More and more businesses are stepping up their business practices to keep up with the ever-growing and increasingly eco-friendly economy. Consumers are more concerned with not only what they buy, but how it is made as well. Buying eco-friendly products can have a huge impact on the economy as well as the environment.

Many people don’t realize just how much the environment is effected by simple printing projects. Printing often involves a great deal of energy, which can have a negative effect on the environment. Many banner-printing businesses have gone to great lengths to reduce their carbon footprint, often upgrading their equipment to use less energy. Some printing businesses have even started to use solar energy to produce their banners, reducing their effect on the environment considerably.

While some banners printing companies use harsh chemicals and harmful inks, you should look into businesses that use only water-based or latex inks that minimize dangerous fumes. These inks are also non-combustible and non-flammable, minimizing the risk of any mishaps. This means that you don’t have to be concerned about displaying your banner in an area with proper ventilation, and you won’t have to worry about air pollution either. It’s a win-win situation!

Being eco-friendly doesn’t mean that you won’t get an excellent product. In fact, using planet-friendly materials can often make for an even better product since they are free from pollutants and unnecessary chemicals.

You shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality to be kind to the Earth. There are plenty of materials on the market that allow for great printing jobs without having to burn a hole in the O-zone layer using harmful emissions or fumes.  The more you know about the items used to make your product, the more you’ll be able to understand just how important it is to use eco-friendly inks and other materials.

You may have heard about reputation management services offered by many online companies. The online reputation management industry is growing, and for good reason: investing in reputation management actually helps you to save money. Here are a few reasons your business can save money by hiring a reputation management service.

Save Money on Training

Let’s face it: if you want to survive in online sales, you need to make sure you’re always keeping on top of your online rep. This means managing your online reputation isn’t an option. Hiring and training employees to handle your business’s rep will be very time consuming and expensive. Instead, hiring a group of experienced reputation management online professionals who is already trained means all of your money will go straight to keeping your opinion good rather than training.

Make More Sales

If you have a good online reputation, you will naturally bring more customers to your business and website. This will translate into to more sales and increased revenue for your business.

Built Long Term Client Trust

By having a strong reputation online, your clients will have a much higher opinion of your company, and they will be more willing to show their trust by giving you business. Again, a small investment into reputation management will lead to more profits for your company.

Give Viral Marketing a Head Start

Viral marketing is all the rage in online marketing, and for good reason: viral marketing is perhaps the most effective type of marketing—when it’s successful. However, viral marketing relies on your customers being able to have a good opinion of your company. Negative blogs or social media can hurt you. Your customers and clients will want to share your viral marketing efforts with friends if they hold your company in high esteem.

There are many other reasons why you’d want to hire a reputation management business (monitoring, for example). Though it costs some money, it can pay for itself in the long run if you do it correctly. Try reputation management today and see how the experts have been able to protect their names like you can, too.

(Reuters) – International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde led a global push on Saturday for the euro zone to boost its financial firewall, saying “if it is big enough it will not get used.”

Lagarde, supported by the British finance minister, George Osborne, said the IMF could boost its support for the euro zone but pressed its leaders to act first. Some attendees at the Davos Forum still doubted the viability of the currency union.

Countries beyond the 17-country bloc want to see its members stump up more money before they commit additional resources to the IMF, which this month requested an additional 500 billion euros ($650 billion) in funding.

“Now is the time – there has been a lot of pressure building in order to see a solution come about,” Lagarde told a Forum panel discussion on the economic outlook from which euro zone leaders – most notably Germany – were conspicuously absent.

“It is critical that the euro zone members develop a clear, simple firewall that can operate both to limit the contagion and to provide this sort of act of trust in the euro zone, so that the financing needs of that zone can actually be met,” she said.

Lagarde’s comments rounded out a crescendo of calls at the Davos Forum for the euro zone to boost its financial defenses. The annual five-day conference began with German Chancellor Angela Merkel deflecting pressure to do so.

In a carefully worded keynote address, Merkel suggested doubling or even tripling the size of the fund may convince markets for a time, but warned that if Germany made a promise that could not be kept, “then Europe is really vulnerable.”

On Friday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed Europe to make a “bigger commitment” to boosting its firewall.

Two bankers who attended meetings with Geithner at the Forum said on Friday the United States was looking for the euro zone to roughly double the size of its firewall to 1.5 trillion euros. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Treasury.

Osborne said the currency bloc must beef up its firewall before other countries increase their funding to the IMF.

