How to Help
The rapid disappearance of amphibian populations in recent decades is undoubtedly the most tragic loss of biodiversity we have ever witnessed, and is one of the most serious environmental issues of our time. Fixing a problem of this magnitude requires a collaborative effort on the part of scientists, politicians, educators, businesses, and members of the media, as well as high-profile personalities such as actors and musicians, who can quickly influence public opinion and bring an obscure issue (such as amphibian declines) to the forefront of public consciousness. It also requires a concerted effort on the part of average citizens, all of whom have the ability to reduce their impact on the environment, and exert their influence on elected officials and the businesses they choose to support.
Buy a SAVE THE FROGS! poster
All proceeds from the sales of our Frogs of Australia posters go to SAVE THE FROGS! conservation projects. These posters have beautiful frog photos, they're educational, and you get a free bumper sticker with every poster. Get one for yourself, your office, your friend who loves frogs, your kid, or even donate one to your kid's school. And yes we do ship international.
Thanks for your support!
Do NOT use pesticides!
Pesticides and herbicides are toxic chemicals that generally undergo little to no testing on amphibians prior to their being approved for use. Unfortunately, the law of gravity has it that many of these pesticides end up in waterways, where amphibians live and breed. To make matters worse, amphibians have permeable skin that is highly absorbent. Populations of the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog Rana muscosa that live downwind of highly agricultural areas in California's Central Valley have disappeared at a significantly higher rate than other populations. Atrazine, perhaps the most commonly used herbicide on the planet (33 million kg are applied each year in the US alone), can cause hermaphroditism in frogs (males grow female sex organs) at ecologically relevant doses, and can reduce survivorship in salamanders. Roundup (also sold as Touchdown Total) is lethal to gray treefrog and leopard frog tadpoles, and most likely a host of other as yet untested frog species. Roundup is the 2nd most commonly applied herbicide in the USA; it's produced by Monsanto, the same folks who gave us Agent Orange. Over half of the DNA found in frogs is also found in humans, so if these pesticides kill frogs, imagine what they do to us! Read more about pesticides here. (Photo credits unknown).
Frog Legs: don't eat them!
Europeans alone consumed roughly 120 million frogs per year in the 1990's. The harvesting of amphibians for the food trade is often unregulated, and in many underdeveloped countries, such as Thailand, is
likely a primary contributor to amphibian declines. Even in countries where the import/export of endangered species is controlled, there are virtually no protocols in place to ensure that diseased amphibians do not get transported. Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) are commonly farmed and transported worldwide. They are known carriers of the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) and thus are likely to be primary contributors to the global spread of chytridiomycosis, a disease that has decimated amphibian populations worldwide. Bullfrogs are also quite adept at establishing populations in areas to which they are introduced. They are large and compete with native amphibians for food and shelter, making them a harmful invasive species when they are outside their natural range (the eastern United States).
Donate to SAVE THE FROGS!
We cannot exist without your support. Your funds will go directly towards SAVE THE FROGS! conservation projects, including:
(1) Conducting worldwide scientific research aimed at stopping amphibian extinctions. You can learn more about our research projects here.
(2) Providing awards, grants and scholarships to students, postdoctorate fellows and academics involved in amphibian conservation.
(3) Promoting awareness of the amphibian crisis through the media, through live presentations at schools, conferences, and businesses, through improving the quality of environmental education in schools, and through the continued development of this web site.
(4) Defending amphibians' legal rights. We are currently building an Amphibian Legal Defense Fund so that we can challenge policies and proposals that harm amphibians.
You can learn more about donations here. Thanks!
Do NOT purchase wild-caught amphibians
Over 20 million wild-caught amphibians are legally sold on the international market each year, and many more get sold either domestically or illegally. The wild amphibian trade is thus a significant contributor to amphibian declines and extinctions. If you plan to purchase an amphibian, ask your pet dealer for precise information on the origin of your potential pet. If the animal is wild-caught, or if the dealer is unsure on the origins of the animal, do NOT purchase it. Also verify that the species in question is not endangered. If the species you are interested in is listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered, do NOT purchase it. Never release a pet amphibian back into the wild unless it is being taken to its precise location of origin and has had a thorough disease diagnostic test (see next paragraph).
