Thursday, the 4th of December, 2014 is the 338th day in 2014 and in the 49th calendar week.
General Events:
World Wildlife Conservation Day
December 4, 2014 in the World
The sad truth is that the world’s best loved, beautiful and fascinating species are being slaughtered by widespread and dangerous criminal networks that will stop at nothing to get what they want. And what they want are animal parts and products that for reasons no sane person really understands, are worth lots of money. There are plenty of synthetic substitutes for things like ivory and fur that don’t require the brutal slaughter of an animal to obtain, not to mention how hard it actually is to tell the difference between high-quality synthetic substitutes and the real thing. And do you mean to tell me no other dish in the world tastes as good as shark fin soup, and that we really have to mutilate live sharks and then throw them back into the ocean to die? Long story short, there is simply no excuse for the amount of animals being poached every year. And yet they are. In 2011 alone, for example, there were 13 large-scale seizures of ivory, and over 23 tons of ivory confiscated, which is equivalent to at least 2,500 elephants. A 2010 United Nations report suggests that gorillas could disappear altogether from large parts of the Congo Basin by the mid-2020s.
And it is not just the animals that are suffering. Park rangers get killed on a regular basis by poachers they’re trying to stop, and the local economies of entire towns and villages suffer terrible damage once enough wildlife is wiped out to make them irrelevant as wildlife tourism destinations. Corruption and intimidation are weakening law enforcement efforts. Unscreened wildlife and wildlife parts increase the risk of human health pandemics such as bird flu. Everyone involved is suffering.
Raise awareness and contribute to the conservation and protection of endangered species such as elephants, rhinos and tigers on World Wildlife Conservation Day’s website. This global occasion provides everyone with the opportunity to learn more about wildlife conservation and to be part of the solution to wildlife crime. Go online and join the thousands of other individuals who have taken the wildlife pledge. Promise to learn more about wildlife conservation, to spread the word about the importance of protecting our plane’ts most endangered species and the impact of poaching on our environment. Learn how to become a responsible consumer in order to stop illicit wildlife trade.
You can also take direct action by making a charitable donation to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). 100% of all donations go towards training and equipping the rangers who are the wildlife protectors, and often the only thing standing between a baby tiger or elephant and a poacher.
A call to action was put out by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2012 to raise awareness and engage conservationists on Wildlife Conservation Day, December 4. During the “Wildlife Trafficking and Conservation: A Call to Action” event held at the State Department on November 8th 2012, Secretary Clinton outlined the White House’s strategy to address the global problem of wildlife trafficking. These efforts are estimated to cost between $7 and $10 billion dollars a year. “Wildlife cannot be manufactured. And once it’s gone, it cannot be replenished. Those who profit from it illegally are not just undermining our borders and our economies, they are truly stealing from the next generation,” she said.
International Union for Conservation of Nature: http://www.iucn.org/?uNewsID=11593
Where is World Wildlife Conservation Day?
Worldwide
Santas’ List Day
December 4, 2014 in the World
Santas’ List Day is observed on December 04, 2014. It’s the day that Santa makes his Naughty and Nice lists. Santa Claus has been believed to make a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior (“naughty” or “nice”) and to deliver presents, including toys, and candy to all of the well-behaved children in the world, and sometimes coal to the naughty children, on the single night of Christmas Eve. He accomplishes this feat with the aid of the elves who make the toys in the workshop and the reindeer who pull his sleigh.
Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and simply “Santa”, is a figure with legendary, mythical, historical and folkloric origins who, in many western cultures, is said to bring gifts to the homes of the good children on the night before Christmas, December 24. However in some European countries children receive their presents on St. Nicholas’ Day, December 6.
Where is Santas’ List Day?
Worldwide
National Cookie Day
December 4, 2014 in the USA
It’s National Cookie Day! Did you know that the English word “cookie” is derived from the Dutch word “koekje,” which means little cake? Dutch bakers used to test oven temperatures on small amounts of batter so that they would not waste the entire cake mix if the temperature wasn’t right. It was not long before they discovered that these tiny pieces of cooked batter were actually quite tasty!
Cookies come in all different flavors, shapes, and sizes. To celebrate National Cookie Day, bake a few batches of your favorite variety and invite your friends over for a cookie swap!
Where is National Cookie Day?
Nationwide USA
Historical Events on 4th December:
1259 – Treaty of Paris: English King Henry III & French King Louis IX
1619 – 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God. Considered by many as the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.
1791 – Britain’s Observer, oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, 1st published
1812 – Peter Gaillard of Lancaster, Pa, patents a horse-drawn mower
1829 – Britain outlaws “suttee” in India (widow burning herself to death on her husband’s funeral pyre)
1872 – The ship the Mary Celeste discovered mysteriously abandoned by her crew in the Atlantic Ocean
1908 – The world’s ten leading maritime nations attend a Naval Conference in London; they agree on rules for blockade, convoys, and seizure of contraband
1931 – “Frankenstein” opens at Mayfair
1948 – SS Kiangya hits mine in Whangpoo River, China, sinks killing 2,750 die
1952 – Killer fogs begin in London, England; “Smog” becomes a word
1954 – The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, USA
1981 – According to South Africa, Ciskei gains independence Not recognized as an independent country outside South Africa
1982 – China adopts its constitution
1992 – Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.
2005 – Tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protest for democracy and call on the Government to allow universal and equal suffrage.