Citizens to Document Their Voting Experiences From Polling Places
SAN BRUNO, CA and ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwire - October 15, 2008) - YouTube, the leading online video community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos, has partnered with PBS to empower American voters to upload their Election Day voting experiences to YouTube (http://youtube.com/videoyourvote).
The initiative educates voters on the entire process and a wide array of issues associated with voting in America, while enabling the world to watch pivotal moments in this historic election as they unfold. In the first presidential election since YouTube's inception, this program aims to gather massive amounts of polling place video, with the Channel serving as an online library for Election Day footage.
"Voters have documented each step of the 2008 election on YouTube and this phenomenon will culminate on November 4 as people head to the polls to determine the forty-fourth President of the United States," said Steve Grove, YouTube's head of news and politics. "This partnership with PBS, an organization known for offering rich perspectives, will help voters examine all aspects of voting from the registration processes, to reforms, to technology and election administration, to the actual casting of ballots."
Starting today, registered United States voters can share their voting experiences via the Video Your Vote YouTube Channel. On November 4, the Channel will serve as the premier online destination for up-to-the-minute coverage from voters contributing videos straight from thousands of precincts across the country.
Some of the best videos will be showcased on PBS television, as part of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer's Election Day broadcast. They may also be used throughout PBS' election coverage, both on-air and online. YouTube users are asked to tag all of their Election Day videos "videoyourvote". Events, for instance, that hinder the voting process should be tagged, "pollproblem". These videos, as well as those documenting the spectrum of the entire voting process, will be easy to find on the Channel and analysts from PBS' political team will then review some of them and offer commentary on how the election played out.
"This program takes the best of PBS and The NewsHour, our editorial reputation and broadcast reach, and combines it with YouTube's tremendous online video community to share polling place footage from Maine to California and everywhere in between for all to see," said Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent and political editor of The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer. "This is the YouTube election, and we're thrilled to be a part of it."
In addition, YouTube and PBS will distribute 1,000 Flip Video™ camcorders through Pure Digital Technologies, Inc.'s Flip Video Spotlight Program so that participating non-partisan nonprofit groups and local PBS stations across the country can also capture polling place activity.
"By providing a way for local-level voters to 'video your vote' YouTube, PBS and our local stations will empower thousands of people across the country to take an active -- and personal -- role in the democratic process," said Jason Seiken, senior vice president, PBS Interactive.
As Election Day excitement rises to a boil, people are encouraged to visit the Video Your Vote channel to view exclusive videos from: BlackBoxVoting.org, Center for Governmental Studies, Citizen Media Law Project, Common Cause, HowCast, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, People for the American Way Foundation, Rock the Vote, Video the Vote, Why Tuesday? and more.
Some states and counties have regulations against the use of recording equipment at polling places on Election Day. YouTube and PBS remind voters to please check with individual polling places on rules and regulations -- more information can be found on the Video Your Vote channel.
About YouTube
YouTube is the world's most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, Calif., and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.
About PBS
PBS, with its 356 member stations, offers all Americans -- from every walk of life -- the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each week, PBS reaches more than 65 million people and invites them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS' premier children's TV programming and Web site, pbskids.org, are parents' and teachers' most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.
Get unparalleled reporting and analysis from the full "PBS Vote 2008" election line-up, including programs like The Newshour With Jim Lehrer, Frontline, Now on PBS, Bill Moyers' Journal, Tavis Smiley and Washington Week, offering Americans a unique opportunity to explore the Presidential elections and make an informed vote. In addition, PBS.org's election hub page, www.pbs.org/vote2008, will provide further perspectives. The site aggregates video from PBS, features syndicatable content from across public media and highlights innovative Web-only projects from PBS producers and stations.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
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Health News
You can have love in every relationship and in every aspect of life. When you are upset, you lose your effectiveness and tend to make your situation worse.
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Notice what happens when you get upset. You close down inside. You get tunnel vision and lose your ability to see clearly. All you can do is to fight, resist, hang on, or withdraw. This in turn, destroys love, fuels conflict, and makes your situation worse.
If you could somehow be free of the upset, the tunnel vision would disappear. You would see your situation clearly.
You would be creative, resourceful and able to discover solutions you could never have seen before. You would be very effective in handing your situation.
However, being free of an upset is much easier said than done. This is because we believe that upsets are caused by what happens, but they’re not. This is just an illusion.
