Tag Archives: central-america

The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw – Bruce Barcott

by Myrna Posted on December 9, 2019

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The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw

One Woman’s Fight to Save the World’s Most Beautiful Bird

Bruce Barcott

Genre: Nature

Price: $1.99

Publish Date: February 5, 2008

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Seller: Penguin Random House LLC


“The first time we came here I didn’t know what to expect,” she told me as we paddled upstream. “What we found just blew me away. Jaguars, pumas, river otters, howler monkeys. The place was like a Noah’s Ark for all the endangered species driven out of the rest of Central America. There was so much life! That expedition was when I first saw the macaws.” As a young woman, Sharon Matola lived many lives. She was a mushroom expert, an Air Force survival specialist, and an Iowa housewife. She hopped freight trains for fun and starred as a tiger tamer in a traveling Mexican circus. Finally she found her one true calling: caring for orphaned animals at her own zoo in the Central American country of Belize. Beloved as “the Zoo Lady” in her adopted land, Matola became one of Central America’s greatest wildlife defenders. And when powerful outside forces conspired with the local government to build a dam that would flood the nesting ground of the last scarlet macaws in Belize, Sharon Matola was drawn into the fight of her life. In The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw , award-winning author Bruce Barcott chronicles Sharon Matola’s inspiring crusade to stop a multinational corporation in its tracks. Ferocious in her passion, she and her confederates–a ragtag army of courageous locals and eccentric expatriates–endure slander and reprisals and take the fight to the courtroom and the boardroom, from local village streets to protests around the world. As the dramatic story unfolds, Barcott addresses the realities of economic survival in Third World countries, explores the tension between environmental conservation and human development, and puts a human face on the battle over globalization. In this marvelous and spirited book, Barcott shows us how one unwavering woman risked her life to save the most beautiful bird in the world. "Barcott’s compelling narrative is suspenseful right up to the last moment." –Publisher's Weekly "An engrossing but sad account of a brave and quirky champion of nature." –Kirkus “…A riveting account of one woman’s fight to save one of the last bastions of an endangered Species. . . Barcott writes of international politics, ecology and endangered species, and human relations with equal facility. This real page-turner of narrative nonfiction is hard to put down.” –Booklist

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The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw – Bruce Barcott

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Tropical Storm Nate could hit the Gulf Coast as a hurricane this weekend.

by WallyValliere Posted on October 5, 2017

Sorry to ruin the party, but a report from the Food Climate Research Network casts doubt on recent suggestions that pasture-raised cattle could sequester massive amounts of carbon in the soil.

By nibbling plants and stimulating new root growth, the old argument goes, cows can encourage deeper root networks, which suck up more carbon. Proponents of grass-fed meat have embraced these findings, saying that pasture-raised livestock could mitigate the impact of meat consumption on the environment.

The new report — cleverly titled “Grazed and Confused?” — acknowledges that pastured cattle can be carbon negative, but this depends on the right soil and weather conditions. In most places, according to the report, grazers produce much more greenhouse gas than they add to the ground. It is an “inconvenient truth,” the authors write, that most studies show grass-fed beef has a bigger carbon footprint than feedlot meat. “Increasing grass-fed ruminant numbers is, therefore, a self-defeating climate strategy,” the report concludes.

Fortunately, grass-fed beef is not the only solution being bandied about: Research shows that a small dose of seaweed in livestock feed could drastically reduce methane emissions. And if you really want to reduce your impact on the climate you could, you know, stop eating meat.

Taken from – 

Tropical Storm Nate could hit the Gulf Coast as a hurricane this weekend.

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Palm oil may have met its match, which would be a boon for the planet

by CindiSladen Posted on February 19, 2015

green4us

White Dwarf Issue 54: 7 February 2015 – White Dwarf

The webway opens once more and from it emerges White Dwarf 54 – alongside it, the new Harlequin Skyweaver jetbikes! We’ve got full rules and a Paint Splatter, plus a great Sprues and Glue looking at how to base skimmers. Rules of Engagement brings us a look at narrative missions in Warhammer 40,000, and we’ve […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

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White Dwarf Issue 55: 14 February 2015 – White Dwarf

White Dwarf 55 arrives and with it come the Harlequins and, for the first time, their very own Codex! We take a look at these Warriors of the Laughing God and the masques in which they perform and fight in a couple of special features, and, of course, all the new releases, including the deadly […]

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Team Dog – Mike Ritland & Gary Brozek

New York Times –bestselling author and former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland teach es a ll dog owner s how to have the close relationship and exceptional training of combat dogs. In TEAM DOG, Mike taps into fifteen years’ worth of experience and shares, explaining in accessible and direct language, the science behind the importance of […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis – Instaread

PLEASE NOTE: This is a  summary and analysis  of the book and NOT the original book.  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis   Inside this Instaread: Summary of entire book, Introduction to the important people in the book, Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Key Takeaways. […]

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Codex: Necrons (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

