#Conservation Practices

[reasonsforhope]

The population of giant pandas in the wild has nearly doubled as China steps up its conservation efforts.

China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration said on Jan 25 there are now around 1,900 pandas in the wild from some 1,100 in the 1980s.

This has been due to China’s efforts to protect the species, considered a national treasure, said Mr Zhang Yue, an official with the administration.

The Giant Panda National Park was established in October 2021, covering a total area of over 22,000 sq km and providing a home to around 72 per cent of the wild giant panda population.

Protected areas for giant pandas have grown from 1.39 million ha to 2.58 million ha since 2012.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has adjusted the status of giant pandas from “endangered” to “vulnerable”.

“This indicates that China’s giant panda conservation efforts have been recognised by the international wildlife conservation community,” Mr Zhang said.

The global captive population of giant pandas, meanwhile, has now reached 728, with 46 pandas successfully bred in captivity in 2023.

The genetic diversity of captive giant pandas has also improved. The current captive population of giant pandas can maintain 90 per cent genetic diversity for up to 200 years.

As for giant pandas living abroad, Mr Zhang said China has organised field inspections and assessments of 23 overseas cooperation institutions in 19 countries since 2023.

“The cooperation institutions generally meet the requirements in terms of venue construction, feeding and nursing, and disease prevention and control measures,” Mr Zhang said, adding that pandas living abroad are generally “in good health”.

He said China will further improve the international cooperation management mechanism for giant pandas, carry out regular daily health monitoring and field inspection and assessment, and continue to strengthen cooperation with international partners for the protection of endangered species and biodiversity.

-via The Straits Times, January 25, 2024

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Earth Overshoot Day: Facing the Future with Hope

[uniqueartisanconnoisseur]

A Weekend in Clarksville, TN!

Clarksville, Tennessee is a place that I love! Returning, we came to see and do new things. My husband Keith and I were hosted by Visit Clarksville, Tennessee. Come along. See what there is do in this vibrant river City! A town filled with history, architecture, a foodie scene, artists and more! The downtown has survived fires, floods, and even a tornado. They just keep adding, renovating, and…

[ggacworldwide]

Sustainable Farming: NPowerFarmers Guide to Environmental Stewardship

Greetings, NPowerFarmers! As we progress through the NPowerFarmers Guide, our focus turns to a crucial aspect of responsible farming: environmental stewardship. Sustainable farming practices not only contribute to the health of your farm but also play a vital role in preserving our planet. Let’s explore key considerations for embracing environmental stewardship in agriculture. Sustainable…

[randomx123]

One problem with Hindus (especially conservative ones) is that they support various gender expressions and identities as long as it's related to mythology

Like we see girls in drag cosplaying Krishna and that's widely accepted. They do drag for other mythological characters as well. We see men in drag in mythological theatrical productions but if a man is in drag that's NOT related to mythology, he'd get shamed. Same thing with men being and acting feminine (no doubt, positively in this case) as long as it's related to a mythological act, or scene. Graceful male traditional dancers for example, are fine. But if that same man dances "femininely" to a Western song, he gets called slurs.

And then the trans topic is an entirely different topic.

Ykwim?

Yeah, IKR?

Vishnu turns into Mohini to get the Amrit from the Asurs? A-OK

Lakshmi having feelings for Her Narayan even in that form? *Le gasp* Paap! Anuchit! Dandaniya!

Men acting/looking feminine? *Insert all the hu mofo bian insults you can think of*

Ardhanarishvar being partly both Male and Female at once, and hence neither as a whole? *BrIlLiAnCe Of SaNaTaN dHaRmA!! Rahhh!! InInIn!! 🦚🦚🦚*

Non-binary people? Intersex people? *ThEy ArE (r-slur) pEoPlE wItH bRaInRoT fRoM pRoPaGaNdA!!!*

Don't these people love yapping about their favourite scriptures? Don't they read them? Don't they know that Para Brahman (I'd have said Debi, but not everyone is open to accepting anything besides what they've stuffed in their craniums for so long, so generalising...) is in everything in this Universe?