SAVE THE FROGS! actually does not support the sales of any amphibians, even abundant species: when we transport amphibians around the world, we also inevitably transport amphibian pathogens. These pathogens eventually reach naive frog populations that have no evolved defenses against them, potentially resulting in lethal disease outbreaks. This is the precise reason chytridiomycosis has been able to decimate amphibian populations worldwide in so short a timeframe. Once a disease is set loose, it is virtually impossible to stop. Similarly, certain amphibians are quite adept at establishing populations far from their native range. Once this occurs they can predate on native frog species or out-compete them for food resources.
Toad on the road!
Amphibians like to take their time crossing the road...give them a brake! Road kill is a significant cause of frog mortality in many parts of the world. There are at least 600 million cars on the planet; if we conservatively estimate that 10% of these cars kill only 1 frog per year, that would mean 600 million frogs are killed by cars each decade. Wow! So drive slower on wet nights. Help a frog or toad cross the road (careful: don’t cause an accident or get squashed yourself). Some local frog groups organize events to help amphibians cross roads during the most active nights of the year. You can read more about the contribution of road kill to amphibian declines in this interesting PDF. (Photo of Pickerel Frog Rana palustris by K. Kriger)
Do NOT stock non-native fish in your pond or stream
Fish are voracious predators of frog eggs, tadpoles and adult frogs. Introduced trout have decimated populations of the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Rana muscosa in California and the Spotted Treefrog Litoria spenceri in south-eastern Australia. Both species are now on the verge of extinction. If your local government is stocking ponds and streams, make sure they are using only native fish species, and only stocking areas that are meant to have fish (i.e. below waterfalls). If you are building a pond, and want to support a healthy frog community, do not stock fish in it--even native species. Fishless ponds always tend to have a higher amphibian biodiversity than do ponds with fish.
Conserve Resources
Most of the products we use in our daily life, and even the things we take for granted (food, water, electricity) have been removed from their natural place in the environment. Given our current rate of consumption, there are simply not enough natural resources to support the Earth's 6.5 billion people AND the other 20 million species on the planet. We therefore offer the following suggestions on how you can reduce your ecological footprint: Turn off your air conditioning when it’s not in use. Tell you're boss if your office place is too cold. Take a shorter shower. Put a lid on that pot of boiling water. Turn off your lights. Use compact-flourescent bulbs. Print on both sides of the sheet of paper. Turn your jacuzzi off when it's not in use. Are you sure you need a bag with that? Drive a smaller car. Buy a hybrid if you can afford one. Ride a bus, or your bike. Walk. Actually, just sit at home and play some music. Going for a picnic? Don't use styrofoam plates; most supermarkets sell biodegradable corn plates.
Turn off the tap
Most municipal water supplies are diverting water from their natural locations. Frogs need these clean, natural water bodies to live and breed in. Did you know that neither the mighty Colorado River nor Australia's massive Murray-Darling River system reaches the sea, because irrigation steals 100% of their water?
Hot water is also a source of environmental problems. The next time you're shaving in the shower, think about the frogs that lived on the mountain in West Virginia that got strip mined to gather the coal that is being burnt into a black plume of smoke (that your children are breathing) in order to provide the electricity that is heating all the water that is going down the drain. (Photo of Icelandic desert by K. Kriger)
Drink tap water, not bottled water
Would you eat a $5000 meal at a restaurant? Probably not. Yet many people routinely spend 1000 times more for a bottle of water than the equivalent amount of water costs when it comes from the tap. Americans drank 30 billion bottles of water in 2005, the majority of which were NOT recycled. According to the Pacific Institute, the production of 30 billion plastic bottles requires the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil (enough to fuel more than one million vehicles for a year!), produces more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, and
uses three times the amount of water than ends up in the bottle.
