It's a Bird! The Philippine Duck - Anas luzonica - Hunted and Killed

2007.12.14 Manila, Philippines

It's a Bird! The Philippine Duck - Anas luzonica - Hunted and Killed

The Philippine Duck is a gentle and shy Philippine endemic bird. Just like the Philippine Eagle, it can only be found here in the Philippines. The natural geographic and biological evolution that slowly took place upon millions of years which made this species unique to the Philippines is of such great value. Personally, I consider these birds a national treasure.

Of all the birding trips CJ David made, he hasn't been lucky to spot one to observe and photograph yet. However, these birds are easier to find for some people as I found alarming photos of dead Philippine ducks when friends of mine, a biologist, a birder, and a journalist, all told me separately of this online petition by this gentleman from Negros island named Josef Sagemuller to stop the massacre of our endemic birds!

This is one of the photos I found at the petition site which came from the Web site of the hunters. More disturbing photos of dead birds can be found at the petition site.

Our Philippine Duck is not just endemic. It's in the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red list of Threatened Species classified as VU = vulnerable . With an estimated remaining population of less than 10,000.

Our Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, written to conserve and protect wildlife species and their habitats to promote ecological balance and enhance biological diversity, states that the killing of wildlife is illegal.

I hope this killing will stop soon. I want to see these ducks alive, not dead as an extinct stuffed animal in a museum nor as a hunting game. I'd rather shoot toy ducks at the carnival but then again, maybe not.

Thanks to fellow birder and photographer Romy Ocon for sharing his photo of a flying Philippine Duck above, also posted at his blog - http://romyocon.blogspot.com. More bird photos of Romy Ocon can be found in his photo gallery - http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/.

>The "STOP THIS PHILIPPINE ENDEMIC BIRD MASSACRE !!!" Petition Site

>The IUCN Red List - Philippine duck

>The Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of the Philippines

What is your Ecological Footprint?

CJ David asks himself :-) "What's my ecological footprint? Do I consume more than our planet Earth can sustain or replenish?"

Let's find out with these simple ecological calculators to give us an idea:

Earthday Network
http://www.earthday.net/footprint/info.asp

EcologicalFootprint.Org
http://www.ecologicalfootprint.org/Global%20Footprint%20Calculator/GFPCalc.html

University of British Columbia
Survey for Sustainability and Eco-Footprint Calculator
http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/eco-survey/

Ecological footprint is a measure of human consumption of natural resources against planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate them. This concept and calculation method was developed by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees.

I calculated with EcologicalFootprint.Org and my score there was 14.8. The sustainable score is 15, so I passed, but I don't think that's enough. I should do more.

So what's your score? And what do you think should we do to lessen or to balance our ecological footprint?

Stopping By a Tree at Mt. Mariveles

2004.07.03 Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines

CJ David here making sure that this planted tree is holding up along the misty trail to Tarak Ridge in Mt. Mariveles .

Trek done with siblings Doc Francis and Farah, Perla and Jules of UP Manila Remontados, and Gideon of UP Med School.

Blog Action Day - Downloading Space-Based Solar Power

2007.10.15 Manila, Philippines

Looking back, CJ David thinks that the Internet's origin in ARPANET as a robust, decentralised, redundant communication network using packet switching technology to survive war attacks, which was also in response to the former USSR's launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik during the Cold War, was indeed parallel to this Space-Based Solar Power proposal by the Pentagon's National Security Space Office working with the Space Frontier Foundation to provide cleaner, alternative power over war zones and to eliminate dependence on oil which has to be transported and guarded with difficulty and danger along the supply chain such as in Iraq.

Here we have another defense-driven technology which I see will evolve to provide clean, renewable, alternative power to the world. This is a good proposal as it addresses America's better military defense (or shall we say America's military offensive?) while using the sun as a source of power lessening C02 emmissions.

Some experts also foresee wars breaking out due to oil, water and many other shortages brought about by climate change. And that this proposal would supply the power needed to avert (or worsen?) such wars. Well, the use of renewable energy would lessen C02 emmissions and avert climate change and resulting foreseen wars in the first place.

Should a green energy proposal must have a militrary slant to it to merit commitment from the Bush administration?

I don't care, wars by maniacs will soon be obsolete. Our defense against global warming and climate change is the war we are fighting. Climate change is a clear and present danger. We don't need to see missiles flying to realise that. Make no mistake about it.

So beam it down Scotty. I wanna download some power. Read on.


Report Urges U.S. to Pursue Space-Based Solar Power
2007.10.12 Washington, US

A Pentagon-chartered report urges the United States to take the lead in developing space platforms capable of capturing sunlight and beaming electrical power to Earth.

Space-based solar power, according to the report, has the potential to help the United States stave off climate change and avoid future conflicts over oil by harnessing the Sun's power to provide an essentially inexhaustible supply of clean energy.


Space Based Solar Power Fuels Vision of Global Energy Security
2007.09.19 BRECKENRIDGE, Colorado

The deployment of space platforms that capture sunlight for beaming down electrical power to Earth is under review by the Pentagon, as a way to offer global energy and security benefits – including the prospect of short-circuiting future resource wars between increasingly energy-starved nations.
A proposal is being vetted by U.S. military space strategists that 10 percent of the U.S. baseload of energy by 2050, perhaps sooner, could be produced by space based solar power (SBSP). Furthermore, a demonstration of the concept is being eyed to occur within the next five to seven years.


Pentagon Looks to the Internet Community for Space Solar Power Study
2007.07.25 BOSTON

A Pentagon office is taking advantage of the collaborative nature of the Internet as it studies potential applications for space-based solar power, according to one of the officials leading the effort.

The effort marks the first time the National Security Space Office (NSSO) has conducted a study that relies heavily on Internet collaboration, according to Air Force Col. (select) M.V. "Coyote" Smith, chief of the NSSO's future concepts division. Smith is the director of the study, which began in late April.

Gore and U.N. Panel Win Peace Prize for Climate Work

2007.10.12 Oslo, Norway

The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Al Gore and to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a network of scientists led by Mr. Rajendra Pachauri.

The Nobel Peace Prize
The Alliance for Climate Protection
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change