I don't mean only humans, or even living beings. Every atom is supposed to hold Para Brahman, the same way They hold the Universe within Themself

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

The world if people stopped applying their understanding of "conservatism" and "religion/christianity" through a very modern, deeply American view onto Death Note (a manga from the Early-mid 2000s which is very much set in the cultural and societal context of early-mid 2000s Japan and all that entails):

[a-ryanwilson]

Rumi Study

[hwangyeddeongie]

i wasn't going to talk about this but fuck it this is getting ridiculous

"why are people making such a big deal about karina's post?" "uhuhu knetz are just misogynistic as usual" tell me you know nothing about korean politics without telling me

first of all, the way karina's fans are babying her and defending her so fervently is baffling to me. that woman is 25 years old, and you seriously think she's enough of an airhead to not know what all the symbols on her post mean, ESPECIALLY during election season??

"it was a coincidence" wearing a red jacket (colour of the conservative party) with a number 2 on it (number of the conservative party) AND posting it with a rose emoji (symbol of the conservative party) during election season is NOT a coincidence, it's intentional.

and i don't expect non-korean fans to know much about SK history or politics, but good god AT LEAST do some basic research before you go spout off some stupid shit like how you'll "always stand with your idol until the end", because all that tells me about you is that you're braindead and have no morals of your own outside of what a celebrity tells you to think (which is exactly why idols aren't allowed to endorse politicians or parties because these companies know their fans are FUCKING DUMB and easily swayed)

first reason karina's post was a mistake: SK's democracy is extremely young. we've only had 13 elections, with 3 dictators (4 if you count YSY's short martial law last year) and practically every other one being jailed or tried for corruption. so the chance that the candidate you endorse (regardless of party) ends up being a corrupt piece of shit has an extremely high success rate. second reason: this is not a normal election. YSY was impeached, and people are VERY angry at him for the mess he caused last year, and the fact that karina endorsed his party is. just wow.

this is not to say that LJM (blue party) is a good candidate. he's literally being investigated for corruption and a shit ton of other things so if you think this is me endorsing him or the DPK....no 😭

karina has the freedom to endorse and vote for whoever she wants, but that does not absolve her from the consequences of her actions. stop treating her like she's a child that didn't know any better. if she's adult enough to vote for and publicly support the conservative party, she's adult enough to take the heat for it.

idols are not perfect angels that can do no wrong. they are humans with human flaws and biases, and they SHOULD take accountability when they do something wrong. a half-assed apology on an exclusive paid platform or a corporate statement doesn't cut it. personally, my morals and beliefs are more important to me than supporting a celebrity.

[deathandnonexistentialdread]

this implies that according to YuGiOh lore, Atlantis tried to invade America and ended up getting defeated by the Native Americans

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Preserving Diversity

[saints-who-never-existed]

Y'know, one thing I really appreciated about the Scott Polar Research Institute was the emphasis placed on Inuit culture and knowledge.

There's a large section of the space devoted to Inuit artworks and artefacts, and it's the very first one you see as you enter the building proper. You can't miss it!

They also currently have an exhibition called 'Hidden Histories' which comprises additional labelling throughout the museum focusing on the skills and contributions of specific members of the wider Inuit community, as well as female figures in polar history and notable individuals like Matthew Henson.

I do think this could and should be expanded upon and pushed further in future - in some places it provides fascinating additional context for the items on display, but in others comes off a wee bit more like an afterthought.

Nevertheless, it's a fantastic start that I noted and very much appreciated!

[emailprobably]

Whenever I rewatch the Clone Wars I always get just this visceral feeling of absolute adoration for Anakin and it always shocks me when it happens. I'm always like, "whoa you do not like anakin this much in other contexts"

And then I remember I dressed up as Clone Wars Anakin for Halloween twice

I wore that mask two years in a row with absolute pride itching for someone to ask about him....

And then it clicks and I carry on

[son-of-avraham]

Can you talk more about how you decided to convert through conservative judaism over reform and what the process was like for you? I've been going to a reform shul for a while, to the point where I know everyone who regularly comes and I also love our rabbi. It almost feels like a second home, but I realized recently that I think I agree more with Conservative views on halacha and would prefer converting through that stream, but I also don't wanna leave all the nice people I've met so far, and also the nearest conservative shul is over an hour drive away :( I thought I'd just convert through reform anyways but maybe talk about keeping a conservative level of observance for my conversion, but I feel like it would be dishonest to convert reform if I don't agree with their fundamental views on halacha and such. It's hard thinking about leaving the community I love, but I also feel that I'd get more of what I personally want out of Judaism from a conservative conversion. Would really love some advice on navigating this if you're willing!!

