The Miraculous Web of Life Sustains ALL Species on Planet Earth – Healthy Ecosystems, Healthy Humans. WITHOUT NATURE WE DO NOT EXIST. PERIOD. To the degree Nature is sick, so are we. We humans must reintegrate into the greater web of life as a species within it and not separate from it, by returning to respect and restoring balance and harmony to that which supports all life on this planet ... Nature ... #GDP should be replaced by #EcoEconomics ... Putting front and center the concerns for how we are destroying and objectifying the natural world for profit #Conservation #Ecosystems #Wildlife #Forests #Environment #Biodiversity #Ecoeconomics #CSR #GDP #Anthropocene
allAfrica: African news and information for a global audience
AllAfrica, January 07, 2014
▶ OUR CONTEMPORARY, WESTERN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM IS DESTROYING THE EARTH AND OUR HEALTH
Over the course of the past century our food supply has shifted from local to global. Most food our grandparents ate was grown regionally, often by neighbourhood farmers.
Today our food comes from across the world. More importantly, it is often produced in highly destructive ways, at the lowest possible cost.
Consequently our food production system is responsible for accelerating the rate of destruction of the very ecosystems we are reliant upon in order to maintain our delicate global environmental equilibrium.
We cut and clear the lungs of the world, our tropical rainforests, to feed livestock or grow dishonestly named "biofuels". We bulldoze natural filtration systems and the nurseries for life like wetlands and mangrove swamps to produce luxury foods for obese populations... http://allafrica.com/stories/201401071158.html?viewall=1
TakePart, July 10, 2014 -▶ FORGET AG-GAG LAWS. THIS SUMMER'S LEGAL FIGHT IS OVER CORPORATE INDUSTRIAL AG'S RIGHT TO FARM: State constitutional amendments and other legal measures would protect industrial agriculture. http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/07/10/right-farm-laws
Motley Fool, March 05, 2014 -▶ GMOs AND ECOCIDE: RENOWNED EXPERT SAYS GMOs POSE MORE RISK THAN WE THINK. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have the ability to cause "an irreversible termination of life at some scale, which could be the planet." says Nassim Taleb, distinguished professor of risk engineering at New York University http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/03/05/renowned-expert-gmos-pose-more-risk-than-we-think.aspx
EcoWatch, February 22, 2014 -▶ STOP FEEDING THE BEAST AND START FEEDING THE PEOPLE. We have a system of predatory agriculture in which corporations pursue private gain relentlessly regardless of the social consequences. Social consequences can be defined as anything from polluting our water, land and air to impacting the health of our families to making the business of farming economically unsustainable. http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/22/stop-feeding-beast-start-feeding-people/
BIG FOOD:
Michael Pollan thinks Wall Street has way too much influence over what we eat http://sco.lt/5kQ8Lh
▶ DESPITE CLIMATE CHANGE, AFRICAN CAN FEED AFRICA. There is a continuing argument as to whether the industrial agricultural revolution will solve some or all of Africa's climate change problems. However, experts maintain that industrial agriculture currently accounts for one third of all greenhouse gas emissions--the very element most responsible for climate change. Additionally, they believe that the resources and infrastructure required to operate an industrial agricultural system in Africa are impractical for smallholder farmers... http://allafrica.com/stories/201402191455.html
Guardian Environment, March 06, 2014 -▶ FOR AMERICANS TO TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY IS A BIT OF A JOKE. Influence of local food effort is tiny but industrial agriculture is blasting ahead at a great rate, says author, farmer and activist. Wendell Berry argues against industrial agriculture and for small-scale, local-based farming http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/06/wendell-berry-americans-sustainability-joke
WATCH: Deutche Welles
LAND GRAB - SPECULATORS BUYING UP EASTERN GERMANY
Corporations and investors are buying into agriculture in Germany’s Eastern states on a big scale and pushing out long-established businesses. In some areas, investors now own almost a third of total arable land. Many farmers are worried they’ll be forced out of business entirely. http://www.dw.de/land-grab-are-speculators-buying-up-eastern-germany/av-17511574
▶ UNPRECEDENTED STUDY: THREATENING OUR OWN EXTINCTION WITH LOSS OF BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY http://sco.lt/64XtcP
Lowell Bergman investigates the hidden reality of rape on the job for immigrant women working in America’s fields, farms and factories
VIDEO INVESTIGATION Frontline, June 25, 2014 "RAPE IN THE FIELDS" For the women who pick and process the food we eat every day, getting sexually assaulted, and even raped, is sometimes part of the job. Frontline and Univision partner to tell the story of the hidden price many migrant women working in America's fields and packing plants pay to stay employed and provide for their families. This investigation is the result of a yearlong reporting effort by veteran correspondent Lowell Bergman, the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley and the Center for Investigative Reporting.... http://sco.lt/6RWQU5
▶ WALL STREET BANKS, CORPORATIONS BUYING UP AMERICAN/FOREIGN FARMLAND, THREATENING FUTURE OF U.S. AND WORLD AGRICULTURE http://sco.lt/4nG6Ur
▶ TOP TEN DISTURBING NEWS STORIES AND WHY CORPORATE FOOD IS THREATENING OUR FOOD SUPPLIES http://sco.lt/5QMaqv
-▶ THOUSANDS OF SRI LANKA FARMERS DYING: STUDY LINKS KIDNEY DISEASE TO AGROCHEMICALS, PESTICIDES http://sco.lt/7iOgin
RT News, February 24, 2014 ▶ FINALLY, SOME ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: GMO MONOCROPS MAY CAUSE MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL (AND HUMAN HEALTH) RISKS, USDA ADMITS http://rt.com/usa/usda-gmo-risk-report-537/
▶ TOP TEN DISTURBING NEWS STORIES AND WHY CORPORATE FOOD IS THREATENING OUR FOOD SUPPLIES http://sco.lt/5QMaqv
- ▶ AFRICA G8 - FOOD SECURITY FOR WHOM? CORPORATE PROFITS v SMALL HOLDER FARMERS INTEREST http://sco.lt/8JKbIn
-▶ INDIGENOUS DIETS CAN FIGHT MODERN ILLNESSES, SAY HEALTH EXPERTS Unprecedented levels of chronic non-communicable diseases are prompting calls to revert to the diets of our ancestors to regain lost nutrients. It is believed that such a shift would help to improve society's relationship with the Earth and restore human and environmental health. "The rise of the industrial model of agriculture has contributed greatly to people being disconnected from the food on their plates," says Sarah Somian, a France-based nutritionist. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/feb/03/indigenous-diets-fight-modern-illnesses
One World News, December 9, 2013 -▶ INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE VITAL FOR BIODIVERSITY, SAY EXPERTS With species disappearing up to 1,000 times faster than the natural extinction rate, biodiversity experts say knowledge co-production with indigenous peoples has growing importance. http://oneworld.org/2013/12/05/indigenous-knowledge-vital-for-biodiversity-say-experts/
AFRICA - SOLD:
OBAMA PUTS G8, BIG 6 BIOTECH CHEMICAL GMO GIANTS IN CHARGE OF "ENDING HUNGER" IN AFRICA http://sco.lt/7ENN8D
Common Dream, February 27, 2014 - ▶ ORGANIC AGRICULTURE: THE WAY FORWARD IN THE AGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. Cling to a food system that contributes to climate change and jeopardizes food security, or adopt a regenerative system that strengthens food security and helps mitigate the climate crisis—"The choice is ours to make," a new report states. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/02/27-6
-▶ FOREIGN CORPORATIONS DESTROYING ECOSYSTEMS, INDIGENOUS LIVELIHOODS, NULLIFYING LAND RIGHTS, CREATING DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY ON A GLOBAL SCALE http://sco.lt/4l725B
-▶ THE NEW CORPORATE COLONIALISM. DESTRUCTION OF PLANETARY LIFE, INDIGENOUS LAND AND LIVELIHOODS IN THE NAME OF "GROWTH" http://sco.lt/5nT3OT
SUSTAINABLE PEASANT'S AGRICULTURE - STATEMENT OF THE 2014 FARMERS FORUM
The world needs to "wake up before it is too late" and usher in a paradigm shift in agriculture that moves away from industrial agriculture in favor of “mosaics of sustainable regenerative production system" that favor small-scale farmers and local food production, a new report from a UN body states.
...was written with contributions from over 60 experts, and finds that "urgent and far-reaching action" is needed to address the "collective crisis" of "rural poverty, persistent hunger around the world, growing populations, and mounting environmental concerns."
However, the call from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) flies in the face of the goals laid out by trade deals now being negotiated including the secretive Trans Pacific Partnership....
▶ THE DANGEROUS NEW SECRETIVE GLOBAL TRADE PACTS WILL IMPACT US ALL. THREATENS SOVEREIGNTY AND PUBLIC OWNERSHIP http://sco.lt/74uPth
-▶ OBESITY PLUS: HUGE INCREASE IN DIABETES, STROKES, HEART ATTACKS ON A GLOBAL SCALE -- THE AMERICAN DIET AND CONTEMPORARY FOOD PRODUCTION http://sco.lt/80rmld
The Wildlife Trusts, February 27, 2014 - ▶ U.K. - FARMING WITH WILDLIFE AT THE HEART OF NEW FUNDING SCHEME: Farming with wildlife, not against it, is essential to our future food security. Farmers and land managers who deliver benefits for wildlife will receive funding in a new environmental land management scheme. http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/2014/02/27/farming-wildlife-heart-new-funding-scheme
Global Research, January 2, 2014 ▶ MONSANTO ROUNDUP: BIG AG PESTICIDES AND THE IMPACTS OF GLYPHOSATE HERBICIDE ON HUMAN HEALTH The foodstuffs of the Western diet, primarily grown by industrial agriculture, are increasingly being produced using a two-part system of engineered plant seeds and toxic chemical application. Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. http://www.globalresearch.ca/monsanto-roundup-the-impacts-of-glyphosate-herbicide-on-human-health-pathways-to-modern-diseases/5342520
ROUNDUP - THE ULTIMATE KILLING MACHINE
New Charges Against Monsanto's "Pesticide" Roundup
▶ MASSIVE PALM OIL PLANTATION WILL "CUT THE HEART OUT" OF CAMEROON'S RAINFOREST, DESTROYING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND WILDLIFE HABITAT http://sco.lt/8lmMBF
▶ THE CORPORATE PALM OIL HOLOCAUST: ORANGUTAN CLINGS TO LAST REMAINING A ENTIRE FOREST BULLDOZED http://sco.lt/8lT2Ar
NPR FreshAir, February 12, 2014 Interview With Elizabeth Kolbert, Author
▶ IN THE WORLD'S "SIXTH EXTINCTION": ARE HUMANS THE ASTEROID? Elizabeth Kolbert is the author of the new book The Sixth Extinction. It begins with a history of the "big five" extinctions of the past, and goes on to explain how human behavior is creating this sixth one — including our use of fossil fuels and the effects of climate change.