“I think the euro zone leaders understand that,” said Osborne, the only European minister on Saturday’s panel discussion on the global economic outlook in 2012.

“There are not going to be further contributions from G20 countries, Britain included, unless we see the color of their money,” he added, calling for the euro zone “to provide a significant increase in available resources.”

MORE OPTIMISM…FOR SOME

Japanese Economics Minister Motohisa Furukawa echoed Osborne’s comments, saying: “Without the firm action of Europe, I don’t think the developing countries like China or others are willing to pay more money for the IMF.”

On condition that the euro zone boosts its own defenses, he said Japan and other countries were willing to additional support via the IMF.

Lagarde said, however, that if the international lender’s resources were boosted sufficiently, this would raise confidence to such a degree that they would not be needed.

“If it is big enough, it will not get used. And the same applies to the euro firewall for that matter,” she added.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, speaking to the Forum by video link from Tokyo, said Japan was working with South Korea and India to reduce the risk of the euro zone crisis spreading to Asia.

“Japan stands ready to support the euro zone as much as possible,” he added.

Mexico’s central bank chief, Agustin Carstens, said on Friday he believed a consensus was building on boosting the IMF’s resources to help European countries and others that might need aid from the global lender.

There has been a palpable sense of hope at the Davos Forum that the euro zone is pulling back from the brink of catastrophe, though business leaders are equally worried that Europe’s woes will hold back a global recovery.

Osborne saw some signs of optimism.

“People have commented on the mood of this conference being quite somber but having been here for a couple of days people have also pointed out that actually people are slightly more optimistic at the end of the week than the beginning,” he said.

However, Davos 2011 also ended on upbeat note about the euro zone and a feeling that worst of the crisis was over – only for the situation to deteriorate and financial markets to turn their fire on Italy, the bloc’s third biggest economy.

“The euro zone is a slow-motion train wreck,” said economist Nouriel Roubini, made famous by predictions of the 2008-09 global banking crisis.

He expected Greece, and possibly Portugal, to exit the bloc within the next 12 months and believed there is a 50 percent chance of the bloc breaking up completely in the next 3-5 years.

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, said no matter how strong the euro zone’s firewall is, the market will look at the nature of the economies it is protecting.

“If it is protecting insolvent economies…no matter how strong the firewall is, it won’t survive,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Jon Boyle)

No matter if you are getting a dog or a cat, and sometimes an iguana or bird, there are certain pet supplies you may want to get before bringing your pet home. It is important that you are aware of these items and to have budgeted for them before you commit to buying a pet.

First is food and water dishes. Your pet could temporarily use something that your family eats out of, however, dogs especially like to chew on their food dishes so it is important that you give them one of their own. Second, food and treats. Your pet will need to eat on a regular basis. And if you are intended to teach your pet tricks or just want to have some fun, you should get them some treats as well.

Third is a collar and a leash if necessary. Even some cats and reptiles like to be taken for walks so it is important that you do your research. When it comes to a collar and leash, you can get a little creative. If you aren’t finding the variety you want online, check online.

The fourth thing you will need are grooming supplies. Even if you are planning on having your pet groomed at a groomers, you will still want at least a basic pet brush to keep them looking good in between appointments. If you will groom at home, you will also need shampoos and other things that are breed specific. Lastly, you will need toys. Dogs, cats, and other pets need stimulation to be happy. They don’t need dozens of toys but one or two stimulating ones.

If all these pet supplies seem like they may be a little pricey for you, try looking online. You can find lower prices online, and save money, and many pet supply websites have great deals on shipping. It is important to understand the extra costs of a pet and that you properly care for your pet.

(Reuters) – Microsoft chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates pledged a further $750 million to the troubled global AIDS fund on Thursday and urged governments to continue their support to save lives.

“These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world’s poorest,” he said in Davos at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria announced two days ago that its executive director, Michel Kazatchkine, was stepping down early following criticism over misuse of funds and cuts in funding.

The public-private organization, which has the backing of celebrities like rock star Bono, accounts for around a quarter of international financing to fight HIV and AIDS, as well as the majority of funds to fight TB and malaria.

But it has been forced to cut back and said last year it would make no new grants or funding until 2014.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is giving $750 million through a promissory note — a fresh injection in addition to the $650 million that the Gates charity has contributed since the fund was launched 10 years ago.

While that will give an immediate boost, more is needed from governments, which have provided the bulk of the $22.6 billion that has been raised by the Geneva-based organization to date for its work in 150 countries.