I'll preface this by saying that this is included in my FAQ, so if you want to check that out, you might get more information that I might have forgotten to include here.

What I fundamentally believe people should do in the conversion process is to do what is accessible to them. If reform is accessible to you, I don't see why you would have to upend yourself and leave behind your pre-established community.

To me, movement means very little. If you've converted halachically (which reform absolutely can do and does), you've converted. You can be a reform jew who follows or believes in a myriad of things - I doubt a rabbi is going to say, "now, I want to convert you, but you don't believe only in the Reform Positions, so it looks like you can't be converted." If anything, a rabbi would be thrilled to hear what your positions are and why. It reminds me of my ITJ class where the presenting rabbi asked if we believed in g-d or not. She literally balked about how none of us voted "no." She was amazed.

I only decided to convert through the conservative movement because it was the most accessible to me. Nothing about the conversion process changed because I chose conservative - I'm still working with a rabbi, I'm still engaged with my community, and I will stand before a beit din and immerse in the mikvah. If I could let you in on a secret... If movement didn't matter to others, I wouldn't even put which movement I'm affiliated with on this blog.One of the most important things in jewish conversion and jewish life in general is having a community. It sounds like you've found that - it isn't dishonest to be in community and to just be yourself (yes, even if you disagree with some aspects of different practices - two jews, three opinions, anyone?). Plenty of people in my conservative shul are more frum than others, and some are less frum. Even within your own movement, your practices will look wildly different than other jews of the same movement. In actuality, we're all starting from more or less the same starting point which is judaism. You have a lifetime to explore the mitzvot and see how you will practice. Nothing about that is inherently dishonest or disingenuous.

[liondrakes]

I’m not one to judge someone for their hobbies, but trophy hunting angers me beyond me belief as a lion and an antelope alike.

I hate whenever I try to find references of my ‘types and, without fail, the first few results show some dickhead (usually an American) posing with the corpses of my kind.

We don’t exist so you can chase your stupid thrills and parade around our bodies afterwards.

We don’t exist to be your fucking spoils.

[there-are-4-lights]

from here

[theeternalwomb]

Community does not need this!! But they’re loud in the comments about how harmful this could be for the community and divination and other spiritual practices and traditions! Thankfully!! I was just talking about spiritual psychosis on my close friends on Instagram yesterday and then I see things like this and post just went viral of some woman absolutely losing it, snot running out her nose and everything over the eclipse.

The fear mongering and demonization of spiritual teachings, astrology, tarot and spiritual practices and traditions is about to start becoming very big. It was already a really prominent thing oppressors have used for ages especially against poc who practice forms of witchcraft or deity worship they brought with them from home. I was just watching a docu-series yesterday that highlighted how the native population on mt. Shasta were forced to leave and practiced ritual and held ceremonies in the caves of mount Shasta and those who colonized would go into those caves after they left and preform mockeries of their ceremonies and rituals as entertainment.

We’re about to step into a reality and time where spiritual people, practitioners and others within the community will be replacing celebrities and individuals of high rank or people who hold a lot of power in this world and I said before that the oppressor has a very specific recipe for oppression and trying to keep people (especially in the west) as unaware and as stuck in perpetual karmic cycles and systems as much as possible. And this is just yet another technique they use to discredit individuals with gifts. They use psychics and astrologers and others themselves to help them predict and interpret what’s coming.

They use these types of stories or ideas to fuel radical religious beliefs and ideas that are built upon fear mongering and hatred, they use religious institutions and manipulated versions of their Bible and beliefs and create division within the west. Vast majority of republicans are statistically uneducated and are conservative who hold onto heavy religious beliefs and views to back up, support and justify their actions and beliefs. Heavily similar to antebellum America and the justification of slavery and the mistreatment of African American people.

To add onto that, this movie about tarot does not accurately portray what tarot really is and how it works whatsoever but guess who’ll believe it and perpetuate it. Half the negative ideas that are swirling around about metaphysical, Wiccan or spiritual practices are due to pop culture and horror movies and the individuals who sit at their desks in the dark scribbling away these plots and releasing these movies.