Things we lost... Falkland Islands wolf.

The Antarctic wolf (Dusicyon Australis) was a native of the Falkland Islands. 
Because of its small size, it was perfect for life on those islands, rich of low and dense forests. 
It hunted birds and small mammals, both in the green spots and in the moors, swept by the cold southern winds. 
Darwin described it, in 1833, as common and meek. Unfortunately, these features couldn't save it from the inhabitans of the islands, who came from England and massacred it, up to the last specimen with the excuse that they had to protect the flocks of sheep. 
It became extinct just twenty years after the arrival of the Europeans in the Falkland Islands. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

The dangers of soluble fertilizers.

Chemical soluble fertilizers are manufactured in liquid, powdery or granular forms. 

In the last 50 years they have been widely used to meet the farmers' requirements for productivity. As a matter of fact, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers don't only improve plant growth but dramatically increase crop yields. If fertilizers, adequately used, are good for plant development, they're not so for soil life. Some potassium fertilizers are lethal to earthworms so, as time goes by, the soil loses its fertility. Moreover, too much potassium makes the plants walls thin and too much nitrogen causes a watery growth. Therefore, the plants become more susceptible to pests and diseases. 

Soluble fertilizers move in three different directions: downwards, sidewards and out of the farm boundaries. 

The downward movement is harmful, as fertilizers go down to the deepest layers and pollute the water tables. 

The sideward movement is also dangerous, as fertilizers reach rivers and waterways, causing the growth of water weeds and algae: the consequence is that insects and fish die. 

Fertilizers which go out of the farms can be found inside the vegetables in our diet, particularly in leafy vegetables. 

However, they shouldn't be confused with chemical pesticides and fungicides, which are highly polluting and have devastating effects on human health and the environment. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Sharkwater: a shark lover, a battle.

Rob Stewart has been a shark lover since the very first years of his life. In 2007, he made a documentary film to report the dangerous situation in which the sharks are. 
In the film he interviews some people who think it's right to hunt sharks and kill them because they are "man-eaters", a danger to people. Well, this is the result of ignorance surrounding these incredible creatures, which rarely attack men and never do it to eat them, but simply because it can happen that they confuse them with seals or because they are annoyed by electronic equipment. Sharks tend to be afraid of human beings, even our heartbeat can scare them. 
In collaboration with Sea Shepherd, he went to the places that have the largest presence of sharks in the world to show the corruption and exploitation surrounding even the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. 
Sharks have gone from predator to prey because of the demand of their meat and especially of their fins, with which a prized soup is made (even if shark fins have no taste). 
I could see that Sharkwater is a beautiful, well made documentary film and I strongly advise you to watch it! 

"An eye-opening film...visually stunning...this movie will change the way you see our oceans."
- Bonnie Laufer, Tribute Magazine 

Tiger: the largest cat.

The tiger is the largest cat in the world. 
Because of hunting and persecutions its population has decreased very rapidly: in 1930, in Asia, there were 100.000 tigers, in 1940 (only 10 years after) they were 40.000 and in 1970 their number was only 5.000 and 2 years later they were less than 2.000. 
The measures against the poachers and the establishment of protected parks has led, since 1979, to a gradual recovery of the tigers, that today have reached approximately 6.400 specimens. 

However, it was calculated that today there are more tigers in zoos and circuses than in nature. 
The habitat of the tigers varies depending on the subspecies, from the Syberian coniferous forests to the mangrove swamps of Sundarban, to the arid scrublands in northwest India. 
The surviving species of tiger today are: the Bengal tiger (4.500 specimens), the Syberian tiger (450 specimens), the Chinese tiger (30-80 specimens), the tiger of Sumatra (400-600 specimens) and the Indochinese tiger (1.000-1.750 specimens). 

The Javan tiger has been driven to extinction (in the first years of the 19th century). The same thing happened to the Bali tiger (extinct in the 40s) and to the Caspian tiger (extinct in the 70s). 
The tiger meat is used in Malaysia as a remedy against the irritations to the spleen and stomach while, in other Asian areas, it is believed that eating some parts of the tiger gives courage and heals some diseases. In Taiwan there's a kind of "wine" produced with tiger bones. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

About sustainability... ORGANIC FARMING.