And these numbers don’t include the environmental cost of transporting the bottles from the factory to your local store.. Interestingly, 25% of American bottled water (and 100% of Aquafina and Dasani) is just processed tap water that did NOT come from that fresh bubbly mountain spring you envisioned. Bottled water sold by Sam's Club / Wal-Mart and Giant has been found to have contaminants above California's legally acceptable limits.
Most municipal water supplies undergo stringent quality-control procedures, but if you are concerned about the health quality of your home water source, consider buying a PUR or Brita water filter. If you are leaving the house for the day, fill up a Nalgene bottle that you can re-use for years. The majority of western countries have free access to clean tap water. Take advantage of it.
In non-western countries there is virtually no recycling. Most plastic ends up being burnt in people's backyards, creating toxic fumes and obvious health hazards. If you are headed to a country in which you do not plan to drink the tap water, we recommend purchasing a Katadyn portable water filter, or a portable Steri-pen UV-light. These products will save you money, allow you to drink the water in any situation, and reduce your impact on the environment. (Photo of Purling Brook Falls, Australia by K. Kriger; photo of woman and water basket by Sean Sprague)
Reduce, re-use, recycle...in that order!
Reducing your consumption is the best. Attempt to re-use what you had to use. And if you have to dispose of it, try to recycle it. Yes its a slight inconvenience, but its your responsibility...the products you use often come from the forest and contribute to habitat destruction, polluting the environment and global warming! Start a recycling program at your place of work if there is not one there already. Let's make sure our national parks don't end up looking like this one in Costa Rica. (Photo by K. Kriger)
Your batteries
Approximately 15 billion batteries are produced worldwide each year. Batteries are packed full of toxic heavy metals (e.g. mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel) that can cause limb malformities in frogs. Purchase rechargeable batteries. They will save you money and reduce your ecological footprint. And always recycle your batteries when you're done with them, so that their toxins do not leach into the environment. It helps to keep a bag for old batteries in your house. When the bag fills up, you can find out where to recycle your batteries here.
Become a herpetologist
Herpetology (the study of amphibians and reptiles) is a rewarding career that allows you to travel, work in beautiful places, help the environment and meet interesting people. There is a huge shortage of herpetologists in the world. More info on careers in herpetology can be found here. (Note to kids: herpetology requires not only a love of animals, but also a firm grasp of mathematics and science, as well as effective communication and writing skills. Working hard in school now will greatly improve your future ability to be a successful herpetologist!
Vote for the environment!
The Bush administration is without a doubt the most environmentally destructive administration in US history. They have successfully repealed decades of hard-fought environmental regulations, and have jeopardized ecosystem and human health. They have subsidized wealthy businesses that pollute and destroy the environment, while failing to secure basic protections for endangered species. And they have been supported by congressman, governors, state and local legislators and other elected officials. While health care and the economy are important issues in the upcoming elections, they should not overshadow a sound environmental policy, as all three are intricately linked: a healthy environment means less sick people, the cost of living increases as the quality and quantity of natural resources decreases, and there are no jobs on a dead planet.
If you are between 18 and 30 it is incredibly important to vote, as your age bracket consistently has the worst voter turnout, yet has the most to gain by voting. Please do your part: register to vote right now. Then research which candidate will be the most environmentally responsible. You can see how your current legislators have done by checking their environmental scorecard. Voting is a privilege, take advantage of it.
Musicians
If you are a talented musician, manage a popular band, or if you are a concert promoter, you are in a perfect position to help SAVE THE FROGS!. Benefit concerts are one of the best ways to raise money and promote awareness of an issue (not to mention have a good time!). Please visit our Musicians For Frogs page to learn more, and pass this page on to any musicians you know who may be interested.
Politicians
Politicians assume an incredible amount of responsibility--not just toward their constituents, but also towards protecting the environment. Proper legislation is needed to (1) protect crucial frog habitats; (2) regulate pesticide use; (3) oversee the trade of amphibians; (4) control global warming; (5) implement appropriate quarantine measures to ensure that imported amphibians are disease-free; and (6) ensure that amphibian conservation programs are sufficiently funded. If you are a politician, you are in an excellent position to SAVE THE FROGS! Please see our Politicians for Frogs page.