"We are effectively undoing the beauty and the variety and the richness of the world which has taken tens of millions of years to reach," Kolbert tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "... We're sort of unraveling that. ... We're doing, it's often said, a massive experiment on the planet and we really don't know what the end point is going to be." http://www.npr.org/2014/02/12/275885377/in-the-worlds-sixth-extinction-are-humans-the-asteroid
HOW FOREIGN "INVESTMENTS" ARE REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH, LAND AND WATER ACROSS THE GLOBEhttp://sco.lt/5YJpKb
VIDEO
-▶ FOREIGN CORPORATIONS DESTROYING ECOSYSTEMS, INDIGENOUS LIVELIHOODS, NULLIFYING LAND RIGHTS, CREATING DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY ON A GLOBAL SCALEhttp://sco.lt/4l725B
BillMoyers.com, November 21, 2014 ▶'FOOD CHAINS,' A NEW DOCUMENTARY BY 'FOOD, INC."Food Chains, a new hard-hitting documentary about the battle between Florida farmworkers and the giant supermarket and fast food conglomerates. Farmworkers are among the lowest paid workers in America, averaging about $12,000 per year in wages, and many of them, especially women, have been subjected to human rights abuses in the fields. In its review of the film, The New York Times calls Food Chains an “emphatic and empathetic documentary” that presents farm laborers as modern-day slaveshttp://billmoyers.com/2014/11/21/food-chains/
WATCH
▶ FILM: ***"HOME"
An Exquisite Dedication To the Stewards of Our Planet
THE HIDDEN CONNECTIONS - SUPERORGANISATIONS: LEARNING FROM NATURE'S NETWORKS
Fritjof Capra, in his book ‘The Hidden Connections’ applies aspects of complexity theory, particularly the analysis of networks, to global capitalism and the state of the world; and eloquently argues the case that social systems such as organisations and networks are not just like living systems – they are living systems. The concept and theory of living systems (technically known as autopoiesis) was introduced in 1972 by Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela.
Biomimicry Institute -▶ BIOMIMICRY GLOBAL DESIGN CHALLENGE The Biomimicry Institute’s Global Design Challenge invites students and independent professionals to address critical sustainability issues using nature as a guidehttp://challenge.biomimicry.org/en/
Stanford Social Innovation Review, June 17, 2014 -▶ LOOKING TO NATURE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION. If we foster new skills, tools, and techniques to explore and unearth the latent knowledge within and around us, then we can tap into a whole new source of ideas and inspiration for people solving social problems.http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/looking_to_nature_for_social_innovation
A TED VIDEO Louie Schwartzberg: TED.com "HIDDEN MIRACLES OF THE NATURAL WORLD" We live in a world of unseeable beauty, so subtle and delicate that it is imperceptible to the human eye. To bring this invisible world to light, filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg bends the boundaries of time and space with high-speed cameras, time lapses and microscopes. http://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_hidden_miracles_of_the_natural_world
▶ INVESTING LIKE AN ECOSYSTEM: NO TO BIODIVERSITY OFFSETTING: NATURE IS PRICELESShttp://sco.lt/7xzjKj
VIDEO Down To Earth, France 24, June 12, 2014 BIOMIMCRY: HACKING NATURE (10:50)
Architecture and Biologically-Inspired Engineering DOWN TO EARTH: Biomimicry is the science of mimicking life. Have millions of years of evolution churned out all the answers? Down to Earth explores how biologically-inspired engineering is changing the way we innovate. From aircraft manufacturing, architecture for urban living, to reproducing synthetic spider silk, research and development laboratories are turning to nature for solutions. Proponents say the best recipes for innovation already exist and we just need to look around us.http://www.france24.com/en/20140609-down-to-earth-biomimicry-nature-technology-architecture-biology-engineering-airbus/
NPR FreshAir, February 12, 2014 Interview With Elizabeth Kolbert, Author
▶ IN THE WORLD'S "SIXTH EXTINCTION": ARE HUMANS THE ASTEROID?Elizabeth Kolbert is the author of the new book The Sixth Extinction. It begins with a history of the "big five" extinctions of the past, and goes on to explain how human behavior is creating this sixth one — including our use of fossil fuels and the effects of climate change.
"We are effectively undoing the beauty and the variety and the richness of the world which has taken tens of millions of years to reach," Kolbert tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "... We're sort of unraveling that. ... We're doing, it's often said, a massive experiment on the planet and we really don't know what the end point is going to be."http://www.npr.org/2014/02/12/275885377/in-the-worlds-sixth-extinction-are-humans-the-asteroid
- ▶ DON'T FORGET WHAT IS KEEPING YOU ALIVE: DAVID ATTENBOROUGH ON OUR ALIENATION FROM NATUREhttp://sco.lt/8oZkvZ
WATCH
DR. VANDANA SHIVA: RIGHTS OF NATURE TRIBUNAL PRESIDENT presents closing statement at the first Ethics Tribunal in Quito January 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3Tl02_bcbw
Mongabay, May 08, 2014 - ▶ NEW HOLISTIC 'ONE HEALTH' CONNECTS HUMANS, ANIMALS AND ECOSYSTEMS. Recently, the dilemma of human–wildlife conflict has created great opportunity to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems for both people and ecosystems. The emerging holistic “One Health” movement explicitly recognizes the inextricable connections between human, animal, and ecosystem health, and is leading not only to new scientific research but also to projects that help people rise out of poverty, improve their health, reduce conflicts with wildlife, and preserve ecosystems, such as Bwindi’s tropical montane forest...http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0501-nicole-sri-ehp-one-health.html
Earth Blog, May 17, 2014 - ▶ ON OVERPOPULATION AND ECOSYSTEM COLLAPSE. It is not possible to go from 1 to 7 billion people in 135 years – while still growing exponentially – without profound impacts upon natural ecosystems that provide air, water, food and livelihoods. Earth is not designed for 7 billion people (and growing), some of them destroying ecosystems globally as they live in opulence, others more locally through their grinding poverty and need to survive. Overpopulated, inequitable, unjust human industrial growth ravages ecosystems; destroying all that is natural, indigenous and good, heralding a brief era of opulence for some and abject misery for many, before collapsing the biosphere and causing the end of being for all. http://www.ecointernet.org/2014/05/17/on-overpopulation-and-ecosystem-collapse/
-▶ FOREST PRODUCE CAN MITIGATE RISKS OF "FEAST OR FAMINE: A GLOBAL FOOD STRATEGY. Recent news headlines, a plethora of scientific publications and the creation of new academic think tanks all reflect growing concerns over how to achieve global food security -- a centerpiece of donor commitments and the focus of many research and..
Forests not only contribute to diverse and nutritious diets, particularly for the poorest members of society, but also sustain agriculture through the provision of critical ecosystem services such as pollination, soil stabilization and watershed protection.
The intensification of agriculture experienced through the green revolution of the 1940s to 1970s, which led to the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains, expansion of irrigation and greater use of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, resulted in temporary increase in yields, but it also came at the expense of the wider environment.http://www.humanitariannews.org/20130513/forest-produce-can-mitigate-risks-feast-or-famine-global-food-strategy
WATCH
300 YEAR OLD FOOD FOREST IN VIETNAM
Built on 2 acres of land and still functioning well in the same family 28 generations later http://sco.lt/8avJaL
World Resources Institute, July 24, 2014 -▶ COMMUNITY FORESTS: AN UNDERVALUED APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION. — Strengthening the rights of forest communities. Governments around the world legally recognize at least 513 million hectares of community forests, land held collectively by either rural populations or Indigenous Peoples.http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/07/community-forests-undervalued-approach-climate-change-mitigation
AgriCultures Network, December 2014 -▶ THE RICH DIVERSITY OF FOREST FOODSOur living planet is on the cusp of a critical transition. An era of relentless exploitation of non-renewable fossil resources must soon yield to an age of regenerating our living biological wealth and to a culture of nurture.
Guardian Environment, February 03, 2014 -▶ INDIGENOUS DIETS CAN FIGHT MODERN ILLNESSES, SAY HEALTH EXPERTSUnprecedented levels of chronic non-communicable diseases are prompting calls to revert to the diets of our ancestors to regain lost nutrients. It is believed that such a shift would help to improve society's relationship with the Earth and restore human and environmental health. "The rise of the industrial model of agriculture has contributed greatly to people being disconnected from the food on their plates," says Sarah Somian, a France-based nutritionist.http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/feb/03/indigenous-diets-fight-modern-illnesses
YES Magazine, July 30, 2014 -▶ INDIGENOUS SEED SAVERS GATHER IN THE ANDES, AGREE TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE WITH BIODIVERSITY.“Small-scale and indigenous farmers rarely get access to seeds in corporate gene banks. So seed exchange between farmers is important to enable them to [experiment with] new seed varieties” Working with scientists has been an emotional, challenging process, Mamani said. “Scientists would just take seeds from us, not recognizing our knowledge.”http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/indigenous-seed-savers
Care2 Healthy Living September 20, 2013 -▶ AN EXPERIMENT IN SHARING: SEATTLE, USA FOOD FOREST
Seattleites in the Beacon Hill neighborhood are participating in a social experiment. Can planting a shared food forest help bring the community together to grow food, rehabilitate the local ecosystem, improve public health and educate people about the environmental impact of food production?... http://www.care2.com/greenliving/an-experiment-in-sharing-seattle-food-forest.html
June 17, 2013 Guardian Global Development - John Vidal -▶ LA VIA CAMPESINA, WORLD'S LARGEST POLITICAL MOVEMENT, TO CHALLENGE MULTI-NATIONALS ON POVERTY AND INEQUALITY, LAND GRABS AND DEFORESTATION
The poorest members of society only can fine things from the forests which contribute to the members that are very poor. By the title of saying feast or feminine in some African countries women are treated as less then men like her that woman is getting food for the family she has. I think this goes under economic because the poorest people out there still have to figure out a way to live and don't complain.
TINKERING WITH THE BIOLOGICAL MAKEUP OF NATURAL WORLD IS NOT A "SPORT". THERE IS NO BASELINE FOR POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON OUR WILDLIFE, ENVIRONMENT AND OUR HEALTH. ONCE RELEASED INTO OUR ENVIRONMENT IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO RECALL. JUST BECAUSE WE CAN DOES NOT MEAN WE SHOULD. FREE LICENSE WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY COULD CREATE YET UNKNOWN CONSEQUENCES.
===========================
The Harvard group, in a paper published in the journal eLife, http://elifesciences.org/content/3/e03401 described a technology called a “gene drive.” It would allow scientists to make changes to the DNA of organisms that would spread rapidly in the wild.
Council for Responsible Genetics
▶ UNDERSTANDING THE ETHICAL, LEGAL, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
The purpose of the Genetic Bill of Rights is to introduce a global dialogue on the fundamental values that have been put at risk by new applications of genetics. A basic set of common principles is essential for creating a framework for understanding the ethical, legal, social and environmental implications of biotechnology.
