THE REAL Planet of the Apes

Story by: Attila Domos

Generally speaking, I'm not a "sappy" kind of guy. I've lived on this Earth long enough to know that life is hard and rarely ever "fair". That said, it bothers me when anyone makes a promise to do something and doesn't follow through. It's even worse when corporations exhume this type of behavior, considering the amount of tax breaks and government welfare they often receive. Case in point... what is happening on a chain of small islands just off the coast of Liberia.

Our story starts in 1974, in Monrovia (Liberia),with a research company named The NY Blood Center (NYBC). This company launched a research program at the (by then) defunct Liberian Institute of Biomedical Research. The place was selected because of the deal NYBC had worked out with the Liberian government, and the availability to a large number of chimps, who could no longer be kept as pets by the locals. Apparently once a chimp reaches the age of five, he/she become very difficult to control. For the next 32 years (1974-2006) the NYBC conducted an entire array of studies, mostly related to Hepatitis A, B, and C.

The research wasn't always easy. Not because of the chimps, but because of West Africa's turbulent period, especially from the late 80's through the first decade of the 21st century. This part of the continent is especially rich in diamonds, and where there's wealth & natural resources to be had, war is sure to follow. It's exactly what happened to this West African nation in 1989.

Liberia fell into a bloody civil war, when Charles Taylor returned with the Libyan-backed resistance group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, to overthrow the Doe regime. Once Charles Taylor was successful in his over throwing of the previous regime, he allowed the scientists to continue with their work. Things went back to normal and NYBC continued to rake in the patent related profits, to the tune of over $500 million, via their research on the local chimps.

In 2006, after years of pressure from anti-animal testing groups like PETA, NYBC decided it was becoming too costly to continue with the unpopular research, so they closed this project's doors for good. Before doing so, they worked out a deal with Betsy Brotman, who directed the program, where they would relocate the chimps, and allow them to live out their lives in peace.

Under Ms. Brotman’s leadership, the New York Blood Center released the chimps onto six islands near Monrovia where they would be safe from human predators and where employees from the research facility who knew them, could provide them with lifelong care. “That’s what we agreed upon doing, and we did it,” said Brotman in the documentary... "The Real Planet of the Apes".

However, since then, NYBC has reneged on their $30,000/year commitment to help feed these chimps, and instead left the very creatures that made them millions of dollars, to die from dehydration and starvation on these small isolated islands. After decades of confinement, the chimpanzees do not have the skills to survive in the wild. They are completely reliant on humans for survival, but despite previously committing to the lifetime care of these animals, NYBC withdrew all funding for their care.

Lucky for these chimps, longtime caretakers have taken it on to themselves to voluntarily care for them. They have been collecting and delivering food to these islands using what ever means they could find. What NYBC has done is a disgrace, and unfortunately has become all too common in the corporate world. But because something has become common place, doesn't make it right.

Watch the excellent short documentary below, "The Real Planet of the Apes. I would also urge you to get involved. At the very least sign the petition and let NYBC know that their treatment of these chimps is unacceptable.

https://www.change.org/p/new-york-blood-center-don-t-abandon-chimpanzees-for-whom-you-promised-to-provide-lifetime-care

Source of the story: http://theirturn.net/2015/05/28/new-york-blood-center-leaves-chimps-to-die

Wether or not you believe in extraterestrial life is not important what is important is that we understand that we are not only part of this Planet Earth but also part of a Galaxy that also can have and affect on our natural world. The Kerala red rain is a real example of an unexplained occurrence that did happen and can not be explained by any natural earthly presence. Things outside our atmosphere can and do impact this Planet and have been impacting Planet Earth for millions of years.

