By CHARLES LYONS30 June 2012 A confrontation between the insatiable appetite for energy and the enduring need for habitability is under way in Brazil as it moves aggressively to harness the power of its rivers with plans for dozens of hydroelectric dams. Such projects are engineering and aesthetic marvels that provide hydroelectric power and can […]
By LIZ GOOCH23 June 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – For much of the year, the Petronas Towers, the world’s tallest twin buildings, are gleaming landmarks visible far from the city center here. But last weekend, the 88-story structures were shrouded in a smoky haze that prompted doctors to warn people with respiratory problems to wear […]
By AARON NELSEN15 May 2012 BOCA SANIBENI, Peru – Along the murky waters of the Ene River, in a remote jungle valley on the verdant eastern slopes of the Andes, the rhythmic humming of an outboard motor draws the stares of curious Ashaninka children. With encroachment from settlers and speculators, and after a devastating war […]
By Arno Kopecky 19 May 2012 One grey Thursday at the end of April, a plane touched down in Fort McMurray, Alta., carrying four Achuar Indians from the Peruvian Amazon. They had flown 8,000 kilometres from the rain forest to beseech Talisman Energy Inc., the Calgary-based oil and gas conglomerate, to stop drilling in their […]
[Petition: Veto Dilma!] By SIMON ROMERO16 May 2012 RIO DE JANEIRO – President Dilma Rousseff is facing one of the defining moments of her presidency as pressure builds on her to veto a bill that would open vast protected areas of forests to ranching and farming, potentially reversing Brazil’s major gains in slowing Amazon deforestation. […]
11 May 2012 (Survival International) – The Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe Indians of Brazil are celebrating a Supreme Court decision to allow them to live undisturbed on their land. The Pataxó, of Bahia state, have been subjected to violent conflict for decades as ranchers have been occupying their indigenous territory. They have been pushing to be able […]
[Petition: Veto Dilma! We call on you to take immediate action to save Brazil’s precious forests by vetoing the changes to the forest law. We also urge you to prevent further murders of environmental activists and workers by increasing law enforcement against illegal loggers and ramping up protection for people at risk from violence or […]
By Katie Nguyen, AlertNet; Additional reporting by Laurie Goering in London and Katy Migiro in Nairobi2 May 2012 LONDON (AlertNet) – It was designed to increase production and exports of vegetable oil, a commodity in short supply after World War Two, and foster growth in post-war Britain and Tanganyika. Instead, Britain’s scheme to carve out […]
By SIMON ROMERO3 May 2012 RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil is deploying more than 8,500 troops to the far reaches of the Amazon rain forest this month in an operation aimed at cracking down on drug smuggling, gold mining and illegal deforestation, officials said. The troop mobilization sends a clear message ahead of the United […]
[Gallup attributes this grim trend to the 2008 global financial collapse and a general increase in optimism on the environment. Gallup neglects the effect of the relentless propaganda and lobbying campaign waged by the fossil fuel industry.] By Jeffrey M. Jones13 April 2012 PRINCETON, NJ – Americans currently express record-low concern about both air pollution […]