New genetic technologies pose unprecedented challenges to human integrity, individual liberty and the health of the biosphere. Since the questions that these technologies raise affect all of us, there is a pressing need to ensure the public is brought into the process of regulation and governance....http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/Projects/CurrentProject.aspx?projectId=5
Biosafety Information Centre, November 24, 2014 -▶ ALTERING WILD POPULATIONS THROUGH "GENE DRIVES" - WEIGHING THE RISKS.Because gene drives offer the prospect of manipulating many generations of a wild species, the risks have to be very carefully weighed against the potential benefits. In a paper published in the journal eLife, scientists from Havard call for public debate on gene drives. Given the potential for gene drives to alter entire wild populations and therefore ecosystems, they affirm that the development of this technology must include robust safeguards and methods of control. http://www.biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=1117
Science, July 17, 2014 -▶REGULATING GENE DRIVES. Genes in sexually reproducing organisms normally have, on average, a 50% chance of being inherited, but some genes have a higher chance of being inherited. These genes can increase in relative frequency in a population even if they reduce the odds that each organism will reproduce. Aided by technological advances, scientists are investigating how populations might be altered by adding, disrupting, or editing genes or suppressed by propagating traits that reduce reproductive capacity (1, 2). Potential beneficial uses of such “gene drives” include reprogramming mosquito genomes to eliminate malaria, reversing the development of pesticide and herbicide resistance, and locally eradicating invasive species. However, drives may present environmental and security challenges as well as benefits.http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6197/626
ORIGINAL REPORT
eLife, July 17, 2014 CONCERNING RNA-GUIDED GENE DRIVES FOR THE ALTERATION OF WILD POPULATIONS. RNA-guided gene drives could potentially prevent the spread of disease, support agriculture by reversing pesticide and herbicide resistance in insects and weeds, and control damaging invasive species.However, the possibility of unwanted ecological effects and near-certainty of spread across political borders demand careful assessment of each potential application. We call for thoughtful, inclusive, and well-informed public discussions to explore the responsible use of this currently theoretical technology. http://elifesciences.org/content/3/e03401
SynBioWatch, October 20, 2014 -▶ 194 COUNTRIES URGE REGULATION OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY NOW In a unanimous decision of 194 countries, the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) today formally urged nation states to regulate synthetic biology (SynBio), a new extreme form of genetic engineering...http://www.synbiowatch.org/2014/10/regulate-synthetic-biology-now-194-countries/
Center for Food Safety, November 07, 2014 -▶ POORLY TESTED GENE SILENCING TECHNOLOGY TO QUIETLY ENTER FOOD SUPPLY WITH SIMPLOT POTATO -- UNLABELED
▶ RE-ENGINEERING ANIMALS IN LUST FOR PROFITS ... and into our environment, food and bodies - No Regulation, No Oversight, No Labeling... http://sco.lt/6n7JtB
Inter Press Service, October 09, 2014 -▶ SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY COULD OPEN A WHOLE NEW CAN OF WORMS.While biotechnology has been portrayed as a panacea for climate change and other societal ills, critics say these claims are largely unproven. “We are recommending a moratorium on the environmental release and the commercial use of synthetic biology, specifically because of the lack of international regulations and virtual lack of environmental and safety assessments anywhere in the world..."http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/10/synthetic-biology-could-open-a-whole-new-can-of-worms/
To the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: Urgent request to address and halt the spread of genetically organisms into the environment!http://www.stop-the-spread-of-transgenes.org/
The Atlantic, September 25, 2014 -▶ BEYOND GMOs: THE RISE OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY. Experts consulted for a recent report from the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Synthetic Biology Project say potential risks demanding more research range from the creation of “new or more vigorous pests and pathogens” to “causing irreparable loss or changes in species diversity or genetic diversity within species.”http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/09/beyond-gmos-the-rise-of-synthetic-biology/380770/?single_page=true
Global Research, February 04, 2015 -▶ NEW GENETICALLY MODIFIED TREE APPROVED BY US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) WITH NO ASSESSMENTS
Biosafety Information Centre, October 28, 2014 ▶ CBD PARTIES URGED TO REGULATE SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held its 12th Conference of the Parties (COP 12) from 6-17 October 2014, in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea. In a significant decision on synthetic biology, COP 12 urged Parties to take a precautionary approach, and to establish effective measures to regulate the environmental release of any organisms, components or products resulting from synthetic biology techniques...http://www.biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=1106
KQED Quest Sciece, October 02, 2014 -▶ GLOWING PLANTS? CITY STREETS LIT BY TREES??! UNREGULATED, NO OVERSIGHT. CROSS CONTAMINATION DANGERS Scientists are worried that the plants will spread with unknown effects on soil, pollinators, native plants, birds, insects and other wildlifehttp://science.kqed.org/quest/2014/10/02/glowing-plants-city-streets-lit-by-trees/
VIDEO REPORT PBS Newshour, September 23, 2014 HACKERS BREACH BIOLOGY THRESHOLD TO TRANSFORM AND CREATE NEW LIFE -- ALTERING LIFE WITH NO REGULATIONS, NO OVERSIGHT. What Impact Will they Have When Released Into Natural Environment? Can They Be Recalled If Cross-Contamination results? http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/hackers-breach-biology-transform-life-building-material/
-▶ OBAMA'S BIOECONOMY BLUEPRINT PROMOTES A GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED, SYNTHETIC BIOTECH FUTURE - Through THE NATIONAL BIOECONOMY BLUEPRINTthe Obama administration is seeking to support genetic engineering as a main component of “American innovation and economic growth”... .... http://occupycorporatism.com/obamas-bioeconomy-promotes-a-genetically-engineered-future/
New York Times, February 23, 2014 ▶ GENETICALLY MODIFIED BABIES: FDA CONSIDERING APPROVAL OF RADICAL BIOLOGICAL PROCEDURES-- THIS WEEK The F.D.A. calls them mitochondrial manipulation technologies. This is a dangerous step. These techniques would change every cell in the bodies of children born as a result of their use, and these alterations would be passed down to future generations. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/opinion/genetically-modified-babies.html
- ▶ GENE GIANTS SEEK 'PHILANTHROGOPOLY' - 6 MULTINATIONAL GENE GIANTS CONTROL THE DIRECTION OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD WORLDWIDEhttp://sco.lt/6h3lzt
▶ The Economic Times, November 25, 2013 NOW "MUTAGENESIS" - AS OPPOSITION TO GM CROPS GROWS, COMPANIES ARE TURNING TO "MUTANT" SEED BREEDING
Mutagenesis deletes and rearranges hundreds or thousands of genes randomly, spawning mutations that are less precise than GMOs. ... The process, which faces almost no regulation, creates opportunities for companies to grab a bigger share of the $34 billion global commercial seed market. But some scientists say mutant crops are more likely to pose health risks than genetically modified ones.
All breeding techniques can create plants with increased levels of naturally occurring toxins or with proteins known to cause allergic reactions....Reports from the National Academy of Sciences, representing the consensus of experts in the field, say the risk of creating unintended health effects is greater from mutagenesis than any other technique, including genetic modification. ...
- ▶ LARGE SCALE BIODIVERSITY IS VITAL TO MAINTAINING ECOSYSTEM AND HUMAN HEALTHhttp://sco.lt/5gy5Q1
-▶ UN-FAO: "GMOs IN THE PIPELINE. LOOKING TO THE NEXT FIVE YEARS in the crop, forestry, livestock, aquaculture and agro-industry sectors in developing countries" http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-forum/en/
BIOTECHNOLOGY IS STREAKING AHEAD WITH NO REGULATION, LITTLE OVERSIGHT, NO LABELING - WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH? CAN IT BE RECALLED IF MAYHEM BREAKS OUT OR THROUGH CROSS-CONTAMINATON?WHAT ARE THE BASE-LINES FOR ETHICAL AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY?
The Council for Responsible Genetics represents the public interest and fosters public debate about the social, ethical and environmental implications of genetic technologies.
Founded in 1983, CRG is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The objective of CRG is to protect public access to biotechnology and patents. These are topics we have studied and as we can see in spite of being regulated by laws there are some organizations who are focused on ethics related to biotechnology access, patient data protection...
▶ AUSTRALIAN HONEY BEES UNABLE TO MAKE HONEY : THEIR HIVES ARE MELTING AS TEMPERATURES SOAR.
Australia's hottest spring on record has spawn droughts and intense heatwaves; it has been disastrous for honeybees as their hives are melting whilst temperatures soar.
Plants have responded to the stifling heatwaves this summer (2014) across the Australian continent by substantially lowering nectar production. Bees require nectar to make honey -- their only food source.
Aussie honeybees are also contending with another crisis this summer as climate disruption has their colonies operating in an emergency mode. Bees store their honey in honeycomb cells made of beeswax, which is now melting because daytime temperatures regularly exceed 95 degrees F.
It would be prudent for Australian's to scrutinize all processed foods labels, foreign honey will be used when the following wording appears: "Made in Australia from local honey and imported ingredients." There's a lot more at stake here than just processed foods.
Program Description Orange-and-black wings fill the sky as NOVA charts one of nature's most remarkable phenomena: the epic migration of monarch butterflies across North America. To capture a butterfly's point of view, NOVA’s filmmakers used a helicopter, ultralight, and hot-air balloon for aerial views along the transcontinental route. This wondrous annual migration, ... http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/journey-butterflies.html
WATCH
April 10, 2013 NOVA - Four Part Series - ▶ AUSTRALIA: FIRST 4 BILLION YEARS:
Program Description Of all the continents on Earth, none preserves a more spectacular story of our planet's origins than Australia. NOVA's four-part "Australia's First 4 Billion Years" takes viewers on a rollicking adventure from the birth of the Earth to the emergence of the world we know today. With help from host and scientist Richard Smith, we meet titanic dinosaurs and giant kangaroos, sea monsters and prehistoric crustaceans, disappearing mountains and deadly asteroids. Epic in scope, intimate in nature, this is the untold story of the land "down under," the one island continent that has got it all. Join NOVA on the ultimate Outback road trip, an exploration of the history of the planet as seen through the window of the Australian continent... http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/australia-first-years.html
A documentary that will give you an honest idea of how much contamination we are generating and how quickly we have to halt it in order to withstand the future.
Today we're at the threshold that can't be reversed if we don't stop consuming the way we do as a human race. Pollution is becoming a devastatingly huge problem that will endanger humanity for generations to come. One such pollutant is our use of single-use plastic. Civilization is plainly on an irrational course and the situation currently is close to hopeless. If we don't fix what we're doing to the oceans we'll ruin the building blocks of life.
Everything we share, which is the ocean, belongs not to corporations or any individual. It belongs to the world as a whole and that's getting trashed. When we start losing those resources we'll lose our very quality of life. Our business system, environment system and our social system is not going to survive... it cannot survive. All the other species are suffering because of us. We'll also lose the ability our future generations to enjoy the quality of life that we were fortunate enough to have.