Gary Lindner

Director Planet Sanctuary

The Kerala red rain phenomenon was a blood rain (red rain) event that occurred from 25 July to 23 September 2001, when heavy downpours of red-coloured rain fell sporadically on the southern Indian state of Kerala, staining clothes pink.[1] Yellow, green, and black rain was also reported.[2][3][4] Coloured rain was also reported in Kerala in 1896 and several times since,[5] most recently in June 2012.[6][7]

Following a light microscopy examination, it was initially thought that the rains were coloured by fallout from a hypothetical meteor burst,[5] but a study commissioned by the Government of India concluded that the rains had been coloured by airborne spores from locally prolific terrestrial algae.[5]

It was not until early 2006 that the coloured rains of Kerala gained widespread attention when the popular media reported that Godfrey Louis and Santhosh Kumar of the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam proposed a controversial argument that the coloured particles were extraterrestrial cells.[3][8][9] Red rains were also reported from 15 November 2012 to 27 December 2012 occasionally in eastern and north-central provinces of Sri Lanka,[10] where scientists from the Sri Lanka Medical Research Institute (MRI) are investigating to ascertain their cause.[11][12][13]

The coloured rain of Kerala began falling on 25 July 2001, in the districts of Kottayam and Idukki in the southern part of the state. Yellow, green, and black rain was also reported.[2][3][4] Many more occurrences of the red rain were reported over the following ten days, and then with diminishing frequency until late September.[3] According to locals, the first coloured rain was preceded by a loud thunderclap and flash of light, and followed by groves of trees shedding shrivelled grey "burnt" leaves. Shriveled leaves and the disappearance and sudden formation of wells were also reported around the same time in the area.[14][15][16] It typically fell over small areas, no more than a few square kilometres in size, and was sometimes so localised that normal rain could be falling just a few meters away from the red rain. Red rainfalls typically lasted less than 20 minutes.[3] Each millilitre of rain water contained about 9 million red particles, and each litre of rainwater contained approximately 100 milligrams of solids.[clarification needed] Extrapolating these figures to the total amount of red rain estimated to have fallen, it was estimated that 50,000 kilograms (110,000 lb) of red particles had fallen on Kerala.[3]

Chemical composition[edit]
Elemental analysis
Analysis by the CESS
(%) Analysis by Louis & Kumar (%)
Al 1.0 0.41
Ca 2.52

C 51.00 49.53
Cl 0.12
H 4.43
Fe 0.61 0.97
Mg 1.48

N 1.84
O 45.42
K 0.26

P 0.08

Si 7.50 2.85
Na 0.49 0.69

Photomicrograph of particles from red rain sample
Several groups of researchers analysed the chemical elements in the solid particles, and different techniques gave different results.[citation needed] The particles were composed mostly of carbon and oxygen[clarification needed] with lesser amounts of hydrogen, nitrogen, silicon, chlorine and metals.[citation needed]

Some water samples were taken to the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) in India, where they separated the suspended particles by filtration. The pH (acidity) of the water was found to be around 7 (neutral). The electrical conductivity of the rainwater showed the absence of any dissolved salts. Sediment (red particles plus debris) was collected and analysed by the CESS using a combination of ion-coupled plasma mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectrometry and wet chemical methods. The major elements found are listed below.[5] The CESS analysis also showed significant amounts of heavy metals, including nickel (43 ppm), manganese (59 ppm), titanium (321 ppm), chromium (67ppm) and copper (55 ppm).

Louis and Kumar used energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the red solid and showed that the particles were composed of mostly carbon and oxygen, with trace amounts of silicon and iron.[3] A CHN analyser showed content of 43.03% carbon, 4.43% hydrogen, and 1.84% nitrogen.[3]
Weather or not you believe in extraterestrial life is not important what is important is that we understand that we are not only part of this Planet Earth but also part of a Galaxy that also can have and affect on our natural world. The Kerala red rain is an example of the possibility of the affect of that things outside our atmosphere do impact this Planet and have been impacting Planet Earth for millions of years.

J. Thomas Brenna in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University conducted carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses using a scanning electron microscope with X-ray micro-analysis, an elemental analyser, and an isotope ratio (IR) mass spectrometer. The red particles collapsed when dried, which suggested that they were filled with fluid. The amino acids in the particles were analysed and seven were identified (in order of concentration): phenylalanine, glutamic acid/glutamine, serine, aspartic acid, threonine, and arginine. He concluded[citation needed] that the results were consistent with a marine origin or a terrestrial plant that uses a C4 photosynthetic pathway.[17]

"The red cells found in the red rain in Kerala, India are now considered as a possible case of extraterrestrial life form. These cells can undergo rapid replication even at an extreme high temperature of 300 °C. They can also be cultured in diverse unconventional chemical substrates. The molecular composition of these cells is yet to be identified".

