Global Voices

English

The world is talking, are you listening?

The construction of the Acquario Ceará, which has provoked many a discussion lately about transparency in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, will be subject to a democratic vote [pt] this coming October, 2012. Adísia Sá had already suggested [pt] that the general public had a say. Meanwhile, a movement known as Quem Dera ser um peixe (“I wish I were a fish”) [pt] launched an online petition [pt] against the project.

Janio, from Brazil, has written in his blog (“Made in Blog” [pt]) about the auctioning off of the smallest city in America, Buford (Wyoming), which has but one inhabitant. He draws a parallel “with a time when some activists from the developed world threatened to buy the Amazon, in order to prevent its destruction”.

In her Brazil Global blog, Hildete Vodopives named thirty three Brazilian businesses found on the Forbes Top Business list, stating: “Energy makes number one among them with Petrobras (oil, gas and ethanol). Another interesting highlight is the leading presence of banks: Itau (and Itausa, its holding), Bradesco and Banco do Brasil (state controlled)”.

“1 fan 1 tree” is the campaign launched by UniMondo, which focuses on reforestation in Kenya to balance out the C02 that we produce on a daily basis. The project is overseen by Tree is Life, a group of agroforestry youths who have already received awards for  their work. Spreading the word on Facebook, the number of trees that will be planted will depend on the number of fans added to the Unimondo.

“The Acqua for Life project aims to provide tens of millions of litres of clean water to the communities who most need it. The operation is due to start in Ghana and will support the Smart Water for Green Schools project. In this west African country, almost 40% of the rural population doesn’t have access to clean water.” From 1 March, the campaign (promoted by Giorgio Armani and by the NGO, Green Cross International) rose public awareness, thanks to a net of solidarity and support, particularly on the internet, through such websites as Facebook. The campaign website offers continuous updates on the developments, amounts and results gathered, as well as other information on the subject, amongst which include the anniversary of World Water Day on 22 March.