The common definition of organic farming is "farming without chemicals". 
As a matter of fact, all living or dead things are made up of chemical compounds. Therefore, organic farming does use chemicals, though naturally derived, in plant protection, fertilizing and livestock husbandry. 
It is a system which tries to avoid the routine use of chemicals and to exploit natural renewable resources. 

The principles of organic farming are: 
- work with natural systems rather than trying to dominate them;
- to encourage and enhance biological cycles within the farming system involving microorganisms, soil flora and fauna, plants and animals;
- to maintain and increase the long term fertility of soils: 
- to use, as far as possible, renewable resources;
- to give all livestock conditions of life that allow them to perform all aspects of their innate behaviour; 
- to avoid all forms of pollutions;
- to maintain the generic diversity of the agricultural system. 

It is the duty of humanity to fix the mess we've made and everyone have to do it in its own sector, beginning with agriculture. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Things we lost... Honshu wolf.

The Honshu wolf (or Japanese wolf) was the smallest wolf existing in the world, as it was only 84 cm long (not counting the tail) and 39 cm tall. 

In the Japanese Islands it was called "the howling God" and it was respected but also widely feared, so much so that in the country houses people hung talismans outside to protect themselves from those beasts. 

At the end of the 19th century, Japan knew an unprecedented process of industrialization and this led to the felling of many forests where the small wolf lived. 

Furthermore, an always more ruthless hunt to this animal began, with a bounty of 10 YEN by the government for each specimen. 

Tremendous rabies outbreaks finally decimated them. 

The last specimen was killed in 1905 (same fate befell its "cousin", the Hokkaido wolf). 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Things we lost... Caribbean monk seal.

The Caribbean monk seal was a peaceful seal, very similar to its Mediterranean "cousin". It lived in big colonies among Cuba, the Netherlands Antilles and Jamaica. 
In 1494, Christopher Columbus saw them for the first time and he immediately ordered to kill eight of them to feed the ship's crew. 
Since then, the population of Caribbean seals had a meltdown; for centuries, the crews of European ships en route between Europe and the New World have been hunting them for their meat and their fur. 
It definitively became extinct during the 50s of 1900. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Sea Shepherd's Vortex project and Raw for the Oceans.

In 2014 Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has launched a new project, called Vortex, in collaboration with Pharrell Williams and its eco-material company Bionic Yarn and with the Dutch denim brand G-Star Raw. 
This project consists of cleaning the Oceans of plastic debris and transform it into fashion. 

The great difference between this project and the ones carried out by other eco-friendly companies is that it will close the loop of waste by recycling the products at the end of their life cycle and manufacture new ones from them. 

In August the first material result of this project came out: "Raw for the Oceans". It is a G-Star Raw collection of garments made with Bionic Yarn and curated by Pharrell Williams. 

"I love the ocean. It's always been an inspiration to me. How it works, its depth, what it emotes, its relations to the moon, its cycles and the inhabitants of the ocean. You can never know enough. There is so much down there and in there; it's a huge inspiration to me."

-Pharrell Williams 

"Plastic is choking our Oceans and precious marine wildlife at an unprecedented rate. Straws, single-use bags, six-pack rings, drink lids and more are ensnaring marine animals or blocking their digestive systems, killing these magnificent creatures. It's time humanity takes responsibility for our actions and cleans up the mess we've made. We hope this is the first of many meaningful collaborations to come."

-Captain Paul Watson 

Happy life, happy human beings, happy oceans. 

Who will save the RHINOS?

There are very few places in the world where rhino is today present : the Javan and the Sumatran in Asia which, as the WWF says, are "Critically Endangered" (a subspecies of the Javan rhino was declared extinct in Vietnam in 2011) and the Indian rhino, whose status was changed from "Endangered" to "Vulnerable", but it's still poached for its horn. In Africa there are twho rhino species : the White one and the Black one. The Southern white rhinos are classified as "Near Threatened" while the Northern white rhino is believed to be extinct in the wild and few of them live in a sanctuary in Kenya; black rhinos have doubled during the past two decades but their number (2,480) is very low compared to the 100,000 that existed in the early 20th century. 

