whaling loophole while others are stalwarts of the status quo. The sea saga drama drags on.

Peter Heller depicts the dangers of the deep for the world's whales in The Whale Warriors: The Battle at the Bottom of the World to Save the Planet's Largest Mammals. Heller went aboard Watson's Sea Shepard for a whale saving mission/adventure of a lifetime and captures what drives people to go to sea in a massive effort at whale conservation from the hunters.

Food Allergies On the Rise Worldwide

An allergic reaction in a young child is a terrifying thing to witness - well anyone's is really, because sometimes no one can determine what started the anaphylaxis. In the USA, the number one culprit is the well traveled peanut. For those with that specific allergy, just touching a peanut has severe implications. A famous case between two teens with one having had a breakfast featuring peanut butter on toast and the other an allergy, kissed each other. Anaphylatic shock was first diagnosed causing death - later proved to occur from an asthmatic reaction to cigarette smoke, not the peanut allergy. Foods served in school cafeterias and at snack times are under pressure from teachers and parents for more content scrutiny as allergic reactions all over the world are on the rise.

More states are moving toward standardized policies for dealing with anaphylaxis in schools, said Anne Munoz-Furlong, who runs the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.

About 2.2 million school-age children in the U.S. have food allergies, she said.

About 400,000 of them are allergic to peanuts, she said.

Monica Hollenberg of Kennewick knows how dangerous that allergy can be.

Her son, Benjamin, 7, recently touched the crust of a peanut butter sandwich at school. He then touched his eye.

His eye turned red and became severely swollen, Hollenberg said.

Benjamin has a life-threatening peanut allergy and school officials didn't immediately recognize he was having a reaction, she said.

Peanuts are originally from Peru and other places in South America. Portuguese colonizers carried peanut seedlings to Africa and China from Brazil. Peanuts made their way back across the ocean to America from European traders, where it is now a cash crop in Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas for oils, peanut butter and other products. But peanuts are not alone in the food allergy rise. Milk based products are under pressure to look at labeling, especially for milk from cloned cows which the US FDA currently says is not necessary. Genetically modified (GM) seeds are not allowed in Europe, but they are prevalent in the US.

One issue is parents inserting their judgment for what constitutes an allergy versus a medical diagnosis. Australian dietitians note with some alarm the effects of not eating enough foods with the correct amount of minerals and vitamins due to self-serve diagnostics. Food Allergy Activists may rely too much on data that is compiled over a decade ago and needs scientific peer review to augment some popular beliefs because the data should also incorporate internationally known issues rather than an American bias as allergies are noted globally. Scientists note, no increase in the number of allergy sufferers, but a dramatic increase in the number of parents ascribing rashes, itching and behavioral issues to certain foods like milk, eggs or others. Researchers are actively seeking cures for those with milk allergies. One doctor sums it up best with:

A recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics summed up the whole food allergy mess this way: "It is evident that inadequate study design and/or a paucity of data currently limit the ability to draw firm conclusions about certain aspects of [allergy] prevention through dietary interventions." Included in that report were questions about mothers avoiding allergic foods during pregnancy and breastfeeding, having kids avoid allergic foods until 2 to 3 years of age and - to my international parents' delight - when to let children start solid foods.

So what do I tell parents now? While I wait for better information, I'm hedging my bets and not saying anything new: Breastfeed exclusively for 6 months; moms, eat what you want; start solids with cereals between 4 to 6 months, and other solids at 6 months; it's best to avoid commonly allergic foods until age 1, and maybe a little longer if there's a strong family history of food allergies. But, if you have cultural traditions that favor introducing foods differently than that, go right ahead.

Nobody has any definitive answers, but there are a number of increasing dangerous issues around our food supply. Doctors plus scientists must take anxious parents complaints more seriously. Parents need to be patient in the quest for proven causes. Looking for a root cause of food allergies will take dedicated scientists looking at the effects of fish farms and the water supply, cloning on corporate farms and laboratory genetically modified food served over a period of time. Economics play a large part in which things get studied first or rise to the top of a national or global political agenda.



The title belies the seriousness of the subject, but many have added the Food Allergies for Dummies to their library of must reads on the topic. This book by Robert A. Wood, MD and contributor Joe Kraynak, is one of the most recently published works on the subjects of diagnosis and remedies in the past few months. For you, Temika - Luv Ya!

