Charlie Rose Science Series
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Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America
by Thomas L. Friedman
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by Thomas L. Friedman
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07/11/2008
Emmanuel de Merode, Brent Stirton, Godefroid Wambale
A discussion about Gorilla murders in Africa’s Virunga National Park
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A discussion about Gorilla murders in Africa’s Virunga National Park with Dr. Emmanuel de Merode, Brent Stirton and Godefroid Wambale. Mountain gorillas are an endangered species with some 700 alive. Nearly half of these animals live in Virunga National Park which borders Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The gorillas are caught in the middle of the Congo’s ongoing civil war between militia groups and the Congolese Army. This month’s National Geographic magazine, along with a companion documentary uncovers the question: “Who murdered the mountain gorillas?”
Click to learn more about the mountain gorillas or to help the park rangers
Click to learn more about the mountain gorillas or to help the park rangers
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Charlie Rose DVDs on Amazon.
Audio
Audio available through Audible.com.
Audio available through Audible.com.
Transcripts
Transcripts available through Voxant.
Transcripts available through Voxant.
I live in the Untied States and I am disgusted with the United Nations for not doing anything, worth talking about for Africa. The people have been brutilly slutered along with the animals and now THE GREAT APES OF THE WORLD. This Country needs more then just medicine, it needs food, charcoal to cook they're food, shelter, schools, and HOPE. This has been going on for almost 20yrs and it isn't getting any better. So where are our Leaders? To me our Leaders should hold they're faces down and say a lot of prays for the injustice that they have commited because they are just as bad as the rebals. My 15yr old son isn't even allowed to talk about the situation going on in Afica at a public shcool, the teacher told him "We don't talk about that here". So, if the children can't even talk about it, how will they know what to do or how to help this crisis. It will probably be another 10yrs or more before we can fix or attemp to fix this outrage.By then they will have probably KILLED all the GORILLAS.
You carefully avoided to touch the heart of the problem as all the media do about this conflict. since the invasion of congo by USA back rwanda and uganda, this part of congo (if not all the country )is under rwanda control through Nkunda and "kabila" both from rwanda.That is why you are allow to talk about the killing of gorillas but the killing or rapes of congoleses, because the killing or any kind of atrocities against congoleses population are approved by the so called international community(USA,EU and UN).we are talking about 5,000,000 peoples, please it is about 5,000,000 people killed.unknown number of rapes, from a 10 month old baby to a 67 y.o lady.million forced to leave their villages.every second,minute and hour,someone is killed,a woman is raped or brutally abused by Nkunda people or the Hutus militia all from rwanda and this under the so called international community nose.rangers will do little to save your beloved gorillas under the situation, they (rangers) risk to be killed.I urge Dodefroid Wambale to stay here.TO SAVE GORILLAS we need to save people and build peace
Thank you for picking up this vitally important story. As Emmanuel eluded to, there is an important sustainable alternative fuel program that we are aggressively pursuing that will provide significantly lower cost alternatives to illegal charcoal, while at the same time providing legitimate jobs to those people who feel they have no choice but to work in the illegal charcoal trade. To learn more about this effort, please visit our blog at: http://endingcharcoal.wildlifedirect.org
The gorilla murders in Virunga is the least of their problems? I beg to differ. Nearly all of the world's problems are man made. As a species, it is our duty to protect our relatives, even if our DNA only matches by 98% and not 100%. To sit with blinders on as another species goes extinct is inexcusable. The atrocities committed against the Congolese people are truly unspeakable crimes and justice should be metered out for each and every one of them, but, in no way does the human crisis diminish the urgency of the situation for the gorillas. 700 remaining and counting down. Shame on us.
