Stories about Environment from October, 2012
China: Ningbo Protests Point to Middle Class Discontent
Over the weekend, residents took to the streets in Ningbo, Zhejiang, to protest against the expansion of a paraxylene (PX) plant in their city. Sophie Beach from China Digital Times highlights the middle class discontent reflected in the protest.
Brazil: Wikileaks Reveals Officials’ Disdain Towards the Guarani Kaiowá
Brazilian investigative journalism website Pública reports [pt] on documents leaked by WikiLeaks on the plight of the request for land of the indigenous Guarani-Kaiowá. A cable from 2009 reveals disdain by local authorities from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul towards Guarani-Kaiowá's demands for the demarcation of the lands...
Caribbean: Hurricane Sandy's Wake
As Hurricane Sandy closes in on the east coast of the United States, bloggers in the Caribbean who have already experienced the storm share their experiences.
Haiti: Flooding in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
Haiti Libre reported that the the General Hospital in Les Cayes was flooded when Hurricane Sandy hit Haiti on october 23. Haiti Libre added that a woman drowned trying to cross a river in Camp-Perrin.
Jamaica, Cuba: Handling Hurricane Sandy
Tropical Storm Sandy, which had been on a direct course towards the Greater Antilles over the past few days, got upgraded to Category 1 hurricane status shortly before it made landfall in Jamaica. It then struck Cuba and is now headed for the Bahamas.
Madagascar: A Case Study for Small Scale Mining
The Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) in Protected Areas and critical ecosystems (“PACE”) programme (ASM-PACE) has released a case study on how Madagascar can “ensure continued socioeconomic development without undermining ecological resiliency”. The report focuses on successful and failed methods to cope with mineral rushes.
Philippines: Anti-Mining Activist Arrested over Facebook Post
The arrest of a 62-year old anti-mining activist in the Philippines for a 'libelous' Facebook post spawned fears of a clampdown on dissenters through the recently enacted anti-cybercrime legislation.
Sri Lanka: Bumper Harvest Of Fish
Malaka Rodrigo reports that many fish species have aggregated to the Sri Lankan East coast giving a bumper harvest to the fishermen. Experts say that this might have happened due to changing patterns of Oceanic Currents and climate change.
India: The Question Of Vertical Farming
Maddy writes about the recent developments of vertical farming considering the demand for more agricultural lands in India and elsewhere.
India: Conflict Over Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Continues
The Atomic Power Project in Koodankulam in the Tirunelveli district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has started operations last month but protests continued and arrests are still being made and protesters remain in jail. This week also marks a call for a fortnight of protests across India in solidarity with people’s struggle against the Nuclear Plant.
Central Asia's Water Stories
How is it possible that in Central Asia, a region with abundant water resources, safe drinking water is still a luxury for many people? On his blog, Bakhrom Mananov features several documentaries about water problems in the region and explains why this important resource has become a contentious issue in...
Saint Lucia: Bananas as a Renewable Energy Source?
A 2011 blogpost on the use of bananas in the creation of biofuel has inspired Dane Gibson to ask some questions about the renewable energy sector in the small Caribbean country of Saint Lucia.
Costa Rica Advances in Legislation for Wildlife Protection
Costa Rica is advancing in legislation to protect wildlife. On October 10, President Laura Chinchilla signed a decree that strengthens the controls on shark finning in Costa Rican waters. Furthermore, on October 2, the Legislative Assembly approved the first reading of a reform for the Wildlife Conservation Law, which proposes the elimination of hunting sports in the country.
Zambia: YouTube Documentary on Negative Impact of Copper Mining
A documentary titled “Zambia: Good Copper, Bad Copper” about Zambian copper mining and its negative impact on society has emerged on YouTube and has so far attracted over 6,000 hits. After watching the documentary, one YouTube user wrote, "Cry our beloved country. Why should we remain poor when a coveted product is plenty and mined at the expense of the locals' health."
São Tomé & Príncipe: Deforestation Threatens Biodiversity
São Tomé and Príncipe, like other islands in the Gulf of Guinea, is one of the countries on the West African coast that stands out when the issue at hand is biodiversity. However, large areas of its unique forests are disappearing to make way for monocultures for the production of biofuel.
Ukraine: “The Babushkas of Chernobyl” Documentary Project
On Kickstarter.com, only a few hours are left to pledge funding for The Babushkas of Chernobyl, a documentary project by Holly Morris and Anne Bogart, which tells stories of “an extraordinary group of women who live in Chernobyl’s post-nuclear disaster ‘Zone of Alienation’ or ‘Dead Zone'”: Time really is of...
France, World Bank to Help African Nations Negotiate Mining Contracts
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Franc Zone monetary cooperation agreements, the president of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, and the French Minister of Finance, Pierre Moscovici, have published a joint text advocating the establishment of an initiative to end "the excessive exploitation of Africa’s reserves". African bloggers have been giving their opinions on this development.
Brazil: Speaking Out About Hydroelectric Plants and the Amazon
Last week we published the first part of an interview with Sany Kalapalo, a young indigenous woman from Xingu and one of the most active voices in the mobilization against the construction of the Belo Monte power plant. In the second part of the interview, Sany focuses on hydroelectric power plants, indigenous people and Brazil's development.
Peru: Pollution in Lake Titicaca
Pollution in Lake Titicaca has reached alarming levels. In February of this year, the lake was declared as "Threatened Lake of the Year 2012" by the organizations Global Nature Fund (Germany) and Living Lake (USA). In this post we collect videos and information about the serious environmental damage affecting the Titicaca.
South Korea: Belated Response to Toxic Gas Leak Affecting Thousands
In the small South Korean city of Gumi, the authorities' slow response to a toxic gas leakage disaster has prompted angry reactions from citizens. Click through to see photos of the damage done to the local environment.
Bangladesh: Cleaning Up the Beach
More than 300 Volunteers took part in this year's International Coastal Cleanup event in Bangladesh – reports Fahim Alam Khan at Kewkradong Bangladesh blog.
