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Nature laid waste: The destruction of Africa
The massive scale of environmental devastation across the continent has been fully revealed for the first time in an atlas compiled by UN geographers. Michael McCarthy reports
It was long shrouded in mystery, called "the Dark Continent" by Europeans in awe of its massive size and impenetrable depths. Then its wondrous natural riches were revealed to the world. Now a third image of Africa and its environment is being laid before us – one of destruction on a vast and disturbing scale.
Using "before and after" satellite photos, taken in all 53 countries, UN geographers have constructed an African atlas of environmental change over the past four decades – the vast majority of it for the worse.
In nearly 400 pages of dramatic pictures, disappearing forests, shrinking lakes, vanishing glaciers and degraded landscapes are brought together for the first time, providing a deeply disturbing portfolio of devastation.
The atlas, compiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the request of African environment ministers, and launched yesterday simultaneously in Johannesburg and London, underlines how extensively development choices, population growth, regional conflicts and climate change are impacting on the natural world and the nature-based assets of the continent.
The satellite photos, some of them spanning a 35-year period, offer striking snapshots of environmental transformation in every country.
The purpose of the atlas is to inspire African governments to improve their records as environmental custodians, and as such, its language and tone are studiously neutral, generally referring to environmental "change" rather than destruction. But although there are some examples given of change for the better, the vast majority of the case studies are of large-scale environmental degradation, and the atlas compilers freely accept that this represents the true picture.
They write of "the swell of grey-coloured cities over a once-green countryside; protected areas shrinking as farms encroach upon their boundaries; the tracks of road networks through forests; pollutants that drift over borders of neighbouring countries; the erosion of deltas; refugee settlements scattered across the continent causing further pressure on the environment; and shrinking mountain glaciers."
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This is a human tragedy.
The massive scale of environmental devastation across the continent has been fully revealed for the first time in an atlas compiled by... more -
Renewable energy puts all eyes on the desert
Speculators have filed applications to develop more than 1 million acres of desert in Southern California with solar, wind and geothermal power plants, setting up a classic clash over land use with environmentalists and off-road enthusiasts.
They have submitted at least 130 proposals with the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees all of the territory, in recent years and especially since 2007. The interest is so hot that even if many of the projects fall through, the remaining ones would change the look of the arid landscape.
California, particularly the southern half, is the epicenter of the nation's push for renewable energy. While some of the bureau's parcels in the state already contain wind and geothermal facilities, the agency hasn't approved any solar project here or elsewhere.
Last week, leaders for the bureau called a timeout in accepting new applications for solar developments, the most active category of renewable-energy proposals. They want to assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of such activity in the Southwest, starting with public meetings this month.
Despite state and local demands to increase production of renewable power and growing concern about fossil fuels' influence on global warming, the agency “did not anticipate the level of interest that was shown in 2007 and in the first part of 2008. The applications started coming in fast and furious,” said Linda Resseguie, manager of the solar review process in Washington, D.C.
Although many of the bureau's properties may look barren, they generate interest from environmental and recreation groups. Off-roaders are fighting to keep their open space in spots such as Imperial County's Truckhaven, while conservationists are vying to preserve relatively pristine stretches of desert by encouraging renewable-energy projects for existing homes and businesses.
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I don't see why land can't be reserved for both.
Speculators have filed applications to develop more than 1 million acres of desert in Southern California with solar, wind and geother... more -
The History of the Middleast in 90 seconds.
Compared to the enormity and thousands of years of history, America is only a blip on the radar in the history of the Middleast. With all the wars and empires, what do we think we're going to accomplish over there that many, many countries and empires haven't tried to do already, besides drain our own resources and put the country deep into debt? Compared to the enormity and thousands of years of history, America is only a blip on the radar in the history of the Middleast. With... more
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On Cancer's Trail: Navajo Biologist Follows Trail To Uranium
Uranium is not just an emotional issue for Raymond-Whish, but for the tribe as a whole. The legacy of mining the element on the 27,000-square-mile reservation is so deeply and collectively felt that the Navajo Nation banned it altogether in 2005 in the face of globally rising ore prices. During the ’40s and the Cold War period, the U.S. government used yellow cake - or milled and concentrated uranium ore - to build nuclear weapons. The government stopped buying the ore for weapons in 1971, but the commercial nuclear energy market picked up the slack until the early 1980s. Only about a quarter of all U.S. uranium miners were Native American - Laguna, Hopi, Zuni and Ute as well as Navajo. But Native Americans have been disproportionately affected: Their tribal lands are still contaminated, and former miners suffer illnesses and deaths for which many families are still awaiting compensation.
Despite the tribal ban, at least five companies are seeking state permits in New Mexico to mine lands just off the reservation, including on tribal allotment land. In Arizona, 700 individual mining claims were filed in 2005. The prehistoric sea and river beds that run underground from Naturita, Colo., to Grants, N.M., and across to Moab, Utah, still hold an estimated 600 million pounds of low-grade ore. But for every 4 pounds of uranium extracted, 996 pounds of slightly radioactive waste is left over, in piles, in pits and eventually in the soil, arroyos and underground aquifers.