Lawyers
We are currently building an Amphibian Legal Defense Council so that we can challenge policies and proposals that harm amphibians. We are also seeking advice on nonprofit and estate law. If you are willing to provide advice or volunteer some time, please see our Lawyers for Frogs page. Unfrozen Caveman Lawyers need not apply, sorry.
Business Executives
Business owners and managers assume an incredible amount of responsibility--not just toward their clients and employees, but also towards being environmentally and socially responsible. If you run a business, please install energy-efficient lighting and heating/cooling systems. And always consider the effect of your business practices on the environment. Patagonia Inc.'s founder and owner Yvon Chouinard wrote an excellent book on how to manage a business that is both successful and environmentally friendly. Please also see our Business for Frogs page and find out ways to get your business certified 'Frog-Friendly'.
Graphic Designers
SAVE THE FROGS! needs a logo and a cool banner for the top of all our web pages. We also need some cool frog paraphernalia to sell in the Frog Store (shirts, postcards, etc…). We can provide frog photos. We are especially interested in finding somebody knowledgeable in Adobe InDesign CS3. If we use any of your artwork, we will acknowledge you and put up a link to your professional web page. If you are willing to provide artwork or graphic design advice, please contact us.
Members of the media
The media is the general public's primary source of information. Please consider writing an article or producing a TV segment on amphibian declines. Contact us to set up an interview or discuss your idea, and please see our Journalists for Frogs page.
Homeowners
Build a SMALLER house than your neighbor. Don't chop down trees on your property: animals (including frogs) live in trees, and besides, trees look nice. Don't mow your lawn so often. The emissions that come from lawn mowers are largely unregulated, which is why lawn mowers smell so bad! Put a cover on your pool to reduce evaporation; this will keep the water in the streams, where the frogs can use it. Buy Energy Star appliances and have an energy audit done if you can afford one. Live in the desert? Go solar.
Famous people
If you are famous (not just in your own mind!), you are in a perfect position to rapidly and effectively spread the message to the public, and help us raise money to SAVE THE FROGS! Please contact us to find out ways you can help.
Fund Raisers
It has been estimated that successful amphibian conservation will require $82 million per year worldwide. If you have fund raising experience or ideas, please contact us.
Educators
Schools must help to instill a love and knowledge of the environment in their students, and this begins at an early age. Please direct your students to this web site and give them a homework assignment on frogs. Make sure that your school system offers a strong environmental curriculum. Please see our Teachers for Frogs page for further information.
Investors
Some companies are environmentally responsible while others are environmentally destructive. Buy stocks in companies that help the environment. Avoid mutual funds that are indiscriminate about which companies they invest in, as their holdings likely include companies involved in mining, timber extraction, petroleum and pesticides. Does your mutual fund have holdings in Monsanto, one of the world's largest producers of pesticides? Find out here. Consider purchasing a Green Century or New Alternatives fund.
Restaurant owners
Do you serve food to your customers on styrofoam or paper plates, with plastic cutlery, or give them their takeout items in a styrofoam box that's placed inside a plastic bag? Did you know that all those materials are harmful to the environment, that virtually none of the waste will get recycled, and that the materials will not biodegrade for decades? Trellis Earth sells biodegradable versions of all these items. They're made of corn and are fully re-usable, microwaveable. Plus they look a whole lot classier than plastic or styrofoam.
Farmers
Frogs require healthy streamside habitats. If you have livestock, please fence off the vegetated sections of streams where frogs live, and restrict your livestock to specific portions of stream. This will reduce trampling of important frog breeding, feeding and living areas. If possible fence of at least 30 meters (100 feet) on either side of the stream.
Pool Owners
Frogs like to swim in pools. If you own a pool and find dead frogs floating in it, you should consider buying a Froglog, which gives the frogs an easy way to escape your pool without drowning. Put it in or near your skimmer. This will help keep your pool clean, and save frogs. You can also try putting a few rubber black snakes around your pool to scare frogs away from the area.
Normal people
We now return to your section of the web page!
