Yesterday was the 16th International Day of Struggle against Monoculture Tree Plantations. In 2004, rural communities in Brazil declared the day to commemorate the resistance against the expansion of monoculture tree plantations in Brazil. Through solidarity statements and actions around the world the day has evolved to become an International Day of Struggle. This year, a … [Read more...]
Meet the Brazilian tribe fighting to save the Amazon
Brazil's National Institute for Space Research has reported over 80,000 fires in the country as of Sunday night, with more than half of these in the Amazon region. This coupled with an 85% increase in deforestation this year compared to last, and a rate of deforestation at one and a half football pitches a minute, is threatening the future of the world’s largest tropical … [Read more...]
G7 leaders to hold emergency talks over Amazon wildfires crisis
Leaders of the world’s major democracies are due to hold emergency talks this weekend on the wildfires engulfing the Amazon, as international efforts to force Brazil to change its deforestation policies gathered momentum. As heads of state and government were due to arrive at the G7 in Biarritz on Saturday, France and Ireland threatened to block the Mercosur free-trade … [Read more...]
Amazon rainforest fires leave São Paulo in the dark
Forest fires have dramatically increased in the Brazilian Amazon this year in the wake of soaring deforestation rates, raising concerns among environmentalists about the fate of the planet’s largest tropical forest. The number of active fires amounted to 74,155 between January 1 and August 20, a spike of 85 percent compared to the same period in 2018, according to data from … [Read more...]
Japanese government stops testing pesticides on dogs
The Japanese government has announced that it will no longer conduct year-long poisoning tests for pesticides on dogs. The one-year program was developed in order to test the toxicity of agrochemicals. According to Humane Society International (HSI), the tests subjugate groups of beagles to daily doses of pesticides in order to gauge the toxicity to humans. Dogs involved are … [Read more...]
Brazil rejects oil company’s ‘Amazon Reef’ drilling bid
Brazil’s environmental regulator Ibama said on Tuesday it has rejected Total SA’s environmental study on drilling in the Foz do Amazonas basin, warning it needs more information or it will suspend the French oil firm’s license application. Ibama’s repeated refusals to accept Total’s environmental impact study has held up the company’s four-year quest to explore the offshore … [Read more...]
A global tour of seven recent droughts
Every inhabited continent, to varying degrees, faces extremely high water stress. That means that in certain areas more than 80 percent of the local water supply is withdrawn by businesses, farmers, residents and other consumers every year. Not all of that water is consumed - it may flow back into a river after it’s used and be available again downstream - but the demand … [Read more...]
Extreme weather hits hard worldwide
From unprecedented storms and flooding in the UK to severe drought in California and Brazil, 2014 has kicked off with some exceptional and weird weather events. Scientists are increasingly able to link the upward trends in extreme weather to climate change—and these latest examples are giving them even more evidence. In the UK, the country is experiencing its most … [Read more...]
Ecuador oil spill casts shadow over Amazon drilling plans
An oil spill from Ecuador's Trans-Andean pipeline last weekend has reached Amazonian tributaries and is wreaking havoc on local communities and ecosystems downstream. The 420,000-gallon spill came after a landslide wiped out a 100-meter stretch of the pipeline near the Reventador volcano on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The crude quickly made its way into rivers and … [Read more...]
HFC’s in your fridge is a dangerous greenhouse gas
Brazil, China and India have the dubious honor of becoming the first nations to directly contradict the pledges made at the Rio+20 summit last month. All 193 member states of the UN signed the declaration in Rio which included: “We recognize that the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances is resulting in a rapid increase in the use and release of high global-warming … [Read more...]
Rio+20 an epic fail, say civil society groups
As Rio+20 came to a close, civil society groups from across the globe were quick to condemn world leaders - particularly from rich countries - for failing to live up to their promises or offer new vision. "Just like in climate negotiations, the EU dresses up its own economic interests as ambitious new ideas when in reality they came without the political will to make the … [Read more...]
Goals & actions for a sustainable future
With less than one month to Rio+20, the next round of negotiations between governments to forge the outcome document for the major global conference on sustainable development took place late last month at the United Nations from 29 May to 2 June. This latest round was added to provide negotiators with an additional opportunity to move talks forward in an effort to finalize … [Read more...]
Chill out, but don’t forget the bottles
Relax. Unwind. Chill out. But don’t forget the bottles. Taking time out in our glorious South African summer is thirsty work. And the most convenient way to quench that thirst is with the water or soft drinks bottled and chilled in store fridges everywhere. But after cracking open the top and drinking the contents, please remember that the bottle your water or soft drink … [Read more...]