Rhinos are threatened for many reasons : 

- Poaching : in 2013, more than 1000 rhinos were killed only in South Africa and considering their already low number, this is a huge amount. It's hard to stop the action of the poachers as they serve the interests of an enormous illegal trade and the people who lead it simply substitute a poacher when another one is caught, they have no scruples. There are anti poaching programs, whose participants are trained hard to fight against this pressing issue, but unfortunately this is not enough. 

- Habitat loss : the territories where the rhinos live are often "invaded" by multinationals to convert the areas in plantations or by populations who have nowhere else to go and settle in the rhinos habitats. 

- Reduced genetic diversity : this is the case of the Javan rhino, whose very small population may make it hard for the species to remain viable. 

- Natural disasters : the area where the Javan rhinos live is subject to a danger of tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. 

- Disease : in recent years, four Javan rhinos have died from disease. 

Send me your opinion about this to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com. 

Why we should all be VEGETARIANS.

As you know, I am vegetarian. 
Italy has the highest rate of vegetarians in the EU: 10% of the population, 6 million people. 
In Germany the rate is 9%, 10% in Sweden, 4.5% in the Netherlands. 

In my opinion, we shoud all be vegetarians because of many reasons: 
- I think it's cruel and inhuman killing other animals to eat them, basically just on a whim and, furthermore, the way of killing the animals in the slaughterhouses is horrible.
- There are environmental reasons: over 15.000 liters of water are needed to produce a kilogramme of red meat and we all know that water is becoming more precious day by day; one third of the world's crops are used to feed the farm animals and, obviously, meat has a lower yield in terms of quantity compared to the vegetables. And we complain about World Hunger...
- There are also health reasons: it is shown that meat contains substances which are harmful and eating them increases the risk of suffering from health problems, diseases and tumors. 

What do you think about vegetarianism? Please, let me know by sending me an email to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com! 

What do you think about...OVERPOPULATION?

Hi guys! 

Following the success of the other times, I ask you again your opinion, this time about...OVERPOPULATION! 

Tell me what you think about it by sending me an email to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com. 

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: a war for the oceans.

A little bit of history... 
In 1977, Captain Paul Watson founded the Earth Force Society, after separating from Greenpeace. 
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was formally incorporated in the United States in 1981. 
Both organizations, at the beginning, had a mandate to protect marine mammals and their main goal was shutting down illegal whaling and sealing operations. Later, Sea Shepherd expanded its mission to all marine wildlife. 
In 1978, with the help of Cleveland Amory of the Fund for Animals, SSCS bought its first ship, which was named Sea Shepherd. Its first mission was to interfere with the annual killing of baby harp seals in Eastern Canada. During that year, Sea Shepherd also hunted down and rammed the pirate whaler "Sierra" ending its infamous career. 
Since then, Sea Shepherd has embarked on over 200 voyages covering many of the world's oceans and defending and saving defenseless marine life all along the way. 

The mission of SSCS 
The aim of Sea Shepherd is to stop the destruction of the natural habitat and the massacre of the wild species in the world's oceans. 
They use direct actions to investigate, document and act to show the world what happens in the oceans. 
Sea Shepherd's campaigns are guided by the United Nations World Charter for Nature. 
They collaborate with all the international agencies for the law enforcement . 
Sea Shepherd adheres to the principles of non-violence during all of its operations and adopted a rule against violence in the protection of the oceans. 
They work to obtain cooperation agreements amongst nations to protect the species and the habitats on the basis of the SSCS Mandate. 

Campaigns
During over 30 years of activity, SSCS carried on many campaigns: 
- dolphins (Grindstop and Taiji) 
- Galapagos 
- Whales (Leviathan, Migaloo, Musashi, Waltzing Matilda, No Compromise, Ferociuos Isles, Divine Wind) 
- Sharks 
- Seals 
- Red tuna 

http://www.seashepherd.org/

The slaughter of the giants of the ocean.

Whaling had a great development during the XVI century in the Atlantic ocean and from the XIX century in the Pacific ocean. The Basques were the first commercial whalers, while the most numerous were the Americans. 
The whale is caught with an harpoon, thrown from the whaling ship. In the XIX century the main whale product was the blubber, but the whole animal was used. In modern times, the main product is it meat. 
At the end of the XIX century whaling underwent a profound crisis because of the birth of the oil industry and because of the American civil war. 
Today, whaling is forbidden in most of the world, but in many countries whale hunters keep hunting these cetaceans. 