Rising from the depths of their tomb worlds, the ancient Necrons are returning to claim the stars. Deathless warriors of living metal march forth in lockstep legions under the pitiless gaze of their Overlords. For millennia the Necron dynasties have slumbered beneath desolate wildernesses and the unsuspecting populations of planets across the galaxy, but now […]

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Codex: Harlequins (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

The enigmatic Harlequins are the undisputed masters of the webway and harbingers of the mysterious Eldar god Cegorach. Clad in motley they tumble and dance across the battlefield with deadly skill, cutting down their foes and rending them apart to a symphony of screams. Few understand the motivations of the Laughing God’s followers, their masques […]

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Top Dog – Maria Goodavage

The  New York Times  bestselling author of  Soldier Dogs  returns with the incredible, true story of K-9 Marine hero Lucca, and the handlers who fought alongside her through two bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.    In  Top Dog , Maria Goodavage takes readers into the life of Lucca K458, a decorated and highly skilled […]

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Palm oil may have met its match, which would be a boon for the planet

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Flooding the Zone on Ebola

by NFRJacklyn Posted on October 17, 2014

Mother Jones

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For the record, I want to note that the top five stories currently featured on the Washington Post home page are about Ebola. If you count related pieces, it’s the top nine. That is all.

Link to article:  

Flooding the Zone on Ebola

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Please Rescue Us. Now Go Away.

by CharlesFiem Posted on October 15, 2014

Mother Jones

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Ed Kilgore brings the snark:

I realize the remarks of politicians should not be imputed to the entire populations they govern or represent. But still, it’s hard to avoid noting that Texas—the very sovereign State of Texas, I should clarify, where the federal government is generally not welcome—was at a loss in dealing with a single Ebola case until the feds stepped in.

Sure, this is just a cheap gotcha. But sometimes there’s a real lesson even in the simplest gibe, and Kilgore offers it: “It would be helpful to see some after-the-fact reflection on why the resources of a central government are sometimes necessary to avoid catastrophe.”

That won’t happen, of course. Instead, conservatives are already using this as an excuse to trash the federal government for not coming to their rescue sooner. This will undoubtedly be only a brief preface to yet another round of across-the-board budget cutting because everyone knows there’s far too much waste and fat in the system. The irony of it all will, I’m sure, go entirely unnoticed.

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Please Rescue Us. Now Go Away.

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Obama Plan Will Cut Out Grueling Journey For a Small Number of Central American Refugees

by BrandiPeden Posted on October 3, 2014

Mother Jones

Escaping rampant violence in parts of Central America, tens of thousands of child migrants made a treacherous journey up to the United States border this year. To help dissuade such a vulnerable population from taking such risky treks in the first place, Obama announced Tuesday that he plans to roll out a new program to allow children to apply for refugee status from their home countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.


70,000 Kids Will Show Up Alone at Our Border This Year. What Happens to Them?


What’s Next for the Children We Deport?


Map: These Are the Places Central American Child Migrants Are Fleeing


Are the Kids Showing Up at the Border Really Refugees?


Child Migrants Have Been Coming to America Alone Since Ellis Island

See MoJo‘s full coverage of the surge of unaccompanied child migrants from Central America.

The program is still in the planning stages, and it remains unclear how old the kids must be and what circumstances they must be caught in to successfully apply for asylum. But at least it’s a move in the right direction, says Michelle Brané of the Women’s Refugee Commission. “They are laying the groundwork and designating an avenue—it’s a good starting off point,” she says.

White House spokesperson Shawn Turner told the New York Times that the initiative is meant to “provide a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey children are currently taking to join relatives in the United States.” The point made in the last part of this statement has caught the attention of human rights advocates including Brané, as it suggests that only children who already have a relative in the US will qualify for asylum under this new program, leaving out thousands who are trying to escape newly developing unrest and gang violence.

Advocates also worry about the number of applicants that will be granted asylum. The White House’s announcement projects that 4,000 people total from Latin America and the Caribbean could be granted refugee visas in fiscal year 2015. (Let’s not forget that region includes troubled countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Haiti). The children who would be allowed to apply for refugee status from their home countries appear to be a subcategory of that 4,000. “That’s not even close to enough,” says Brané. “We saw 60,000 kids arrive from Central America this year.”

One study by the UN High Commissioner of Refugees revealed that 60 percent of recent child migrants interviewed expressed a targeted fear, like a death threat, which is the type of experience that can qualify you for asylum. If you use that statistic, that means 36,000 of the kids who crossed the border this year should qualify for refugee visas—nine times the total number Obama is promising.

But Brané says an even bigger concern with the program is its potential to eclipse or replace protections given to targeted migrants who arrive at the Mexico/US border. “A program like this is fine as a complementary approach,” she says, “but it cannot replace protection at the border; it should not impede access to asylum in the US.” Ironically, it’s the children whose lives are most threatened that could have the hardest time applying for refugee status from their home countries. “In some of these cases, kids have a threat against their lives,” says Brané. “They don’t have time to stand in line, file an application, come back later, stand in line again. They have to leave immediately.”

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Obama Plan Will Cut Out Grueling Journey For a Small Number of Central American Refugees

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