Global Voices

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The world is talking, are you listening?

After Kunming's Anti-PX protest on May 4, 2013, local government has tried to stop further protests by sending text messages, “visiting” protest organizers, and censoring information online. East by Southeast has more details.

High Peaks Pure Earth has published Elliot Sperling's translation of prominent Tibetan writer, Woser's recent blogpost urging the world to save Lhasa from being turned into another tourist shopping mall.

My Chutney Garden is our guide through Trinidad's Royal Botanic Gardens.

In an era where youth…are seen as being dissolute it is truly heart warming to recognise the drive and talent of this young man.

Abeni salutes Kamara Jerome, a 20-year-old Vincentian entrepreneur, who won the Best Environmental Award in the Caribbean Innovation Challenge.

Local charities are lobbying the Bermudian Government to institute a bag tax to encourage people to shop with reusable bags and reduce waste – but Vexed Bermoothes insists that “it’s nice to think that you can tax people into living or acting better; it rarely works out that way.”

Seeing Red in China has translated current affair commentator, Jia Jia's Chinese dream. Nowadays, most Chinese middle class want to see their daughters and sons going to the U.S and become Americans.

A canal in the capital smells so rancid “it can kill a nation”. Guyana-Gyal smelled it and lived to tell the tale.

“Every day, across the globe, society suffers the environmental and social impacts of extractive industries. The history of the extractive industries is filled with negative stories…”

Amazon Watch has uploaded a video with a message from Peruvian Achuar indigenous leader Peas Peas Auyi. In the message, Peas Peas Auyi thanks Canadian allies for their solidarity in the Achuar's struggle against mining in the Peruvian Amazon.
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Raul Jorge, a Santomean citizen, launched a petition [fr] against deforestation in São Tomé and Príncipe, addressed to the current Prime Minister Gabriel Costa. The petition has already gathered more than 700 signatures. In October 2012, Global Voices reported about the situation; in response netizens published videos and a Facebook page in protest.

Appalled by the “legal immunity” that the United Nations appears to have in the country's cholera epidemic, Kevin Edmonds says that it's high time Caribbean leaders speak up for Haiti.

Doha News charts reactions from Qatar residents following the aftershocks of an earthquake which hit southern Iran today. The aftershocks were also felt in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where offices in high rise buildings were evacuated.

Renewable energy, permaculture and green building, along with local traditions and eco-tourism: welcome to Tribewanted – an online community launched in 2006 based on the idea of “global citizenship” and harnessing the energy of social media to meaningfully connect and practice positive behavior change. Thanks to crowdfunding strategies, the project plans to build 10 eco-villages around the world: after Vorovoro (Fiji Islands) and John Obey (Sierra Leone), a new village just launched in Monestevole [it], in Umbria, the heart of Italy. Connect with Tribewanted people via web, Facebook or Vimeo.

Following the news stories of dead pigs, Beijing Cream highlights a news story on the fact that dead human bodies are regularly found in China Rivers.

The government of Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, announced on March 28 that “around 100 bodies on average are dredged from the river in the city every year…”

On March 22, the Brazilian Government deployed [pt] 60 forces of the police and army to the lands of the Munduruku indigenous people, at the Tapajós river basin. Activists and bloggers believe that the mission is to ensure the realization of studies of impact of the construction of yet another hydroelectric plant. “Munduruku's carbon credits” have been bought by international private investors, A Pública reported [pt].

Barry van Wyk from DANWEI highlights a local report that shed lights on the floating dead pigs in Shanghai river by investigating into the problem of illegal pig farms in Hubei province.

Right now the war is on for the soul of our country and if we’re not, every last one of us, actively engaged and prepared to battle, then what is the point?

A must-read post by Tillah Willah about crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

A Chinese politician has blamed foreign countries’ consumption of China's exports for the environmental problems the country is facing. The Director of the Anhui Provincial Environmental Protection Authority accused foreigners of being hypocritical in criticising China and its environmental policies. chinadialogue has more details.

Martenitsas on a blossoming tree.
Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Μάρτης [el], мартеница [bg], мартинка [mk], mărțișor [ru]…however you call it, an ancient tradition [el] with multiple variations that takes place in the Balkans. So, weave your red-and-white threads for protection against the “evil eye” or to welcome Spring!

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The number of dead pigs found in the Huangpu River has reached over 12,000, yet there have been no protests in Shanghai. Seeing Red in China explores why Shanghai's citizens remain calm about their polluted river.

The former head of Google China and influential Micro-blogger Kai-Fu Lee posted[zh] to his 32 million fans on Sina Weibo an imaginary conversation between a Beijinger and a Shanghainese:

Beijinger: “We Beijingers are the most fortunate, we can open the window and have free cigarettes.” Shanghainese: “That's nothing, we can enjoy pork soup simply by turning on our faucets!!”

This sarcastic dialogue refers to the terrible air pollution in Beijing and the dead pigs found floating in Shanghai’s main water source, the Huangpu river. The dialogue was retweeted over 61, 790 times since it was posted on March 13, 2013.

The area near the main train station in Bratislava doesn't look too neat [sk]. Nor do other neighborhoods. Some people refuse to accept it passively, however. Next month, the Green Patrol (Zelená hliadka; sk) initiative, led by Matúš Čupka, will celebrate its second anniversary. Through targeted cleaning actions, Green Patrol aims at highlighting the problem of garbage in public areas and motivating citizens to pay more attention to the environment in which they live (see photos). Bratislava's Green Patrol community has already inspired people in other parts of Slovakia (e.g., here and here; sk).

As the pollution and water shortage problem in Beijing is getting more and more serious, people are discussing about various proposals to move the capital city. Brendan O'Kane joined the conversation with more background on the previous proposals and recommendations.

A new web game called Reality Drop rewards users for commenting or sharing links about articles related to climate change. It was unveiled in California by former U.S. vice president and environmental activist, Al Gore.

China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has rejected a Chinese lawyer's request for the details of a national survey on soil protection after deeming the information a state secret. The public and media are now pressing the Ministry to reverse its decision. China experts at Chinafile are holding a discussion: How Long Can China Keep Pollution Data a State Secret?

As Beijing continues to suffer from smog and sandstorms, a new initiative to choose a Chinese name for PM2.5 (sub-2.5 micrometer) pollutant particles has become a hot topic on Weibo. China Digital Times has translated some netizens’ comments.

Tencent News recently put together a photo story about the “colorful waters of China“, Offbeat China has translated the captions of the pictures.

Green Brunei is a non-profit group that “promotes environmental education and creates awareness on environmental conservation and clean technology through media, activities and projects.” It aims to be the biggest green community in Brunei. Its recent project was Nature's Avengers, which involved students and young volunteers.

Protest in defence of Cocó dunes, 16/02/2013, Fortaleza. Photo: Dunas do Cocó on Facebook.

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