Stop getting that junk mail
Nearly 100 million trees are chopped down in the USA each year to make paper for the worthless unwanted junk mail you receive. Those big fat catalogs all add up, and so do the gallons of fuel and noxious chemicals emissions the US Postal Service uses and produces to get the junk mail to your doorstep. Tired of it? Take action: call the number on the back of the catalog and tell them to immediately remove you from their mailing list.
Watch what you eat
SAVE THE FROGS! believes in the right to choose what you put in your mouth. That being said, the reality is that the production of certain foods wreak more havoc on the ecosystem than do others. Take beef, for instance: a single cow must consume vast quantities of plants before it is slaughtered, which means that all the energy, water and other resources used to produce and transport those plants are ultimately going to the production of a much smaller quantity of food. It has been estimated that producing a pound of beef requires 100 times more water than does producing an equal amount of wheat. Further, cattle ranching is dependent on open spaces, and this generally means large-scale deforestation, such as the slash-and-burn agriculture that is destroying vast tracts of the Amazon and Indonesia. Habitat destruction such as this is a primary factor contributing to global amphibian declines.
Even in areas with no natural forests, like the American Southwest, cattle and other ungulates (hoofed mammals: sheep, horses, goats, etc...) destroy land by trampling, resulting in erosion and land unsuited to other forms of agriculture. The massive amount of manure produced by cows and pigs fouls waterways used by frogs, and contributes a significant amount of harmful methane (a greenhouse gas that causes global warming) to the atmosphere. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that ruminant livestock (cows, sheep, goats, buffalo) produce 80 billion kg (176 billion pounds) of methane annually: 28% of the world's human-related methane emissions! Finally, ranchers tend to have low regard for the value of large predatory animals: wolves, coyotes, jaguars, crocodiles, lions and bears are regularly killed in order to protect livestock...often with taxpayer-subsidized government assistance.
Palm oil is another environmental disaster. In the last decade it has started turning up in everything from your soap to your Milky Way candy bar. Check the ingredients before you buy something, and go palm oil free. Why? Rainforests throughout Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia and other tropical countries are rapidly being destroyed in order to plant palm plantations, the oils of which then end up in products in your home. The photo at right is of what used to be Indonesian rainforest (photo credits unknown). Probably aren't too many tree frogs living there any more.
Buy organic
On top of being good for the environment, organic foods generally taste better and are healthier for you than standard foods. Wearing clothing made of organic cotton is an excellent way to make a difference as well: the farming of conventional and genetically modified cotton accounts for 16% of global pesticide use, more than any other single crop! Exposure to one pesticide commonly used on cotton (aldicarb) can cause weakness, blurred vision, headache, nausea, tearing, sweating, and tremors in people. Very high doses can kill people by paralyzing the respiratory system. Imagine what it does to frog eggs and tadpoles in polluted streams and ponds!
Buy local
The average grocery store's produce traveled 1,500 miles from the farm where it was grown to your refrigerator, resulting in significant carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a primary threat to frogs. The main benefit of those stickers on your fruit (the ones that always end up by your favorite waterfall) is that they tell you where your food came from. Don't buy an apple from the other side of the world if you can buy one from your own country, or better yet from the farmer down the road. Plus, locally produced foods are fresher and virtually always taste better.
Going to a music festival?
Festivals are great places to hand out free SAVE THE FROGS! informational flyers and to sell savethefrogs.com bumper stickers. If you are interested in taking a more official position and volunteering at a table for a few hours, please contact us. And if you know any professional musicians, please show them our Musicians for Frogs page.
Know your frogs
Learn what frog species live in your backyard, your county, your state. Learn how to identify them both visually and by their calls. Many regional frog guides exist, as do CDs of frog calls. Walk down to your pond at night. Join a local frog group. Click here to find a frog group near you.
Set up a fund raiser to benefit SAVE THE FROGS!
Make your company or organizations’ next social event a fund raiser. Fund raisers are also great ways to spread awareness amphibian declines. We can provide educational information to distribute. Contact us for more information and assistance in setting up your fundraiser.
Fluent in a foreign language?
