If you "keep up" with eco-news, you've seen an article or two, or 800, about a trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna, which was proposed -- and failed to pass -- yesterday at the meeting of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, more commonly known as CITES.

The short story is that the population of Atlantic bluefin tuna has plunged 80-90% since 1970s, and is in danger of being fished into extinction. But it's considered a delicious delicacy, particularly in Japan -- and that fiercely opinionated nation has no intention of letting the rest of the world tell them what they can and can't eat.

Although most Atlantic bluefin tuna is caught in the Mediterranean, about 80% of it is purchased by Japan. The tuna trade supports a robust industry: one bluefin can go for as much as $175,000 at auction. Those tuna brokers came out in force against the proposed worldwide ban. Even though the U.S. supported the ban, Japan was able to successfully lobby enough other countries to prevent it from passing.

Last week our sister site, Lemondrop, ran a piece about cute baby animals. Of course we always love animals over here at GreenDaily -- eco-friendly, conservation, all that good stuff. Also, cute baby animals.

Lemondrop did a great job of rounding up the best Friday afternoon distractions, including:

• Zooborns: Beware! This site will take over your afternoon. Zoos are pretty irresistible for most animal lovers. Add in the appeal of a yawning tiger cub, the awkward grace of an elephant calf, and video of a baby bonobo -- and that's just the most recent posts -- and you will be transfixed! Not to mention writing a big fat check to support your local zoo, which almost certainly needs the help.

In sad, wild animal in captivity news, yesterday a wild-born killer whale named Tilikum killed one of his trainers, Dawn Brancheau, 40, an experienced professional with a deep love for the creatures under her care.

Her love doesn't appear to be reciprocated by Tilikum, a 12,000-pound male killer whale, who attacked Brancheau after a midday show at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.

In no way am I blaming the victim. However, this tragedy does highlight the absurdity and cruelty of keeping a 12,000 pound intelligent, thinking, feeling creature in the equivalent of a shoe box. The orca snapped, as surely as you or I would have, after being cooped up -- literally -- for years.

Grab your gun, Florida wants help saving some endemic species. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced this week that it is holding a special hunting season to target invasive Burmese pythons.

For $26, anyone with a hunting license can take a range of introduced, feral reptiles, including Indian python; reticulated python; northern and southern African rock python; amethystine or scrub python; green anaconda; and Nile monitor lizard, according to the Miami Herald.

One million live Burmese pythons were legally imported into the U.S. between 2001 and 2006, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife. Half of those were imported through Miami. But lazy pet owners often toss the animals into the Everglades when they get too big to keep as pets.

You've probably seen those ads for the 2010 Census, starring Ed Begley Jr and a bunch of other funny folks. But you may not know that this is also the year that the Census of Marine Life will be released. Although this is the culmination of many years of work, it does not have a reality star (yet) to help promote it.

The results of the multi-year effort are due to be released in October, and the lead researchers have just released a fascinating preview of the results.

Their findings? Good news (new species!), bad news (declines in biodiversity), and a few calls to action (acidity will continue to rise unless we do something).

Sunday was a double big holiday around the world. In addition to Valentine's Day, many people also celebrated Chinese New Year. According to the 12-year lunar calendar cycle, we are now in the Year of the Tiger.

Big cat activists Panthera, in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society, are taking this opportunity to remind us that even though tigers are seriously endangered, they can still be saved. They even have a plan, called Tigers Forever, with a goal of increasing the tiger population in certain areas by 50 percent in the next decade.

That's the way to think big!

As I mentioned here a couple of weeks ago, the widespread use of neonicitinoids (nicotine) pesticides is the latest popular theory to explain the sudden appearance of Colony Collapse Disorder -- a.k.a. The Disappearance of the Bees.

The nicotine-like coatings on seeds deter pests, but they also contaminate the rest of the eco-sphere with the poison, and it appears that bees are particularly vulnerable to it. Researchers propose that the nicotine works as a neurotoxin, similar to mercury poisoning in humans, creating impairment that disrupts the bees' social behaviors. This would explain the odd behavior of bees abandoning their hive.

Environmental groups in Europe have successfully lobbied to ban neonicitinoids pesticides, and bees there seem to be making a recovery. The Sierra Club Activist Network has mounted a similar effort here in the states, called the Pollinator Protection Campaign Project.

If I could give whales one piece of advice, it would be: avoid the water around New Zealand in the summer months. Unfortunately, their migration path from Antarctica brings them right past the island country, frequently with tragic results.

This week a pod of 28 stranded pilot whales was discovered on a beach on Stewart Island, the most remote of New Zealand's three land masses. Nine of the whales were already dead, but conservationists did their best to urge the remaining 19 back into the water.

