Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World

News and Resources

News | General Resources | Biodiversity and Health | Climate Change |Conservation and Sustainable Development   | Economics and Biodiversity | Tools | Calendar

News

• Earth Portal, Earth News
• Biodiversity CRS Reports
• National Geographic News
• ScienceDaily 
• Countdown to 2010 Saving Biodiversity
• Environmental Finance
• Environmental Science and Technology, ACS Publications.
• October 24, 2008. WWF. Greenprint for the New Adminsitration
• October 7, 2008. IUCN Red List Reveals World's Mammals In Crisis
• September 23, 2008. Strategic and Cooperative Action for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Northern America
• August 20, 2008. GRIST Environmental News and Commentary. Pickled Pikas
• August 5, 2008. CNN. More than 100,000 rare gorillas found in Congo.
• July 15, 2008.  BBC News.  Wildlife: A luxury we can live without? 
• June 2, 2008. The Washington Post.  "Oyster-Saving Efforts a Wash in the Chesapeake."

General Resources

• Encyclopedia of Earth Biodiversity
• Encyclopedia of Earth Biodiversity Hot Spots
• "Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Cimate" UNEP, AMCEN:  to download, to purchase 
• "The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems: Measuring the Land, Waters, and Living Resources of theUnited States." H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment. Island Press: September 15, 2008. The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems is the 2^nd edition of a comprehensive report on ecosystem conditions of the United States, published by the Heinz Center.  If focuses on the nation’s principal ecosystems such as farmland, forests, marine and freshwater, coasts, grasslands, urban regions, etc. Its primary goal is to provide nonpartisan, scientifically accurate and dependable information to broad audiences to increase environmental knowledge and help set future environmental agendas. Please see http://www.heinzcenter.org/ecosystems/ for more details.
• Technologies to Maintain Biological Diversity. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology ASsessment, OTA-F-330 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, March 1987.)

Biodiversity and Health

• "Sustaining Life: Biodiversity and Human Health" Oxford University Press (2008) Eric Chivian M.D, and Aaron Berstein. jacket and packet
• US EPA Is Biodiversity Good for our Health?

Climate Change

• US Climate Change Science Program The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources and Biodiversity in the United States 
• USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Center Fact Sheet

Conservation and Sustainable Development

• Ecosystems .2001. Vol II. Issue 2. March 2008 pp. 173-192 "The Evolution of Conservation Management Philosophy: Science, Environmental Change and Social Adjustments in Kruger National Park" article
• Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society B. 2008. 363. pp. 1917-1924 "Generating carbon finance through avoided deforestation and its potential to create climatic, conservation and human development benefits" article
• Washington Biodiversity Council Washington Biodiversity Conservation Strategy: Sustaining Our National Heritage for Future Generations and it's accompanying Executive Summary

Economics and Biodiversity

• IUCN- The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Economics.

Tools

• Chelan-Douglas Land Trust free handbook to help preserve regional biodiversity

Calendar

December 8-10, 2008: 9th Natonal Conference on Science Policy and the Environment: Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World: National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) welcomes you to participate in the 9th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment: Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World.  This interactive conference will take place December 8-10, 2008 in Washington, DC with goals to develop a new biodiversity strategy in a 21st century context.  Plan on joining part in the discussion with government officials, scientists, businesses, and NGOs.  For more information visit www.ncseonline.org/conference/biodiversity.  Registration will open in September with an early bird registration rate.

December 4-6, 2008: The Policy Studies Organization: Dupont Summit: The New Administration Tackles Science and Technology. Priorities for the Road Ahead. The purpose of this summit is to bring scholars, policymakers and representatives of non governmental organizations into dialogue about pressing policy issues on environment, science and technology, biomedicine, climate change, sustainable development, health, and others.  The Dupont Summit will be held in Washington D.C., December 4-6, 2008. For more information regarding this summit please visit www.ipsonet.org

September 9-10, 2008: Wild Links 2008:  Planning for a Future of Working Landscapes and Wildlife Linkages from the North Cascades to Northeast Washington.  Location: Chewelah Learning Center, between Spokane and Colville;  Current Agenda and Online Registration

May 22- International Day for Biological Diversity- is held to raise awareness across the globe of the importance of biodiversity.  Variation of life at all levels - genes, species, ecosystems - is of fundamental importance to the health of our planet and its inhabitants. It has its roots in everything from the food we eat and the medicines we use, to the places we visit.  With biodiversity diminishing at an alarming rate due to a number of threats including climate change, it is critical that we find solutions to these threats and protect this often overlooked resource.  This year’s International Day for Biological Diversity focuses on “Biodiversity and Agriculture,” highlighting how encouraging sustainable agriculture not only preserves and enhances biodiversity but also promotes food and resource security and human well-being.  Please visit the Convention on Biological Diversityto learn more about this international holiday.