Researcher Chandra Wickramasinghe used Louis and Kumar's "extraterrestrial origin" claim to further support his panspermia hypothesis called cosmic ancestry.[42] This hypothesis postulates that life is neither the product of supernatural creation, nor is it spontaneously generated through abiogenesis, but that it has always existed in the universe. Cosmic ancestry speculates that higher life forms, including intelligent life, descend ultimately from pre-existing life which was at least as advanced as the descendants.[43][44][45][46][47]

The coordination among these birds in flight produces art that changes in time. They act like one entity.

Part one of photo diary of Hluhluwe Park in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa).

A small monkey who was keen on eating some of my breakfast.

An interesting bird.

Smoke from the controlled burn of the grassland.

A mad elephant. (We got to close to the babies)

All photos are copyright of their owner, Nathaniel Pantalone, VP of Marketing of OWB LLC.

I had seen this video many months ago, this post is a follow up on Gary's post "Earth from Space". This video is about what astronauts experience when they look back at Earth from space. This experience was dubbed "The Overview Effect" by author Frank White who is featured in the video below. the Astronauts speak of the experience of seeing ourselves from outside of ourselves, and seeing the unity of the planet as a single whole organism. We really are one world blue, enjoy!

http://abcnews.go.com/US/baby-kangaroo-baby-goats-stolen-wisconsin-zoo/story?id=30924273

A baby kangaroo and four baby goats were stolen from a zoo in Greenville, Wisconsin, last week, officials said.

Donna Wheeler, owner of the Special Memories Zoo, said the baby kangaroo, called a joey, and the goats had been at their winter home about six to eight miles away from the zoo, in a large, insulated shed.

The babies were bottle fed Tuesday night, but when workers went to the shed around midday Wednesday to start moving animals to the zoo in anticipation of Thursday's opening day, the five baby animals were gone, Wheeler told ABC News. She said the facility was not locked.

"Whoever took [the joey] pulled it out of the mother's pouch," Wheeler said.

Animal caretaker Gretchen Crowe said she realized the joey was gone when its mother's pouch was hanging out.

"I knew that somebody had to have taken them because there's no way that they can get out of the building," said Crowe.

According to the Outagamie County Sheriff's Office, which responded to the stolen animals report, the joey was 5 months old, and baby kangaroos must stay with their mother for the first year of life.

"I believe the baby kangaroo is dead," Wheeler said. "It cannot live without its mother, it cannot live without special formula, it cannot live without heat."

"You can't just feed it anything," she said. "I'm thinking by now ... if a person took it who knew what they were doing it probably has a chance of living. But if somebody didn't ... I know we've got high school kids around, if someone did it as a joke, I'm sure by now it's probably dead."

"I feel absolutely horrible. We do everything in our power to keep animals alive," Wheeler said. "Right now my stomach is just turning to think somebody would do that."

"Whoever has them, if you would just bring them back," Crowe said. "We just want them back."

As of last Saturday, no progress had been made in the search for the animals, said Mike Bouchard, a spokesman for the Outagamie County Sheriff's Office.

This is how we protect the future of "OUR" Planet with the spirit of children. There is a saying give a man a fish and feed him for a day Teach a man to fish and feed him for life. So lets expand on that thought, clean up after your child every day he learns nothing teach him to clean up after himself and his environment and you have a do-gooder for life. Here is a perfect example of this behavior.

Gary Lindner

Director Planet Sanctuary

Marianne Krasny Become a fan
Cornell professor of civic ecology, resilience, and environmental education.
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Nature's Do-Gooders: What Difference Do They Make?

Last week I assembled a group of nature "do-gooders" at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center in Annapolis MD. And I asked them what difference their well-intended actions really make.

First off, you might want to know who these do-gooders are. One is Veronica Kyle of Faith in Place in Chicago, who links stories of African-American migration to migration of the monarch butterfly, and inspires folks to plant milkweed in public spaces to "welcome home" the butterflies. Another is Robert Hughes, who for 20 years has spurred people in his native eastern Pennsylvania coalfields to plant trees along stream corridors, clean up illegally dumped trash, create community gardens at historic mining sites, restore trout fisheries, and otherwise reclaim communities impacted by coal mining and poverty.

