If someone told you the amount of money in your bank account was going to decrease somewhere between 100 and 1,000 times in the next year, the sheer uncertainty of that loss would send you into a panic. That rate is the same speed at which scientists estimate global warming and human pollution are affecting animal extinction each year — yet we all remain oddly at ease.

The World Conservation Union, known as the IUCN, recently released its yearly Red List of species that are facing a higher risk of global extinction. The IUCN lists these species into groups including Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable… categories not too different from those I use to balance my own checking account!

This year the IUCN added 188 new species for a grand total of 16,300 animals, plants, and marine life at risk. According to Craig Hilton-Tailor the Red List’s Manager, this number is still extremely low. “We’ve only really looked at the tip of the iceberg in terms of species that are out there and known to science.” While scientists estimate there could be nearly 15 million species in the world, only 1.8 million are confirmed to exist. Although the IUCN is the world’s largest conservation network, spanning 83 states, 110 international government agencies, 800 private organizations, 10,000 scientists, and 181 countries, they still only have the resources to review just above 40,000 species a year. So what does all this number crunching really mean?



With so few resources to research and so many species already endangered, global change needs to happen at the individual level. The IUCN notes that although extinctions are a part of nature, humans are significantly accelerating the rate of those extinctions. Humans are the main reason for most species decline due to factors including impact on natural habitats, introduction of invasive species, unsustainable harvesting & over-fishing, and pollution & disease. Although traditionally most endangered species were found in tropical regions, extinctions on populated continents have become nearly as common over the past two decades. The IUCN hopes to increase awareness of how human survival is dependant on biodiversity, so that vital ecosystems will cease to be degraded and destroyed.

On an individual level, some of the more disturbing finds of this year’s Red List include the near extinction of the Western Gorilla. These gorillas have been depleted to a point where many scientists believe they will no longer be able to recover. This near extinction is due to poaching and the Ebola virus, and has been furthered by human efforts in logging and forest clearance for palm-oil plantations. In addition, Sea Coral was added to the list for the first time ever, as a result of climate change from global warming and over-fishing which eliminates other marine predators that usually protect coral from overgrazing. I find it discomforting to know that by the time I break into my well-saved retirement fund and take that Caribbean cruise or African safari, there may not be any gorillas to spot or reef to snorkel.


Lastly, the only upbeat finding of the Red List was that the Mauritius echo parakeet which has been at risk of extinction for over fifteen years, just moved from critically endangered to endangered- making it one of the only species to improve its rating. If the balance on my accounts only improved once every fifteen years, I’m pretty sure I’d be searching endlessly for a financial solution. Just as money has become something we depend on for survival, so are the eco-systems and species we are privileged to share this great planet with. So the next time you are viewing your online banking, don’t forget to check out the IUCN homepage and read about solutions for a real ‘green’ problem.

I receive many emails through my website(s) and I love helping whenever I can. One popular theme is career advice sought by high school students, some college students and people switching careers.

The photographer’s job

The single most common question asked, relates to “the job” of being a photographer.

Although I make money with photography, it does not qualify as a job. I have no superiors to answer to, I work whenever I wish and I can sell pictures in my absence through my automated store. I could be taking photographs in some remote place and sell pictures at the same time.

How am I different

Many professional photographers work on assignments as magazine, newspaper or wedding photographers. The rates sound juicy, but if you consider the amount of work spent in post editing, the preparation, the equipment and notoriously unhappy clients, you will soon realize that this is hard work for small rewards. Time is limiting all contract photographers. How many gigs can we accept before we burn out? This model is not scalable.

I am trying to be completely independent. I do all my business online and I do not attend art shows to sell my work. I keep everything simple and self adjusting.

Why am I different

I started photography as a hobby and I started selling as a hobby. I still do not depend on the income from my photography and that gives me a certain freedom. I can choose what to photograph and have fun in the process. Instead of having to chase after dollars and clients, I can let them come to me. I can spend as much or as little time on it as I wish.

Obviously, I need to perform other duties to carve out a living, but that also means I automated my photography store from the start, which is a good thing. Now it is fully scalable. I can sell one piece or one hundred pieces with the same effort.

How do I earn my bucks

This is going to be the most outrageous information, but it is completely true.

Photography Profits

The profits from photography have withered away thanks to Flickr and micro stock agencies selling for less than one dollar. Magazines can buy a photograph of just about anything through these agencies without the need of a professional photographer.

Fine Art Prints

I do sell photography prints through my store and make some money with it. People will always want to have special high quality prints of acclaimed artists to hang on their walls. I deliver the full solution (final print product) in a worry free package (satisfaction guaranteed) at a good price. Thankfully, I do not rely on this revenue, as the sales have tanked by about 60% due to the recession of 2008/2009. This proves that it is important to diversify your income streams.

Photography related businesses

I make more money with other things than with picture sales. For instance, this website generates a little bit of extra cash via advertising. It stands in no relation to the endless hours I pour into it writing and educating.

I write guest articles and review equipment and I make money with some other web activities not related to this website. I have built a good reputation that I use.

My favorite photographer, Art Wolfe, has written many books and now runs his own TV Show “Travels to the Edge”. He sold many pictures, but he adapts to changes like a chameleon. I am sure he is making more cash with his show and his books than with his photographs. Art embodies the past and the future of photography.

Also read the second part:

Fresh on the heels of green roofs comes “Living Walls”, sometimes known as Green Walls — the latest trend in the blending of architecture and plant life.

Like the makers of green roofs, designers of living walls highlight the advantages of green living. Green wall enthusiasts tout the bonuses of cooling the house or building with the six inches of soil-plus-plants. The system utilizes a cycle of rainwater collected on the roof and solar power to run the operation.

When your crop is ripe – just reach out your window and pluck the fresh veggies from the wall for your dinner table.


But as is true with many new ideas, there are some bugs… not the insect kind, but the kind that rain on your parade. The high-profile Musée du Quai Branly in Paris incorporates an 8600-square-foot Plant Wall on its southern side. The spectacular structure made headlines all over the world. When installed, it was healthy and vibrant. However, an inadequate support system rendered the wall a costly maintenance problem for the museum. They currently are investigating a more robust system.

Obviously, Green Walls wouldn’t work everywhere. In Los Angeles with the current drought, roof rainwater would have to be replaced by DWP chemical hard water, which sort of defeats the purpose. And where I live in Colorado, I’m not fond of ice cycles on my tomatoes. But I imagine there’s an optimal climate with lots of moisture and plenty of sun that will make these walls useful when perfected.

But are Living Walls a needed element in conservation or simply a 21st century evolution of the English Garden?