Amphibian declines are occurring worldwide, not just in English speaking countries. We are currently working on translating our web site into as many languages as possible. If you are fluent in a foreign language, please join the SAVE THE FROGS! Multi-Language Project and help translate some of our web pages into your native tongue. Your contribution will be acknowledged.
Are you good with WikiMedia, WordPress or phpBB?
If so, we could use some assistance getting our FrogWiki, blog and FrogForum set up and looking good. Please contact us.
Join your local ‘slow growth’ chapter
Frog species go extinct one population at a time. Urban sprawl destroys forests and drains swamps so that we can all have beautiful strip malls with fast food restaurants right next door. Many communities have organizations dedicated to sensible, responsible growth. Join one or start one. Call your local elected officials and tell them how you feel. Block the development of any proposed developments (strip mall, housing development, logging or mining operation, etc...) that threaten local wildlife populations.
Herpetologists
Please add your favorite photos to our photo gallery, and let us know if you have photos of extinct amphibians for our Extinct Amphibians of the World album. We're also looking for 4+ minute recordings of frog choruses to stream from the site. We'd like a different chorus on every page. If you would like to submit content relevant to your area of expertise, please contact us. Alternatively, write a page for our FrogWiki. Please link to our site if you have a professional web page. If you know of any critical frog habitat that needs legal protection, let us know about it. Thanks!
Students
Write an article on frogs for your school newspaper. Or better yet, get your entire school involved: check out our Students for Frogs page. Please tell your friends about us, and check out our MySpace page.
Do you like this website?
We do too, and we have a list of 100 things we could do to make it even better. Unfortunately, we can't make any of these improvements unless we can pay our webmaster/ecologist enough to eat! That's because he'll soon have to find another job if we continue to pay him only $0.30 per hour!!! That's no joke! Slave labor he works in order to save the frogs!!!
Please donate so that we can employ a full-time (well-fed) webmaster to write educational content, get this site translated into as many languages as possible, and add tools to this site that will enable scientists and other conservationists to exchange ideas and communicate more effectively. We can make this site far better than it already is, but not without your support. Thanks!
Looking for a class project?
If you are you a motivated, independent and intelligent undergraduate, we have some projects in mind that would not only benefit SAVE THE FROGS! but would also impress your professor. Contact us.
Link to our web site and tell your friends about us
If you have a web site, a blog, a Myspace or Facebook page, please add a link to our page: www.savethefrogs.com. You can use this picture as the click through link to catch people's attention:
If you use Myspace or Facebook and need help turning our URL into a direct link, try pasting this code:
<a href="http://www.savethefrogs.com">SAVE THE FROGS!</a>
Feel free to put any of these frog photos up on your site. And please e-mail your friends and tell them about us. Finally, you can add www.savethefrogs.com to the automated signature of every email you send.
Do you have skills and want to volunteer?
If you have a skill that you feel may benefit SAVE THE FROGS!, and if you are willing to volunteer a few hours a week, please send us your resume and any ideas you have in mind. We are a global organization, so it is not important where you are located, so long as you are motivated and have decent internet access.
Use GoodSearch and GoodShop
Raise money for SAVE THE FROGS! just by searching the Internet with GoodSearch, a Yahoo! powered search engine that donates to us every time you click through to a link. And shop online with GoodShop: they'll donate up to 10% of the sales to SAVE THE FROGS! for anything you purchase from Amazon, eBay, Expedia, Barnes & Noble, Half.com, Buy.com, Apple, Curcuit City, Dell, PetSmart, Macy's and many more stores...the list goes on. This is an easy way to help SAVE THE FROGS!
Bookmark this page
Add our page to your favorites list and check back later, or sign up for our newsletter. We're continually updating the site with cool frog photos and info.
Send us a suggestion
Have any ideas on how we can improve our web site or our organization? Please contact us.
Donate to SAVE THE FROGS!
Saving frogs is neither cheap nor easy: we need your support! Otherwise we'll have to get 9 to 5 office jobs or sell used cars all day! We'd rather be saving frogs though, so please make sure we have the funds we need to get the job done. Learn more about donations here.
Thanks!
Website design, photos & content by Kerry Kriger unless otherwise noted.
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