Some Western tailings piles, like those outside of Monticello, Utah, or Grand Junction, Colo., have been cleaned up. But those on tribal lands have fallen through yawning bureaucratic and regulatory gaps. It’s estimated that up to 25 percent of unregulated water sources on the Navajo Reservation exceed federal drinking water standards for uranium. And many families still haul water from these wells, despite warnings by health providers and advocacy groups.
end of excerpt.
Uranium is not just an emotional issue for Raymond-Whish, but for the tribe as a whole. The legacy of mining the element on the 27,000... more -
Monsanto Steals Life
Yeah. It really does. Follow this link and watch this documentary....
On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television. It is a documentary most Americans will never see, explaining how the gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years. Yeah. It really does. Follow this link and watch this documentary.... ... more -
Wild and Homegrown--Potato Salad
This homegrown all American picnic favorite demonstrates the direction people are turning as multinational greedy companies, such as Monsanto are stealing seeds.
This homegrown all American picnic favorite demonstrates the direction people are turning as multinational greedy companies, such as M... more -
Native Americans, Interfaith groups lead by example in EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth ...
(Marquette, Michigan) - The Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in its biggest week with help from interfaith groups and American Indians in reaching the goal of one million pounds of electronics and one million pills.
The EPA issued the challenge to Great Lakes basin residents participating in over 100 projects that are collecting pharmaceuticals, electronics and household poisons. The EPA awarded grants to some of the projects.
Interfaith groups are involved in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. An EPA grant helped start the non-profit Earth Healing Initiative (EHI).
Trust between religions and interfaith environment projects are vital to protect the future of the earth, said a Lutheran bishop, who has participated in numerous Earth Day recycling projects.
"We are in an environmental crisis in many ways," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "The Great Lakes watershed is really a kind of a mother to all of us here in the upper Midwest."
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition and partnership of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together and sharing their projects and resources to heal, protect and defend the environment," said founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (MITW) is holding a curbside pickup of electronics for members during Earth Week, April 21-24. Over 1,000 pounds of electronics have been turned in at the MITW transfer station since April 1. The College of Menominee Nation hosts pharmaceutical/electronics collections on April 22.
On Friday, April 25, students at the tribal K-8 school are picking up litter and cleaning up the a reservation community. Students recently created "Garbage Monsters" out of bottles other items found in their trash, said Diana Wolf, MITW Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator. Students gave presentations on other uses for the garbage.
"This interfaith earth healing effort is really a great gift that has been given to all of us," Skrenes said. “The church is called to bring people together to be part of the healing."
Examples of established interfaith organizations that are assisting the EHI include the University of Minnesota Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Duluth Arrowhead Interfaith Council, Marquette University Ministry in Milwaukee, several Catholic interfaith groups and the ELCA office of Ecumenical Formation.
The interfaith EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan including the Earth Keepers who removed more than 370 tons of e-waste, pharmaceuticals and household hazardous waste during three Earth Day clean sweeps.
The northern Michigan Earth Keepers belong to ten faith traditions with 150 churches and temples including Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and the Quakers. The EHI is working with the same faith traditions.
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EPA:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/events.html
EPA Press Release:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/dc57b08b5acd42...
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Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
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Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Bah'i Community)
Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
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Duluth
University of Minnesota LCM:
http://www.d.umn.edu/lcm/index.html
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Arrowhead Interfaith Council:
http://www.arrowheadinterfaith.org/home.html
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Milwaukee
Marquette University LCM:
http://www.mulutherans.com
http://www.marquette.edu/um
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Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
College of Menominee Nation
http://www.menominee.edu (Marquette, Michigan) - The Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in its biggest week with help from interfaith groups and American ... more -
Landless Movement of Brazil - PART II - (an Eviction)
Armed conflict between a community of landless rural workers in the south of Brazil and the police. An eviction episode.
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The Landless Movement of Brazil - Part I
This documentary tells the history of agrarian reform in Brazil throught the voices of the members of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers, the MST. 20 years ago, in the face of starvation and poverty, the MSTwas set up to push forward the case of land reform where “occupation is the only solution”. This documentary tells the history of agrarian reform in Brazil throught the voices of the members of the Movement of Landless Rural W... more
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Critical Decision Time for Humans: Earth's Kyros Moment, learn focus through jubil...
The founders of the Turtle Island Project believe residents of Earth are facing a Kyros moment because of the abuse of the environment.
Kairos is Greek for seizing the moment.
The Turtle Island Project promotes respect for the planet, nature, wildlife and fellow humans.
Turtle Island Project founders say we can learn a lot from Earth-based cultures like the Celts and Native Americans.
Dr. Cairns said a former of chanting called jubilation (that he demonstrates in this video) helps him focus on the problems he wants to tackle - plus demonstrates the interconnection between humans and the Earth.
