1 June 2020 (UN Environment)* — How were you planning to spend summer this year? Seeing your favourite band under a moonlit sky? Dancing at your beloved bar? Going to a festival with friends? Unfortunately, COVID-19 has made all those impossible. Like with other industries, the live music sector has been hard hit, as concerts and festivals are postponed because of social distancing measures and artists forced to take their gigs online.
But it’s not all bad. Virtual concerts can be a more sustainable way of enjoying music as the entertainment industry consumes an enormous amount of energy and concert-goers produce tons of waste.
As shows leave the arena and enter the livestream, the music world is transforming the industry. In a post-pandemic world, this raises questions about what entertainment itself could be as we work to build back better.
As Covid-19 accelerates in Latin America, now the global epicentre of the pandemic, the fierce extractivism agenda doesn’t stop.Português,Español
Victor Moriyama/DPA/PA Images
1 June 2020 (openDemocracy)* — Latin America is facing the worst health crisis in its recent history, the consequences of which cannot yet be measured or imagined.
Beyond the human cost, the countries of the region are dealing with economic, migratory and political crises, particularly in Brazil, where the government of Jair Bolsonaro has been criticized internationally for its denialist behaviour in the face of the Covid-19, pandemic, which according to official figures of May 26th, has already caused more than 25,500 deaths.
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 2 2020 (IPS)* – The deadly coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of over 372,000 people worldwide, has reinforced the concept of “social distancing” which bars any gathering of over 10 or 20 people – whether at a social event, a wedding, a political rally or even a funeral.
Black Lives Matter protest in London May 31. Credit: Tara Carey / Equality Now
At least 180 cases were confirmed among Amazon’s Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, while seven deaths were reported.
Waorani family at home, Nemonpare, Pastaza, Ecuadorian Amazon. | Photo: Amazon Frontlines / Nico Kingman
1 June 2020 (teleSUR)* — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concerns Saturday about the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths among Amazon’s Indigenous people in Ecuador.
2 June 2020 (FAO)* — When the local dairy supply centers closed because of the COVID-19 emergency, Alvaro Ramon, a cattle farmer and milk supplier in the Amazon region of Ecuador, was left with many gallons of milk and a spirit of solidarity.
He decided to give away his surplus milk to help the families affected by the lockdown and the broken supply chain.
(UN News)* — Greater solidarity must be shown to Central and South American countries which have become “the intense zones” for COVID-19 transmission, a top official with the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday [1 June 2020].
Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO Executive Director, was speaking to journalists listening in to the UN agency’s regular virtual update on the pandemic. He reported that the Americas are home to five of the 10 countries with the highest number of COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours: Brazil, the United States, Peru, Chile and Mexico.
2 June 2020 (UN News)* — ‘Dogged pragmatism’ is needed to save the Ocean as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, according to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean.
Coral Reef Image Bank/Erik Lukas | Billions of people around the world depend on the Ocean for their main source of protein.
Peter Thomson, who hails from the Pacific Ocean island of Fiji, spoke to UN News ahead of World Oceans Day marked annually on 8 June, and explained why it’s crucial not to forget how important the Ocean is, to the future of the planet.
But it’s not all bad. Virtual concerts can be a more sustainable way of enjoying music as the entertainment industry consumes an enormous amount of energy and concert-goers produce tons of waste.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 