If President Trump’s decision to reverse his own agency, and continue the import ban on elephant trophies causes people to take a deeper look into the world of big game hunting for fun and profit, then maybe all the flip-flopping by the White House has actually done some good.
“The landscape of South Africa is as diverse as its people,” said Bethany of her home country. Of Pace, she adds “Learning about wildlife conservation has given me a greater understanding of the wild. I see not only the animal, but its place in the ecosystem.”
EarthDesk is pleased to present this splendid gallery of elephant photographs taken by Pace masters in environmental science candidate Bethany A. Ordonez in her native South Africa. “We don’t consider wildlife conservation to be an abstract idea that is the job of someone else, instead for South African’s its OUR wildlife, OUR heritage, and it is OUR responsibility to protect it and voice our opinions.”
Written and lobbied by the students of the Pace Environmental Clinic, the Elephant Protection Act is now law, making New York the first state to impose an outright ban on elephants in entertainment. “Taking a passion and turning it into legislation signed by the Governor is something I never imagined,” said former clinician and Pace masters in environmental policy student Nicole Virgona.
From inside the brutal world of rhinoceros poaching, Bethany A. Ordonez, Pace Master in Environmental Science candidate, tells the gut wrenching story of the Fundimvelo Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage in South Africa, and the horrific attack that has taken a terrible and lasting toll on rhino and human alike.
The Elephant Protection Act, conceived and lobbied by the students of the Pace Environmental Policy Clinic and now awaiting the signature of Governor Andrew Cuomo, would make the New York State the first in the nation to ban elephants in entertainment. More in our monthly podcast produced in cooperation with Mid-Hudson News.
Environmental Policy Clinic Students at Work.
Dr. E. Melanie Dupuis
Inspired by new scientific studies of the human body as a metabiome, Dr. E. Melanie Dupuis, Professor and chair, Department of Environmental Science and Studies, reimagines the American body politic through a new metaphor — digestion — opening social transformations to ideas of mixing, fermentation, and collaboration. In doing so, she explores how social activists can rethink politics as inclusive processes that involve the inherently risky mixing of cultures, standpoints, and ideas. Dangerous Digestion at Amazon.