Environment Health Perspectives, February 2015 Issue ▶ REPORT: NEW LINK IN THE FOOD CHAIN? MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION AND SEAFOOD SAFETYhttp://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/123-a34/
New Scientist, February 12, 2015 ▶ OCEANS SWALLOWED 13 MILLION TONS OF PLASTIC IN 2010.Vast floating islands of plastic are just a drop in the ocean compared with what's lurking deeper down. Between 5 and 13 million tonnes of plastic debris entered the marine environment in 2010 - and most of it is under water. What's more, without improvements in the way we manage waste, it could be 10 times as much each year by 2025... http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26958-oceans-swallowed-13-million-tonnes-of-plastic-in-2010.html
NRDC SWITCHBOARD, May 15, 2014 ▶ LOS ANGELES KIDS SEND A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD: "CLEAN UP OUR OCEAN" THE URGENT PROBLEM OF PLASTIC & MARINE LITTER.Plastic marine pollution is a daunting crisis for the marine environment, with devastating effects....an estimated 20 million tons of plastic litter enters the ocean each year. Plastic forms a large portion of our waste stream and typically does not biodegrade in the marine environment. And it has a wide range of adverse environmental and economic impacts, from wildlife deaths and degraded coral reefs to billions of dollars in cleanup costs, damage to vessels, and lost tourism and fisheries revenues.http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/tkiekow/los_angeles_kids_send_a_messag.html
▶ PLASTIC WILL POLLUTE OUR OCEANS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARSAustralia's plastic garbage has made its way into every ocean in the world. New research shows that it doesn't matter where in the world plastic garbage enters the ocean, it can end up in any of the five ocean basins...http://phys.org/news/2013-01-plastics-pollute-oceans-hundreds-years.html
Nation of Change, May 14, 2014 ▶ GARBAGE LAND USA: 590,000,000,000 POUNDS OF WASTE GENERATED ANNUALLYLess than 20% of that is reused or recycled. The elimination of food waste alone could feed an additional 1 billion people a year. With all this detritus piling up, it is time to take a look at what we can do differently, and waste not, the resources, which are quickly dwindling on this planet...http://www.nationofchange.org/garbage-land-usa-590000000000-pounds-waste-generated-annually-1400079448
▶ DOLPHINS DYING IN DROVES AND SCIENTISTS CAN'T STOP IT: POST BP DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL: UNHEALTHY OCEANS AND MOREhttp://sco.lt/7OtO9h
PRI Living On Earth, June 10, 2014 ▶ DEEP SEABED MINING IS NEW, LIGHTLY REGULATED AND RISK DEVASTATING DEEP, UNKNOWN OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS. - AN EXPERIMENT THAT COULD GO VERY WRONG. “We all know that mining on land has all sorts of environmental impacts. It’s very difficult to contain mine tailings, even on land. In the ocean, which, of course, is a fluid environment with all these currents, we can expect widespread pollution.” ...We can expect other ill effects, too — everything from smothering of deep sea creatures with sediment to light pollution, which in the deep sea will have an impact on creatures that have evolved to live in dark environments. Greenpeace is calling for protection measures to be put in place now, before the “experiment” begins.http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-06-10/deep-seabed-mining-new-and-lightly-regulated-ecological-experiment
Green Left Weekly, July 21, 2014 ▶ NEW DEEP MINING TECHNIQUE A THREAT IN THE PACIFIC: LUST FOR DEEP SEA RICHES COULD SPARK PACIFIC MINING BOOMhttps://www.greenleft.org.au/node/56901
BBC News, February 17, 2014 ▶ DEEP SEA MINING MUST RESPONSIBLY RESPECT ECOSYSTEMS.Scientists call for a "new stewardship" of the deep sea. Scientists have made an impassioned plea for humanity to pause and think before making a headlong rush to exploit the deep sea. The researchers said the oceans' lowest reaches had untold riches that could benefit mankind enormously, but not if the harvesting were done destructivelyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25638838
Rewire, February 26, 2014 ▶ FRACK DRILLING WASTE BEING DUMPED INTO OCEAN OFF CALIFORNIA COAST -- WITH LEGAL PERMIT !!Fracking wastewater contains more than just the chemicals used by oil and gas companies to break up the rocks, including toxic substances like methanol, benzene, naphthalene, and trimethylbenzene. It can also include nasties that it picks up from those deep rock formations, including lead and arsenic. And while safely disposing of such substances isn't easy in the best of situations, ocean disposal poses special risks for those who play in, live near, or eat fish from the sea.http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/petroleum/fracking-waste-is-being-dumped-into-the-ocean-off-californias-coast.html
▶ MINING, FOREIGN LAND GRAB DESTROYING ENVIRONMENT, ECOSYSTEMS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIEShttp://sco.lt/5M5eLp
These Mega Corporations Operate With Little or No Regulation or Oversight and Are Not Held To Account For the Destruction, They answer to no government or society for their ecocidal activities left behind in their wake. They throw big money around to the corrupt, innocent and the ignorant until it is too late, the contract has been signed, This is Corporate Ecocide At It's Worst and Must Be Reigned For The Sake of Life in both our oceans, forests and wetlands.
▶ WEST PAPUA - MASSIVE EXPLOITATION BY MINING CORPORATIONS/ Some of the world's largest transnational mining corporations have been active in exploiting West Papua's oil and minerals, including Union Oil, Amoco, Agip, Conoco, Phillips, Esso, Texaco, Mobil, Shell, Petromer Trend Exploration, Atlantic Richfield, Sun Oil and Freeport (USA); Oppenheimer (South Africa); Total (France); Ingold (Canada); Marathon Oil, Kepala Burung (UK); Dominion Mining, Aneka Tambang, BHP, Cudgen RZ, and CRA (Australia). The international dispute over West Papua during the years after 1949 can be understood in light of the natural resources in the territory, which were far better known to the transnationals than revealed publicly....http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~cline/papua/mines.htm
A possible hacking incident in India has some concerned that wildlife poachers could use the Internet as another resource for criminal activity... Hackers have broken into the websites of banks, news outlets, social media, and the government, but could key information on the whereabouts of endangered species be targeted as well?
▶APPROXIMATELY 229,729 ELEPHANTS KILLED AND TRAFFICKED IN FEWER THAN SIX YEARS - INVESTIGATION REVEALS A HIGHLY ORGANISED IVORY TRADE ACROSS ASIA AND AFRICA -
-▶ CLOUD FORESTS FADING IN THE MIST, THEIR TREASURES LITTLE KNOWN. Cloud-covered evergreen mountain forests are nature's "water towers," providing essential water to wildlife and ecosystems, and harboring a vast range of species.
They are nature's "water towers," providing billions of gallons of fresh, clean, filtered water. They are home to thousands of indigenous peoples, and storehouses of biodiversity, at least 80 percent of which has not yet been catalogued.
Yet in as little as ten years' time, biologists warn, the world's cloud forests—evergreen mountain forests that are almost permanently shrouded in mist and clouds—may be all but gone.
They are being cleared for cattle grazing and coca plantations. Logged to provide fuel for heating and cooking. Paved over and developed to make way for transportation and telecommunications networks. They are being damaged and dried out by air pollutants and global warming http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0813_cloudforest.html
Mongabay, June 10, 2014 ▶ MOUNTAIN FORESTS STORE 40 PERCENT MORE CARBON THAN EXPECTED."Tropical mountain forests are under heavy human pressure and are experiencing rapid rates of deforestation and degradation. It is well known that tropical mountain forests are biodiversity hotspots as well as playing an important role in downstream water resources. Our study demonstrates that tropical mountain forests are also globally important stores of carbon, providing more justification to protect these forests,"http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0610-hance-mountain-forest-carbon.html
Huffington Post Hawaii, November 22, 2013 -▶ FOR SALE: ANCIENT HAWAIIAN KOA CLOUD FOREST COULD BE PRESERVED...OR HARVESTED...For only -- wait for it -- $22 million, you can purchase 3,127 acres of beautiful koa cloud forest on Hawaii's Big Island. The cloud forest, which is characterized by persistent low-level clouds, covers almost five square miles on the slopes of Mauna Kea and contains more than 5,000 trees. (For you tree lovers, this includes koa, ohia, mamane, hapuu, and eucylyptus trees.) The property also boasts several private waterfalls -- just to sweeten the deal...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/27/hawaii-koa-forest-for-sal_n_4347003.html?utm_hp_ref=hawaii&ir=Hawaii
August 16, 2013 Intag Cloud Forest Reserve -▶ ECUADORIAN WESTERN FORESTS THREATENED. Industrial copper mining project threatens to destroy thousands of hectares of primary forests harboring dozens of threatened mammal and bird specieshttp://www.intagcloudforest.com/biodiversity.htm
Summit Voice, June 06, 2014 - ▶ STUDY SHOWS FLURRY OF THREATS TO RAINFORESTS. The 35-year study focused on how diverse communities of trees and vines respond when the Amazonian rainforest is fragmented by cattle ranching. And the new threat of climate change could be the knockout punch. “Humans continue to dump billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year, and it’s evidently affecting even the remotest forests on Earth,”http://summitcountyvoice.com/2014/06/06/study-shows-flurry-of-threats-to-rainforests/
▶ LARGE-SCALE BIODIVERSITY IS VITAL TO MAINTAIN HUMAN AND ECOSYSTEM HEALTHhttp://sco.lt/8amPlR
--- WATCH --
"ALMA" A JOURNEY INTO THE SOUL OF HUMANITY
A powerful statement about deforestation and the global industrial economyhttp://sco.lt/60MIAz
▶ THE PALM OIL HOLOCAUST - AND WE STAND BY AND ALLOW CORPORATE ECOCIDE?http://sco.lt/7KU641
Mongabay, October 14, 2014 ▶ INDIA PLANS HUGE PALM OIL EXPANSION, PUTS FORESTS AT RISK Palm oil, a ubiquitous ingredient in supermarket products ranging from shampoos and cosmetics to processed foods, comes at a huge environmental cost. Between 1990 and 2010, palm oil monocultures replaced over 3.5 million hectares of forest in Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. This large scale deforestation has resulted in a massive loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitat, best illustrated perhaps by the annihilation of orangutan populations. Moreover, conversion of large peatlands to oil palm plantations releases millions of metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
West Papua Daily, May 02, 2014 ▶ 226 THOUSAND HECTARES OF VIRGIN FOREST IN PAPUA WILL BE “CLEARED” FOR CORPORATE PALM OILhttp://sco.lt/4nrVYn
Environmental News Network, September 11, 2014 ▶ ILLEGAL LAND CLEARING FOR COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE RESPONSIBLE FOR HALF OF TROPICAL DEFORESTATION. A comprehensive new analysis says that nearly half (49%) of all recent tropical deforestation is the result of illegal clearing for commercial agriculture. The study also finds that the majority of this illegal destruction was driven by overseas demand for agricultural commodities including palm oil, beef, soy, and wood products. In addition to devastating impacts on forest-dependent people and biodiversity, the illegal conversion of tropical forests for commercial agriculture is estimated to produce 1.47 gigatonnes of carbon each year—equivalent to 25% of the EU's annual fossil fuel-based emissions.http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/47822
▶ INDONESIA: SUMATRAN LARGE MAMMALS ON BRINK OF EXTINCTIONContact between humans and wild animals is increasing disastrously in Sumatra as deforestation, mining and palm oil concessions expand, fragmenting forest habitats and driving animals out of protected areas. The exact number of tigers left in the wild is uncertain but latest estimates range from under 300 to possibly 500 in 27 locations.
Mongabay, July 04, 2014 ▶ RSPO PALM OIL PLANTATIONS PUBLICLY MAPPED FOR THE FIRST TIME. The maps cover an area that accounted for 12 percent of global palm oil production in 2012... and cover more than 1.6 million hectares of concessions in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and Brazil. According to WRI, the areas account for some 6 million tons of palm oil production annually. http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0604-rspo-plantation-map-gfw.html
The Guardian, December 13, 2013 ▶ INTERACTIVE: THE WORLD'S REMAINING GREAT FORESTS - The Earth was once covered in ancient forests, 80% of which have been either destroyed or degraded, according to conservationists. Half of that has been in the last 30 yearshttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/interactive/2007/dec/13/forests
July 22, 2012 Mongabay
▶ GLOBAL CONSEQUENCES OF DEFORESTATION
Rainforests around the world still continue to fall. Does it really make a difference? Why should anyone care if some plants, animals, mushrooms, and microorganisms perish? Rainforests are often hot and humid, difficult to reach, insect-ridden, and have elusive wildlife.