Upsets are not caused by what happens. Upsets are caused by fighting and resisting what happens.
To see this in your life, select a recent upset. Now notice what would happen to the upset if, somehow, you were at peace with what happened. There would be no upset.
There would be no upset because the upset wasn't caused by what happened. The upset was caused by fighting and resisting what happened.
The moment you take away the fighting and resisting, the upset disappears. You restore both your peace of mind and your effectiveness.
Notice what would happen if someone spilled a glass of water on you. You would be wet, and you would be wet whether you liked it or not. Your being wet is like any other circumstance. It's something that happens outside of you. Your feelings about it are totally irrelevant.
Upsets, on the other hand, are located on the inside. Since an upset is something that happens on the inside, there has to be something on the inside that creates it.
We create our upsets by fighting and resisting what happens.
Let's go back to the water. If you were at peace with being wet, there would be no upset. If you fought being wet, you would be upset, and the more you fought it, the more upset you would be.
Notice that the upset has nothing to do with being wet. The upset can only exist if you are fighting being wet.
The same is true with all the circumstances of your life. Nothing has the power to create an upset in you. Only you can do that.
So why do we fight and resist what happens?
We fight what happens, because our circumstances trigger a suppressed hurt from the past. To say this another way, the circumstances strike a nerve.
This is why different people get upset at different things. Different people have different sets of nerves, or core issues, that get triggered.
This is also why the same type of upsets and the same self-sabotaging behavior keep showing up in your life. The same nerve keeps getting struck.
It's the automatic, subconscious avoidance of this hurt that fuels the conflict and sabotages both your relationships and your life.
Finding and healing these core issues is one of the most important things you can ever do. We’ll talk more about this later.
The information in these articles is valuable, but knowing it intellectually won’t change your life. Getting it in your heart will. That’s the purpose of our programs.
If you want to make a profound difference in your relationships, attend our workshops and make an appointment for individual support.
Feeling down? Take a dose of Nature's Prozac
From St John's Wort to a stroll in the park, there are plenty of ways to beat the blues and remain buoyant and healthy
Peta Bee
Financial struggles are the latest worry for a generation that is already overburdened with stress. Rising divorce rates, long working hours, relationship problems and a lack of time to relax are all contributing to a rise in mood problems. One person in five now suffers a mental health problem at some point in his or her life, says Mind, the mental health charity.
But how do you know whether you are simply down in the dumps or suffering from clinical depression? According to Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, if feeling blue lasts more than a couple of weeks you probably have mild to moderate depression, which affects 9 per cent of the population. So you should seek professional advice and make positive changes to your diet and exercise. If that doesn't work you may need medical treatment for chronic depression.
There is much that you can do to alleviate milder conditions and prevent them getting worse. Last week it was reported that the supplement St John's Wort is as effective as some antidepressants in lifting mood. “Getting outside, being active and talking are some measures that can be really beneficial,” says Farmer.
DAYLIGHT AND WEATHER
On bright, sunny autumn and winter days, make sure that you go outside. Warm or sunny, but not hot, weather has a positive impact on mental health, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. Dr Paul Keller, a social psychologist, found that the optimal temperature for a good mood was about 22C (72F) - about room temperature - with the good feeling decreasing if temperatures became significantly higher or lower.
“For pleasant weather to improve mood you need to spend at least 30 minutes outside,” Keller says. “It really does offer a way to alter your mindset.” If the next few months are dull and dark and your mood suffers as a result, then light therapy might help. A lack of daylight is thought to be the main cause of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also called the winter blues. The condition is thought to be linked to the way light triggers messages to the part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which controls sleep, sex drive, appetite and mood. Ordinary electric light bulbs, which produce 200 to 500 units of light energy (lux) won't boost mood, but specially designed light boxes that emit about 10,000 lux from a fluorescent bulb are effective for those in front of them for at least 45 minutes a day.
EXERCISE
“There is very good evidence that regular exercise is beneficial for people with depression,” says Paul Farmer, adding that Mind launched a major campaign called Get Moving last week. “Any exercise helps and people should do whatever makes them feel good.”
Physical activity need not be too strenuous to achieve results. A study by researchers at the University of Texas two years ago asked subjects with clinical depression to rest or walk at a gentle pace on a treadmill for half an hour. When their mood was tested afterwards both groups showed improvements, but the walkers had much more positive feelings of well-being and energy. Last year Dr Astrid Bjornebekk, of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, revealed that exercise, particularly running, stimulates the production of new brain cells and has a similar effect to antidepressant drugs in depression.
