Blogging the End of the World™
GENEVA, 14 February 2018 (UNHCR) – The United States Government must respect the rights of human rights defenders, a group of UN experts* has said, amid concern over action being taken against a Mexican woman who campaigns to protect migrants’ rights. Maru Mora Villalpando, who has been in the US since 1996, is facing deportation […]
By Yvette Sierra Praeli; Translated By Romina Castagnino 13 February 2018 LIMA, Peru (Mongabay) – More than two years after a massive seizure of illegal timber sent from Peru to international markets in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the United States, much of Peru’s exported wood is still illegal according to a new report. The […]
Hong Kong, 9 February 2018 (TRAFFIC) – A new TRAFFIC report reveals a thriving trade in poached South African abalone Haliotis midae in Hong Kong, where the marine mollusc is considered a delicacy in Cantonese cuisine. Over the last 20 years, the illegal harvest of abalone in South Africa has exceeded the legal quotas, with […]
13 February 2018 (AFP) – International aid began trickling in on Wednesday to areas of Tonga devastated by Cyclone Gita, as Fiji escaped the worst of the storm’s fury. Military aircraft from Australia and New Zealand flew emergency supplies to Nuku’alofa, which was battered early Tuesday by the most powerful cyclone ever recorded in the […]
By Hayley Dunning 6 February 2018 (Imperial College London) – The ozone layer is recovering at the poles, but unexpected decreases in part of the atmosphere may be preventing recovery at lower latitudes. Global ozone has been declining since the 1970s owing to certain man-made chemicals. Since these were banned, parts of the layer have […]
By Margot Kiser 11 February 18 NAIROBI, Kenya (The Daily Beast) – Esmond Bradley Martin was found dead on 4 February 2018, a stab wound in his neck and the floor of his home covered with blood. The famous white-haired American wildlife activist and expert on the illegal ivory trade had been murdered within the […]
By Eric Leister 13 February 2018 (AccuWeather) – Powerful Cyclone Gita caused widespread damage to parts of Samoa and American Samoa last week before targeting Tonga Monday night into Tuesday.An emergency declaration was made by the governor of American Samoa which was approved by President Donald Trump allowing aid to be distributed to the island […]
12 February 2018 (UN News) – In It’s not me, it’s you, a short video for its #CleanSeas campaign, the UN environment wing takes a lighter look at the very serious problem of marine litter and urges everyone to give up the use of single-use plastic products such as disposable cutlery, water-bottles, food containers, and […]
By Charlie Warzel 11 February 2018 (BuzzFeed News) – In mid-2016, Aviv Ovadya realized there was something fundamentally wrong with the internet — so wrong that he abandoned his work and sounded an alarm. A few weeks before the 2016 election, he presented his concerns to technologists in San Francisco’s Bay Area and warned of […]
By Chelsea Harvey 8 February 2018 (ClimateWire) – Ending financial assistance for fossil fuel companies has long been discussed as a tactic to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage investment in renewables. Oil, natural gas and coal companies worldwide receive hundreds of billions of dollars each year in tax breaks or other subsidies—and some experts […]