In 1946 the IWC (International Whaling Commission) was created to promote a coordinated development of the whaling industry and regulate it. At the beginning it encouraged the hunt and so, during the first 30 years of the IWC, 2 million whales were killed. In more recent times, it has started promoting the protection for the cetaceans, even though 39 member countries are still conducive to hunting. 
In 1986 came into force the ban of whaling, but since then Japan, Norway, Iceland, Russia, Korea and local whale hunters from other countries went on with their activity, killing 21.760 whales. 
In 1994, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was created. Notwithstanding this, Japan keeps killing minke whales there. 

Norway and Japan are brazenly defying world opinion by going on with the hunt and even increasing it. 
Japan is taking advantage of a loophole of the IWC, which allows the hunt in any number of specimens for the purpose of scientific research. So, Japan named its activity "scientific research". Obviously, no new knowledge has been gained. 
Blue whale and fin whale are considered "endangered species" by WWF. 

Whaling must be stopped. There is no justification for such a barbarity. 
You can help things change by spreading the word and helping the organizations that deal with the protection of these wonderful creatures, like Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, WWF and IWPO. 
Please, don't let it remain an unheeded cry. 

What do you think about it? Send me an email to thenorternlightsdiary@gmail.com. 

Bees do so much for us...let's do something for them.

Bees play a vital role in our world: they are pollinators and this means that the survival of many plant species depends on them (and, in the lower part, on bumblebees). 
In Einstein's opinion, if bees were to become extinct, man would only have four years left to live. 

Here are plant species that depend on the work of the bees: apricot tree, chestnut tree, cherry tree, almond tree, apple tree, pear tree, peach tree, plum tree, persimmon tree, kiwi tree, raspberry, cabbage, blueberry, garlic, asparagus, chard, carrot, broccoli, cucumber, melon, leek, onion, celery, pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, pepper, radish. 

We are endangering bees by using chemicals contained in pesticides, the neonicotinoids, which kill them. Each year in the world 3.8 billion kilos of pesticides are used. 
It is imperative for us to safeguard them and to do it we have to ban neonicotinoids from agriculture. 
Please, sign the petition of Greenpeace to save the bees : http://sos-bees.org/#petition/?GPI_action. 

The snow leopard: let's not lose it.

The snow leopard is a beautiful feline which lives in central Asia between 1500 and 6000 metres above the sea level in a dry and rocky habitat. 
Its usual preys are wild sheeps and goats, but as the preys are scarce in the Asian mountains, it also eats deers, young yaks, wild donkeys and wild cattle. 
Today, it is estimated that the snow leopard population is of 4080-6590 specimens. 

The snow leopard is considered and endangered species by WWF. 
In the past, it was heavily hunted for its fur but today it is threatened mainly because of the disappearance of its habitat, as it's being "conquered" by the herders with their flocks. They are often killed by the drovers because, as the food is scarce, it happens that they attack the flocks. 
Furthermore, they are also killed because their bones are used in the Traditional Chinese Medicine instead of the tigers' ones. 

WWF and other organizations, like International Snow Leopard Trust (ISLT) and Traffic (the international network which deals with the monitoring of wild fauna and flora) are launching an appeal to the countries where the snow leopard is present to get and immediate improvement in the controls and in the management efforts of the species to end the threat that hangs over it. 

You can...
...help these organizations and publicize this situation with as many people as possible, creating an increasing media pressure. 

What do you think about this? Write me to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com! 

SHARK-EATERS: the killers are us.

In spite of everything you can think about sharks and their reputation as ruthless killers, it's not man to be at risk of extinction because of them, it's not man to be a prey: sharks are. 

Sharks are threatened because of four main reasons:

- In Asia there is an increasing demand for shark fins, which are served in an expensive soup; the shark is caught and its fin is cut, then the animal is thrown back into the water: that's a death sentence.

- It often happens that sharks remain trapped in fishing nets set for other fish: this is called bycatch. 

- Some species of sharks are seriously endangered because of the popularity of their meat in many parts of the world. 

- The increasing development, pollution and over-fishing are causing a great loss of marine habitats which are very important to shark populations. 

Furthermore, sharks can't breed as fast as other fish, so it's even easier the reduction of their numbers because of overfishing. 

So, what can we do? 

