World Oceans Day

World Oceans Day, celebrated on June 8 every year, was originally proposed by Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. It was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. The 2015 Theme is "Healthy oceans, healthy planet."

The United Nations Postal Administration issued three panes of 12 stamps on May 31, 2013 to raise awareness for World Oceans Day. The artwork by Yoshito Hirano on Postcard JP-240233 from Japan illustrates the important relationship between human settlements and the ocean.

Earth Hour

Earth Hour is an annual event to promote reduced energy consumption for the planet Earth by turning off non-essential lights for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March. It was first organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then, 7,000 cities, 1,200 landmarks and 172 countries and territories have joined the action to raise the awareness of climate change.

Postcard US-1630412 to the Netherlands shows New York-New York Hotel & Casino before and during Earth Hour in Las Vegas on March 26, 2011. It features a quote from a Senegalese forestry engineer Baba Dioum: "In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." Sent before and received on Earth Day, April 22, 2012, it also highlighted the theme for Earth Day 2012: Mobilize the Earth.

For Earth Hour 2015 on Saturday, March 28, Las Vegas City Hall and the properties from MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Boyd Gaming all dimmed their exterior lighting, signage and marquees from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. In addition to dimming the lights, Venetian and Palazzo had put on a candlelight display at Doge's Palace Plaza in front of Venetian.

Candlelight display for Earth Hour 2015 at Venetian with Mirage dimming its lights in the background.

Earth Hour 2016 will be on Saturday, March 26, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time.

FDA Moves Toward Ending a National Blood Donation Policy of Discrimination.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today recommends ending a decades-old lifetime ban on blood donation by gay and bisexual men that had long been considered a national policy of discrimination. The ban was introduced in 1983 during the early years in the AIDS epidemic when little was known about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, the understanding of HIV and AIDS has advanced greatly in the following decades, and practice of the permanent blood donation ban by gay and bisexual men has been deemed outdated.

FDA will continue to enforce the ban for gay and bisexual men who have been sexually active in the last year. Heterosexuals who engage in high-risk behavior, including sex with prostitutes or drug users face similar ban. The policy change puts the United States in line with many European counterparts that adopted a similar 12-month waiting period in 2011.

However, some LGBT rights groups are not happy with the 12- month waiting period since it places the entire sexually active gay and bisexual population in the same category as prostitutes and drug users. Nonetheless, the new policy with restriction is a step forward from eliminating the bias that considers every gay and bisexual man as a high risk in terms of blood donation. It caps the year of 2014 along with the other LGBT rights achievements such as winning the rights for same-sex couples to marry and for gay military members to openly serve the country.

The postcard, purchased at zazzle, features the red ribbon, an international symbol of AIDS awareness.

Need It, Want It, Got It

I found this GoCard I collected many years ago during a house cleaning that advertised Recycler Classifieds, a Los-Angeles-based classifieds-only newspaper, first started in 1973. Its print editions expanded into 10 regional markets including Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas by 1998.  Its digital edition Recycler.com was one of the first vast online classified advertisements communities with thousands of local ads covering cars, merchandise, employment, real estate and anything else. However, after several rounds of corporate buy outs, it missed the opportunity to compete with and stand out from other online sites such as eBay and Craigslist.

Postcard.com that produced this GoCard advertising is now a New York-based public benefit corporation with strives to achieve the highest standard for socially responsible businesses.

On a separate note, on this World AIDS Day in 2014, there is a #weareALLclean Shower Selfie Campaign that promotes HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and eliminatse stigma for those people who are infected by the virus.

ARCHELON

Postcard NL-2619878 from the Netherlands was a produced by ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, showing a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), an endangered species protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Founded in 1983, ARCHELON aims to protect sea turtles and their habitats in Greece through research, public awareness campaigns, and restoring habitats. It operates a rescue center built in 1994.

In my previous blog the World Turtle Day, Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP) in Florida was featured for their work in rescuing those new sea turtle hatchlings disoriented by the street lights. You can still help by becoming a supporting member or joining a rescue walk in the 2014 season that lasts from May to October.