Where your exercise takes place is also important. A report called Eco-therapy, which was conducted last year by Mind and experts from the department of biological sciences at the University of Essex, indicated that physical activity outdoors offers more of a mental boost than gym workouts. “We found there were significant benefits to being outside as opposed to an enclosed environment,” Farmer says. “Ninety-four per cent of people with depression said that Nature and exercise is most important in improving how they feel.” Kite flying, for instance, sent moods soaring with 71 per cent of subjects in the Eco-therapy study experiencing significant improvements in their depression.
TALKING AND LAUGHING
Laughter has a powerful effect on depression and researchers recently revealed that even anticipating a laugh can lower stress hormones and boost mood. Dr Lee Berk, a researcher in physical therapy, and her team at the Loma Linda University, California, have indicated that levels of beta-endorphins, the family of chemicals that alleviate depression, went up by 27 per cent when subjects were asked to watch a comedy video. Levels of three stress hormones - cortisol, epinephrine and dopac - that can also affect mood and anxiety were reduced by up to 70 per cent. “By seeking out positive experiences that make us laugh we can do a lot to stay well,” Berk says. It is the theory on which “laughter yoga”, now practised in more than 40 countries including the UK, is based. Laughing releases feel-good hormones called endorphins into the body and laughter yoga is said to utilise this as a way of getting fit by stimulating the body. While there is no medical evidence that it works, more than 40,000 people claim that the activity has helped them.
Talking therapies are also proven to be effective. One study showed that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) was as effective as drugs in preventing the return of severe depression over time. Dr Steve Hollon, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, indicated that the risk of relapse over 16 months was no higher, perhaps even lower, for patients receiving CBT than those taking antidepressants. If you can't find a counsellor, try computerised cognitive behaviour therapy (CCBT) online. A study by the City University, London, revealed that more than three people in five with mild depression could stop treatment after eight days of the online approach. Another, by Swedish researchers, found that computer therapy is as effective as face-to-face treatment for moderate to mild depression.
SLEEP
A lack of sleep will almost certainly leave you feeling tired, groggy and grumpy, but over time those feelings can escalate into depression. Young adults who took part in research at the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich displayed far greater symptoms of depression if they suffered from insomnia. Up to 50 per cent of the subjects who experienced sleeplessness lasting two weeks or longer during their early twenties were more likely to get a depressive episode later in life.
“We used to think that insomnia was often just a symptom of depression,” says Dr Daniel Buysse, of the University of Pittsburgh. “But growing evidence suggests that it may actually precede depression. In other words, people who can't sleep but have no depression are at increased risk of later developing it.”
Dr Sara Mednick, a scientist and sleep expert at Harvard University, says that regular napping might help people to relax, reducing stress levels. “Even short sleep reduces stress and anxiety [both a result of rising levels of the hormone cortisol being produced by the adrenal glands] by triggering the release sleep hormones that act as an antidote to mood problems,” she says.
John Shneerson, director of Britain's largest sleep clinic at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, says “a 15 to 20-minute siesta is enough to be refreshing without giving you grogginess afterwards” .
SUPPLEMENTS
A study by Dr Klaus Linde, of the Centre for Complementary Medicine, Munich, suggested that St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is as effective as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac for mild to moderate depression. In a review of 29 studies of the plant, which grows in hedgerows, Linde revealed that it was not only effective for many of the 5,489 depressed patients, but also that it had fewer side-effects than conventional drugs.
“Using a St John's Wort extract may be justified, but products vary considerably, so these results apply only to the preparations tested,” he says. Trials generally use preparations containing only a standard 0.3 per cent dose of the active ingredient hypericin. Capsules or tablets of 300- 450mg are regarded as optimal.
Other supplements may also help to alleviate the blues. Earlier this year, a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal showed that increasing vitamin D intake could protect the elderly against depression. Sunlight is the best supplier of vitamin D and a lack of exposure to it can lead to deficiency. As well as supplements, it can be found in margarine, fortified cereals, dairy products, egg yolk and oily fish. Dr Birgit Teucher, of the Institute of Food Research, Norwich, says that around 5mcg a day is recommended.