First of all, buy only sustainable fish and seafood (look for MSC certification). 
Second, let people know! Spread the word, make sure that this doesn't remain in silence. 
Third, support the organizations and institutes which are at the forefront to defend the sharks, like WWF, Seashepherd, Oceana, Sharks.org and others. 

If you want to, send me your opinions about this to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com. 

"We're not giving up. Let's save the Arctic!" Thank you!

Many thanks to those of you who sent me emails with their opinions on the "Arctic problem"! 
Here are some sentences that I think are very meaningful: 

"It's unbelievable how the great powers of the world close their eyes in front of all this [...]. In spite of everything, we're not giving up! Let's save the Arctic!" 
(Francesca, Italy) 

"We're destroying everything. The Arctic is one of our last chances (maybe the biggest one) to try to turn the tide. I think that if we lost this battle...we could have lost the war."
(Michel, Canada) 

"If we were able to save the Antarctic, more than 20 years ago, we can do it again and save the Arctic."
(Ebba, Sweden) 

Keep sending me emails with your opinions and suggestions to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com!

The fair handicraft.

This is a handmade sculpture, created in Zimbabwe. 
It's part of a kind of handicraft that involves local populations of Africa (and other depressed areas of the planet) and, instead of classic materials, uses recycling materials like industrial waste products, auto parts, oil barrels. 
The artisans receive a fair remuneration that allows them to build a life plan. 
These products are sold in a "fair trade market", whose proceeds help the development of these populations. 

About sustainable agriculture...BIOPESTICIDES.

A growing number of farmers is realizing how important is to protect the environment, so they are starting to use biopesticides and biological control agents, such as plants, bacteria, fungi, predatory and parasitic insects. 

These methods allow to create a compendium between minimum crop losses and a greater protection of the environment. 

Of course, biopesticides are less harmful to humans and break down faster than typical agrochemicals. 

Some fungi are even good for the soil, as they liberate its nutrients which promote plant growth. 

A little known extinction...

Too often we think that the only reason tied to the man which leads a wild species to the extinction is the indiscriminate hunting and the destruction of the habitat. 
Unfortunately, a much more sneaky and hard to notice threat is represented by a wide range of animals (more or less domestic) which always accompany the men when they arrive in a new place. 

It is enormous the number of mammals, reptiles and birds that became extinct because of the arrival in their nesting places of dogs, cats and especially mice. 
Sadly, history teaches that man, even indirectly, has never been able to protect a wild place after having discovered it. 

By way of example, you may remember what happened to the Dieffenbach rail, discovered in 1843 in Chatham Island, which became extinct in less than 10 years because of the massacre of chicks by mice that had arrived with the European ships. 
The Tahiti rail, besides having been boarded on ships as "fresh food storage", became extinct mainly because of predation by cats in 1844. 
The Southern merlin became extinct in less than 60 years because of predator mammals which arrived in its habitat with the Europeans. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Help the environment: eat 0 km!

From the very first moment a vegetable is picked, its natural sugars start converting into starch. 

Each day that those store-bought vegetables spend in transit from the fields to warehouses to store shelves, they lose their natural goodness that the earth and the sun gave them. 

It is very important, when you do the shopphing, to pay attention to the place where the food you buy comes from: you should always choose 0 km food and thus, consequently, seasonal food. 

It's preferable to buy fruit and vegetables in local market instead supermarkets: generally, they are fresher and they come from nearer places. 

0 km food is very good for the environment: it's glaringly obvious that the food that comes from the immediate vicinity requires a lower consumption of fuel that, as a consequence, provokes less pollution. 

It would be a great thing if everyone cultivated something (biologically, of course!) on their own: it would be a totally 0 km way of eating! It's not a difficult thing to do: sure, it would be better having a piece of land, but also who doesn't can cultivate some fruit or vegetables in pots (now my father has a vegetable garden, but when he didn't he grew tomatoes and Chinese mandarins on the balcony!). 

So, go and create your own vegetable garden! And then send me a photo to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com , maybe. 

Another horror China branded.

The latest luxury among the rich comes straight from China. 
Now to be different the trend is to organize dinners where a tiger is killed in front of a small group of people and then is torn to pieces and cooked. Some of them doesn't even wait the tiger to be cooked and drink its blood or eat its penis (thinking they have "magical" properties). 

