AMAZING VICTORIES IN 2008

Let’s celebrate our victories for 2008 and may they serve as inspiration and motivation for the work to be done in 2009.

- Illegal Logging Ban Enacted. The United States became the first country in the world to prohibit the import and sale of illegally-sourced wood and wood products. Siberian tigers, orangutans and many other species dependent on forest habitat around the globe will benefit.
by WWF

- Clean Energy Tax Incentives Extended. The U.S. Congress extended tax incentives that encourage individuals and businesses to install renewable energy systems and build energy-efficient buildings.
by WWF

- Sumatran Elephant and Tiger Habitat Protected. Indonesia committed to doubling the size of a national park that is one of the last havens for endangered Sumatran elephants and critically endangered Sumatran tigers.
by WWF

- 50 Million People Switched Off Their Lights for Earth Hour 2008. WWF activists were among the estimated 50 million people around the world who turned off their lights for one hour on March 29, 2008, to demonstrate their commitment to slowing the effects of climate change. Sign up to join us for Earth Hour 2009
by WWF

There is still a lot of work to do and the WWF has a list of campaigns where we can all be a part of and help reach the ears and eyes of the world. Visit World Wildlife Fund.

- Donna Karan dumps fur! Thanks to the hard work of PETA’s staff, members, and volunteers and after nearly a year of pressuring designer Donna Karan to drop fur from her designs—by protesting outside her boutiques, crashing her runway show, and exposing her cruel use of fur online—Donna Karan has announced that all her Fall 2009 lines will be fur-free and that she has “no plans” to use fur in the future. Well done, everyone!
by Peta

For more ways to help and getting active visit Peta’s Action Center.

- Four years have passed since the devastating Asia tsunami of December 26, 2004 — the biggest emergency response in Save the Children’s history.

Today, our primary focus is on helping families become more self-sufficient and enabling children to succeed in school. Thousands of children affected by the tsunami are attending schools. And many of these children are also benefitting from our health, nutrition and child protection programs.
by Save the Children

One week after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook southwestern China,
Save the Children plans to set up child-friendly spaces and temporary classrooms for primary schools in one of the most devastated communities
in Deyang Prefecture, part of Sichuan Province.
More than 3 million children live in the earthquake zone. For them, the disaster has meant the loss of everything that gave them a sense of security: their families, their homes, schools, and their daily routines.
Save the Children child protection adviser, Deborah Barry, arrived in China this week. Barry and other experts say child disaster victims need to quickly return to their routines. Even though they might be living in tents, families should try to get back to some normal activities like eating dinner at the same time as before the quake, and children should return to school as quickly as possible.
For children whose caregivers have survived, Save the Children, working alongside the local Red Cross, is preparing plans for five temporary child-friendly spaces to create a sense of normalcy and provide a safe place for children to play, learn and socialize. These areas also will help to support parents and caregivers.

In cases where children have no caregivers, while family tracing begins,
Save the Children will support the Women’s Federation of Sichuan Province, which is creating four temporary child-friendly centers in Mianyang, Deyang and Chengdu.

In Mianyang and Deyang Prefectures, Save the Children also is working with the local Education Bureau to help set up 12 temporary classrooms — providing desks, chairs, textbooks, and other school supplies — for primary school children, ages 6 to 12.

Read more on Save the Children’s response in China.