Archive for ‘Mother Earth’

10/09/2020

Plants: You Owe them Your Life


Human Wrongs Watch

Protecting plants is vital for the future of our planet – that’s why 2020 is the International Year of Plant Health*

1_Plants

Plants don’t just look pretty – they are the source of 98 percent of the air we breathe and 80 percent of the food we eat. ©FAO/Giuseppe Bizzarri

(FAO)* — Plants aren’t just a nice addition to your windowsill: they are the source of 98 percent of the air we breathe and 80 percent of the food we eat. Sadly, we often forget how much we owe them. Neglecting plant health can have devastating results, not just for plants themselves, but also for humans and our environment.

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08/09/2020

Waste Not: The Heavy Toll of Our Trash

People tend to forget about the things they have thrown “away”– as though they cease to exist when we are finished using them. But material goods don’t just disappear, their environmental impact lingers.

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08/09/2020

Escalating Oil and Gas Exploration Game

Human Wrongs Watch

By Aleksandra Pećinar*

African oil in Bunyoro-Kitara

African oil in Bunyoro-Kitara
African oil in Bunyoro-Kitara | Image from Wall Street International.

7 September 2020 (Wall Street International)*The African continent is home to five of the top 30 oil-producing countries in the world, which means it accounted for more than 7.9 million barrels per day in 2019 (about 9.6% of world output).

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18/08/2020

From the Field: Protection among the Mangroves

17 August 2020 (UN News)* — The rehabilitation and replanting of mangrove forests in Cuba’s coastal regions is helping to protect the lives of people living on the Caribbean island, and reduce the effects of climate change, thanks to a UN Development Programme project.
UNDP Cuba | Much of the mangrove forests on Cuba’s coastline have deteriorated in recent decades.
Mangroves not only provide a habitat for fish and other sea life that local communities eat, but also reduce the effects of rising tides and extreme weather that will become more intense with climate change. 

In Cuba, the loss and damage over several decades to mangroves, which are typically found on 70 per cent of its coasts, has made coastal communities increasingly vulnerable.

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17/08/2020

Why African Youth Matter in Global Environmental Discourse

Each year, August 12  marks International Youth Day, with this year’s theme being Youth engagement for Global Action. Here, Sylvia Nagginda, the Nnabagereka (Queen) of Buganda, Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate change activist and Musonda Mumba, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Terrestrial Unit, reflect on some of the initiatives that are ensuring youth voices are heard in environmental decision-making.

Flickr UNEPFlickr / UNEP

(UN Environment)* — The year 2020 has seen the world grapple with an unprecedented global pandemic as the climate crisis looms on.

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16/08/2020

Reversal

Human Wrongs Watch

By Kathy Kelly – TRANSCEND Media Service*

With survival at stake, can weapon makers change course?

Today [6 August], the seventy-fifth anniversary of the atomic attack on Hiroshima, should be a day for quiet introspection. I recall a summer morning following the U.S. 2003 “Shock and Awe” invasion of Iraq when the segment of the Chicago River flowing past the headquarters of the world’s second largest defense contractor, Boeing, turned the rich, red color of blood. 

War-Is-Not-Healthy-for-Children-and-Other-Living-Things-253x300Another Mother for Peace, Lorraine Schneider, 1966

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16/08/2020

If Trump Delivers His Last Hurrah to an Empty United Nations, Will it Still Make a Sound?

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 14 2020 (IPS)* – There is no love lost between the United Nations and US President Donald Trump.

A-General-Assembly-session_A General Assembly session in a locked down United Nations.

When he addressed the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2018, Trump falsely told delegates that “in less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country”

The misleading statement triggered loud laughter from world leaders and delegates from 192 countries—perhaps with the sole exception of the US delegation which, not surprisingly, stayed mum.

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16/08/2020

Triple Whammy in the Sahel

Human Wrongs Watch

By Hilde F. Johnson, Norway’s Former Minister of International Development*

The region has been in an escalating crisis since 2013

Sahel is at a crossroads
Sahel is at a crossroads | Image from Wall Street International.

15 August 2020 (Wall Street International)* — Sahel is at a crossroads. The region has been in an escalating crisis since 2013. A triple whammy of terrorist attacks, COVID-19 and political tensions can now push the region over the brink. Mali is at the heart of it all. It may have dramatic consequences.

Years ago, I wandered in the sandy streets of Timbuktu in Mali, looking at the ancient buildings with awe. The famous town bordering the desert, associated with Bedouins and adventurers was once the centre not only of the Sahel, but of the communications between the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Africa.

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15/08/2020

‘Interception at Sea Is Not the Solution’ to Address Migrants Crossing the English Channel

United Kingdrom. Migrants Cross The English Channel From FranceRefugees and migrants arrive in port aboard a Border Force vessel after being intercepted while crossing the English Channel from France in small boats on August 11, 2020 in Dover, England.   © Leon Neal/Getty Images/AFP*

Although increasing numbers of people have been crossing the Channel by boat this summer, the numbers remain low and manageable. People forced by wars and persecution to flee their homes and people on the move frequently embark on risky journeys in many parts of the world.

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15/08/2020

Real Life Heroes: The Syrian Film-Maker Cleaning COVID Wards Or in the UK

© Hassan Akkad | Hassan Akkad, a BAFTA-winning filmmaker and health worker from Syria, now living in the United Kingdom.
The documentary of Mr. Akkad’s perilous escape from Syria, where he had been imprisoned and beaten, was awarded a British BAFTA. He appears frequently in the media, and a mobile phone video he made, advocating for health workers, has been credited with convincing the UK government to include hospital cleaners and porters in a COVID-19 bereavement scheme.