Help the Green Turtle!

Help the Green Turtle!

        Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the Green Turtle! Chelonia Mydas is a marine reptile turtle that lives in the coral reefs around the world and the Galapagos Islands. From 150-400 pounds, they measure to about 3 feet long. One of the largest marine turtles, they are herbivorous and are named not for the color of their shell, but because of their green cartilage and fat. They are found in tropical or subtropical waters of the sea, and are one of the most admired turtles in the world.

          But soon, they will no longer be on this Earth. They are endangered and their population is decreasing. Bycatch is one major cause of their risk. Bycatch is when an unwanted animal is caught in fishnets and hooks solely for the capturing of seafood. Green Turtles migrate across the ocean to nest their eggs. They are frequently caught in fishnets and gillnets for these occasions. Because of human activity, the beaches needed for their nests are being taken or damaged. Sea grass beds, the Green Turtle’s main food source, are in danger of sedimentation and pollution. Green Turtles and their eggs are being harvested for various reasons. All these contributing factors are making the Green Turtles disappear.

          But there are many way for you to help. You could:

1. Start a petition and get people to sign it
2. Tell someone
3. Boycott Green Turtle eggs or other products
4. Clean up beaches and avoid damaging their nests
5. Abstain from seafood for a while (optional)

Help the Green Turtles!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Galapagos Turtle!

Help the Galapagos Tortoise!

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the Galapagos Tortoise. This extraordinary animal weighs to be about 700 pounds with a length of 4 feet—the largest living tortoise in the worl. These extremely rare animals are only found in the wild in the islands of Galapagos, west of the South American country Ecuador. The naturalist Charles Darwin studied these magnificent creatures during his trip to the Galapagos Islands and today has been one of the most adored creatures of the Earth.

          However, their population is decreasing slowly. Their status is vulnerable, and the last Pinta Island Galapagos Tortoise about the age of 100 years died at the Charles Darwin Research Station. What can cause such major impact? Invasive species introduced to the islands are taking up their resources. Domestic cats and dogs sometimes prey upon the baby tortoises. Domestic cattle and other farm animals graze the grass the Galapagos Tortoises need to eat and cover for hiding their nests from predators. Whalers, merchants, and on some occasions, pirates slaughter the tortoise for its meat.

         All these are causing the Galapagos Tortoises to slowly disappear. But you can help! You could:

1. Tell someone
2. Write an article in the newspaper
3. Start a petition to help them
4. Donate to the Charles Darwin Research Center and other organizations.
5. Boycott the Galapagos Tortoise meat.

Help the Galapagos Tortoise!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Orangutan!

Help the Orangutans!

    Hello, this is IGL and this post is about the orangutan. Kristine, as the writer, is very excited to write about her favorite animal. Orangutans are found in Malaysia and Indonesia, including the island of Sumatra and Borneo. They live in the rainforests’ trees in most of the time in their lives. Their beautiful mahogany-red fur distincts the orangutans’ looks. They are the largest arboreal ape mammal, not monkey. Orangutans are not monkeys because apes have tails, are larger, and have bigger chests. They can carry their 200 pound weight with their large arms. They are highly intelligent and alike humans in so many ways. In fact, it has recently been discovered that orangutans share about 95% of humans’ genes. “Orangutan” (derived from “orang hutan”) means “man of the forest” in the Malay language. They are solitary except for the time females care for their babies. Their diet consists mainly of fruits like durian (a stinky but delicious fruit), wild plum, figs, rambutan (a hairy-like fruit with red on the outside but squishy and white in the inside), mangosteen (a strange-looking whitish fruit), and jackfruit (yellow and large). They also eat certain insects like termites and parts of some plants. Orangutans get their water supply by drinking through holes in the trees and sleep on vegetational made nests in treetops. Most adult males have flanges, which are large cheek pads that rounds their face. However, some males don’t have flanges, looking like an adult female. There are two species of orangutans: the Bornean and the Sumatran. They differ a bit in characteristics and behavior. Borneans have less facial hair than the Sumatran and larger cheek flanges. They also walk down on the forest floor, which is difficult for orangutans to do because of their short legs and incredibly large arms. Sumatrans also have more social bonds.