The commitment of governments was shaken last year when the fund reported “grave misuse of funds” in four recipient nations, prompting some donors such as Germany and Sweden to freeze their donations.

Gates, however, played down the problem and praised the fund’s transparency, which he said had exposed corruption problems that might well have remained hidden at other organizations.

“If you are going to do health programs in Africa you are going to have some percentage that is misused,” he said.

“We’ve looked at where they’ve found money that wasn’t applied properly and how they tracked that … the fact is the internal checks and balances have worked.”

Recent scientific studies have shown that getting timely AIDS drug treatment to those with HIV can significantly cut the number of people who become newly infected with the virus, increasing the case for maximum access to drugs.

So the decision in 2011 to cancel fresh funding, due to waning political commitment, has alarmed healthcare activists like Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

“Now that new scientific evidence shows that HIV treatment itself could be one of the best ways to turn the epidemic around, it’s time for governments to roll up their sleeves and commit to getting the Global Fund back on track,” said Tido von Schoen-Angerer, MSF’s head of access.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Jon Boyle and Kirstin Ridley)

Pregnancy causes a lot of emotional and physical changes that can be difficult for not only the mother, but the father as well. To help fathers understand what is going on in their loved one’s bodies, it can be very helpful to consult a week by week pregnancy guide. Many pregnancy week by week calendars are offered, online pregnancy guides as well as ones in book form.

Sometimes it is difficult for fathers to feel a connection with their unborn child, since the fetal development taking place may seem foreign and strange. Looking at images of what their child may look like as the week pass can help the father start to feel more emotion and like they’re sharing in the development of their baby.

Among the different tools available in a pregnancy week by week guide is the ability to check and see what new parts of the baby’s body are developing each week, images of objects that the baby is similar in size to at each stage of development, and how all of these changes are affecting the mother’s body. For instance, it may be helpful for the father to know that morning sickness doesn’t occur just in the morning, and that it usually takes place earlier in the pregnancy. With a week by week pregnancy calendar, he can be supportive and aware that the mother of his child is likely to be nauseous and feeling unwell the first few months of her pregnancy.

In the past, there was not as much information nor as many options as we have today to help parents understand fetal development. Parents can form a closer bond to each other as they prepare for the birth of their baby by watching week by week as their baby’s body develops and changes, in preparation for the day they are born.

(Reuters) – Syria on Monday rebuffed as a “conspiracy” an Arab League call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down in favor of a unity government to calm a 10-month-old revolt in which thousands of Syrians have been killed.

In the Damascus suburb of Douma, tens of thousands of people turned out on Monday under the protection of rebel Free Syrian Army fighters to mourn 11 people killed by security forces, activists and a resident said.

Security forces, apparently keen to avoid a confrontation, stayed outside the area, where fighting had erupted overnight.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour criticized an Arab League call on Sunday for Assad to step down, saying its ministers had taken an “unbalanced” approach to the crisis by disregarding violence perpetrated by Assad’s opponents.

Damascus has not rejected the League’s decision to keep Arab observers in Syria one month longer, Mansour said, even though critics say their presence has not stemmed the bloodshed and only bought time for Assad to crush his opponents.

The Sudanese general who heads the monitoring mission said violence had dipped in the past month, contradicting accounts by Syrian activists who say at least 600 people were killed.

“After the arrival of the mission, the intensity of violence began to decrease,” Mohammed al-Dabi told a news conference at the Cairo-based Arab League, saying the monitors had logged only 136 deaths on both sides since they began work.

“Our job was to check what is happening on the ground and not investigate it,” said Dabi.

His role as chief monitor has displeased Assad’s critics given that he has held senior military and government posts in Sudan, including in Darfur, where the International Criminal Court prosecutor says the army carried out war crimes and the United Nations says 300,000 people may have died.

Saudi Arabia, an adversary of Syria’s ally Iran, undermined the mission’s credibility when it withdrew its own monitors on Sunday, accusing Damascus of defying an earlier Arab peace plan.

CONSPIRACY

Responding to the new League plan unveiled in Cairo on Sunday, an official Syrian source told the state news agency SANA that the initiative, which told Assad to hand power to a deputy pending elections, was a “conspiracy against Syria.”

“Syria rejects the decisions of the Arab League ministerial council … and considers them a violation of its national sovereignty and a flagrant interference in its internal affairs,” the source said.

On the streets of Damascus there was little hope that the outside world could offer an end to the crisis. “I want stability and I want to work and see my children grow up. Can the Arab League achieve this for me? No,” said Mohammed Wahbi, a shopkeeper in Damascus.

