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.
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.
(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.
If it wasn’t so tragic, it would be laughable: the political brigands in US and Europe are fuming, spitting and rolling their eyes upwards towards the ceiling. They are pointing fingers in all directions, shouting incoherently “China!”, “Russia!”, “Venezuela and Cuba!”, “Iran!”; “You, You, YOU!”.
Journal NEO
China and Russia are quietly building a new world, which includes brand new infrastructure, factories and entire neighborhoods for the people. Hospitals are being constructed, and so are universities, parks, concert halls and public transportation networks.
Both countries are doing all this quickly and noiselessly, and with great determination. And despite sanctions and embargos, they never shout back at the salivating, angry mouths of the Western gurus of brainwashing.
1 June 2020 (World Environment Day Global)* — Biodiversity describes the variety of life on Earth, including the 8 million plant and animal species on the planet, the ecosystems that house them, and the genetic diversity among them.
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Biodiversity is a complex, interdependent web, in which each member plays an important role, drawing and contributing in ways that may not even be visible to the eye.
The abundant foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the weather that makes our planet habitable all come from nature.
Why Biodiversity Matters
Biodiversity is the foundation that supports all life on land and below water.
SÃO PAULO (SciDev.Net)* — Tropical forests can develop resistance to a warmer climate, but 71 per cent will come under threat in the next decade if global average temperatures reach two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a new study warns.
Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo. Copyright: Dr. Lindsay F. Banin
Forest-dependent communities and the global climate will be affected if tropical forests are further degraded, experts say.
1 June 2020 (UN Environment)* — For World Environment Day 2020[5 June 2020],everyone is invited to share why it’s time for nature. Nature is on the verge of a breakdown. One million animal and plant species are likely to disappear – soon. Be a part of the solution and join us in the global call #ForNature.
1 June 2020 (United Nations)* — The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the climate that makes our planet habitable all come from nature. For instance, each year, marine plants produce more than a half of our atmosphere’s oxygen, and a mature tree cleans our air, absorbing 22 kilos of carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen in exchange. Despite all the benefits that our nature give us, we still mistreat it. That is why we need to work on that.
Panda Base, Chengdu, China.The Base is famous for the protection and breeding of endangered wild animals that are unique to China, including giant pandas and red pandas. UNDP/Dylan Lowthian