Modern Canterbury Tales With Sharia Laws

Archbishop of Canterbury, Highest Anglican of The Church of England, made the case for Britain to accept incorporating Sharia Law as the future. Shocking to some, mind bending to others, Dr. Rowan Williams, the 104th person since 597 to hold the "The Most Reverend Father in God, Forenames, by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan" job, decided to speak his mind, minus reservations, about the state of British religious legal doctrine to Anglicans around the globe. The Archbishop declared Sharia laws were much like off key music in a church, inevitable - his actual word was "unavoidable".

Dr. Williams' speech to England's Royal Courts of Justice also caused tremors in Australia where emphatic denouncements commenced immediately. It causes brain bruises to imagine the Archbishop sharing what implementing Sharia law means to Her Majesty over some righteous scones and chamomile tea.

Dr Rowan Williams said the UK had to "face up to the fact" some citizens did not relate to the British legal system.

He said adopting parts of Islamic Sharia law could help social cohesion.

For example, Muslims could choose to have marital disputes or financial matters dealt with in a Sharia court.

From Number 10 Downing Street, where the Never-ending Global War on Terror™ ® (Bush patent pending) is being waged in tandem with the USA, Prime Minister Gordon Brown rushed to say no, just no, to the Archbishop's serious musing aloud to the BBC's Radio 4 about the citizenry being subjected to necessary changes in legal practice from its Magna Carta underpinnings to embrace Sharia law in certain circumstances. In fairness, the Archbishop sought ways to integrate modern societal demographic changes and differing religious traditions from another major Faith, Islam, into British society and its legal community.



With rhetoric equal in height to the spires of the centuries old Canterbury, he notes other accommodations made in Britain while denouncing some of the odious interpretations of Sharia Law practiced by Muslim extremists like Afghanistan's Taliban. Prudence in politically presenting his point was missing in action as his thoughtful remarks caught everyone off guard as the speech became quickly condensed into the standard sound byte, squeezing the life out of his meaning and derailing insights into his interpretation of the humanistic nature of the Sharia system.

The archbishop compared allowing Muslims to take carefully defined issues to their own religious courts to the established practice among Orthodox Jews here of referring religious disputes to rabbinical courts.

Roman Catholics might also benefit from what he called “plural jurisdiction” in matters affecting religious conscience, he said. He noted that the Church of England, formally headed by the monarch, also has its own ecclesiastical courts.

“Nobody in their right mind,” the archbishop told the BBC, “would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that sometimes appears to be associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states — the extreme punishments, the attitudes to women as well.”

But equally, he said, “I don’t think we should instantly spring to the conclusion that the whole of that world of jurisprudence and practice is somehow monstrously incompatible with human rights simply because it doesn’t immediately fit with how we understand it.”

The tarring and feathering of the Oxford scholar is gathering steam as his point becomes lost in a larger more toxic political context. The how of what he expressed just drowned the what so the debate becomes about him and his views, rather than which groups for which rationales get a tolerance exemption.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the first Canterbury Tales montage of 14th century Middle as a diverse English swearing tourists on a pilgrimage telling each other stories about life and all of its travails. Fast forward to today with a vantage point of history, England's high priest shared his thoughts on Islam and its version of the rule of law and how it should be applied. Islamic Law: The Sharia from Muhammad's Time to the Present gives a or one perspective from Hunt Janin & Andre Kahlmeyer.

Australia Heats Up & Dries Out

Hotter than Hades and dryer than dust is not the way Australia wants the description to read in the weather section of travel guides. It is summer now and describing the Land Down Under as a dried up prune won't inspire a stampede of tourists rushing to book tickets either. Last year was the island's hottest on record in the south and overall ranked 6th hottest country wide. Sydney is the warmest on record since record keeping began 149 years ago. Scientists do not foresee dropping temperatures or enough rain even during La Niña. Starkly, if the ocean warms one more degree on a consistent basis, The Great Barrier Reef along with others, is in danger of dying. Climate Change and its consequences have decided Australia is just dandy for a long term stay.

It may be time to stop describing south-eastern Australia as gripped by drought and instead accept the extreme dry as permanent, one of the nation's most senior weather experts warned yesterday.

"Perhaps we should call it our new climate," said the Bureau of Meteorology's head of climate analysis, David Jones.

Surrounded by saltwater, with rain diminishing for the Land of Oz's heavily populated areas affects the nation's water supply. That is a national security issue. Australia's, along with others, interminable drought season is wreaking havoc in certain areas such as Victoria, as replacement for diminished water resources is not provided by nature at its former usual clip or in the amounts needed to offset a drought. Wilder weather means certain storm systems may provide a surfeit of rain in other areas, causing flash floods with the amount of rainfall. Water conservation policies must be part and parcel of the plans for dealing with climate change from the effects of global warming.