Sadly, the weather, which included high seas and strong winds, made rescue impossible. The whales were euthanized by the reluctant but kind conservation workers, who wanted to prevent the mammals from experiencing any further suffering, including sunburn.

We all have our favorite animals, but some species need our help more than others. Are you ready to lend a paw?

Tiger
It's hard to imagine a more iconic and recognizable species than the tiger. They are top predators, keeping the food chain balanced. Tigers are famous for their strength and power, reportedly covering up to 10 meters in a single horizontal leap. Yet only 3,200 tigers may be left in the wild, and their original roaming areas have decreased by 40 percent in the past ten years.

Deforestation and poaching are the chief culprits behind the tigers becoming endangered mammals. You can help by contributing to the Save the Tiger fund, a program of the National Fish and Wildlife Federation.

Magellanic Penguin
Penguins: Their social nature and waddling gait endears them to animal lovers worldwide. Unfortunately, 12 of the 17 penguin species are experiencing population declines. Why? Magellanic penguins, which live in South American waters, have faced a host of obstacles -- first, oil spills, and more recently, a loss of the fish they eat due to rising temperatures of ocean water.

Defenders of Wildlife sponsors a program which enables you to adopt a penguin, with funds going towards programs to help this endangered species.

Kittens! Puppies! So adorable, but sadly there are far more sweet baby pets than homes to take them. One of the kindest, and greenest, things you can do as a pet owner is to spay or neuter your four-footed friends.

To encourage this responsible owner behavior, The Humane Society of the United States' and Humane Society International sponsor Spay Day. It's an annual event to encourage people to spay or neuter your pet, as well as feral cats.

The official Spay Day is the last Tuesday of February, and the 16th annual Spay Day will be Feb. 23, 2010. To generate awareness of the problem, and to raise funds to support spaying programs, HSUS and HSI are hosting the Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest, with VISA and Zazzle as corporate partners.

With Valentine's Day coming up, creative green minds are working overtime looking for eco-friendly gifts for your sweetie. Vegan chocolate is one way to go. Garden "bon bons" are another (inedible but still delightful) way!

Garden Bon Bons are beautifully (and we presume sustainably) packaged handmade seed ball "truffles" that look like gourmet candy. But don't try to eat them, unless you're a bird, because they're made of seeds, compost and clay.

Inspired by "garden bombs" used by guerilla gardeners these pretty gardening gifts come in two "flavors:" Herbal Tea or Italian Herb. Both are very affordably priced at $14.95 and available on the Garden Bon Bons etsy site.

After nearly two years of dire predictions about the imminent extinction of honey bees, it appears that whatever was causing the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) may be easing up.

According to a Journal of Apicultural Research survey of beekeepers, reported in the New York Times, beekeeping operations are reporting fewer lost colonies that do not have dead bees in or around the hive. An "empty" hive is the primary indicator of CCD.

Last winter the rate of colonies lost to CCD was 26%, down from 38% and 36%, respectively, during the previous two seasons. Even more heartening, only 36% reported colonies with symptoms of CCD, down from a high of 60% three winters ago.

Are you thinking about Valentine's Day yet? It's just around the corner! Time to get your list of love letter recipients together and send some cards that will make their hearts melt.

Back in "the olden days" people would make paper Valentines and deliver them by hand. But in this paper-free, all online communication society, obviously an electronic card is the modern -- not to mention resource-conserving -- way to go.

What? You think an e-Valentine is too cold to touch someone in a deeply emotional way? Clearly you haven't seen the animal conservation Valentine's Day e-cards from World Wildlife Fund. Some of them are even animated.

Horses are far from exotic -- you see them everywhere. Policemen ride them. They work on farms. Maybe you even ride them recreationally. But most of us never think about what happens to horses when they get old, or their owners can't afford to care for them. I know I don't.

Then I got an alert from the Humane Society of the U.S. about horses being trucked to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. For food ... for humans!. Even more distressingly, they are being transported to the slaughterhouses in squalid, unregulated, inhumane conditions.

Eating horses may be a cultural issue, but making them suffer first is inexcusable.

It's been one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record on the East Coast, but here in San Francisco we've been lucky enough to escape with a few frigid, rainy days.

Not everyone appreciates our temperate weather. Some residents probably wish we'd get more of the white stuff, including the three polar bears who live at the San Francisco Zoo.

Two of the bears, Pike (pronounced PEE-KA), and Andy, (who is the star of the popular children's book "Andy Bear,") got a special holiday surprise the week before Christmas, courtesy of the San Francisco Ice Company: snow!