Actually the concern should not be about losing a few plants and animals; mankind stands to lose much more. By destroying the tropical forests, we risk our own quality of life, gamble with the stability of climate and local weather, threaten the existence of other species, and undermine the valuable services provided by biological diversity... http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0901.htm
▶ ***** DAMS, ECOCIDE AND WATER RIGHTS: Indigenous Communities, EcoSystems, Forests Devastated - Big Money Drives Extinctionhttp://sco.lt/79BRmT
August 14, 2013 Mongabay PAPUA NEW GUINEA
▶PALM OIL LICENSES TO FOREIGN CORPORATIONS BEING USED TO PERPETUATE FRAUD, LAND GRABBING PROVIDE COVER FOR LOGGING IN NEW GUINEA Foreign companies stripped Papua New Guinea of community-owned forests...Developers are seeking palm oil concessions as a means to circumvent restrictions on industrial logging in Papua New Guinea...foreign companies stripped Papua New Guinea of community-owned forests...Eleven percent of Papua New Guinea's land area has been handed over to foreign corporations, displacing indigenous owners, stripping them of their land rights http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0814-palm-oil-png-sabls.html
May 24, 2013 100 Reporters ▶ TWIN FACES IN PALM OIL LAND DEAL. An affiliate of a New York-based venture capital firm has been forced to halt a major palm oil project in Cameroon, amidst charges of misleading investors and violating government agreements in the multi-million dollar land deal...http://100r.org/2013/05/twin-faces-in-land-deal/
farmlandgrab.org, August 18, 2014 ▶ INDONESIAN LAWMAKERS LOOKING TO RESTRICT FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF PLANTATIONS TO NO MORE THAN 30 PERCENT FROM CURRENT MAXIMUM OF 95%http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/23841
June 17, 2013 Guardian Global Development - John Vidal ▶ LA VIA CAMPESINA, WORLD'S LARGEST POLITICAL MOVEMENT, TO CHALLENGE MULTI-NATIONALS ON POVERTY AND INEQUALITY, LAND GRABS AND DEFORESTATION
April 10, 2013 Environmental Graffiti ▶THE PENAN PEACE PARK: A BORNEAN TRIBE'S LAST STAND AGAINST CORPORATE GREED LUST FOR PALM OIL The lush, pristine rainforest of Upper Baram, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, is currently the focus of a battle. On the one hand are the Penan tribe, who have lived here for centuries; on the other are those seeking to log the area and develop the jungle into profitable oil palm plantations. As in any war, there have been casualties, although so far they have been one-sided, with the Penan people suffering death, injury and incarceration for their protests. Now, at least, there’s some hope for a peaceful solution: the Penan Peace Park, an initiative taken on by the Penan people and their supporters. Read more at http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-penan-peace-park-project?image=2#1Cf4QFTSyqbXXYRX.99
August 30, 2013 Living on Earth: ▶ PAPER TREES IN PRECIOUS GROUND: Two huge plantation industries are sweeping Indonesia: palm trees used to make oil, and acacia trees used to make paper. But most of the land left for plantations in the wake of deforestation is in peat forests -- land with the highest carbon content in the world. Plantations on peat have helped Indonesia become the world's third biggest greenhouse gas emitter...http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=13-P13-00035&segmentID=2
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ECOLOGICAL ARMAGEDDON
EXTINCTION CRISIS
WE HAVE DISAPPEARED HALF OF THE WORLD'S WILDLIFE IN 40 YEARS: http://sco.lt/8fK5eT
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▶ THE NEW CORPORATE COLONIALISM. DESTRUCTION OF LIFE IN THE NAME OF "GROWTH"http://sco.lt/8pbb7p
▶ LAND GRABS: HOW FOREIGN "INVESTMENTS" ARE REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH, LAND AND WATER ACROSS THE GLOBEhttp://sco.lt/96H2yv
▶ Eight Years On, Why is palm oil still a leading driver of deforestation?
Eight Years Later Palm Oil is Still a Haunting Reality…As palm oil continues to be a key ingredient in chocolate and candy, this Halloween has us thinking back on our Kit Kat campaign from 2010.
In 2010, Greenpeace launched a video that had us all thinking twice before taking a bite out of Halloween candy. With gory detail, the Kit Kat campaign drove home the death and destruction of rainforests for the expanded production of palm oil. Watch the horror:https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/eight-years-later-palm-oil-is-still-a-haunting-reality/
DO YOUR COOKIES AND SHAMPOO CONTAIN "DEFORESTATION"?
▶ CROP-BASED BIOFUELS IS UNSUSTAINABLE. GROWING PALM OIL COULD SPEED UP CLIMATE CHANGE , WHILE DEVASTATING BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL ECOSYSTEMShttp://planetark.org/wen/67793
May 24, 2013 100 Reporters -▶ TWIN FACES IN PALM OIL LAND DEAL.An affiliate of a New York-based venture capital firm has been forced to halt a major palm oil project in Cameroon, amidst charges of misleading investors and violating government agreements in the multi-million dollar land deal...http://100r.org/2013/05/twin-faces-in-land-deal/
UNCOVERS TOP LEVEL CORRUPTION IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA OVER INDIGENOUS FORESTS AND DAMShttp://sco.lt/6fd6C9
▶ THE CORPORATE PALM OIL HOLOCAUST: ORANGUTAN CLINGS TO LAST REMAINING TREE IN IT'S FORESThttp://sco.lt/6JcGOn
▶ MAJOR PALM OIL COMPANIES ACCUSED OF ECOCIDE, BREAKING ETHICAL PROMISES IN ASIA AND AFRICAhttp://sco.lt/7DsLLd
-▶ 226 THOUSAND HECTARES OF VIRGIN FOREST IN PAPUA WILL BE CLEARED FOR CORPORATE PALM OIL, DESTROYING ALL LIFE WITHIN THEM, DEVASTATING LOCAL COMMUNITIEShttp://sco.lt/8OGE2T
▶ PALM OIL BONANZA FOR CORPORATIONS WHILE DESTROYING FORESTS AND ALL LIFE WITHIN THEMhttp://sco.lt/5VN27l
-▶ MASSIVE PALM OIL PLANTATION WILL "CUT THE HEART OUT" OF CAMEROON'S RAINFOREST, DESTROY INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND WILDLIFE HABITAT http://sco.lt/8lmMBF
▶ ECOCIDE: A PLAGUE OF DEFORESTATION SWEEPS ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA WITH TERRIBLE LOSS OF WILDLIFE AND BIODIVERSITYhttp://sco.lt/8aPgp7
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, ECOSYSTEMS, FORESTS DEVASTATED: BIG MONEY DRIVES EXTINCTIONhttp://sco.lt/6zxQWX
-▶ ERADICATING ECOCIDE: WHY BUSINESS LEADERS MUST STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGEhttp://sco.lt/56vkOH
- ▶ NO TO BIODIVERSITY OFFSETTING: CONSERVING OUR BIODIVERSITY IS BECOMING DEPENDENT ON IT DESTRUCTIONhttp://sco.lt/6ZjXGr
-- WATCH--
Documentary -CALL OF LIFE: FACING THE MASS EXTINCTION (2010)
Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction is the first feature documentary to investigate the growing threat to Earth’s life support systems from this unprecedented loss of biodiversity. Through interviews with leading scientists, psychologists, anthropologists, philosophers, and indigenous and religious leaders, the film explores the causes, the scope, and the potential effects of the mass extinction, but also looks beyond the immediate causes of the crisis to consider how our cultural and economic systems, along with deep-seated psychological and behavioral patterns, have allowed this situation to develop, continue to reinforce it, and even determine our response to it. Call of Life tells the story of a crisis not only in nature, but also in human nature, a crisis more threatening than anything human beings have ever faced before. http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/call_of_life_facing_the_mass_extinction_2010/
VIDEO:
ETHOPIA - LOWER OMO LOCAL TRIBES UNDER THREAT FROM FOREIGN LAND GRABShttp://sco.lt/4ixwsT
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WATCH
AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY (47:46)
"REMEMBERING "GREEN" - AN ORANGUTAN'S JOURNEY
Winner of Best Short Documentary - Don't Miss This
▶ BBC NATURE -A celebration of the life and legacy of Echo, the world's most famous elephant, who was born in 1945 and died in 2009, and who Natural World followed for the...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c10IkvflaTo
Wildlife Extra News
▶APPROXIMATELY 229,729 ELEPHANTS BRUTALLY SLAUGHTERED AND TRAFFICKED IN FEWER THAN SIX YEARS - INVESTIGATION REVEALS A HIGHLY ORGANISED IVORY TRADE ACROSS ASIA AND AFRICA - A new report uncovers the fact that Chinese ivory traffickers are present in virtually every African state, and operate at nearly every point along the supply chain. http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/organised-ivory-trade.htm
AN INCREDIBLE WATCH "ECHO" AN ELEPHANT TO REMEMBER" (53:10) PBS Nature: Intro & Full Episode Echo, Africa’s most famous elephant, was the subject of many films and the matriarch of perhaps the most studied wild elephant herd in the world. In May of 2009, she died of natural causes. This film is a look back at this remarkable animal through extraordinary footage and interviews with the researchers that cared for and studied Echo and her family http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/echo-an-elephant-to-remember/introduction/5755/
To be able to sell and make money from water, you first have to own it. The Swiss film "Bottled Life" documents the booming business with bottled water, by focusing on the global leader in this lucrative multi-billion dollar market – namely, the Nestlé corporation in Switzerland. Nestlé currently controls more than 70% of the world's bottled water brandshttp://www.bottledlifefilm.com/index.php/the-story.html AND http://en.bottledlife.tv/
The Desert Sun, July 14, 2014
- ▶ NESTLE, ARROWHEAD TAPPING WATER FREE FROM CALIFORNIA'S MORONGO RESERVATION. The Companies are exporting a seriously limited resource with no oversighthttp://ow.ly/zd4DX
- ▶ NESTLE POLAND SPRING BOTTLED WATER. The people who live in Fryeburg, Maine can only access their local spring water by buying it in a plastic bottle. That’s because this small town’s spring water is currently controlled by Nestlé, and Nestlé wants to lock up its control over the town’s water with a massive 45-year contract -- children in the town will be grandparents before they are able to challenge it.http://act.storyofstuff.org/page/s/nestle-poland-spring-bottled-water
-▶ YOU ARE PAYING 300 TIMES MORE FOR BOTTLED WATER THAN TAP WATERhttp://ow.ly/mX2oR
WATCH "TAPPED"
Documentary 1:15:09 Examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil. The documentary is well structured and presents an overwhelming amount of evidence which will change the way anyone thinks about bottled and municipal water. http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/tapped/
EurActive, December 06, 2012 - ▶ PLANT-BASED PLASTIC BOTTLE NO PANACEA. Food and drinks companies are engaged in a global race for leadership on plant-based renewable plastics. SPECIAL REPORT
WATCH "FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER" 93 min Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis. Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/flow-for-love-of-water/
July 3, 2013 EcoWatch
-▶ THE PRIVATIZING OF PUBLIC WATER
Throughout the meeting, a misleading notion was continually raised that using private capital to fund water systems somehow constitutes an innovative approach to financing. This couldn’t be further from the truth....http://ecowatch.com/2013/will-public-water-be-privatized/
WATER PRIVATIZATION ESCALATING AT AN ALARMING RATE
in order to sell and make money off from water, you have to own water. since the population is growing water is becoming scarce. the nestle corporation owns more than 70% of bottled water brand.
- ▶ URBAN NATURE: HOW TO FOSTER BIODIVERSITY IN WORLD'S CITIES. As the world becomes more urbanized, researchers and city managers from Baltimore to Britain are recognizing the importance of providing urban habitat that can support biodiversity. It just may be the start of an urban wildlife movement...http://www.globalpossibilities.org/urban-nature-how-to-foster-biodiversity-in-worlds-cities/
Mother Nature Network, March 25, 2015 - ▶ EXPERIENCING NATURE MAKES US MORE LIKELY TO SAVE IT.A new study took a look at this relationship and found that we might have a kinder, gentler society if we all just spent a little more time outside.