    Both the Bornean and Sumatran orangutans are declining. The Bornean is endangered and the Sumatran is critically endangered. They matter to the world because when they eat the fruits, they also eat the seeds. In their feces they decompose the seeds, spreading around on the soil. If orangutans disappear, many tree species will disappear too. Their habitat is also being taken away. The demand in the world’s commerce of palm oil has endangered these creatures. In many food products such as certain brands of mayonnaise, some lotions, and some companies of greek yogurt, palm oil is found. Palm oil is one of the most cheapest oils to be developed, and many product companies try to hide the fact by putting in the ingredients something different, like “glyceryl stearate” or “vegetable oil”. Palm oil originates from the plant the oil palm. The oil palm grows the best in rainforests, so the trees are being cut down to make space for oil palm plantations. More and more palm oil plantations are being formed, and less trees are growing to help the orangutans. Note: palm kernels, palm kernel oil, or anything that has the word “palm” is most likely from oil palms. You’d be surprised how much products you have in your house that has the ingredients “palm oil”. Since they’re big and slow, they are shot in retaliation. They are also shot when they come to farms and accidentally damage the crops. Baby orangutans are also taken as exotic pets by shooting the mothers and taking the babies into the exotic pet trade. Even though laws are passed to illegalize exotic pet trade, people still do so secretly in the black market. In Indonesia, orangutan skulls are also traded in the black market. Orangutans are also being hunted as bushmeat, or “gourmet” food.

    You can always help the orangutans. You could:

1. Spread the word. Tell people about the orangutans.
2. Start a petition. Get people to sign it.
3. Donate to organizations that help orangutans.
4. Boycott against the exotic pet trade.
5. Sparingly use paper.
6. Try not to use palm oil or products with ingredients from the oil palm.
7. Boycott skull trading.
8. Go against bushmeat.
9. Support zoo programs that help orangutans.

HELP THE ORANGUTANS!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Chimpanzee!

Help the Chimpanzee!

    Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the chimpanzee. The chimpanzee lives deep in the Congo Basin in Africa, and is one of the world’s most intelligent animals ever. In fact, they are much like humans. They share about 98% of humans’ DNA, and many characteristics in their lifestyle and behavior show how much they are alike us. They care for their children for a long period of time and they live for more than fifty years. They have the knowledge to make tools, like sticking a twig in a termite hole to get their food. Even though they spend their life in trees, they can walk on their feet for a mile.

    Although humans aren’t so different from chimpanzees, we are the reason for pushing them into extinction. They are currently in a status of “endangered” for many reasons in human development. In Africa, people are eating chimps as bushmeat. Bushmeat is when the people hunt an endangered wild animal as food. Even though bushmeat is primarily used for people in poverty that can’t find anything else to eat, chimpanzee has become a common food source for wealthy residents, like how people eat wild animals and say it’s “gourmet”. But that’s not the only contributing factor. Young chimpanzee babies are being traded as exotic pets, and people don’t know how to take care of it properly, endangering its life. The Ebola Virus Disease is affecting many chimpanzee’s lives, causing multiple fatal deaths.

    There are many ways to help the chimpanzee. You could:

1. Donate to organizations that help this species.
2. Spread the word and tell people about it.
3. Start a petition and get people to sign it.
4. Boycott bushmeat and illegal hunting.
5. Go against the exotic pet trade.
6. Tell people about the Ebola Virus Disease.

Help the chimpanzee!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Atlantic Cod!

Help the Atlantic Cod!

         Hello, this is IGL and this post is about helping the Atlantic Cod. The Atlantic Cod was once an abundant species of fish. The Atlantic Cod has a tannish-gold color with yellow fins that shine in the water. There long, slender body could easily be seen in the high waters because of their beautiful glinting color. This fish was traded and sold widely in markets, even the colonial times during the seventeenth century. The fish was so plentiful the people back then didn’t bother of conserving the Atlantic cod.

