Even as the world prepares for the grand climate meet at Copenhagen this December, a large part of South India has gone under water. And while talks have already begun on coming up with an equitable deal and the very fear that there may be none, over 300 people have already lost their lives while millions are displaced and missing in this global warming related freak weather event, predicted well in advance by the IPCC in its Fourth Assessment Report in 2007.
Nike just announced that it is leaving its position on the US Chamber of Commerce board of directors because of the business organization’s opposition to climate action.
Kenyan and Ethiopian authorities have seized over 1,200 kilograms (2,600 pounds) of ivory – representing the killing of about 100 elephants.
Raids in the main airports of Kenya and Nairobi have netted two shipments of bloodstained tusks headed for Thailand. While the final destination is not known at the moment, these shipments may be part of the growing link between China and elephant poaching. Read the rest of this entry »
Wildlife conservationists are furious over a senior forest official’s apparent attempt to cover up a tiger poaching incident in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
Suspicion is growing around the investigation of a Goa tiger poaching incident earlier this year which allegedly involved an employee of the home guard department – and now it appears a senior forest official is trying to cover it up.
An explosive new documentary, Bananas!*, examines global food politics by following the crusade of lawyer Juan J. Dominguez, as he fights for the rights of thousands of banana plantation workers in Nicaragua who have been made sterile from exposure to the banned pesticide DBCP (Dibromo Chloropropane). This toxic chemical has been shown to cause cancer in animals, sterility in humans, and has been banned in most of the Americas since 1977. The film follows Dominguez as he fights the behemoth Dole Company for restitution for the abused Nicaraguan workers in the US courts.
The current world population is approximately 6.5 billion people and growing. By or before 2050, that number will grow by almost 50% to 9 billion. With the availability of birth control and better education rates for women being higher in developed (industrial or post-industrial) nations, most of this increase is projected to come from the developing world–those nations that are just now making significant progress away from exclusively agrarian societies, and towards full industrialization.
And despite the prevalence of fatal diseases, civil wars, and high infant mortality rates (note: the US has the highest infant mortality rate of any developed country), most of these developing countries continue to show population increases–especially as more effective medicines and health education (via government and private sector programs) become available.
In the largest debt-for-nature swap the U.S. government has organized so far under the U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act, the United States has signed an agreement with Indonesia to forgive nearly $30 million in debt.
The U.S. government has agreed to forgive $30 million in Indonesian debt in exchange for Indonesia’s agreement to protect Sumatran forests, according to Conservation International.
Indonesia is said to be the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, behind the United States and China, because of its deforestation rate. These forests are home to critically endangered Sumatran rhinos, tigers, orangutans, and other rare wildlife.
How it works (in a nutshell)
Instead of repaying the debt, Indonesia is to place the money in a trust, to be paid over eight years, which will be used to protect 13 forest areas on Sumatra. Grants from the trust will be issued for critical forest conservation and restoration work in Sumatra.
According to the most recent data estimates, roughly 70 million sharks are caught (and killed) each year, most of this is for food, some for sport, and sadly, some just out of fear.
But most of the commercially fished sharks are in fact killed for their fins only–their mutilated carcasses are simply tossed overboard. This is known as “finning”. The fins make their way into a dish known as shark fin soup–a prized delicacy in Japan but also in some Scandinavian countries and in Germany. And as its popularity increases, so do catches–and almost any shark will do (100 out of 400 species are presently exploited for food, according to the Shark Foundation). According to the IUCN (which tracks endangered species with its annual “red list“) and governmental and NGO conservation groups, one third or more of all shark species are endangered.
Think globally, act locally has been a mantra for the environmental movement for decades. At EcoLocalizer, you can find local news and information about citizens, organizations and businesses that are taking positive green steps forward in their neighborhoods and communities.