Harvard Gazette, December 24, 2014 - ▶NATURE AND WELL BEING : A KEY URBAN PLANNING INTERSECTION Is there a dose of nature that can help make city dwellers’ lives healthier and more productive? Research suggests that the answer is yes, but also that the issue is more complex than that simple formulation. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/12/a-key-urban-intersection/
GreenBiz, January 13, 2015 - ▶ CAN CITIES LEAD THE WAY IN MAXIMIZING NATURE'S VALUE?
NASA Earth Observatory - ▶ BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY. Like it or not, throughout this century, the United States has undergone a steady process of urbanization as a larger and larger percentage of the population has moved towards the cities. Unlike rural communities, urban sprawl completely transforms the landscape and the soil and alters the surrounding ecosystem and the climate.http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Lights/
- ▶ RESEARCH CONFIRMS FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT GREEN SPACE DOES IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.
The new study compared the mental well-being of hundreds of people in the UK who moved from a grey urban setting to a greener area to those who moved in the opposite direction.The results revealed that those surrounded by nature felt happier and more content for many years.
The WILD Foundation also recently launched the WILD Cities Project, which it describes as “a new concept of urbanism where wild nature is highly valued and its conservation is a conscious part of human life in cities worldwide” [3]. Goals of the WILD Cities Project include identifying successful urban initiatives aligned with the principles of Nature Needs Half, formulating criteria for defining a WILD city, and developing strategies to communicate to the public the need for nature in our cities.http://wild10.org/en/program/the-global-foru/working-coalitions/wild-cities
- ▶ LIFE FINDS A WAY: THE SURPRISING BIODIVERSITY OF CITIES.
Public perception of wildlife tends to be tied to natural habitats such as forests, ocean and other wild settings. However, cities can provide habitat for many animals and plants. In the largest global assessment of urban biodiversity to date, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society, researchers examined the biodiversity of urban areas and found that cities are home to a surprising number of species. The study underlines the conservation importance of preserving and creating green spaces when it comes to urban planning. Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0411-levikov-cities-biodiversity.html#fBOegyyVwsoUc3Vf.99
- ▶ THE GREEN LEAP: CAN WE CONSTRUCT URBAN COMMUNITIES THAT CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY?
Why are green developments different? The goals are conservation while providing a unique living experience. Biodiversity, however, often is lower on the totem pole of priorities.
For the first time in our history, more people live in urban vs. rural areas and humans continue to move into cities. Cities have huge impacts on our natural resources. Urban dwellers consume vast amounts of energy, produce waste, and alter landscapes to the point where native plant and animal populations decline precipitously. As cities grow, people have pondered -- can we develop land without destroying our natural heritage?.. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hostetler/the-green-leap-can-we-con_b_1314981.html
WATCH VIDEO REPORT Newshour, March 05, 2014 The Associated Press:
-▶ THE BIGGEST EVER FINES FOR A COAL COMPANY that violated its water pollution permits: Alpha Natural Resources, which is based in Virginia, and 66 of its subsidiaries.: 6,000 violations, violations over 300 state-issued permits, hundreds of streams, tributaries and rivers, 79 active coal mines, 25 coal processing plants, where they put the coal and wash it before it’s shipped, over five Appalachian states. So it’s a pretty massive coverage area for the settlement.
Grist, February 13, 2014 ▶ ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER RIVER RUINED BY A BIG COAL-INDUSTRY SPILL. (not to be confused with the spill of toxic coal-cleaning chemicals that poisoned a West Virginia river last month and left 300,000 people without drinking water.) http://grist.org/news/another-day-another-big-coal-industry-spill-ruins-a-river/
VIDEO Earth Justice 180 SECONDS OF COAL ASH PROBLEMS
Every year power plants generate 140 million tons of coal ash, enough to fill a train stretching from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Coal ash (a byproduct) contains chemicals like arsenic, mercury and lead. It can cause cancer and developmental problems. It poisons fish and wildlife in rivers and lakes.
In some places the ash is dumped into uncovered pits. In others it sits behind leaky dams. It poisons the air. It destroys the water. And the corporate polluters responsible, they claim that cleaning up this toxic mess would hurt their profits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg_zttjzpL0
Earth Justice ▶ HOW COAL ASH CONTAMINATES OUR LIVES
▶ ELDERLY, YOUNG TO LEAVE AREA NEAR AUSTRALIAN MINE FIRE BURNING FOR 3 WEEKS. Children, the elderly and pregnant women have been urged to leave a small Australian town because of health concerns from a fire that has been burning at a nearby coal mine for almost three weeks...
Particulate pollution, which can damage the lungs and respiratory system, has been measured at more than 10 times the recommended daily threshold in the area around the fire near South Morwell, about 150 km (95 miles) east of the Victoria state capital of Melbourne. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-australia-minefire-idUSBREA1R0AR20140228
Reuters, February 28, 2014 ▶ AUSTRALIA: ELDERLY, YOUNG TO LEAVE AREA NEAR AUSTRALIAN MINE FIRE BURNING FOR 3 WEEKS. Children, the elderly and pregnant women have been urged to leave a small Australian town because of health concerns from a fire that has been burning at a nearby coal mine for almost three weeks. Particulate pollution, which can damage the lungs and respiratory system, has been measured at more than 10 times the recommended daily threshold in the area around the fire near South Morwell, about 150 km (95 miles) east of the Victoria state capital of Melbourne. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-australia-minefire-idUSBREA1R0AR20140228
Climate Progress, December 20, 2013 -▶ MASSIVE KOALA-DISPLACING WITH COAL MINE IN AUSTRALIA'S GALILEE BASIN - The AU$6.4 billion mine will produce up to 40 million tonnes of a coal a year, which according to The Guardian, “would release an estimated 85.6m tonnes of CO2 once burned, slightly more than the annual emissions of Romania.” http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/20/3095491/australias-galilee-basin-palmer-coal/#
Grist, February 04, 2014 ▶ STEP RIGHT UP, BIG COAL, FOR AMERICA'S BIG COAL GIVEAWAY. It’s bad enough that the federal government leases out public lands to private companies to be torn up and mined for coal. Even worse is that the feds are ripping off taxpayers in the process, leasing the coal tracts at way-below-market prices, through a totally inept program, according to a new federal study. http://grist.org/news/step-right-up-big-coal-for-americas-big-coal-giveaway/
Summit Voice, June 12, 2013 ▶ ARE THE FEDS (ON YOUR BEHALF) GETTING SHORT-CHANGED ON WYOMING COAL LEASES? A report by the Department of Interior’s Inspector General found that U.S. taxpayers are likely losing tens of millions of dollars on bids from mining corporations as a result of a federal leasing program that undervalues the price of coal...http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/06/12/are-feds-getting-short-changed-on-wyoming-coal-leases/
▶ THE GREAT AMERICAN CORPORATE GIVEAWAY: COAL, OIL, FRACKING AWAY OUR PUBLIC LANDS: DESTROYING OUR BIODIVERSITY AND FORESTS http://sco.lt/7hcWET
February 25, 2012 The Economist ▶ OLD KING COAL: HOW LONG WILL IT REIGN? Asian growth will remain fuelled by coal, which is worrying for the planet http://www.economist.com/node/21548237
▶ OBAMA'S ARCTIC STRATEGY SETS OFF A CLIMATE TIME BOMB: THE SUICIDAL RACE FOR ARCTIC'S NATURAL RESOURCES: http://sco.lt/8lGlgf
May 22, 2013 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT -
▶MOZAMBIQUE: Many people "resettled" to make way for Vale and Rio Tinto's international coal mining operations in Tete province, Mozambique indigenous farmers no longer have access to arable land for farming, or other ways to make a living. ... http://www.hrw.org/node/115802
New Scientist, February 13, 2014 ▶ FIRE IN THE HOLE: AFTER FRACKING COMES COAL - IF YOU THOUGHT SHALE GAS WAS A NIGHTMARE, YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET - Dantean inferno of underground coal gasification (UCG) A subterranean world of previously ignored reserves is about to be opened up. These are the vast coal deposits that have proved unreachable by conventional mining, along with gas deposits around them. To the horror of anyone concerned about climate change, modern miners want to set fire to these deep coal seams and capture the gases this creates for industry and power generation. Some say this will provide energy security for generations to come. Others warn that it is a whole new way to fry the planet. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129560.400-fire-in-the-hole-after-fracking-comes-coal.html?cmpid=RSS|NSNS|2012-GLOBAL|environment#.Uv1jffZkJK4
▶ PESTICIDE/CHEMICAL REGULATION OVERHAUL NEEDED TO PROTECT WILDLIFE, ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH http://sco.lt/813dw1
▶ "WE HAVE FIVE MINUTES BEFORE MIDNIGHT" - IPCC REPORT: UN CHIEF SCIENTIST URGES ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE http://sco.lt/7C0zyb
▶ TERRACIDE: THE BIGGEST CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE IN HISTORY: DESTROYING THE PLANET FOR RECORD PROFITS http://sco.lt/7gxiG9
▶ WORLD CAN'T WAIT UNTIL 2020 ON CLIMATE CHANGE, SAYS NEW HIGHLY-DISTURBING INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY REPORT http://sco.lt/82bCM5
GreenBiz, October 14, 2014 - ▶ WHAT GOOGLE KNOWS ABOUT GREENER OFFICES. A growing number of organizations from Google to the federal government are incorporating homages to nature into their office blueprints, not just to earn more green building certification points but to reduce employee stress, improve cognitive function and encourage creativity.
- ▶ RESEARCH CONFIRMS FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT GREEN SPACE DOES IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.
The new study compared the mental well-being of hundreds of people in the UK who moved from a grey urban setting to a greener area to those who moved in the opposite direction.The results revealed that those surrounded by nature felt happier and more content for many years.
Guardian, February 12, 2014 - ▶ TEN REASONS WHY WE NEED MORE CONTACT WITH NATURE. It improves your memory, helps you recuperate and even makes your sense of smell more acute. So turn off your computer and get outside
Fast Company: - ▶ WHY YOU NEED TO UNPLUG EVERY 90 MINUTES. While we often imagine ourselves as machines--which move linearly--we're actually organisms, which move cyclically. And to do our most creative, productive work, we need to step to that rhythm.... http://www.fastcompany.com/3013188/unplug/why-you-need-to-unplug-every-90-minutes
- ▶ RESEARCH CONFIRMS FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT GREEN SPACE DOES IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.
The new study compared the mental well-being of hundreds of people in the UK who moved from a grey urban setting to a greener area to those who moved in the opposite direction.The results revealed that those surrounded by nature felt happier and more content for many years.
Naturally evolved ecosystems are marvels that make Earth habitable, yet sadly they and all life are threatened
Dr. Glen Barry, Earth Blog Essay, October 20, 2013
▶ ECOLOGY IS THE MEANING OF LIFE
Ultimately, all humanity and all life have is the biosphere, the thin layer of life just above and below Earth’s surface, composed of ancient, miraculously evolved natural ecosystems. The natural Earth is a marvel – a complex coupling of species within ecosystems, whereby life begets life.
Humankind’s demand for resources and growth overwhelms nature, our steady diminishment of ecosystems abruptly changes climate, and this is collapsing the biosphere. Global ecosystems – water, air, food, forests, oceans, wetlands, and more – are collapsing and dying under the burden of human industrial and population growth....
