Hollywood filmmakers and movie stars have joined forces with Humane Society International to produce a powerful stop-motion animated short film, #SaveRalph, to end cosmetic testing on animals around the world, including South Africa. Although banned in 40 countries, the practice is still legal in most of the world, and is even making a comeback in some regions, subjecting … [Read more...]
World “far short” of Paris climate deal goals, says UN
This Friday the UN’s climate body (UNFCCC) will release an assessment of the 48 national emission reduction plans submitted by the end of 2020. The plans account for 75 parties to the UN, as the EU27 is counted as one bloc, and cover an estimated 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. While most countries have incrementally increased ambition, the combined impact puts them … [Read more...]
Monoculture tree plantations are a false climate solution
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...]
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...]
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...]
Brave Elvis reaches America
Twenty-five-year-old Tanzanian conservationist Elvis Munis recently cycled from Mexico to the United States, raising funds to set up a scholarship for Tanzanian students to study conservation and resource management. His fundraising goal is 100 000 US dollars. The Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) will administer the scholarship. Elvis began his trip in Chile and … [Read more...]
Rio+20 an epic fail, say civil society groups
As Rio+20 came to a close earlier this week, 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 … [Read more...]
Greenpeace Paulo Adario honoured as UN’s Forest Hero
Greenpeace Brazil’s Amazon Campaign Director Paulo Adario was recently honoured by the United Nations as a 'Forest Hero' at a ceremony in New York in celebration of his work in defense of the Amazon Rainforest. Adario received the Forest Hero award from the UN on the 9th of February in recognition and celebration of the unsung heroes fighting destruction of the world’s … [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...]
