THE GREEN MILLENNIAL

Happy Holidays! Happy Holidays everyone! Now is the time to celebrate everything that we are thankful for. I am thankful for my family, friends, and this wonderful planet that we inhabit.  As the new year approaches, many people are probably thinking about their new year's resolutions. This year, make sure that you are doing your part to make our world a better place! Our world is a beautiful place, preserve that beauty. Go save the planet!

The Hole in Our Ozone Remember that ozone hole that forms above Antarctica every year? Well, according to NASA, this hole is slowly shrinking every, this year's smaller size due to the usual variations of Antarctic weather conditions. In 2006, the ozone hole had reached a record size, more than 11 million square miles. Ozone is a gas made up of three oxygen atoms (O 3 ). It occurs naturally in small (trace) amounts in the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere). Ozone protects life on Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) near the Earth’s surface, ozone is created by chemical reactions between air pollutants from vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and other emissions. At ground level, high concentrations of ozone are toxic to people and plants. Scientists don't expect it to be completely healed until 2065, but if we do our part, we could probably speed up the process. "With ozone depletion, mankind has demonstr...

Cloning for the Better- or Worse? 10,000 year old blood extracted from an extinct woolly mammoth found in Russia could possibly be used to resurrect this ancient, extinct species.  Just because we can, though, doesn't mean we should. My personal philosophy is that these mammoths became extinct for a reason, so why should we bring them back for our personal enjoyment when they will just go extinct again?  Our climate is so different than the climate during the ice age, practically polar opposites.  Also, the present elephant population is being poached for their ivory tusks and woolly mammoths are multiple times their size, so wouldn't they get poached, too?  Basically, I see it as if we do bring them back they are going to become extinct because of their environment or they are going to get poached and die off.  My best friend has a blog all about elephant poaching and elephants, so I know what's happening to them and what might happen to these mammoths...

Pictures of the Day! My personal favorite- the hedgehog!  I know that I have never posted somethings like this, but I thought that you might like to just look at some pictures relevant to other posts and topics. Here are some endangered species that are endangered because of our careless actions. When we pollute, adorable endangered animals like these die. :( Some ways that you can protect these endangered animals are: 1. Use less energy which contributes to global warming 2. Drive Less to conserve our environment 3. Create a compost pile to reduce food waste 4. Recycle and Reuse- don't use landfills 5. Eat organic and don't spray herbicides and pesticides because of water pollution.

The Marine Mammal Center If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, check out the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. Workers   Volunteering http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/Get-Involved/volunteer/#.UTzKF9FDpAs The Marine Mammal Center offers many volunteer opportunities including a youth volunteer program for ages 15 to 17. Volunteers help rescue and rehabilitate sick and injured marine mammals, educate the public about the conservation of marine mammals and their environment, and more. You can visit the Marine Mammal Center Website for more information:                                                     http://www.marinemammalcenter.org Go save the planet!

Eco Hero: Jane Goodall Beginning in 1957, Jane Goodall started her work at Gombe National Park in Tanzania, Africa. Her mission was to better understand how chimpanzees live and to help build awareness about chimpanzees. Jane wanted people to help protect the chimpanzees and their environment. While there, Jane befriended and lived like chimpanzees and grew to love them. Realizing how important these animals were, she decided to start Roots and Shoots: the Jane Goodall Institute. "Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots provides young people with the knowledge, tools and hopeful inspiration to improve the environment and the quality of life for people and animals." You can go to the Roots & Shoots website for more information: http://rootsandshoots.org/ Go save the planet!