Rainfall across Victoria was 7% below average, but again there were large contrasts between regions. Pockets of Gippsland — hit by floods in June and November — were as wet as they have ever been, while Casterton, in the south-west, had its wettest year since 1973.

"On the other hand, the area around Melbourne was significantly drier than normal, as was north-eastern Victoria — a key catchment area for the Murray basin," Dr Trewin said.

Wow, when Australia has a dust storm, they don't come in size small. This one from 21 December, 2007 stretched out over 50 kilometers.

Climate Institute chief executive John Connor said the reality of the weather was stacking up with all projections.

"It also shows that global weather is not just about warmer weather, it's about wilder weather," he said.

"The projections are for intense storms, flooding, droughts and bushfires and we had all of those in 2007."

Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said that the statement reinforced the need to tackle climate change.

Changes will invariably come to the landscape through the passages of time. But Australia is on an accelerated pace to change by virtue of the changing Climate. A classic look by National Geographic from Roff Martin Smith capture the nation at the beginning of the 21st century in Australia: Journey Through A Timeless Land.

Japan's Clear Sky Green G-8 Agenda

The Land of the Rising Sun became the new giant head of the richy-rich conglomeration of G-8 nations today. They have plans, big bold plans that merit serious discussion. But first, Japan had to get rid of the embarrassing environmental PR issue by delaying that hypocritical hunt to find and kill 50 humpback whales for some sort of diabolical biological testing that nobody understands. Australia, a member of the Group of 8, made their righteous whale snit known with a spying ice breaker ship and energetic cheering from the USA, who for the first time in a really long time was on the right side of an international issue. But all that recent country camaraderie could prove illusory as the BIG topic of Climate Change steams to the forefront of Japan's agenda.

The US Department of State will publicly welcome the topics, while cringing, strong-arming or delaying action in the background on major parts of an agenda of reducing greenhouse emissions, Africa's future development and the exploitation of its resources, outrageous oil prices and the prevention of further nuclear proliferation. For years, the Bush administration rejected the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, named for the city in Japan and knows the UN is also anxious for a signed consensus before the agreement expires. The unGreen Bush administration is in a prevent defense mode to stall progress on that front. Until recently, they were firm non-believers in Climate Change, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. China, while not an official G-8 kool kid, gets a coveted invitation with shuttle trips already occurring between the two governments. Things could be a mite tense as Japan's event is just before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, knowing China is one of the guilty top three Co2 polluters on the planet with enormous economic influence with all of their investments in Africa and the Middle East in exchange for resources. China is one of America's de facto bankers too, holding large sums of US debt. OOOH good times ahead. Diplomacy on parade!

Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Masaharu Kohno, says leaders need to reach a consensus on how to move the process forward when they meet.

"Without any common understanding among G8 leaders, we have to be very pessimistic about the outcome of the United Nations process," he said.

Japan will beautifully set the stage and have the international press spotlight in July as the summit takes place in Toyako, a swanky resort on the northern end of the volcanic island of Hokkaidō. But before the summit, Japan will leverage its influence with other regional Asian leaders with a pre-summit and discussion of the UN roadmap agreed to in Bali. Japan's Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, has an ambitious plan to discuss additional topics of critical importance with the G-8 and first in Davos, Switzerland, such as global health care with emphasis on the UN focus on poverty and disease prevention programs.

"Environmental issues will be a big agenda" item at the summit, Fukuda said in a New Year statement.

"Japan hopes to lead the worldwide discussions in order to hand over clean skies to our children."

It has announced four main issues for the summit: environment and climate change; the world economy; development and Africa; and broad political issues such as nuclear non-proliferation and the fight against terrorism.

Last week, Fukuda vowed to use Japan's presidency to promote eco-friendly technology, saying "we must promote our technologies to the rest of the world. That should benefit Japan and the rest of the world."

And the heat goes on or rather up...



Precious Air: The Kyoto Protocol and Profit in the Global Warming Game, outlines the immense amount of economic opportunity available from capturing a corporate as well as government competitive advantage. The book is from author, Alan Reed, trying to distill the complex regulatory maze into an understandable financial model.

Coral Reef Has Just 50 Years Left

Imagine planning the tropical dive trip of a lifetime, putting on your scuba gear or goggles, snorkel and awkward flippers, grabbing the underwater camera in hopes of catching something exotic swimming by. Then splash, as you dive in expecting to find gorgeous coral reefs, instead its a barren watery wasteland. That is the coming attraction horror of the coral reef nearest you in just fifty years according to almost twenty premier marine scientists. Humans are casting so much carbon dioxide, or CO2, into the atmosphere warming everything, destruction, especially the oceans is a foregone conclusion. Coral reefs are an ecological must-have to replenish oceans and make earth a livable planet. Its fundamental to ocean survival.

