UPDATE -- Let's Kill All the Animals (Even the Cute Ones)

Well, there we have it. As predicted, the Japanese succeeded in convincing enough countries to do an about face on protecting the porbeagle shark to bring that ban up for another vote and defeat it. That means that all eleven oceanic species up for CITES protection -- bluefin tuna, eight species of shark (not four as I posted yesterday, apparently they are listing each species of hammerhead separately) and two species of coral -- have been refused that protection.

Major freaking bummer.

Let's Kill All the Animals (Even the Cute Ones)

What a crappy month to be an animal.

Last week the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) began in the city of Doha, Qatar. Basically, every two and a half years nations from all over the world send representatives to this meeting with the express aim of regulating international trade in endangered species. This year, the species up for protection included bluefin tuna, sharks, and polar bears.

Now, no one expected winning protections for all these species at the convention was going to be easy -- there are many countries around the world, big and small, who benefit from this trade. Still, many people, myself included, had hope that at least a few of these species might receive the protection they so clearly need. The actual result? A big FU to endangered species.

First came the vote on tuna. Sponsored by the US and Monaco, most observers expected this to be the toughest of the protections to actually achieve -- Japan consumes massive quantities of bluefin (Japan alone imports 80% of all the bluefin caught in the Atlantic) and many African countries bordering the Atlantic make money by either selling bluefin directly to Japan or selling the rights for Japanese boats to fish in their waters. At the end of the day, this bloc has some serious pull (according to the CITES charter, all bans require a 2/3 majority to pass). Despite the fact that bluefin stocks are down more than 70% from their 1957 levels, this ban was, disappointingly but not unexpectedly, shot down.

Next up was a ban on the trade four different species of sharks: scalloped hammerhead, oceanic whitetips, porbeagles and spiny dogfish sharks. Again, the big opponents of this bill were Asian countries, namely China and Japan, where sharkfin soup is still a delicacy. Shark fins are generally obtained by catching a shark, cutting off it's fin, and then just tossing the now debilitated shark back into the ocean where it slowly sinks to the bottom and drowns. Say what you will about American farming techniques (and I've said PLENTY), there are few things more cruel and wasteful than shark finning.

Each of these species were voted on in a separate bill. While all of the bills received majority backing, only the bill regulating porbeagle sharks was able to reach the 2/3 majority threshold, and then by only the slimmest of margins. As for this one glimmer of hope, backroom negotiations are already under way -- China and Japan hope to swing enough votes in their direction to bring this bill up for another vote before the week is out and overturn the decision.

Last on the docket: the polar bear. Honestly -- what kind of a person do you have to be to not want to save the POLAR BEAR? This majestic creature is currently under enormous strain, and most observers agree that with the additional pressure of global warming, polar bears could very conceivably disappear in the wild within the next century. So clearly, the world managed to agree that we could ban the sale of polar bear parts and skins right?

Nope, it turns out the world couldn't do that either. We can't even agree not to kill and sell pieces of the mascot for global waring endangerment. Sorry endangered animals; you didn't do to well at this conference. Better luck in two and a half years.

Image provided by flickrfavorites

There Goes My $1 Million iPhone App

Bad news first: my latest million dollar iphone application scheme has come to an end (not that it ever got past the initial dreaming stages, but lets not dwell on that). The good news: the reason my app idea is defunct is because Google beat me to the punch, and they most certainly did a better job with it than I ever could have hoped to do. The idea: to add a new layer to Google maps specifically for cyclists.

Google has added two new functions for bikers. First, it has uploaded an incredibly extensive array of bike trails and bike lanes in major cities all around the country. This information is easily accessed by selecting "Bicycling" from the maps layer button labeled "More..." in the top right corner of Google Maps. Making this selection will cause several new symbols to overlay on the Google map: a dark green line indicating a bike path with no motor vehicles, a light green line showing regular streets with MARKED bike lanes, and dotted green lines showing streets specifically for cyclists -- usually streets with low traffic. How they got that last bit of information I can't even begin to guess.

Second, you can now get biking directions the same way you used to be able to get walking, driving or public transit directions (by selecting "Bicycling" from the drop down menu). This is the aspect of this new technology I find the most useful (and that made up my million dollar app idea).

Clearly, this program still has bugs. I tried mapping out several different routes I take on a regular basis and Google keeps telling me to go ways that I know are not the best ways to go. In one case it even told me to go the wrong way down a one way street because that street had a designated bike path (it does, but it too is one way). My guess is that over the next few months cyclists from all over the country will be filing thousands of bugs and Google will use their feedback to get this new feature up to par. In the meantime, I need to come up with a new million dollar app idea.

Review of 5 Hour Energy

Since I have a bladder the size of a pine nut, I usually try to avoid caffeine, but there are times when it is the only way to get the job done. Back in college, my go-to source of high octane energy was Red Bull: it powered me through more late night study sessions and all night drives than I care to remember. However, those caffeine binges usually left me shaky and anxious. So when a friend told me how awesome these new 5 hour energy drinks were, I decided to give it a shot (no pun intended).

5 hour energy is a much more natural way to get that same energy kick when you need it. It does have about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, but it's really the b12, taurine, b6, niacin and other herbal supplements that give you the lasting energy you need without the crash (yes I sound like the commercial, but it is true). And in terms of avoiding that crash, I found this stuff is the real deal: no more of that shaky aftereffect where you finished your work or your drive but still have another 2 hours of mind racing before you can go to sleep.

Also, it has no sugar or carbs -- not that at 25 I am super concerned about my daily carb intake -- but that's the deal anyway.

I do however have one disclaimer for this product. I recently had an intense weekend involving driving up to the mountains, snowboarding all day, partying all night, and then doing it all over again. As can be expected, I had more than a few of these to keep myself going. By the time Sunday night rolled around however, my heart was doing some pretty gnarly racing and I couldn't sit still or think clearly at all -- the effect was MUCH worse then having too much coffee. So, my personal recommendation is to keep your intake of these to one a day.

Other than that one disclaimer, I must say this product rocks!

Image provided by 5-Hour Energy