Food and drink can lift the spirits
Probably the best you can do when going through tough times is to stick, as much as you can, to a healthy, balanced diet. Make sure you get your five fruit and veg a day, eat wholegrain foods and skip the junk. Some psychologists believe that colours have a profound effect on our moods so eating colourful fruit and veg can all help to lift your mood. Dehydration can cause stress, headaches and irritably so also make sure you have plenty of fluids.
Peter Rogers, Professor of Psychology at Bristol University, is not convinced about the use of certain supplements as mood enhancers. “We've reviewed the data on omega-3 supplements. They may affect mood in people who are clinically deficient, but I'm less convinced that they have a general benefit.”
As for the B vitamin folate, which has had reports of improving low moods, Rogers says that this is an area in which needs more good, robust research.
Knowing that you are eating healthily will provide a variety of essential nutrients and help you to feel that you are doing your best for yourself.
Peta Bee
Financial struggles are the latest worry for a generation that is already overburdened with stress. Rising divorce rates, long working hours, relationship problems and a lack of time to relax are all contributing to a rise in mood problems. One person in five now suffers a mental health problem at some point in his or her life, says Mind, the mental health charity.
But how do you know whether you are simply down in the dumps or suffering from clinical depression? According to Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, if feeling blue lasts more than a couple of weeks you probably have mild to moderate depression, which affects 9 per cent of the population. So you should seek professional advice and make positive changes to your diet and exercise. If that doesn't work you may need medical treatment for chronic depression.
There is much that you can do to alleviate milder conditions and prevent them getting worse. Last week it was reported that the supplement St John's Wort is as effective as some antidepressants in lifting mood. “Getting outside, being active and talking are some measures that can be really beneficial,” says Farmer.
DAYLIGHT AND WEATHER
On bright, sunny autumn and winter days, make sure that you go outside. Warm or sunny, but not hot, weather has a positive impact on mental health, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. Dr Paul Keller, a social psychologist, found that the optimal temperature for a good mood was about 22C (72F) - about room temperature - with the good feeling decreasing if temperatures became significantly higher or lower.
“For pleasant weather to improve mood you need to spend at least 30 minutes outside,” Keller says. “It really does offer a way to alter your mindset.” If the next few months are dull and dark and your mood suffers as a result, then light therapy might help. A lack of daylight is thought to be the main cause of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also called the winter blues. The condition is thought to be linked to the way light triggers messages to the part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which controls sleep, sex drive, appetite and mood. Ordinary electric light bulbs, which produce 200 to 500 units of light energy (lux) won't boost mood, but specially designed light boxes that emit about 10,000 lux from a fluorescent bulb are effective for those in front of them for at least 45 minutes a day.
EXERCISE
“There is very good evidence that regular exercise is beneficial for people with depression,” says Paul Farmer, adding that Mind launched a major campaign called Get Moving last week. “Any exercise helps and people should do whatever makes them feel good.”
Physical activity need not be too strenuous to achieve results. A study by researchers at the University of Texas two years ago asked subjects with clinical depression to rest or walk at a gentle pace on a treadmill for half an hour. When their mood was tested afterwards both groups showed improvements, but the walkers had much more positive feelings of well-being and energy. Last year Dr Astrid Bjornebekk, of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, revealed that exercise, particularly running, stimulates the production of new brain cells and has a similar effect to antidepressant drugs in depression.
Where your exercise takes place is also important. A report called Eco-therapy, which was conducted last year by Mind and experts from the department of biological sciences at the University of Essex, indicated that physical activity outdoors offers more of a mental boost than gym workouts. “We found there were significant benefits to being outside as opposed to an enclosed environment,” Farmer says. “Ninety-four per cent of people with depression said that Nature and exercise is most important in improving how they feel.” Kite flying, for instance, sent moods soaring with 71 per cent of subjects in the Eco-therapy study experiencing significant improvements in their depression.
TALKING AND LAUGHING
Laughter has a powerful effect on depression and researchers recently revealed that even anticipating a laugh can lower stress hormones and boost mood. Dr Lee Berk, a researcher in physical therapy, and her team at the Loma Linda University, California, have indicated that levels of beta-endorphins, the family of chemicals that alleviate depression, went up by 27 per cent when subjects were asked to watch a comedy video. Levels of three stress hormones - cortisol, epinephrine and dopac - that can also affect mood and anxiety were reduced by up to 70 per cent. “By seeking out positive experiences that make us laugh we can do a lot to stay well,” Berk says. It is the theory on which “laughter yoga”, now practised in more than 40 countries including the UK, is based. Laughing releases feel-good hormones called endorphins into the body and laughter yoga is said to utilise this as a way of getting fit by stimulating the body. While there is no medical evidence that it works, more than 40,000 people claim that the activity has helped them.