This is a scientific take on three phases of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. First frame is now, second one is after just one degree rise in ocean temperature and the third is Oceanic Armageddon if the water temp rises another degree. Coral reef destruction will take fifty years, tops and that includes the magnificent array of 27,000 square kilometers of reef in The Philippines. (photo courtesy CRTR)

The faster the carbon dioxide gets into the atmosphere the bigger the increases the amount of acidification in the ocean. Acidification affects every marine animal and increases the amount of calcerous skeletons slowly taking over, like kudzu on land, making thriving areas marine ghost coasts no one will visit. The fish and other sea creatures choke as breathing becomes impossible. Coral diseases and bleaching are becoming more prevalent. Overfishing in certain areas is upsetting the balance needed to maintain the ecosystem. The health of the ocean can be gaged by the condition the coral reefs are in.

"It's vital that the public understands that the lack of sustainability in the world's carbon emissions is causing the rapid loss of coral reefs, the world's most biodiverse marine ecosystem," said Drew Harvell, Cornell professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and head of the Coral Disease Research Team, which is part of the international Coral Reef Targeted Research (CRTR) group that wrote the new study.

The rise of carbon dioxide emissions and the resultant climate warming from the burning of fossil fuels are making oceans warmer and more acidic, said co-author Harvell, which is triggering widespread coral disease and stifling coral growth toward "a tipping point for functional collapse."

Global Warming is an Earth emergency with catastrophic effects felt by people who were born in the last year may be the last generation to see the Earth in its present condition. Joshua, May your second birthday and your fiftieth be the Best with a world awash in thriving Oceans for you to visit in Peace. Most Happiest of First Years, Observant One.

Over in the Ocean: The Coral Reef is a widely acclaimed children's book introducing the beauty of the reefs with imaginative verses. Marianne Berks is the author with Jeanette Canyon providing the great illustrations.

Japan Hunts Humpbacks, Gets Global Jeers

Whale watchers the world over love to watch humpback whales at play; breaching the water with humongous splashes as they migrate. Japan is now hunting those whales in the South Pacific Ocean for the first time in 44 years so they can study them. Of course, studying the humpback whales means they have to die first. And the resulting carnage of fifty dead whales is to be scooped up and hauled back to Japan in a fleet of ships underneath the Land of the Rising Sun's banner.

This quest, kill and return of the whales has a five month project plan schedule. World condemnation of this is bloated hunt is not enough to sway Japan or its scientists attached Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) in Tokyo from its tortured version of animal science or biology. Supposedly baleen whales are redistributing their numbers and killing 50 samples will assist them in figuring out the changes happening near Antarctica. Japan is enacting the part of Captain Ahab with no remorse or regrets, because getting/eating/studying dead captured whales is now a principled action. The question now is what purpose does it serve.

Britain has lodged a formal protest.

"We do not believe that Japan's proposed lethal research that targets vulnerable humpback populations is necessary and we have serious reservations as to its scientific value," the spokeswoman said, speaking anonymously in line with government policy.

"We are committed to maintaining the moratorium on commercial whaling and will oppose all efforts by Japan to undermine this with so-called 'scientific' whaling.

"We will consider high-level diplomatic protest to the Japanese government following consultation with like-minded anti-whaling countries."

Australia has an anti-whaling sentiment directed towards Japan. It is affecting the race for prime minister in the land down under as some scientists believe the Howard government did not do all they could to stop Japan's hunt. Aussie humpback wale experts say there is no prevailing scientific rationale for this hunt.

Leading Queensland humpback scientists, Trish and Wally Franklin, said the Federal Government could have done more to stop the hunt, but chose not to. They called for an incoming government to act immediately.

Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull last night urged the Japanese Government to call off the hunt. "We again appeal to Japan to reconsider its 'scientific' whale slaughter and abandon its Southern Ocean scientific whaling program."

Labor has said that if elected it would use Australian Defence Force assets to gather evidence on Japanese whaling to mount international legal action.

There is only one known white humpback whale in the world named Migaloo. Greenpeace has a ship, Esperanza or Hope in Spanish, that will try to intercept and impeded the whalers. Greenpeace Israel issued condemnations of the scientific hunt as well.





Its Japan's 21st century Moby Dick story. It was not just a story about a whale. The timeless and classic work from Herman Melville resonates in any age. It is a must read story of man's unchained hubris much to his own detriment. The movie version starring Gregory Peck is the one I watched as a kid and remember in detail the beautiful scenery.