Ecology is far more than the study of life and its environment. The word is used here as a synonym for ecosystems – the vibrant connections that emerge between species across scales, which cumulatively make life on Earth possible... http://www.ecoearth.info/blog/2013/10/essay_ecology_is_the_meaning_o.asp
EcoEarth.Info is a portal and search engine that promotes environmental sustainability public policy; including climate, forests, water and oceans.
IUCN RED LIST OF ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEMS Everyone knows that coral reefs are in danger, and that the rainforests are disappearing – or do we? What do we actually know in scientific terms? How much of these ecosystems are left, and how likely are they to disappear? IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature is developing a new tool to provide answers to these questions – the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems.http://www.iucnredlistofecosystems.org/about-us/red-list-ecosystems/
REWILD THE CHILD -
If Children Lose Contact With Nature They Won't Fight For It http://sco.lt/6NaJBR
MORE THAN HALF OF U.S. RIVERS ARE TOO POLLUTED TO SUPPORT LIFE SHOCKING REPORT REVEALS
▶WEB OF LIFE UNRAVELING. Canadian Wildlife biologist Neil Dawe says he wouldn't be surprised if the generation after him witnesses the extinction of humanity. All around him, even in a place as beautiful as the Little Qualicum River estuary...http://www.oceansidest
WATCH BBC documentary (58:55) THE MAGICAL FOREST Secrets of Our Living Planet showcases the incredible ecosystems that make life on Earth possible. Using beautifully shot scenes in the wild, Chris Packham reveals the hidden wonder of the creatures that we share the planet with, and the intricate, clever and bizarre connections between the species, without which life just could not survive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7ssc8JLPfE
Ensia, August 12, 2014 -▶ ECOSYSTEMS ARE NOT MACHINES. If we want to save the world, we need to treat nature more as an organism and less as disposable and replaceable technology.http://ensia.com/voices/ecosystems-are-not-machines/
▶ TREE HEALTH LINKED WITH HUMAN HEALTH - OUR INTERCONNECTED LIVEShttp://sco.lt/85WZ2v
▶ HOW BIODIVERSITY COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE : HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS: http://sco.lt/7rCeWH
▶ WETLANDS VITAL IN SUPPORTING HUMAN LIFE AND OUR SURVIVAL ECOSYSTEMShttp://sco.lt/6Nfjcn
ECOLOGICAL ARMAGEDDON
EXTINCTION CRISIS
IN 40 YEARS WE HAVE DISAPPEARED HALF OF THE WORLD'S WILD ANIMALS: DEFORESTATION, OCEANS, AGRICULTURE http://sco.lt/8fK5eT
BBC News, June 13, 2014 -▶ STUDY: DEFORESTATION LEAVING FISH UNDERSIZED AND UNDERFED.Deforestation is reducing the amount of leaf litter falling into rivers and lakes, resulting in less food being available to fish, a study suggests. "While plankton raised on algal carbon is more nutritious, organic carbon from trees washed into lakes is a hugely important food source for freshwater fish, bolstering their diet to ensure good size and strength," he added. "Where you have more dissolved forest matter you have more bacteria, more bacteria equals more zooplankton.http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27834440
National Geographic May 08, 2014 -▶ AFRICA'S SILENT SPRING IS UPON US. POISONING OUR WILDLIFE WITH PESTICIDES - AN EPIDEMICThe use of highly toxic pesticides to poison wildlife can be best described as silent, cheap, easy, and effective. It is so effective that a number of species of African wildlife are in decline due to poisoning. These include lions, hyenas, eagles, and especially vultures.http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/08/africas-silent-spring-is-upon-us/
Azcentral.com, January 22, 2014 -▶ WHO NEEDS A REFUGE? LITTLE OWLS. Around Phoenix and other flat Western expanses where the 10-inch-tall creatures were once ubiquitous, bulldozers churn and pavement covers their native turf. Newly planted trees, cactuses and fences hide potential predators such as coyotes or hawks.http://www.azcentral.com/travel/articles/20140119phoenix-owls-refuge-growth.html?nclick_check=1
Syracuse.com, May 18, 2014 ▶ IN DEPTH STUDY: HIGH LEVELS OF TOXIC MERCURY FOUND IN ONONDAGA LAKE BIRDS, BATS; STUDIES SHOW CONTAMINATION MOVING UP WEB OF LIFE CHAIN (TO HUMANS)The studies are the first to reveal what researchers and activists have long suspected: That more than a century of industrial waste has left a toxic legacy that goes beyond the devastation of fish life. And it shows that such widespread damage can't be contained in an interconnected web of nature -- researchers suggest that the mercury might be moving higher up the food chain into eagles, snakes and other animals that eat the contaminated birds... http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/05/high_levels_of_toxic_mercury_found_in_onondaga_lake_birds_bats_new_studies_revea.html
-▶ GREENLAND'S MELTING: CREATING A DIFFERENT CLIMATE THAN EARTH HAS EVER SEENhttp://sco.lt/8bjv73
Guardian Environment, January 23, 2013 ▶ EUROPE 'HAS FAILED TO LEARN FROM ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS'Europe has failed to learn the lessons from many environmental and health disasters like Chernobyl, leaded petrol and DDT insecticides, and is now ignoring warnings about bee deaths, GM food and nanotechnology, according to an 800-page report by the European Environment Agency. Thousands of lives could have been saved and extensive damage to ecosystems avoided if the "precautionary principle" had been applied. They accuse industry of working to corrupt or undermine regulation by spinning and manipulating research and applying pressure on governments for financial benefit. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/23/europe-failed-learn-environmental-lessons
▶ DAMS, ECOCIDE AND WATER RIGHTS: INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, ECOSYSTEM, FORESTS DEVASTATED - BIG MONEY DRIVES EXTINCTIONhttp://sco.lt/79BRmT
Ecowatch, February 02, 2014 ▶ 50 REASONS WE SHOULD FEAR THE WORST FROM FUKUSHIMA :Defined by seven decades of deceit, denial and a see-no-evil dearth of meaningful scientific study, the glib corporate assurances that this latest reactor disaster won’t hurt us fade to absurdity. Fukushima pours massive, unmeasured quantities of lethal radiation into our fragile ecosphere every day, and will do so for decades to come.http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/02/50-reasons-fear-fukushima/
VIDEO: ENE News, January 02, 2015 FUKUSHIMA CORIUM FOUND IN PACIFIC
Time Magazine, August 21, 2014 ▶ FUKUSHIMA DISASTER: INSIDE THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS ROOM.Three and a half years after a catastrophic meltdown, Fukushima is far from fixedhttp://time.com/worlds-most-dangerous-room/
Deutche Welle, December 23, 2014 ▶ FUKUSHIMA BUTTERFLIES HIGHLIGHT HEAVY COST OF NUCLEAR DISASTER.... mutations were evident in almost a third of the butterflies. ... the researchers concluded that the consumption of plants affected by radiation alone was enough to make healthy butterfly larvae sick....And butterflies weren't the only animals to be affected impacted by radiation levels in the environmenthttp://www.dw.de/fukushima-butterflies-highlight-heavy-cost-of-nuclear-disaster/a-18147563
In its worst crisis since World War II, Japan faces disaster on an epic scale: a death toll likely in the tens of thousands, massive destruction of homes and businesses, shortages of water and power, and the specter of nuclear meltdown. With exclusive footage, NOVA captures the unfolding human drama and offers a clear-headed investigation of what triggered the earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear crisis. Can science and technology ever prevent devastation in the face of overwhelmingly powerful forces of nature?http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/japan-killer-quake.html
RT News, Dr Helen Caldicott, September 13, 2013 ▶ ENDLESS FUKUSHIMA CATASTROPHE: MANY GENERATIONS; HEALTH AT STAKE. Bio-accumulation of radioactive elements around Fukushima will devastate many future Japanese generations, while the Pacific Ocean is also being contaminated by leaking radioactive water. Yet there is still no good solution from the Japanese government..http://rt.com/op-edge/fukushima-catastrophe-health-japan-803/
VIDEO REPORT
RT News, October 18, 2013
RADIOACTIVITY LEVEL SPIKES 6,500 TIMES AT FUKUSHIMA WELL.Radioactivity levels in a well near a storage tank at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan have risen immensely on Thursday, the plant’s operator has reported...http://rt.com/news/fukushima-high-radioactivity-well-335/
Wonder Why Marijuana Laws Are Passing So Quickly Across the USA and the World. It's Not For Your Health. And It's Not About the Drug Wars. It's about the repeat of ending "prohibition" and restructuring wealth. Big politics and "Legal" Money is involved here to capture, control and profit from this new market. The Cartels and Multi-National Corporations Have Control of a global agricultural Industry, already in place: from owning the land, to growing the crops, patenting new genetically engineered seeds, owning the pesticides and marketing systems
This article speaks about how Colorado, particularly Denver, believes that there will be a marijuana shortage now that marijuana has been legalized. This article goes into depth about how there will be a shortage in the short run, but eventually the supply and demand should come to an equilibrium.
Oxytech should have considered the effect of non native species on the environment before attempting to release them in the UK. They seem to have cut corners in an effort to maximize profit.
