Photos from Kenya

..>..>Earlier this month I visited Kenya including the Turkana District (Lokichoggio, Kakuma refugee camp, and outlying areas); Mt. Kenya; Nairobi; the Maasai Mara; and the Loita Hills.

I'm discontinuing the mongabay myspace photo blog.  The blog number really took off, averaging just under 100 views per day vs significantly more for mongabay.com [more than 80,000 per day site-wide]. 

Thanks for your interest.  If you'd like to keep track of updates, you can always visit mongabay.com where there are hundreds of highly-specific RSS feeds and many more pictures.

If MySpace ever improves its technical capacities I may restart postings.

Cheers,

Rhett

In search of mountain gorillas in Uganda

Rare mountain gorillas in Uganda on the increase

Highly endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda are increasing, reports a new census by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Max Planck Institute of Anthropology and other groups. The population of gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has increased from 320 in 2002 to 340 today. A 1997 study found 300 gorillas, indicating that the park population has increased by 20 percent over the past decade. Aggressive conservation measures have been the key say researchers.

Mongabay for kids launches in 39 languages

The rainforest site for kids is now available in 39 languages, 17 of which are officially ready and 22 of which are in "beta": arabic, brazilian portuguese, bulgarian (beta), chinese (traditional), croatian (beta), czech (beta), danish, dutchenglish, farsi, finnish (beta), french, german (beta), greek (beta), hindi, hungarian (beta), icelandic (beta), indonesian, italian, japanese (beta), korean, latin (beta), malay, marathi, norwegian (beta), polish (beta), portuguese (beta), romanian (beta), russian, serbian (beta), slovenian (beta), spanish, swahili, swedish tagalog (beta), turkish (beta), vietnamese (beta), welsh (beta). (beta),   [ Kids]

Back in 2005 I wrote these thoughts regarding Earth Day: Thoughts on Earth Day

Strawberry poison-dart frog in bromeliad

Frogs avoid damaging UV-B radiation, reducing extinction risk

Poison arrow frogs appear to make special effort to avoid exposure to damaging ultraviolet-B radiation, according to research published in the journal Biotropica. The findings are significant in light of increasing levels of UV-B radiation due to ozone depletion. UV-B radiation has been shown to increase the incidence of developmental abnormalities and may make frogs more susceptible to disease. It is believed to be one of several factors contributing to the rapid global decline in amphibians since 1980.

Meadow in the Colombian Amazon

Soybeans may worsen drought in the Amazon rainforest

The rapid expansion of soybean cultivation in the Amazon may be having a larger impact on climate than previously believed, according to research published last week in Geophysical Research Letters. Using experimental plots in the Amazon, a team of scientists led by Marcos Costa from the Federal University of Viçosa in Brazil found that clearing for soybeans increases the reflectivity or albedo of land, reducing rainfall by as much as four times relative to clearing for pasture land.

Damage to Yangtze 'irreversible' says China

Pollution, dams and excessive boat traffic have caused an 'largely irreversible' decline in the aquatic ecology of the Yangtze says a report issued by China's official State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

Bad news for frogs; amphibian decline worse than feared

Chilling new evidence suggests amphibians may be in worse shape than previously thought due to climate change. Further, the findings indicate that the 70 percent decline in amphibians over the past 35 years may have been exceeded by a sharp fall in reptile populations, even in otherwise pristine Costa Rican habitats. Ominously, the new research warns that protected areas strategies for biodiversity conservation will not be enough to stave off extinction. Frogs and their relatives are in big trouble.

Baobabs in Madagascar

An interview with IT conservation expert Ken Banks:
Cell phones, text-messaging revolutionalize conservation approaches

Cell phones have been adopted at a pace unmatched by any technology in the history of mankind. While conventional use of these devices continues to be the expand, mobile phones are also increasingly being viewed as tools for conservation and development. Ken Banks, currently a Visiting Fellow on the Reuters Digital Vision Program at Stanford University, understands this well. Banks established kiwanja.net as hub for the latest information on how technology, in particular mobile phones, can be applied to tackle issues of economic empowerment, conservation, education, human rights and poverty alleviation.

Palo Alto aims to cut CO2 emissions 80% by 2050

The city of Palo Alto, California aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions significantly in coming years, joining a growing number of U.S. cities that have pledged to cut emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The goal, set forth in Green Ribbon task force report last year, was discussed by a panel of experts convening at Stanford University Sunday.