Talking therapies are also proven to be effective. One study showed that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) was as effective as drugs in preventing the return of severe depression over time. Dr Steve Hollon, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, indicated that the risk of relapse over 16 months was no higher, perhaps even lower, for patients receiving CBT than those taking antidepressants. If you can't find a counsellor, try computerised cognitive behaviour therapy (CCBT) online. A study by the City University, London, revealed that more than three people in five with mild depression could stop treatment after eight days of the online approach. Another, by Swedish researchers, found that computer therapy is as effective as face-to-face treatment for moderate to mild depression.
SLEEP
A lack of sleep will almost certainly leave you feeling tired, groggy and grumpy, but over time those feelings can escalate into depression. Young adults who took part in research at the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich displayed far greater symptoms of depression if they suffered from insomnia. Up to 50 per cent of the subjects who experienced sleeplessness lasting two weeks or longer during their early twenties were more likely to get a depressive episode later in life.
“We used to think that insomnia was often just a symptom of depression,” says Dr Daniel Buysse, of the University of Pittsburgh. “But growing evidence suggests that it may actually precede depression. In other words, people who can't sleep but have no depression are at increased risk of later developing it.”
Dr Sara Mednick, a scientist and sleep expert at Harvard University, says that regular napping might help people to relax, reducing stress levels. “Even short sleep reduces stress and anxiety [both a result of rising levels of the hormone cortisol being produced by the adrenal glands] by triggering the release sleep hormones that act as an antidote to mood problems,” she says.
John Shneerson, director of Britain's largest sleep clinic at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, says “a 15 to 20-minute siesta is enough to be refreshing without giving you grogginess afterwards” .
SUPPLEMENTS
A study by Dr Klaus Linde, of the Centre for Complementary Medicine, Munich, suggested that St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is as effective as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac for mild to moderate depression. In a review of 29 studies of the plant, which grows in hedgerows, Linde revealed that it was not only effective for many of the 5,489 depressed patients, but also that it had fewer side-effects than conventional drugs.
“Using a St John's Wort extract may be justified, but products vary considerably, so these results apply only to the preparations tested,” he says. Trials generally use preparations containing only a standard 0.3 per cent dose of the active ingredient hypericin. Capsules or tablets of 300- 450mg are regarded as optimal.
Other supplements may also help to alleviate the blues. Earlier this year, a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal showed that increasing vitamin D intake could protect the elderly against depression. Sunlight is the best supplier of vitamin D and a lack of exposure to it can lead to deficiency. As well as supplements, it can be found in margarine, fortified cereals, dairy products, egg yolk and oily fish. Dr Birgit Teucher, of the Institute of Food Research, Norwich, says that around 5mcg a day is recommended.
Food and drink can lift the spirits
Probably the best you can do when going through tough times is to stick, as much as you can, to a healthy, balanced diet. Make sure you get your five fruit and veg a day, eat wholegrain foods and skip the junk. Some psychologists believe that colours have a profound effect on our moods so eating colourful fruit and veg can all help to lift your mood. Dehydration can cause stress, headaches and irritably so also make sure you have plenty of fluids.
Peter Rogers, Professor of Psychology at Bristol University, is not convinced about the use of certain supplements as mood enhancers. “We've reviewed the data on omega-3 supplements. They may affect mood in people who are clinically deficient, but I'm less convinced that they have a general benefit.”
As for the B vitamin folate, which has had reports of improving low moods, Rogers says that this is an area in which needs more good, robust research.
Knowing that you are eating healthily will provide a variety of essential nutrients and help you to feel that you are doing your best for yourself.
World 'to fail' on nature target
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Barcelona
Endangered African gray crowned crane (Balearia regulorum)
Europe has made the most progress on curbing biodiversity loss
The world's governments will fail to meet their agreed target of curbing biodiversity loss by 2010, according to experts questioned by BBC News.
Nearly 200 countries signed up to the target in 2002.
Ten leading conservationists asked here at the World Conservation Congress were unanimous that the goal cannot be met.
All the global indicators of progress are heading in the wrong direction, and few governments have even translated the target into national legislation.