Emmanuel, Godefroid, and Brent - thank you so much for getting this story out, for not letting us forget about everything that is at stake in DRC. I am so proud to be a supporter of Wildlife Direct and the ICCN rangers such as Godefroid. To learn more about their work, and the work of other conservationists, please visit www.wildlifedirect.org. You can visit the Gorilla Protection blog here: http://gorilla.wildlifedirect.org
I am an independent journalist who has been following conservation corruption for years. See this rebuttal: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Fox-Owned-National-Geograp-by-Georgianne-Nienabe-080714-816.html
Accessing Wildlife Direct site, then "blogs" & then "quick links" will get you to the some of the Rangers (including Mr. Wambale) & their blogs, contribution arrangements for sustaining patrols, the charcoal replacement project blog etc., and presents similar activities for other areas and species in various parts of the world.
None of us trying to help the rangers & hence the gorillas, would ever suggest that the suffering of all peoples in eastern DR Congo isn't important. It is one of the most devastated & ignored regions in the world with atrocious suffering. We can only do what we possibly can to help the rangers through an extremely difficult and dangerous time. The people are proud, magnificant, resourceful, brave people, by whom I am humbled whenever I meet them. If anyone wishes to assist the rangers/gorillas in the UK please go to www.g4g.co.uk or contact linda@g4g.co.uk
First and foremost the Gorilla murders in Africa’s Virunga National Park is the least problems facing The RDC(Congo). The most important issue that needs to be dicussed is the invasion of the RDC(Congo) by three small neighboring nations Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda since 1998.Paul Kagame the current president of Rwande( a tutsi) who is the mastermind of the genocide in the Congo of more than 5,000,000 Congolese dead.Dispite of all the atrocious circumstances in the Congo,its current president Joseph kabila an disingenuous foreigner who is also from Rwanda( a tutsi) is supplying Nkundabatware with all types weapons through Paul Kagame.The disturbing part is that the international community and the UN are aware of this but do not want to place the blame on the major players behind all of this, beacause of their own self interest in the Congo.I've served in the Congolese Military press prior to the assassination of Lauren Kabila the former president who was the adoptive father of Joseph Kabila and the current of The Congo.If you would like to learn more about the truth visit www.congolaisenaction.org
first, the 5,000,000 of the congolese who have died it is because Nkundabatware, who is a Rwandan Tutsi has been collaborating with the so-called Joseph kabila, who is also a Rwandan Tutsi, with the orders coming from Paul Kagame so that they can control the resources of the Congo... So, if you want the gorillas to survive, the world must first denounce and get rid of the Rwandan Nkundabatware and Joseph kabila, so that the gorillas can be protected as well as the people of the Congo-Zarie. www.congolaisenaction.com
To donate directly to the rangers in DR Congo's Virunga National Park, please visit http://gorilla.wildlifedirect.org You can also read a blog written by the rangers Diddy and Innocent, Pierre of Wildlife Direct, and Emmanuel de Merode. s.
Thanks for airing the story about this tragedy, which is, among other things, a tragedy for the rangers doing their best to protect the gorillas despite incredible adversity. There is an organization called the International Ranger Federation, comprised of rangers from all over the world, that is working with other international organizations to do whatever can be done to support the rangers in Virunga. We all need to do what we can to aid and assist them - and thereby protect this terribly endangered species.
I'm watching the show right now, and I think this has been one of the most stimulating episodes of Charlie Rose I have ever seen. I think this perspective of the milita vs. government issues in African nations like the Congo helps provide a rounder view of how devastating these wars are. I really enjoyed each guest and how varied their own experiences are.
Charlie, the link 'to help the park rangers' goes nowhere- only to Nat'l Geo. site. What about somewhere where these 20 dollars/month cats can be helped themselves? 700 left in the world- the whole fr'kn world....... Maybe if there were oil reserves....we might find more interest in the loss of 5,000,000 people and the threat to the only remaining population of a 'cousin' of ours.......ooops, excuse me, call Karen Hughes, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove---I obviously need an 'intervention'! By the way, the purpose and dignity of the ranger on the program along with the other participants should both inspire and be cause for reflection in our atmosphere of 'high school' intrigue with celebrity.