Mongabay, May 14, 2014 ▶ NEW REPORT REVEALS HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES BY CORPORATIONS, GOVERNMENTS IN THE AMAZON. The report took over six months to complete and gives an in-depth account of the conflicts activists and indigenous peoples (IPs) are having with corporations and governmental agencies. It relays a situation that does not look good. The report details everything from physical attacks to “systematic pressure” by corporations and governments. According to the report, conflicts over land and territories have reached a ten-year peak in Brazil. In Peru, social conflicts have tripled since 2008, with two-thirds of the reported cases defined as “socioenvironmental” conflicts.http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0514-dulaney-regnskogfondet.html
First Peoples Worldwide ▶ NEW STUDY FINDS 94% OF U.S. EXTRACTIVE COMPANIES IGNORE RURAL AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY IMPACTS…INDIGENOUS RIGHTS RISK REPORTRecent community backlash against the Keystone XL pipeline, Indigenous protests against oil and gas concession auctions in Ecuador and Peru, and violent resource conflicts in Indonesia have all exposed extractive companies’ poor community engagement practices – and companies are doing nothing about it. http://firstpeoples.org/wp/new-study-finds-94-of-us-companies-ignore-rural-community-impacts/
In Kalangala, Uganda, John Muniishya woke up one day to find bulldozers clearing his land to plant oil palms. Land Grabs in Uganda https://vimeo.com/40766520
Food Crisis and The Global Land Grab, November 2, 2013 -▶ TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY LAND GRABS: ACCUMULATION BY AGRICULTURAL DISPOSSESSION.For the world’s people to have secure access to the quantity and quality of food needed for a decent life, the land grabs and the development of large, highly mechanized factory farms must stop...http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/22761
Intercontinental Cry Magazine, June 27, 2014 -▶ NICARAGUA'S MAYAGNA PEOPLE AND THEIR RAINFOREST COULD VANISH.More than 30,000 members of the Mayagna indigenous community are in danger of disappearing, along with the rainforest which is their home in Nicaragua, if the state fails to take immediate action to curb the destruction of the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, the largest forest reserve in Central America and the third-largest in the world. http://intercontinentalcry.org/nicaraguas-mayagna-people-rainforest-vanish-24439/
The indigenous Ngöbe community faces imminent forced eviction from their land for the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam project in western Panama. The eviction would force them from their land, which provides their primary sources of food and water, means of subsistence, and culture..http://intercontinentalcry.org/panama-indigenous-communities-face-eviction-22239/
-▶ IN THE RAIN FORESTS OF PERU, A MODERN LAND GRAB GOLD RUSH POISONS THE ENVIRONMENT AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES http://sco.lt/8m0TwH
LAND GRABS
HOW FOREIGN "INVESTMENTS" ARE REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH, LAND AND WATER RIGHTS ACROSS THE GLOBEhttp://sco.lt/96H2yv
UNPRECEDENTED STUDY
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE DISAPPEAR WITH ECOSYSTEM AND BIODIVERSITY LOSS : ECOCIDEhttp://sco.lt/8PcKsD
VIDEO
"Capitalism: A Ghost Story" CAPITALIST POWER GRAB OF RESOURCES IN EMERGING NATIONS. An Evening with Arundhati Roy and Siddhartha Deb http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tkQyqLnFbk
▶ PAPUA : 226 THOUSAND HECTARES OF VIRGIN FOREST WILL BE CLEARED FOR CORPORATE PALM OIL DESTROYING ALL LIFE WITH IN THEM AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIEShttp://sco.lt/8mSxaD
-▶ CANADIAN MINING COMPANY WORKING WITH INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT AND #REDD TO STRIP FOREST OF PROTECTED STATUS AND INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTShttp://sco.lt/7T4gfR
-▶ PALM OIL COMPANIES IGNORING COMMUNITY RIGHTS, NEW STUDY SHOWS, Members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are violating the rights of local communities in tropical forests and failing to live up to social and environmental commitmentshttp://news.mongabay.com/2013/1107-dparker-palm-oil-rights.html?n3ws1ttr
-▶ MAJOR PALM OIL COMPANIES ACCUSED OF ECOCIDE, BREAKING ETHICAL PROMISES IN ASIA AND AFRICAhttp://sco.lt/8TkGjh
-- WATCH -- VIDEO REPORT
"It is better to die from bullets than from hunger"
September 15, 2013 The Real News -▶ PHILIPPINE ACTIVISTS FIGHT BACK AGAINST CORPORATE AND MILITARY FORCES DESTROYING THEIR LAND, FORESTS AND LIVELIHOODS. Corporate agri-businesses like U.S.-based Dole, Del Monte, Monsanto, along with international and Philippine mines, are polluting waterways and destroying the surrounding farms. Chinese, European, Canadian, and Filipino mines are stripping away the mountains to get at what some estimate to be the largest iron deposit in the world. There also some of the most significant gold, nickel, and copper reserves in Asia... http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10725
▶ THE CORPORATE PALM OIL HOLOCAUST: ORANGUTAN CLINGS TO LAST REMAINING A ENTIRE FOREST BULLDOZEDhttp://sco.lt/8lT2Ar
Published on May 22, 2013
-▶ HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT -
Many local indigenous people "resettled" to make way for Vale and Rio Tinto's international coal mining operations in Tete province, Mozambique farmers no longer have access to arable land for farming, or other ways to make a living. ...http://www.hrw.org/node/115802
MULTI AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY (1:19:57)
Africa, Colonialism and The Environment TAKING ROOT THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI
-▶ MASSIVE LAND GRABBING BY MULTINATIONAL FIRMS PREVALENT IN UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND WILL GET WORSE WITH TRANS PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP , At present, some 1.5 million hectares of land are primed for lease to foreign countries, and the Philippine government is set to open more agricultural lands to monopoly corporations of the United States, European Union, South Korea and Australia. Lawmakers in the Philippines are pushing for amendments to the 1987 Constitution to allow 100 percent foreign ownership of land. This is reportedly a condition set on the Philippine government before being accepted to the TRANS PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, a trade pact being organized by the US government. http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/22386#sthash.xl4kiTPB.dpuf
-▶ BOMBSHELL RETREAT -- CHEVRON SEEKS TO DROP $60 BILLION IN DAMAGES IN ECUADOR ENVIRONMENTAL CASE – In a clear 11th-hour retreat that suggests it does not believe its own allegations, Chevron has taken the extraordinary step of pleading with a U.S. judge to block a jury from deciding its retaliatory “fraud” and RICO claims against Ecuadorian villagers and their U.S. lawyer. The company also said it was even prepared to drop a $60 billion damages claim if the judge agrees to deny the defendants a jury trial. Chevron's $60 billion figure is based on three times the $19 billion Ecuadorian judgement, plus costs.http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36091-Bombshell-Retreat-Chevron-Seeks-to-Drop-60-Billion-in-Damages-In-Ecuador-Case
Inter Press Service, November 18, 2014 CHEVRON AGAIN
- ▶ SHALE OIL FUELS INDIGENOUS CONFLICT IN ARGENTINA.
Three thousand metres below Campo Maripe lies one of the world’s biggest reserves of shale gas and oil. The land that the community used for grazing is now part of the Loma Campana oilfield, operated by the state-run YPF oil company in partnership with U.S. oil giant Chevron.
-▶ SECURE LAND TENURE INCREASES FOOD SECURITY BY DECREASING VULNERABILITY TO LARGE SCALE LAND GRABSSecure land tenure increases #foodsecurity by decreasing vulnerability to large scale land grabs. The use of modern agricultural techniques tells only part of the story of why much of Ethiopia is better fed than before. Another part lies in a solution to food security that is gaining ground with governments and the international development community: securing land tenure.
In many developing countries, farmers till plots without the government or traditional leaders formally recognizing their right to the land. But without formal land rights, those tilling the soil can be vulnerable to large-scale land acquisitions — sometimes dismissively called land grabs — without their knowledge or consent. Investors often lease or buy large swaths of land for agricultural production, oil exploration or other uses. https://www.devex.com/en/news/how-smarter-land-use-can-curb-global-hunger/81710
-▶ FOOD FORESTS CAN MITIGATE RISKS OF 'FEAST OR FAMINE' - BIG CORPORATE BIOTECH AG IS NOT THE ANSWERhttp://sco.lt/8q2M41
Diaspora communities living in the Seychelles and Mauritius have experienced marginalization, discrimination, and grinding poverty. Testimonies from evictees describe families forced to eat out of bins, hunger strikes and the suicide of a desperate woman facing destitution and mounting debt..... http://intercontinentalcry.org/the-plight-of-the-chagossians-21653/
You can be back door screwed by the government and just not know it, as there is no requirement for public disclosure. The government have areas that we don't even think of as being part of the government because they do not have government names and some are government owned or affiliated but back door screwed by the government is a lasting experience.
Climate Proress, September 28, 2013 ▶ GIANT HORNETS ARE BECOMING KILLERS IN HISTORIC HEAT-WAVES HITTING CHINA Over the last few weeks, giant, deadly hornets have killed more than two dozen people in China, the result of bizarre weather patterns there that have allowed the bugs to proliferate. This summer, China suffered through massive heat waves, breaking records in places like Shanghai, Changsha, and Hangzhou in July, and affecting 700 million people through August. This has lead to dozens of heatstroke deaths, and, now, increasingly aggressive giant insects... http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/09/28/2696221/thumb-sized-hornets-attack-warming-2/
▶▶▶ OTHER PRIME FACTORS PRESSING DOWN ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECT .....
▶ OBAMA'S ARCTIC STRATEGY SETS OFF A CLIMATE TIME BOMB. THE SUICIDAL RACE FOR ARCTIC'S NATURAL RESOURCES http://sco.lt/5pPxWD
▶ GREENLAND'S MELTING: CREATING A DIFFERENT CLIMATE THAN EARTH HAS EVER SEEN http://sco.lt/8bjv73
▶ THICH NHAT HANH: ONLY LOVE CAN SAVE US FROM CLIMATE CHANGE
Leading spiritual teacher Thay suggests that our search for fame, wealth, power and sexual gratification provides the perfect refuge for people to hide from the truth about the many challenges facing the world. Worse still, our addiction to material goods and a hectic lifestyle provides only a temporary plaster for gaping emotional and spiritual wounds, which only drives greater loneliness and unhappiness..... http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/zen-master-thich-nhat-hanh-love-climate-change
▶ WORLD CAN'T WAIT UNTIL 2020 ON CLIMATE CHANGE, SAYS NEW HIGHLY-DISTURBING INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY REPORT http://sco.lt/82bCM5
▶ AT THE LIMITS OF THE MARKET: WHY CAPITALISM HASN'T (CAN'T_ SOLVE CLIMATE CHANGE http://sco.lt/5OhJZp
Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction is the first feature documentary to investigate the growing threat to Earth’s life support systems from this unprecedented loss of biodiversity. Through interviews with leading scientists, psychologists, anthropologists, philosophers, and indigenous and religious leaders, the film explores the causes, the scope, and the potential effects of the mass extinction, but also looks beyond the immediate causes of the crisis to consider how our cultural and economic systems, along with deep-seated psychological and behavioral patterns, have allowed this situation to develop, continue to reinforce it, and even determine our response to it. Call of Life tells the story of a crisis not only in nature, but also in human nature, a crisis more threatening than anything human beings have ever faced before. http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/call_of_life_facing_the_mass_extinction_2010/
Климат планеты зависит от её альбедо,альбедо зависит от формы.Антропогенный фактор является ускорителем глобального изменения климата.Рост внутреннего ядра Земли bit.ly/LW2KOJ деформирует земную кору изнутри http://earth-chronicles.com and http://www.earthiles.com/news.php?
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ENOUGHNESS:
WESTERN THOUGHT vs INDIGENOUS PHILOSOPHY
http://sco.lt/4kcNH7
LAND GRABS
HOW FOREIGN "INVESTMENTS" ARE REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH, LAND AND WATER ACROSS THE GLOBE http://sco.lt/5YJpKb
VIDEO
-▶ FOREIGN CORPORATIONS DESTROYING ECOSYSTEMS, INDIGENOUS LIVELIHOODS, NULLIFYING LAND RIGHTS, CREATING DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY ON A GLOBAL SCALE http://sco.lt/4l725B
BillMoyers.com, November 21, 2014
▶ 'FOOD CHAINS,' A NEW DOCUMENTARY BY 'FOOD, INC." Food Chains, a new hard-hitting documentary about the battle between Florida farmworkers and the giant supermarket and fast food conglomerates. Farmworkers are among the lowest paid workers in America, averaging about $12,000 per year in wages, and many of them, especially women, have been subjected to human rights abuses in the fields. In its review of the film, The New York Times calls Food Chains an “emphatic and empathetic documentary” that presents farm laborers as modern-day slaves http://billmoyers.com/2014/11/21/food-chains/
WATCH
▶ FILM: ***"HOME"
An Exquisite Dedication To the Stewards of Our Planet
http://thenaturaleye.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/home-an-exquisite-story-of-our-world/
-▶ AN URGENT MEMO TO THE WORLD - The Natural Eye Project - http://thenaturaleye.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/an-urgent-memo-to-the-world/
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YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW MY NEWS AGGREGATES @pdjmoo
▶ CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY http://www.scoop.it/t/environmental-and-human-health
▶ CLIMATE CHANGE WILL IMPACT US ALL http://www.scoop.it/t/changingplanet
▶ BIODIVERSITY IS LIFE http://www.scoop.it/t/biodiversity-is-life
▶ OUR OCEANS NEED US http://www.scoop.it/t/our-oceans-need-us
▶ OUR FOOD, OUR HEALTH http://www.scoop.it/t/agriculture-gmos-pesticides