Leap Year?  Frog?  Get it??   Those AZA peeps sure are clever. =P

from yearofthefrog.org:

Why Year of the Frog?
Frogs are going extinct. So are toads, salamanders, newts, and the intriguingly unusual caecilians. In fact, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) estimates that at least one-third of known amphibian species are threatened with extinction. While the major culprit has historically been habitat loss and degradation, many of the declines and extinctions previously referred to as "enigmatic" are now being attributed to the rapidly dispersing infectious disease chytridiomycosis ("chytrid"). This fungus is causing population and species extinctions at an alarming rate. Can you imagine if we were about to lose one-third of the world's mammals?

The disease known as chytridiomycosis, results when a chytridiomycete fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ("chytrid") attacks keratin in the skin tissue of amphibians. Many researchers believe that this infectious fungus inhibits the frog's ability to respire and osmoregulate, eventually killing the frog. Chytrid has been implicated in amphibian declines in the Americas, Caribbean, and Australia and its range continues to grow.

Chytrid is not the only cause of amphibian decline, but is a likely explanation for unexplained declines in high-altitude, protected regions and may hasten the collapse of populations weakened by other threats such as habitat destruction, climate change, and water and air pollution.

The combined effect of habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, and chytrid cannot be addressed solely in the wild. Captive assurance populations have become the only hope for many species faced with imminent extinction and are an important component of an integrated conservation effort. AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, with their demonstrated expertise in endangered species breeding programs, have been called upon to meet this conservation challenge.

The IUCN has classified four amphibians in the U.S. to be critically endangered, the Mississippi gopher frog, the Chiricahua leopard frog, the mountain yellow-legged frog, and the Wyoming toad. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed thirty-seven amphibian species under the Endangered Species Act. AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums may be their only hope for survival.

Great time last night!  At Music For Relief we raised money to plant trees in the areas of SoCal devastated by forest fires as well as donating to Habit for Humanity to build homes in the Gulf Coast.  We surpassed our goal to raise over $1000 for the night, so thank you to all that made a donation when bum rushed by a MFR volunteer running around and hitting people up for loose change! :)

I took some AMAZING photos and videos of Linkin Park's performance.  I uploaded a few on here, and more can be found on my photography myspace and on my youtube account.

~Kari

Figure I'd take advantage of this blog space and actually post stuff on it. What a novel concept, eh? :P

Linkin Park is finally coming back to Minnesota tomorrow, after four years. Ah, it's been way too long a wait, that's for sure. The experience and feeling I get at a Linkin Park show is unlike anything I've felt for any other band. The vibe surrounding it is a very special thing, something difficult to explain unless one has experienced it personally.

And this time around I'm happy to be doing more than just going to a show, I will be volunteering at the merch booth of Music For Relief, Linkin Park's charity to help natural disaster victims and raise awareness about Climate Change and "going green." That fact I have been given the chance to help out the band who has been so much of an influence on my life means the world to me.

So if you are reading this and are lucky enough to have tickets to tomorrow night's show, make sure to stop by and say hello, maybe donate a buck or two for the cause. :)