“They are interfering in our affairs,” said Akeel Shehadi, another shopkeeper.

Rami Khouri, a Beirut-based commentator, said the unusually bold Arab initiative was clearly “bad news” for Assad, one of a string of authoritarian Arab leaders to face popular uprisings in the past year. Three have been overthrown.

“The fact that Arab countries would propose such a clear intervention and essentially order him to step aside and give him a mechanism to do so is quite a dramatic sign of how much credibility and legitimacy he has lost in the region,” he said.

The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed by the security forces since an anti-Assad revolt began in March. The authorities say they are fighting foreign-backed “terrorists” who have killed 2,000 soldiers and police.

EU foreign ministers tightened sanctions against Syria on Monday, adding 22 people and eight entities to a list of banned people and groups, and said Assad’s repression was unacceptable.

“The message from the European Union is clear,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. “The crackdown must stop immediately.”

Splits among the League’s 22 members have complicated its diplomacy on Syria, but in the end only Lebanon refused to approve the latest proposal, although Algeria objected to taking the plan to the United Nations Security Council.

“TYRANNICAL REGIME”

Burhan Ghalioun, head of the main opposition Syrian National Council, welcomed the initiative, saying it “confirms that all Arab countries today consider the tyrannical regime of Bashar al-Assad to be finished and that it must be replaced.”

The U.N. Security Council is also divided on how to respond, with Western powers demanding tougher sanctions and an arms embargo, measures opposed so far by Russia.

A Western diplomat said the tough Arab League stance would put more pressure on Moscow to drop its objections to Security Council action against the Syrian leadership. “The Russians are not putting all their chips on Assad,” the diplomat said.

But in a sign Moscow’s close ties with Damascus, a Russian newspaper said that Russia has signed a deal to sell Syria nearly 40 fighter jet trainers.

The daily Kommersant cited a source close to Russia’s state arms export monopoly, Rosoboronexport, as saying that the sides had signed a contract after holding talks in December, and that Damascus was to pay $550 million for 36 Yak-130 aircraft.

Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahama, said the Arab plan would extract no concessions from Assad and that the Security Council had no alternative strategy to offer.

“Without the credible threat of foreign intervention, Assad continues to feel confident that he can contain, if not beat, the opposition,” Landis said. “The United Nations is as divided over Syria as the Arab League is.”

Qatar has proposed sending Arab peacekeepers to Syria, but no other Arab country has shown any enthusiasm for this.

Syria, keen to avoid harsher foreign action, has made several moves to show it is complying with the initial Arab peace plan, which required an end to killings, a troop pullout from cities, release of detainees and a political dialogue.

The violence, however, has raged on unabated.

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven civilians were killed on Monday and 12 the previous day.

Activists said an army deserter fighting for the Free Syrian Army had been killed in al-Quseir near the border with Lebanon.

SANA said three security personnel had been killed and 14 wounded in al-Quseir and one had died while trying to defuse a bomb in the eastern region of Deir al-Zor.

It said Brigadier-General Hassan al-Ibrahim and another officer were killed on Sunday when insurgents shot at their car in Damascus province. He was the third brigadier killed in a week. It said 11 people were also killed in an attack in Homs.

(Additional reporting by Tamim, Elyan, Ayman Samir and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo, Dominic Evans and Erika Solomon in Beirut, Thomas Grove in Moscow and Mariam Karouny in Damascus; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

(This story was corrected to remove references to remarks by Russian lawmaker)

If you are looking to get involved in low cost penny stocks but are unsure, there are some risks you should know about before buying thousands of shares in your next get rich quick scheme.

What are Penny Stocks?

Penny stocks are any stock that sells for roughly a dollar per share. Although some people define that number as $3 or even $5. Penny stocks are often traded using pink sheets or over the counter bulletin boards and are often advertized as the next ‘big’ thing.

Why Buy Them?

Most People buy penny stocks hoping they have found the next Microsoft or Walmart. All businesses must be made and should therefore start out with a relatively low cost per share on the market. Usually people hope that if they buy enough of a cheap stock and give it time to mature, they will end up making a small fortune.

What Makes Them Risky?

There are four factors that make penny stocks extremely risky and these should be considered before buying any sort of penny or cent shares. First is the lack of liquidity. You may find it difficult to sell a stock when you want to. Second, there are no minimum standards for stock picks. This means exactly what it sounds like. The company is under no obligation to maintain a minimum standard to stay on the stock exchange.  Third, there is very little information. Often with penny stocks it is difficult to make an informed decision because of the lack of information available to the public. And finally, lack of history. Once again this prevents a buyer from making an informed decision. So now the big question is- how to avoid these traps.