International Tiger Day

Today is International Tiger Day, an annual celebration on July 29 to raise awareness for tiger conservation. It started in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia. The most recent estimate shows only 3,200 tigers still in the wild, including 500 Siberian tigers. 95% of the total population have disappeared in the past 100 years; three subspecies: Bali , Caspian and Javan, have already been extinct by 1940s, 1970s, and 1970s respectively.

Habitat loss has been a direct contributor for the tiger population decline. Tigers lost 93% of their natural habitat due to human activities including deforestation, urbanization, and agricultural expansion. Climate change is also a factor as rising sea levels threaten to wipe out the last remaining habitat of Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans, a large mangrove forest area between India and Bangladesh on the northern coast of the Indian Ocean. Therefore, It is ultimate important to protect the natural habitats of tigers for tiger conservation to be successful.

USPS issued the Save Vanishing Species stamp featuring a tiger cub on September 20, 2011, with its net proceeds from sale benefiting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Multinational Species Conservation Funds. The Funds in turn supports efforts by numerous conservation organizations, including WWF which implements conservation projects such as surveying tigers and their prey in Nepal.

The featured postcard was sent from Connecticut as US-2140597.

Take Pride in America

Postcard US-2849038 to Texas was a 14-cent postal postcard issued by USPS in 1987. It features a mountain-lake scene with brilliant blues and rich greens at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming. It was part of the "Take Pride in America" national public awareness campaign to encourage people to take pride in the nation's natural and cultural resources.

According to an AP Newsfeatures article in Lawrence Journal World on September 20, 1987, "launched by President Reagan in his 1986 State of the Union message, 'Take Pride in America' has been a major campaign to ensure the wise use and stewardship of our public lands - natural resources that belong to all Americans."

The National Elk Refuge was created in 1912 to protect habitat and provide sanctuary for one of the largest elk herd in the world. The refuge is home to an average of 7,500 elk each winter. and receives nearly one million visits annually.

The domestic postcard rate, according to Akdart.COM, was 14 cents between February 17, 1985 and April 3, 1988. Yet, another stamped postal postcard issued in 1980 also had a 14-cent postage when the domestic postcard rate was 10 cents.

On an unrelated note, USA team was edged out by Belgium 1:2 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in a Round of 16 match at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil on July 1, 2014, but not without a fight. The USA Team exceeded the expectation as many did not believe it would make into the Round of 16. "Man of the Match" Tim Howard, who set a World Cup record by making 16 saves, said before the match: "we’re proving critics wrong." We are still proud of the United States Men's National Soccer Team, and are optimistic about their future despite of a loss.

#451566972 / gettyimages.com

World AIDS Day

I am dedicating postcard US-1987877 to World AIDS Day, observed every year on December 1, to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. President Obama issued an official proclamation on World AIDS Day today.

Although the initial discovery of AIDS in 1981 involves gay men, it was soon determined that AIDS was not isolated to the gay community. HIV is transmitted primarily through unprotected sex; contaminated blood transfusions and hypodermic needles; and from mother to child during pregnancy and delivery. Learn the UNAIDS Strategy and how to get involved.

USPS AIDS Awareness Stamp in 1993

In Las Vegas, The Venetian and The Palazzo lighted their hotel exteriors with red lights in the evening on December 1, 2013 in support of World AIDS Day. The Southern Nevada Health District will offer free HIV testing at the Gay and Lesbian Center of Southern Nevada (401 S. Maryland Parkway) and at Nevada Partners (710 W. Lake Mead Blvd., North Las Vegas) on December 2, 2013.

World Water Monitoring Day

Postcard DE-1767000 from Germany can be a good reminder of the World Water Monitoring Day. Established in 2003 by America's Clean Water Foundation, the World Water Monitoring Day is a global educational outreach program that promotes public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world. 

It empowers citizens to carry out basic monitoring of their local water bodies with a simple water test kit so that anyone can take a sample of local water bodies to test a set of water quality parameters including temperature, acidity (pH), clarity (turbidity) and dissolved oxygen (DO). Results are then shared with participating communities around the globe through the World Water Monitoring Day website.