Anandi Premlall came down to our workshop from New York City, where she initiated efforts to convert a 3.5 mile disused rail line to what someday will be The QueensWay linear park and cultural greenway. And representing the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, Carrie Samis shared her work with Coastal Stewards -- youth, primarily from communities of color -- who plant native grasses to recreate "soft shorelines" that absorb run-off and protect beaches. Because these and others assembled in Annapolis care for nature and community, my Cornell University colleague Keith Tidball and I call them "civic ecology stewards." And we call their actions "civic ecology practices."

2015-03-08-1425850592-108695-ConceptforaNatureCenteratTheQueensWayHPLR.jpg
Rendering of The QueensWay. Image courtesy of WXY and Dland.

To help understand what these actions mean beyond one community garden, one section along a stream or coastline, or one urban trail, I also invited university researchers to the workshop. I asked the stewards and the researchers to answer the question: Given the scale of the environmental and social problems we face, what difference do small restoration projects make? Here are some of the answers they came up with.

Brandeis University sociologist Carmen Sirianni sees civic ecology practices as part of a larger civic renewal movement. He noted that the coalitions of stewardship organizations working together on watershed and other restoration projects build participants' civic capacity to engage in additional civic actions. And through forming partnerships with larger non-profits and government agencies, these efforts can influence local and sometimes regional or even national environmental policy.

U.S. Forest Service social scientist Erika Svendsen researches how city-wide coalitions of stewardship organizations exchange ideas and resources through dynamic social networks. She has discovered that some organizations engaged in civic ecology practice -- like Greening of Detroit -- are particularly important nodes in these networks. They serve as "bridging organizations" bringing together groups working at different scales and in different places. They also serve as "brokers," helping civil society, business, and government to hammer out agreements on use of open space in cities and elsewhere.

Looking forward, Drew University professor of sociology of religion and environmental studies, Laurel Kearns, asked us not to forget the power of religious organizations engaged in civic ecology practices. Religions have shared value systems that incorporate justice, caring for one's neighbor, and caring for God's creation. Those who attend church, synagogues, temples and mosques may also share in practices around gardening and food, health and healing, and simply volunteering. And they often have the trust and social ties -- the social capital -- that is so needed for people to commit to collective action. Because of their critical role in "delivering" civic ecology practices, professor Kearns refers to religious organizations as the environmental stewardship movement's "midwives."

And after listening to the stories of the civic ecology stewards, Emory University Professor of Environmental Sciences Lance Gunderson had this to say about the larger implications of their work. "Ideas drive policy. Politicians follow ideas." (And to prove Professor Gunderson's point, Senator Barbara Mikulski recently tweeted about the Maryland Coastal Stewards: "Be sure to remind them that the @CoastalStewards have a champion on The Hill!").

Are small acts of caring for nature and community the answer to the larger social and environmental problems we face? No. But we don't know the answer. Civic ecology practices are one among many needed experiments. Such experiments -- or social innovations that arise from the ground up -- gain in importance when we don't know how to do things right. Because in integrating caring for community and nature, these and other "do-gooder" civic ecology stewards are, as Spike Lee said, "Doing the right thing."

Hello my name is Gary Lindner, Director of Planet Sanctuary and Senior Vice President of One World Blue. I would like to introduce the completion of Planet Sanctuary and take a moment to explain our platform. The purpose of the platform is to give all readers and "do-gooders" the ability to spread information concerning "OUR" natural world on Planet Earth. This information should contain positive research, videos and data on people, places and animals that have been or will be affected by the good deeds of people around "OUR" Planet Earth. This is going to be a fantastic way to focus on these good deeds and ultimately motivate more. Here is a video of the great planet Earth from space. I am inviting and encouraging readers to participate in the distribution of information that they are passionate about. Every week I will share information that has caught my attention. As I continue to search for information about "OUR" Planet Earth, I hope to see your videos and articles showing the vast detail on "OUR" planet with a positve human touch.

Sincerely,

Gary Lindner

PS PLEASE BECOME A REGISTERED USER.

Attenborough: Amazing DIY Orangutans - BBC Earth