The South China tiger is considered probably extinct. The Sumatra tiger is close to extinction and other tigers like the Siberian, the Indian, the Malaysian and the Indo-Chinese are at serious risk of extinction. 
The insane habits of these new rich are further endangering this beautiful animal species. 

The Chinese government made this illegal, but notwithstanding this, it keeps happening. 
The person who ate the (probably) last specimen of South China tiger is staying twelve years in prison; the one who ate three tigers in 2013 is spending decades in prison. 
It's not the first time that Asian "magical" traditions seriously endanger species that are already threatened or at risk of extinction (rhinos, moonbears, elephants).
When will they stop...? 

Help things change...BEE the solution!

One-third of the food we eat depends on bees, bumblebees and other pollinators. Today, they are in serious danger. 
Yes, as always it is our fault. The agrochemical multinationals are flowing into the system of industrial agriculture increasing amounts of chemicals which threaten bees and our safety. 

Greenpeace is at the forefront in this battle for the safeguarding of bees. 
Pollen collected by bees was tested and the result is unambiguous : over two-thirds were contaminated by pesticides (up to 17 different substances for each sample). 
Lots of flowers and plants sold in garden centers, supermarkets and DIY stores contain pestcides that are lethal for bees (also neonicotinoids, which are partially forbidden in Europe). 

We can change all this. 
The solution has a name, and it is ecological agriculture, able to produce healthy food for everyone without damaging the planet and the bees. Lots of farmers in Europe are already doing it. 

People from all around the world are organizing activities to inform and mobilize others on the importance of bees,
Join the movement by signing the petition of Greenpeace to save the bees : http://sos-bees.org/#petition/?GPI_action . 

Arctic: we are all involved.

Gazprom and Shell have recently started to drill in the Arctic waters. 

The greenhouse effect reduces more and more the ice layer. 

We're destroying the sunshade which stands right over the heads of everyone in the world. 

The "Arctic problem" concerns us all. It is about us all. 

The Arctic is an extremely fragile ecosystem which is today threatened: we have to stop its deterioration. 

It is home to beautiful animal species like the polar bear, the walrus, the Arctic fox, the seals, the whales and the narwhal. 

Polar bears are strongly affected by the ice melting: it often happens that they swim for miles and miles before they find some stable ice...and too often they die trying. 

Please, sign the petition of Greenpeace to help things change! http://www.savethearctic.org/. 

Greenpeace also launched an initiative to make our voices heard on the Arctic problem: it consists in reaching a high point (a hill, a mountain, a skyscraper, a panoramic point...it doesn't matter what, it only has to be high), taking a photo and then sending it to Greenpeace or publishing it on Facebook or other social networks with the hashtag #ontop to #savethearctic. https://act.greenpeace.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1844&ea.campaign.id=30943. 

So...what are you waiting for?? Go take a photo! And send it to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com, I'll publish it on the blog. 

If you want to, send me an email with your opinions on the Arctic situation or with your suggestions for the topics of the posts. 

Alone we can't do much...but together we are strong! 

Quicksand.

Quicksand is a loose, light sand mixed with water. It looks no different from ordinary sand, but it won't support any weight. 
Quicksand can be usually found near the mouths of large rivers or on flat shores where there is a stiff layer of clay below ground level. 
This clay stops the natural drainage of water, so the water collects in the sand. It's a common belief that quicksand will suck you down but, in fact, it is possible to float, as long as you move slowly. 
Moving slowly enables the sand to flow around tha body and acts like water in which you can swim. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Things we lost...The Atitlán grebe.

The giant grebe was a podicipedidae native of Guatemala (Podilymbus gigas) which was discovered in 1929. 
It became extinct because of the introduction in the homonyous lake of the smallmouth bass (native of North America) for sport fishing. This fish killed the nestlings and large quantities of grabs and fish which were the main food source of the grebe. 
In 1983 there were only 32 specimens left and in 1989 the last two were sighted. After their disappearance this species was officially declared extinct. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

DANIZA: another bear sacrificed in the name of ignorance.

Daniza didn't make it. 
She died because of the anesthesia that has been given to her during the attempt of capture by the authorities of the province of Trento (Italy). 
Her death is causing great controversy and outrage. 