Bright Side

When buying penny stocks, talk to your broker, or another trusted expert in the stock market. Using expertise will help you make the right decisions. And remember- the stock market is a risk. Whether you are buying penny stocks or share in Microsoft, or are just worried about inflation, it is a good idea to remember that you may have a loss.

(Reuters) – Iran’s morality police are cracking down on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values, shopkeepers said on Monday.

As the West imposes the toughest ever sanctions on Iran and tensions rise over its nuclear program, inside the country the Barbie ban is part of what the government calls a “soft war” against decadent cultural influences.

“About three weeks ago they (the morality police) came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies,” said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran.

Iran’s religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel Inc, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its “destructive cultural and social consequences.” Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops.

The new order, issued around three weeks ago, forced shopkeepers to hide the leggy, busty blonde behind other toys as a way of meeting popular demand for the dolls while avoiding being closed down by the police.

A range of officially approved dolls launched in 2002 to counter demand for Barbie have not proven successful, merchants told Reuters.

The dolls named Sara, a female, and Dara, a male arrived in shops wearing a variety of traditional dress, with Sara fully respecting the rule that all women in Iran must obey in public, of covering their hair and wearing loose-fitting clothes.

“My daughter prefers Barbies. She says Sara and Dara are ugly and fat,” said Farnaz, a 38-year-old mother, adding that she could not find Barbie cartoon DVDs as she was told they were also banned from public sale.

Pointing to a doll covered in black long veil, a 40-year-old Tehran toy shop manager said: “We still sell Barbies but secretly and put these in the window to make the police think we are just selling these kinds of dolls.”

Iran has fought a running battle to purge pervasive western culture from the country since its Islamic revolution overthrew a western-backed king in 1979, enforcing Islamic dress codes, banning Western music and foreign satellite television.

As another swipe at the West, Iranians will soon be able to buy toy versions of the U.S. spy drone that it captured in December, Iranian media reported.

Models of the bat-wing RQ-170 Sentinel – which Iran’s military displayed on TV after it was downed near the Afghan border – will be mass produced in a variety of colors, reports said.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

A reverse mortgage is a specific kind of home loan available to senior citizens who own their homes. These kinds of loans allow the homeowner to make some of his or her home equity into money. This money is paid to the homeowner through the payment plan of his or her choice. The borrower may use the money from the reverse mortgage at his or her own discretion.

Seniors must be at least 62 years of age to qualify for a reverse mortgage. Seniors must also own their homes in order to be eligible for this kind of home loan. Borrowers must go through FHA approved counseling, and present a certificate of this counseling upon application for a reverse mortgage.

A borrower may only take out a reverse mortgage on his or her principal residence. If the borrower should leave the residence for more than one year, the loan comes due. The loan also comes due if the borrower should die or fail to meet the requirements of the loan.

While a reverse mortgage might be the perfect option for some, it might not be the best bet for all. Reverse mortgages have high start up rates. These costs can be as much as $8,000 to set up, whereas a traditional mortgage usually costs $5,000 or less.

For this reason, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires counseling before taking out a reverse mortgage. This counseling ensures that borrowers understand exactly what a reverse mortgage entails. This counseling can be valuable if you are considering a reverse mortgage.

If you’ve never had a long term food storage supply before, it is something that is very similar to an emergency food supply.  It differs from an emergency food supply in the sense that it is something that will last long term, instead of just a few days or hours.  Emergency food is something that is really great to have on hand in case you’re ever involved in any kind of disaster, but knowing what kind of foodsupplies to buy is a bit harder.  Here are some things that can get you started with your long term foodstorage.

Be sure to look into freeze dried food.  Not only can these foods be packed with nutrients, but they will also have a very long shelf life.  It is very important to put foods into your food storage that have a long shelf life, because then you don’t have to switch out your food quite as often.  If you can, try and find emergency foods to put into your food storage that have a one year shelf life.  Some products can be hard to find, but there are a lot of foods, especially freeze dried foods, that will last for over one year.

Include recipes in your emergency essentials food survival supplies that you can make with a limited amount of ingredients and resources.  Also, be sure to have plenty of water.  Water is not only important for cooking, but your body needs an ample amount of water to survive.

Along with your long term food storage, it is also wise to make an emergency kit for each person.  You may find yourself travelling, in which case you can only take so much food storage with you.  But if you have emergency kits, you can get out quickly.