Not all the experts questioned would go on the record, and some said there was a reluctance to embarrass governments over their failures on the matter.
Others suggested the target was unachievable even at its inception six years ago.
Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), told BBC News that the 2010 target was achievable if governments acted urgently, but conceded that "all indicators are telling us it is unlikely".
Last week saw the publication of the Red List of Threatened Species, showing that between a quarter and a third of mammals are at risk of extinction.
It also saw the head of an EU-commissioned review into the economics of biodiversity loss say that degradation of forests worldwide cost the global economy more each year than the current banking crisis.
Measured approach
The CBD was agreed at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, but not until 10 years afterwards did it acquire a firm, supposedly binding target - "to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth".
Virtually all of the trends that drive the loss of species and ecosystems are continuing at a global level
Georgina Mace, director of the Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College London, said that on the worldwide basis there was absolutely no chance of achieving it.
"We don't have many measures of biodiversity at a global level, but there are a few," she said.
"They measure things like the rate at which species are moving down the categories of threat on the Red List towards extinction, they measure average trends in various populations that have been measured over time, they measure trends on habitat change."
"And at global level, all those data that we have show either continuing downward rates of loss or maybe continuing rates of loss - so some of them aren't getting worse, some are just staying at the same rate of loss - but none of them are getting better," she added.
In addition, virtually all of the trends that drive the loss of species and ecosystems are continuing at a global level.
"The biodiversity convention doesn't deal with cross-cutting issues such as logging, road building, climate change, pollution and the expansion of agriculture," said Gordon Shepherd, director of global policy at the environmental group WWF.
"In reality the people who own decision-making in those areas, be they in governments or in business, have much more power than environment ministers, who don't have tools to get to grips with over-use [of natural resources] or over-consumption."
Endangered Grey-shanked douc langur
Some experts say the target set by the convention was too ambitious
Political paths
However, Sebastian Winkler from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said the time period from 2002 to 2010 was so short that we should not have expected to see any changes in the real world.
He suggested a different way of measuring the lack of progress - that only 16 governments have followed through on their commitment to integrate the 2010 target into national plans for tackling biodiversity loss.
Mr Winkler runs an IUCN initiative called Countdown 2010, which aims to engage stakeholders across the world such as local authorities and get them to commit to actions that could improve prospects in their own regions.
"Now the CDB is trying to use Countdown 2010 as a fig leaf for governments - we have 800 partners, they're each taking at least 10 actions, so that's 8,000 actions and that's what they hope to report back as progress," he said.
By March next year, governments must submit assessments of their own progress to the CBD, which will compile them into a global assessment.
Sweet dreams
Thomas Lovejoy, president of the Washington DC-based think-tank, the Heinz Center, said there were signs of progress in different corners of the world, citing Costa Rica and Bhutan among countries that were taking the issue seriously.
There's no longer a question whether there will be a sixth major extinction in Earth history. It's already happening, and the question is how big we'll allow it to get
Sebastian Winkler
IUCN
"In 43 years we've gone from one protected forest in the Amazon to 40% of the area under some form of protection," he said.
"It's not enough to maintain the integrity of the ecosystem but it's a huge achievement."
Europe is the continent which has made most progress towards the target. According to one recent study, it is on course to curb biodiversity loss - but by 2050, rather than 2010.
Mr Djoghlaf said the 2010 initiative had at least put the issue of natural decline into the political and public spotlight.
"There is more and more increased awareness, people are ready to be engaged, business behaviour is changing, biodiversity is becoming a business case because businesses know the market of tomorrow is green, and they have to adapt," he said.
Most of the other leading figures I spoke to here about the issue were not willing to go on the record, although all said in private there was no chance of achieving the target.
Sebastian Winkler said it was important to keep governments engaged with the issue.
"Martin Luther King said 'I have a dream', not 'I have a nightmare'," he said.
"And if we always paint nightmares, we will not engage the international community."
But Mr Lovejoy suggested that at the level of species and ecosystems, the nightmare was already unfolding.
"There's no longer a question whether there will be a sixth major extinction in Earth history," he said.
"It's already happening, and the question is how big we'll allow it to get."
Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Barcelona
Endangered African gray crowned crane (Balearia regulorum)
Europe has made the most progress on curbing biodiversity loss
The world's governments will fail to meet their agreed target of curbing biodiversity loss by 2010, according to experts questioned by BBC News.