On the 15th of August she attacked a mushrooms seeker (who reported minor injuries) who went too close to her two cubs. 
Since then, she had been monitored and had been seriously considered the opportunity of capturing her (in a first time, even of killing her). 
The national institutions showed their incompetence in this situation. 

But, who was Daniza? 
She was 19 years old and was part of a bears reintroduction program in the Italian Alps, whose only crime was trying to defend her cubs, as every mother would do. 

WWF and other animal welfare groups are now asking for explanations. Capturing her was not necessary, she wasn't a dangerous specimen. 
Now we wonder what will happen to her two cubs, at the gates of winter. It is hoped that, at least, the authorities will be able to take care of them and ensure that they survive. 

Things we lost...Carpathian and Caucasian wisent.

BISON BONASUS HUNGARORUM 

The Carpathian wisent was a subspecies of the European wisent which lived in the Carpathian Mountains, in Moldova and in Transylvania. 
Too close to central Europe, he was hunted until the extinction. 
The last specimen was shot down in 1790 in Transylvania. 

BISON BONASUS CAUCASICUS 

The Caucasian wisent was a subspecies of the European wisent which was once widespread in the Caucasus Mountains. 
It was prey to the Caucasian tiger (extinct) and to the Asian lion (which today is extinct in that zone), as well as to bears and wolves. 
In the 17th century he still populated wide areas of the western Caucasus. At the end of the 19th century human settlements became more numerous and the wisent population was reduced to approximately 1/10. In the 60s of the 19th century the wisent population was of about 2000 specimens, which were reduced to 500 in 1917 and to 50 in 1921. 
In 1927 the last 3 specimens were shot down. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Things we lost...Pyrenean and Portuguese ibex.

CAPRA PYRENAICA PYRENAICA 

The Pyrenean ibex was a subspecies of the Spanish ibex and it is now extinct. 
Once, he was widespread in the French Pyrenees, in the Basque Country, in Navarra and in northern Catalonia. 
In 1900 there were about 100 specimens left but already in 1910 there were only 40 left. The last specimen was found dead on January 6, 2006 with its neck broken because of the fall of a tree. 
The scientists wanted to clone it but there wasn't male DNA, so they are now waiting for the technology to study a way to replace the X chromosome of the female cell with a Y chromosome of another subspecies. 

CAPRA PYRENAICA LUSITANICA 

The Portuguese ibex populated Portugal, Galicia, the Asturias and the Cantabrian Mountains. 
In 1800 it was still quite numerous but it soon suffered a meltdown because the local populations enormously hunted it in each period of the year because of its meat, horns, skin (with which they made clothes) and bezoars (formations of foreign bodies in the stomach) used to defend against "any poison". 
The last female specimen was sighted in 1892. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Keep sending me emails with your suggestions! 

To make this a better blog...

...I need your help! 

I have always thought that the best way to improve myself and get in touch with new realities is the contact and the exchange of information with other people. 
I see that many people from all around the world read my posts: Italians, Americans, Russians, Turkish, Germans, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Ukrainians, French. 
You would help me so much suggesting new ideas for the topics of the blog! Maybe talking me about situations of your own countries. 
You are free to write me in English, Italian, French and Spanish. 
So, if you want to, write me an email to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com and help me to improve in quality and quantity this blog! 

Best wishes!

Chiara 

Acid as...rain!

Acid rain is one of the most dangerous and widespread forms of pollution. 
This international problem was first noticed by England and Canada. Later also in the USA, in the Scandinavian countries (Finland, Norway and Sweden) and in other countries like Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Austria and Northern Italy. 

This phenomenon has dramatically increased over the past few decades. 
Many living and non-living systems has become harmed and damaged as a result of the acid rain. They are caused by the smoke and gases expelled by factories, airplanes and cars. When fossil fuels burn the sulphures are combined with oxygen and are transformed into sulphur dioxide and some of the nitrogen in the air becomes nitrogen oxide. 
These pollutants bind to water and so chemicals fall back to the earth. 

When trees get damaged by the acid rain their leaves and needles turn brown and fall off. 
In the polluted lakes and rivers fish die and birds and mammals can be killed by eating them. 

The only solution to this problem is to save energy and pollute less (or to use renewable energy). When less "dirty" energy is used, less coal is burnt and so there will be less acid rain. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)