(Reuters) – A dog buried for four days by an avalanche that killed its Montana owner was hungry but otherwise unscathed when it was found outside a motel room the man had rented, authorities said.

In a tale of survival that avalanche experts described on Thursday as remarkable, “Ole,” a Welsh corgi, was able to free itself from feet-deep layers of snow that on Saturday barreled down a Wyoming mountainside and killed Dave Gaillard, 44, of Bozeman, Montana.

“We don’t have a lot of data on dogs and avalanches. What we do know is that humans very, very, very rarely survive such a long burial,” Mark Staples, avalanche specialist for the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center in Montana, said on Thursday.

Gaillard, his wife and Ole were backcountry skiing on Saturday afternoon in the mountains along the Montana-Wyoming border near Yellowstone National Park when they inadvertently triggered the slide that buried both man and dog.

Gaillard’s wife, Kerry, narrowly escaped the rapidly advancing wall of snow by grabbing hold of a tree, according to an accident report by the avalanche center. She later searched for hours for Gaillard before skiing on to alert authorities.

Gaillard, a wildlife conservationist and experienced alpine outdoorsman, was later found dead. Rescue crews reported no sign of the dog, which was presumed killed.

But Robert Weinstein, manager of the Alpine Motel in Cooke City, spotted the corgi on Wednesday lying before the door of the room where the Gaillards had stayed.

“You knew right away it was their dog but you doubted it. It was too incredible,” Weinstein told Reuters on Thursday, saying the dog was hungry but appeared unharmed.

“It’s a miracle,” he said.

Weinstein said he and the 50-plus other full-time residents of the historic mining town were puzzling over how a dog with diminutive legs dug out and marched four miles to the motel across rugged terrain blanketed with 60 inches of snow.

“It shows what they’re capable of if they’re driven to do it,” Weinstein said.

Ole was delivered to Gaillard’s family in Bozeman on Wednesday night as the family mourned a man cited as a beloved husband, father and colleague with Defenders of Wildlife.

Gaillard’s four-year tenure in the nonprofit’s Northern Rockies office in Bozeman centered on elusive animals of the high elevations, including imperiled carnivores like Canada lynx and wolverines.

“Dave’s passing is a great loss for the conservation community,” Defenders said in a statement.

Gaillard was one of two avalanche fatalities recorded on Saturday along the Montana-Wyoming border. Jody Ray Verhasselt, 46, of Sidney, Montana, was snowmobiling when he accidentally caused a slide near Cooke City that killed him.

Staples said a weekend snowstorm that brought high winds had significantly raised the risk of avalanches, prompting widespread warnings in the region where the slides happened.

Avalanches have claimed the lives of three people near southwest Montana so far this season, he said, compared to a single slide-caused death last season.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) – A YouTube video going viral on Thursday appears to show Casey Anthony speaking out about her life for the first time since she was found not guilty last summer of killing her daughter Caylee in Florida.

“It’s just a little surreal how much things have changed since July and how many things haven’t changed,” said Anthony, 25, in the four-minute recording that she described as the first installment of her video diary.

“But the good thing is that things are starting to look up and things are starting to change in a good way. I just hope they stay, things stay good and they only get better.”

Calls and email requests to several of Anthony’s lawyers to confirm her identity on the YouTube video were not immediately returned. NBC News and People magazine reported Thursday that unnamed sources had confirmed the woman was Anthony.

In the video, which Anthony said was recorded in October, she sports a short, blond hairstyle and black-framed glasses, a different look from her long, brunette hair at trial.

She is sitting in an office chair in a plain paneled room with Venetian blinds, giving no indication of her whereabouts, which have been kept secret by the court for her safety while she serves a one-year probation on check fraud charges.

Anthony never mentions her high-profile trial or her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, who prosecutors said was dead for a month before Anthony told anyone that the toddler was missing in 2008.

Anthony was acquitted by a jury in Orlando of a first-degree murder charge. She is appealing her convictions on four counts of lying to detectives about what happened to Caylee.

In the video, Anthony said she adopted a dog and bought herself a computer. After spending more than two years in jail awaiting her trial, she expresses joy in her new possessions.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to call something mine,” she said.

Anthony talks about the possibility of getting off probation early in time for her birthday in March and about her solitary life being enriched by the ability to speak on camera.

“This has just been a such blessing in so many ways that now I have someone to talk to when I’m by myself so I’m not bothering the poor dog that I’ve adopted, that I love,” she said.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Bohan)