Nearly 200 countries signed up to the target in 2002.
Ten leading conservationists asked here at the World Conservation Congress were unanimous that the goal cannot be met.
All the global indicators of progress are heading in the wrong direction, and few governments have even translated the target into national legislation.
Not all the experts questioned would go on the record, and some said there was a reluctance to embarrass governments over their failures on the matter.
Others suggested the target was unachievable even at its inception six years ago.
Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), told BBC News that the 2010 target was achievable if governments acted urgently, but conceded that "all indicators are telling us it is unlikely".
Last week saw the publication of the Red List of Threatened Species, showing that between a quarter and a third of mammals are at risk of extinction.
It also saw the head of an EU-commissioned review into the economics of biodiversity loss say that degradation of forests worldwide cost the global economy more each year than the current banking crisis.
Measured approach
The CBD was agreed at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, but not until 10 years afterwards did it acquire a firm, supposedly binding target - "to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth".
Virtually all of the trends that drive the loss of species and ecosystems are continuing at a global level
Georgina Mace, director of the Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College London, said that on the worldwide basis there was absolutely no chance of achieving it.
"We don't have many measures of biodiversity at a global level, but there are a few," she said.
"They measure things like the rate at which species are moving down the categories of threat on the Red List towards extinction, they measure average trends in various populations that have been measured over time, they measure trends on habitat change."
"And at global level, all those data that we have show either continuing downward rates of loss or maybe continuing rates of loss - so some of them aren't getting worse, some are just staying at the same rate of loss - but none of them are getting better," she added.
In addition, virtually all of the trends that drive the loss of species and ecosystems are continuing at a global level.
"The biodiversity convention doesn't deal with cross-cutting issues such as logging, road building, climate change, pollution and the expansion of agriculture," said Gordon Shepherd, director of global policy at the environmental group WWF.
"In reality the people who own decision-making in those areas, be they in governments or in business, have much more power than environment ministers, who don't have tools to get to grips with over-use [of natural resources] or over-consumption."
Endangered Grey-shanked douc langur
Some experts say the target set by the convention was too ambitious
Political paths
However, Sebastian Winkler from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said the time period from 2002 to 2010 was so short that we should not have expected to see any changes in the real world.
He suggested a different way of measuring the lack of progress - that only 16 governments have followed through on their commitment to integrate the 2010 target into national plans for tackling biodiversity loss.
Mr Winkler runs an IUCN initiative called Countdown 2010, which aims to engage stakeholders across the world such as local authorities and get them to commit to actions that could improve prospects in their own regions.
"Now the CDB is trying to use Countdown 2010 as a fig leaf for governments - we have 800 partners, they're each taking at least 10 actions, so that's 8,000 actions and that's what they hope to report back as progress," he said.
By March next year, governments must submit assessments of their own progress to the CBD, which will compile them into a global assessment.
Sweet dreams
Thomas Lovejoy, president of the Washington DC-based think-tank, the Heinz Center, said there were signs of progress in different corners of the world, citing Costa Rica and Bhutan among countries that were taking the issue seriously.
There's no longer a question whether there will be a sixth major extinction in Earth history. It's already happening, and the question is how big we'll allow it to get
Sebastian Winkler
IUCN
"In 43 years we've gone from one protected forest in the Amazon to 40% of the area under some form of protection," he said.
"It's not enough to maintain the integrity of the ecosystem but it's a huge achievement."
Europe is the continent which has made most progress towards the target. According to one recent study, it is on course to curb biodiversity loss - but by 2050, rather than 2010.
Mr Djoghlaf said the 2010 initiative had at least put the issue of natural decline into the political and public spotlight.
"There is more and more increased awareness, people are ready to be engaged, business behaviour is changing, biodiversity is becoming a business case because businesses know the market of tomorrow is green, and they have to adapt," he said.
Most of the other leading figures I spoke to here about the issue were not willing to go on the record, although all said in private there was no chance of achieving the target.
Sebastian Winkler said it was important to keep governments engaged with the issue.
"Martin Luther King said 'I have a dream', not 'I have a nightmare'," he said.
"And if we always paint nightmares, we will not engage the international community."
But Mr Lovejoy suggested that at the level of species and ecosystems, the nightmare was already unfolding.
"There's no longer a question whether there will be a sixth major extinction in Earth history," he said.
"It's already happening, and the question is how big we'll allow it to get."
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