Palm oil is the leading cause of orangutan extinction. It’s in 50% of all household and food products sold in the West. It’s an ingredient in shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, frozen microwave dinners, cookies, peanut butter, lotion, makeup and much more!

Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil made from the fruit of the African oil palm tree, which originates in West Africa. However, it can be grown successfully in any humid tropical climate and has taken a strong foothold in Indonesia.

telegraph.co.uk
Not only is Palm Oil bad for the environment, and a major cause of climate change, but it is also the leading cause of orangutan extinction.

Every year it is estimated that between 1,000 to 5,000 orangutans are killed in Palm Oil concessions. That is a significant portion of the wild orangutan population which is lost–without fail–every single year.


Eliminate palm oil consumption from our lives, we can weaken the demand for palm oil and stop orangutans from getting killed. It’s that simple!

Let companies know you care. Email to express your concern that a product contains palm oil, or submit inquires to see if a product contains any form of palm oil, including “sustainable” or RSPO palm oil. OFI supports a 100% boycott of palm oil, as certification schemes such as “RSPO” continue to permit deforestation and the destruction of peatland forests for plantation development.

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After 100 years of dwindling birth populations, attacks by invasive species, and heavy casualties from fishing and whaling, baby tortoises were found born in the Galapagos Islands.

This is huge news for a species that has been struggling to survive for a century, relying on humans raising young tortoises bred in captivity until they are large enough to not fall prey to rats and predators.

Finding naturally born young is evidence that conservation efforts are helping rebuild the islands ecosystem, which has been damaged, possibly irrevocably, since the 17th century.


Rats have been the biggest threat to the tortoise population since their accidental introduction to the island via ships infested with them. The rats root out nests and eat the eggs and newborns of numerous island species, hurting more than just the tortoise population. Thankfully, the island of Pinzón, home to the newborn tortoises, was declared rat-free in 2012, and the results are already showing.

It’s encouraging to see conservation efforts pay off so quickly. The tortoise population has gone from around 150 in 1959 to almost 500 today. Celebration is certainly in order, but there is still more hard work ahead. And it’s never too late to help the cause.

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On a trip abroad to Thailand, Canadian traveler Meagan Penman spotted a paralyzed dog struggling to crawl cross the beach. Meagan instantly went to help the poor paraplegic, malnourished pup who had terrible wounds on his legs.

The dog had survived a terrible motorcycle accident, and whoever his owner was, did absolutely nothing to provide the dog with the medical care he so desperately needed.

She couldn’t find any rescues in Thailand who would take him in — but she knew if the dog didn’t get help soon he would die, maybe even right there on the sand.

Scroll down to see what Meagan did next…

Help Save Leo
Meagan Penman is a Canadian model who traveled to Thailand for vacation.

Help Save Leo
In Thailand, Meagan unexpectedly discovered a poor dog dragging his body across the beach. She took him to a local vet where X-Rays showed his spine was broken.

Help Save Leo
Because of his extreme condition, no rescues in Thailand were willing to take the pup. So, Meagan vowed to find a way to bring him back home to Canada.

Help Save Leo
Getting him overseas was no easy task, but thanks to many generous online donors, Meagan was able to raise the over $2,000 needed to help pay for the special needs pup’s trip.

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Leo’s story was so incredible he made the local news.

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Two months after his rescue, Leo was ready to head off to his new home.

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Even after a long flight, Leo was calm and happy.

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Due to her job and living situation, Meagan couldn’t take him in herself.

However, she was able to find him a foster home via Leo’s Facebook page with a wonderful woman named Jamie.



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Donations helped pay for Leo’s extensive vet bills and care.

K9 Carts, a pet mobility rehab center, helped him get his own doggie wheelchair so he could walk again.

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Leo adapted incredibly, in spite of the struggles he’s been through.

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He has undergone various operations for problems with his urinary tract, and until a solution is found…

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…he’s wearing diapers like a human baby.

Help Save Leo
Leo had only weeks left to live, but human compassion reigned supreme and gave him a second shot at a long and happy life.

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Leo has already showed signs for the possibility of future mobility.

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The bumblebee has been officially added to the list of endangered species along with the gray wolf, grizzly bear, the northern spotted owl, and about 700 other extinct animal species.

According to National Geographic:

“The rusty-patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), once a common sight, is “now balancing precariously on the brink of extinction,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Once thriving in 28 states and the District of Columbia, but over the past two decades, the bee’s population has plummeted nearly 90 percent. There are more than 3,000 bee species in the United States, and about 40 belong to the genus Bombus—the bumblebees.

Advocates for the rusty-patched bumblebee’s listing are abuzz with relief, but it may be the first skirmish in a grueling conflict over the fate of the Endangered Species Act under the Trump administration.”

According to James Stranger, a research entomologist, and Bumblebee ecologist:

“There are a few little spots where we know they are. But only a really few spots.”

The scientific name of the bee, Bombus affinis, was given due to the red patch in its abdomen. Even though the original listing date as an endangered species was set for February 2018, it was not until now that it was listed.

According to Xerces Society director of endangered species Sarah Jepsen:

“We are thrilled to see one of North America’s most endangered species receive the protection it needs. Now that the Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the rusty-patched bumble bee as endangered, it stands a chance of surviving the many threats it faces — from the use of neonicotinoid pesticides to diseases.”

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

“Bumblebees are among the most important pollinators of crops such as blueberries, cranberries, and clover, and almost the only insect pollinators of tomatoes. The economic value of pollination services provided by native insects (mostly bees) is estimated at $3 billion per year in the United States.”

One of the main factors in the declining trend of its population was the human encroachment which led to the subsequent loss of their natural habitat. Therefore, this classification will protect the grasslands needed by these bees and other pollinators.

Rich Hatfield, a Xerces Society, a senior conservation biologist, says:

“While this listing clearly supports the rusty patched bumble bee, the entire suite of pollinators that share its habitat, and which are so critical to natural ecosystems and agriculture, will also benefit.

This is a positive step towards the conservation of this species, and we now have to roll up our sleeves to begin the actual on-the-ground conservation that will help it move toward recovery.”

Yet, it is a fact that this move brings about new challenges. The petition from American Petroleum Institute, National Association of Home Builders, National Cotton Council of America, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and two entities to the Secretary of the Interior and Acting Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, aims at getting a year’s delay in the listing, since “the implications of this hasty listing decision are difficult to overstate. “

This petition goes on to deem the listing of this bee as “one of the most significant species listings in decades in terms of scope and impact on human activities.”

More than one-third of the plants grown in the United States depend on pollinators, and the population of this bee is drastically reduced due to the destruction of natural resources through monoculture and generous use of pesticides and herbicides on GMO crops. Hence, the opposition to the listing of this bee is counterproductive, since it is indeed an endangered pollinator.

Many people actually believe that such conservation efforts should have started sooner, and signed an agreement urging the listing of the rusty-patched bumble bee.

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