ONLY GOOD NEWS 
OCTOBER 2011 / JANUARY 2012 / VOLUME NINETEEN ~ NUMBER THREE / PUBLISHED: 12 oct 2011

ONLY GOOD NEWS INDEX: CALIFORNIA BANS SALE AND POSSESSION OF SHARK FINS / HEAD START FOR TURTLES -- RARE SOFTSHELL TURTLE, NESTING GROUND FOUND IN CAMBODIA / ASK A SCIENTIST: TURTLE Q&A WITH DR. PETER PAUL VAN DIJK / BIODIVERSITY / EXPEDITIONS AND DISCOVERY / FRESH WATER FOR HEALTH / TAKING CLIMATE ACTION / WHY FRITO-LAY BUILT THE CLEANEST MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN THE U.S. / CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL / GOOD NEWS NETWORK / WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE / TEA AND HOW GOOD IT MAY BE / GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS BLOG / GOOD NEWS GAZETTE / ORIONMAGAZINE.ORG / TREEHUGGER.COM / HIGH COUNTRY NEWS / NASA NEWS + NASA | ASTRONOMY PHOTO OF THE DAY ARCHIVES + SAGUARO MOON

ROPER WISDOM: "IT'S VERY SIMPLE; IT'S VERY COMPLICATED"...

CALIFORNIA BANS SALE AND POSSESSION OF SHARK FINS -- California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed AB 376, a bill banning the sale, trade or possession of shark fins. California now joins Hawaii, Guam, Washington and Oregon in trying to protect the dwindling shark population by reducing the demand for shark fins -- http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/oct/07/calif-bans-sale-and-posession-shark-fins/

HEAD START FOR TURTLES -- RARE SOFTSHELL TURTLE, NESTING GROUND FOUND IN CAMBODIA -- One of the world’s largest and least studied freshwater turtles has been found in Cambodia’s Mekong River, raising hopes that the threatened species can be saved from extinction.Scientists from Conservation International (CI), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, and the Cambodian Turtle Conservation Team captured and released an 11-kilogram (24.2-pound) female Cantor’s giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii) during a survey in March.Together with the Cambodian Fisheries Administration and the Association of Buddhists for the Environment, today Conservation International (CI) opened the Mekong Turtle Conservation Center in central Cambodia with the ceremonial release of 50 captive-raised turtles into the new facility. The project is poised to make great strides in expanding the threatened turtle's wild population while improving livelihoods for local communities -- http://www.conservation.org/newsroom/pressreleases/Pages/051607-Rare-Softshell-Turtle-Nesting-Ground-Found-in-Cambodia.aspx

ASK A SCIENTIST: TURTLE Q&A WITH DR. PETER PAUL VAN DIJK -- The challenges seem overwhelming at times, particularly in Asia, but as we work to achieve better standards of living for rural people, the need to exploit wild animals and plants for subsistence and income should reduce. Combined with increased awareness of the ecosystem and cultural importance of plants, animals and landscape, and with effective enforcement where necessary, people will hopefully be able to make a conscious choice to save and protect their natural surroundings. This is what has happened in North America, Europe and many other places over the past century, and there is every reason that it can and will also happen throughout Asia -- http://www.conservation.org/FMG/Articles/Pages/freshwater_turtle_scientist_qa.aspx

BIODIVERSITY -- Biodiversity conservation provides substantial benefits to meet immediate human needs, such as those for clean, consistent water flows; protection from floods and storms; and a stable climate -- https://teamearth.com/learn/biodiversity/Pages/overview.aspx

EXPEDITIONS AND DISCOVERY -- The Rapid Assessment Program is celebrating its 20th Anniversary Twenty years of field study in some of the least-known wildernesses left on Earth have led to many of the most remarkable biological discoveries of the past two decades, and helped communities, businesses, and nations make smarter development decisions about land and water use -- https://teamearth.com/newsroom/pressreleases/Pages/20_Years_of_RAP_Still_Counting.aspx 

FRESH WATER FOR HEALTH -- Fresh water plays a complicated role in many of the world's poorest regions. It is the lifeblood of daily activities like drinking, washing and cooking -- http://www.conservation.org/FMG/Articles/Pages/fresh_water_for_health_madagascar.aspx
SEE ALSO: http://www.conservation.org/learn/freshwater/Pages/fresh_water.aspx

TAKING CLIMATE ACTION -- In Cancun, world leaders at a U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting attempted to make progress toward a global climate change agreement -- http://www.conservation.org/FMG/Articles/Pages/taking_climate_action_chiapas_mexico.aspx

WHY FRITO-LAY BUILT THE CLEANEST MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN THE U.S.
http://www.fastcompany.com/1784872/why-frito-lay-built-the-greenest-manufacturing-facility-in-the-us