Wildlife Protection

Take 2 New & Recycled Apparel is taking a stand on deforestation, climate pollution and human rights abuses related to the surge in the growth of unsustainable palm oil.Make a donation to Take 2's Responsible Palm Oil Fund and Take 2 will match the first $500 of customer donations to the fund.Text eswa to 50155or visit https://secure.qgiv.com/for/edr/Click here for the poster or click here to see the presentation.Visit Take 2's Facebook pageWhat’s wrong with palm oil?It’s estimated that nearly half of packaged goods sold in your local supermarket contain palm oil. Unfortunately the boom in producing unsustainable palm oil has led to deforestation, displacement of indigenous peoples and the destruction of habitat of endangered species like orangutans, elephants and tigers.Should I stop buying palm oil?Fortunately there are ways to produce palm oil in a sustainable manner and conservation groups working on transitioning communities dependent on palm oil production to using those practices.What you can doLook for the labelsCompanies may label products like cooking oils, soaps, and food with the RSPO label which means the oil is produced in a sustainable manner or the Green Palm label which means they are helping their suppliers transition to better practices.Check the scoresThe World Wildlife Fund has a scorecard of major retailers to let you know who’s doing their part and where to shop. Your grocery store might not be doing all they can. www.worldwildlife.org/publications/palm-oil-scorecard-2016Let companies know you careSign the petition to let food suppliers know you care about the issue and that they should be sourcing palm oil responsibly. http://www.ran.org/snack_food_20EarthShare Washington would like to thank Take 2 New & Recycle Apparel for taking on an issue important to them and joining with us in supporting this cause. Take 2, New and Recycled Apparel, has been a well-loved part of Seattle’s Capitol Hill community since 1984.  They offer their customers well-priced new apparel, lovely jewelry, fun accessories, and exceptional consignment items.  This program represents our first small-fund/small-shop partnership where a local business takes on supporting conservation in a way that matches their goals, their company’s culture and their concern for the environment.The responsible palm oil funds the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and the Rainforest Alliance – groups working to help transition communities to sustainable production, providing sound solutions to those affected, raising awareness of the issue and convincing companies to make sustainable choices in sourcing palm oil.

Audubon leads the way in protecting birds and building leaders, from chapter volunteers surveying sagebrush songbirds in Easter Washington to teens leading restoration at Seward Park. Check out this video for the stories of people making a difference for our birds and our community.  

Over 30 new species discovered annually in the Himalans and habitat is threatened. Take a look at all the plants and animals affected.World Wildlife Fund news - A sneezing monkey, a walking fish and a jewel-like snake are just some of a biological treasure trove of over 200 new species discovered in the Eastern Himalayas in recent years, according to a new report by WWF. The vibrant blue dwarf ‘walking’ snakehead fish can breathe atmospheric air and survive on land for up to four days. And the newly-found monkey’s upturned nose leads to a sneeze every time the rain falls. In total, 211 species were discovered between 2009 and 2014—that’s an average of 34 new species annually for the past six years. The report maps out the volume of new species found by scientists from various organizations including 133 plants, 39 invertebrates, 26 fish, 10 amphibians, one reptile, one bird and one mammal.Conserving Biodiversity One of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, the Eastern Himalayas—spanning Bhutan, north-east India, Nepal, north Myanmar and the southern parts of Tibet—are also under grave threat. Due to development, only 25% of the original habitats in the region remain intact and hundreds of species that live in the Eastern Himalayas are considered globally threatened. Climate change is by...HUNDREDS OF NEW SPECIES DISCOVERED IN THE EASTERN HIMALAYAN REGION 

An amazing photo by Stephen Belcher shows a Javan rhino with a world population of 57. This places the animal on the critically endangered list with a high risk of going extinct.World Wildlife Fund news - These could be the best photos of one of the world’s rarest mammals.Stunning images of an elusive Javan rhino were captured by photographer Stephen Belcher in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park—a first in nearly 15 years of only capturing blurry camera trap images of the animal. Javan rhinos are extremely difficult to photograph because they are very shy and live in dense, often impenetrable rain forests.With only 57 left in the wild and none in captivity, Javan rhinos are extremely vulnerable to extinction. Only one population clings to survival in a small protected area on the island of Java. An outbreak of disease, a tsunami, an eruption of the nearby Anak Krakatau volcano or a concentrated poaching epidemic could wipe out this species forever.WWF and our partners are seeking wide agreement and political endorsement for a new, safe and healthy Javan rhino habitat to establish a second Javan rhino population and ensure its survival should the first experience any catastrophic event.“We have brought white, black and Indian rhinos back from the brink of extinction,” WWF’s Dr. Barney Long said. “Now it’s time to do the same for the...New Images of One of the World's Rarest Mammals 

Audubon Washington has been working hard to get support for important protections along Puget Sound.Tiny fish in Puget Sound are about to get a whole lot more attention. Legislation championed by Senator Christine Rolfes and recently signed by Governor Inslee will fund research on the forage fish populations in Puget Sound. Together with our chapter network, Audubon Washington educated our legislators on the importance of forage fish for marine birds and the marine food web at large. Whether it was talking forage fish with their representatives on Advocacy Day, writing letters and making phone calls at key junctures, or providing testimony at Committee hearings, Audubon chapters and state staff worked to make sure the needs of birds were on the table.Audubon was also happy announce the derailment of plans to spray toxic chemicals in nearby estuaries.Shellfish growers along Washington’s outer coast did the right thing earlier this week and asked the Department of Ecology to cancel a permit that would have allowed the spraying of a toxic chemical in estuaries that are critical for migrating shorebirds on their annual trek to breeding grounds in Alaska.  Audubon Washington, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries Service and others opposed the issuance of the permit to allow a neurotoxin called imidacloprid to be sprayed in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor – home to nine Important Bird Areas. We provided credible information to the media and activated our network to let Ecology and the Governor know this was unacceptable. It was the outcry from local chefs, restaurants, and consumers that really turned the tide and saved our birds

It's a good thing when businesses look far and wide for ways to reduce their impact. See how WWF is partnering with Apple to help China reduce waste and source materials more wisely.World Wildlife Fund news -Through a new project announced today, WWF and Apple will help China—the world’s largest producer and consumer of paper products—reduce its environmental footprint by producing paper products from responsibly managed forests within its own borders. The five-year project is an opportunity to position China as a country that uses less land, water and pollution to produce paper, while still meeting the high and growing demand for paper products. This approach to forest management is increasingly common in China but not yet widespread. The WWF and Apple project demonstrates the dynamic role that companies can play in protecting forests. WWF believes that companies should use paper more efficiently, increase recycled paper content and source paper responsibly, which Apple has publicly stated it is doing. But, to truly secure forests, companies must also proactively conserve the acreage of working forests around the world that is required to meet their needs on an annual basis. Apple is doing so, in relation to its virgin fiber footprint, through this and other initiatives. “This project is an unprecedented opportunity to drive responsible forestry in China and...WWF and Apple Commit to Help Protect China’s Forests