          However, the present day has a lack of Atlantic cods in the world. The Atlantic cod is currently endangered and scientists believe that they will soon be extinct. Organizations helping this species of fish agreed to make an Atlantic cod fish watch, which means that fishermen can make sure they aren’t fishing too much of them. People are working to keep the Atlantic cod thriving so they will be soon hunted as food once more, but not too much to endanger them again. 

          There are many ways to help the Atlantic cod. You could:

1.     Limit eating so much Atlantic cod if you already.

2.    Try eating a different species of fish that is more abundant in the oceans.

3.    Donate to organizations that help this fish, such as NOAA.

4.    Spread the word about the Atlantic cod.

5.    Boycott foods with the Atlantic cod.

6.    Start a petition and get people to sign it.

Help the Atlantic cod!

Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Bluefin Tuna!

Help the Bluefin Tuna!

          Hello, this is IGL and this post is about the Bluefin Tuna. The Bluefin Tuna is a type of oceanic fish that is endangered since the past few decades. The three species of Bluefin Tuna are Atlantic, Pacific and South. The Atlantic is the most endangered type of Bluefin Tuna. They swim really fast and dive thousands of feet down. They make the ocean unique. However, because of us, they are declining.

          In Japanese restaurants, the Bluefin Tuna is a popular food for sushi and sashimi. They are eminent for their indescribable taste in seafood.  But they’re just seafood. But an important factor is that they are an important predator for fish in the ocean. They balance the system of the fish food chain. Without them, the food chain would be corrupted.

          Because people love the Bluefin Tuna so much, fishermen overfish and pirate fish (illegal fishing) the Bluefin Tuna. Because of the overfishing, the Tuna have become endangered. All three species of Bluefin Tuna are declining. Everyday, the population for the Bluefin Tuna decreases. Eventually, the population will be down to 0.

          But there are ways to help them. You could:

1. Donate. The Ocean Foundation started a fund called the Tag-a-Giant Fund. It’s about helping the Bluefin Tuna.

Link: https://www.oceanfdn.org/donate?project=tagagiant-fund

2. Start a petition. Get people to sign it.
3. Spread the word. Tell people about the Bluefin Tuna crisis.
4. Stop eating so much Bluefin Tuna. You might not know it, but in Japanese restaurants, they serve many dishes with Bluefin Tuna. Also, don’t buy their meat at the markets all the time.
5. If you fish the Bluefin Tuna, don’t! They need your help, and you could make a difference.

Help the Bluefin Tuna! They deserve to live on this planet!

-Idea+Gift=Love IGL

Help the Farm Animals!

Help the Farm Animals!

          Hello, this is IGL and this topic is about helping farm animals. Farm animals are crammed into small cages barely their size and undernourished. We’re not saying you have to become a vegetarian. But animals are being mistreated in many farms. That’s how the swine flu happened. Pigs were stuffed in many cages then one pig passed it on to another pig then it spread to humans.

          Farmers also overfeed the chickens. Have you ever seen the movie Chicken Run? That’s exactly what most farmers do. They fatten the chickens up and then sell them away. Sometimes they are so fat they can’t walk anymore. And farmers also ship away sick chickens to be in food everywhere. We’re not saying that meat is disgustingly inedible, but think about the types of food you eat. Usually the fancy restaurants are too fancy to buy fat, disgusting, sick farm animals, but the your-order-would-be-ready-in-a-minute types of restaurants could be buying unhealthy farm animals.

          Also, human eating farms wastes grain, fuel, and water. The animal manure also pollutes the water, soil, and the earth. People living near these farms are also affected.

          There are many easy ways to defeat this horrible agriculture. You could:

1. Put Meatless Monday on your weekly basis
2. spread the word
3. convince farmers to care for animals better
4. Donate to charities that help these farm animals

So, in order to help the planet, people, and animals, help the farm animals!

-Idea+Gift=Love IGL