TIP volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson reports
TIP website:
http://www.turtleislandproject.org
Turtle Island TV (blipTV)
http://turtleislandtv.blip.tv/
Turtle Island TV (youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/MunisingWhiteHorse
Turtle Island (myspace)
http://www.myspace.com/TurtleIslandProject
Turtle Island Project websites/Blogs:
http://groups.msn.com/WhisperingTurtle
http://turtleislandproject.wordpress.com/
email:
TurtleIslandProject@charter.net
White Buffalo Calf Woman Society:
http://www.wbcws.org
Solastalgia is a term by Glenn Albrecht to describe profound sadness over the effects of the long-term drought in Australia
Glenn Albrecht, environmental philosopher, University of Newcastle:
http://healthearth.blogspot.com/
http://healthearth.blogspot.com/2007/03/solastalgia-new...
http://home.iprimus.com.au/tammie1/Publications%20-%20J...
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/news/2006/09/newsyndrome.ht...
Solastalgia:
http://vector1media.com/spatialsustain/?p=255
http://www.collisiondetection.net/mt/archives/2005/12/s...
http://watershed.typepad.com/watershed/drought/index.ht...
http://www.greendaily.com/2008/01/07/word-of-the-day-so...
http://fermiparadox.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/solastalgi...
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Huston Smith: Scholar, writer and a Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus Syracuse University
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/video/Kenan/Smith/index.html
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Species Extinction/Endangered Species
http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Challenges/index.html:
http://eelink.net/EndSpp
http://www.animalinfo.org/rarest.htm
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/
http://www.teamhumanity.com/News-Environment08012004.ht...
http://www.planetguide.net/book/chapter_5/extinction.ht...
http://www.sciencenewsden.com/2007/riskofextinctionacce...
http://www.grconnect.com/murals/html/n2252462.html
Voluntary Human Extinction Movement - Plus Graphic by Nina Paley:
http://www.vhemt.org/aboutvhemt.htm
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20030721/carbon.html
http://www.zeroextinction.org/charts.htm
http://www.nhbs.com/averting_extinction_tefno_63272.htm...
Robert Camacho:
http://www.robertcamacho.com/paintingpic4.htm
http://www.archbold-station.org/fai/species4.html
Eco Kids
http://www.ecokidsonline.com
Kyros (Greek) unique moment in time, gives people a platform to serve God.
Kairos (Kyros), a fullness of time, an appointed time purposed by our creator.
Kyros (KIR os): The Greek word for power that is legitimate, but limited and compassionate
Kairos’ is Greek for ‘occasion’ or ‘timing.’ Kairos is the art of seizing the moment.
Kairos, or kairotic time, refers to God's eternal time.
Kairos is the ancient Greek term that can roughly be interpreted as a rhetorical combination of understood context and proper timing.
Kairos: ancient Greek word meaning right or opportune moment
http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/layers/start.html
http://www.kairospower.org/whowe.asp
http://www.kyros.org/NEWKyros_AboutUs_TheMeaningOfKyros...
http://www.kairostherapy.com/why_kairos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairos
http://www.kyros.org/NEWKyros_AboutUs_TheMeaningOfKyros...
Jubilation:
http://www.envoymagazine.com/backissues/2.3/ihaveaquest...
http://blip.tv/file/480070 The founders of the Turtle Island Project believe residents of Earth are facing a Kyros moment because of the abuse of the environment... more -
The Manoomin Project: Michigan teens, American Indians restore wild rice
(Marquette, Michigan) - The Manoomin Project is restoring wild rice to northern Michigan after the grain disappeared a century ago due to logging, pesticides and other manmade impact.
Over 100 at-risk teens are learning to respect themselves, nature and American Indian culture by planting more than one ton of wild rice during the past four summers. The teens also learn about social issues like racism against Native Americans.
The 2007 planting was delayed six weeks until November due to low water levels.
The teens first participate as part of juvenile court probation for minor crimes but many enjoy the project so much they return the next year.
Guides from several tribes volunteer to teach the teens how to take water samples, and about the historical and cultural importance of the grain that is used in many American Indian ceremonies.
The project was founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC).
Guides belong to KBIC, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa (Ottawa) Indians based in downstate Harbor Springs, Michigan, and the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa located close to International Falls, Minnesota near the Canadian border.
Rev. Jon Magnuson, project founder, praised the tribes for working with the teens, most of whom are white. The project includes classroom time, stress reduction exercises, and learning about social issues like prejudice against Native Americans.
In July 2007, the teens heard from Ojibwa elder and Vietnam War veteran Glen Bressette who explained he was the target of racism while their age and overcame problems familiar to the youth like substance abuse and scrapes with the law that included being shot at by police while stealing gas.
The teens witnessed Bressette have a dramatic flashback when a helicopter flew low and close to their meeting site along Lake Superior. He had been a gunner aboard a chopper in Vietnam.
American Indian guide Don Chosa said the teens carry hundreds of pounds of wild rice seeds for miles through thick forests and over mountains to get to seven secret remote planting sites along rivers and lakes. During the hikes, the teens have come upon bears, eagles and other wildlife.
An annual "Blessing of the Wild Rice" ceremony is held that includes American Indian food, songs, language, and prayers. If they want, the teens have the opportunity to learn about God and the environment but they are not forced to be be involved in any religious activities.
Manoomin Project volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson looks at the 2007 planting and four years of success. (Marquette, Michigan) - The Manoomin Project is restoring wild rice to northern Michigan after the grain disappeared a century ago due... more
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