Stories about Environment from June, 2012
Trinidad & Tobago: The Architect of our Public Spaces
Lisa Allen-Agostini and toomucheyes blog about a new exhibition that honours the work of architect Colin Laird, who designed many of the country's most beloved public spaces.
Russia: A Mobile Service to Connect Passengers & Drivers

The mobile navigation service Yeehay! saves time and money finding and ordering taxis, and it benefits the ecologies of smog-polluted Russian cities by bringing together passengers and drivers who otherwise might never connect.
Africa: Celebrating Humanity through Photos and Videos
An article highlighting 21 pictures that will restore your humanity recently went viral. Unfortunately, Africans and Africa were absent from all of them. Yet, there is no shortage of great testimonies of human spirit from the African continent. Here are a few photos and videos that show, 'Africa's got Heart' too.
El Salvador: Citizens of Mejicanos Protest Construction of Walmart Store
Voices from El Salvador reports: “This past Thursday civil society organizations, international solidarity groups, students, and community associations came together to protest the construction of a mega Walmart store in...
Sri Lanka: Sustainable Agriculture – Not In Practice
Perceptions argues that there are so many words written about sustainable agriculture and “very little of that comes directly from someone who earns 100% of his income from existing agriculture,...
Brazil: Fortaleza City Dwellers Demand Liberation of Green Area
Inspired by the massive “Veta, Dilma” campaign to protect the Brazilian forests, Fortaleza city dwellers launched “Libera, Luizianne“ urging Mayor Luizianne Lins to free a green area for the creation...
Brazil: Second Round of Occupy Belo Monte Started
Marcelo Salazar, a Brazilian engineer who works for the [river] Xingu Program of the Instituto Socioambiental, posted on Facebook a series of photos from the second round of “occupy” Belo...
Kenya: Human-Wildlife Conflict in Urban Jungle
Angry residents of Kitengela, an outskirt of Nairobi, killed two lions and four cubs on 20 June who attacked a dozen of livestock. A pride of lions invaded a homestead the following day killing goats and sheep. We took a trip around Twittersphere to find out interesting reactions about the incident.
Peru: Amazonian Indigenous Communities Protest Against Oil Pollution
The announcement that hydrocarbon reserves currently used for oil drilling will be put up for auction has put the people of the indigenous communities of the Pastaza river, in the Peruvian Amazon, on alert. For years, these indigenous communities have been condemning the effects of pollution on their ancestral lands and on themselves.
Kuwait: Factory Fire
Blogger Mathai from Kuwait writes about a summer fires he saw in an industrial area. He shares a photograph.
Kenya: Online Reactions to the Killing of 6 Lions
Kenyans are reacting on Twitter at the news of the killing of 6 lions by residents of Kitengela a town near Nairobi in an apparent human wildlife conflict.The hashtags #Lion...
Puerto Rico: Concerns About Wind Energy Proposal
“Don Quijote felt he needed to defend himself from giants. I need to protect my family from these giants that are being installed in a densely populated area. Not only...
Lebanon: Protest to Re-Open Beirut's City Park
“Personally I do not understand how a park can be kept closed for the public, letting only the privileged few enter upon a permit,” wrote leelouz in a post about the protest held to...
South Korea: Fight Continues over Jeju Naval Base Construction
GangJeong, a small rural town in the Jeju island has made headlines for several months with intense conflict going on between the government forging ahead with its construction plan and...
Guatemala: Anti-Mining Activist Shot
The blog Guatemala Solidarity Network and James Rodriguez from Mi Mundo report on the attempted murder of anti-mining activist Yolanda “Yoli” Oquely Veliz. The Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA condemns the...
Bulgaria: Protests Against Forest Act in Sofia
For two days, June 13 and 14, Bulgaria's capital Sofia was blocked due to the unsanctioned protests against the modification of the vague Forest Act. The third rally is scheduled to take place today. Ruslan Trad reports.
Video: Youth and the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
Andrea Arzaba[es] posted a video of young people from all over the world who are attending the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) sharing their perspective on sustainable development...
Sri Lanka: The Colombo Fun Ride
The Puppeteer participated in the “Colombo Cycle Fun Ride 25km”, a public cycling event organised by the Pedal Pushers cyclist group, and shares her experiences.
Egypt: Right to Housing initiative
Egyptian blogger and urbanism researcher Yahia Shawkat, in association with Mosireen, a citizen-journalism collective, and the Arab Digital Expression Foundation, ADEF have recently launched the “Right to Housing, a Socially Just and...
Indonesia: Sumatra Deforestation Mapping Tool
There is a new mapping tool that documents the disturbing loss of forest cover in Sumatra Island in Indonesia. Sumatra, one of the largest islands in the world, is known to be the only place where elephants, rhinos, tigers and orangutans coexist. The online map also provides valuable information about the island's rich biodiversity
Brazil: Deeper Media Coverage of Belo Monte Dam Needed
A lot of information is shared daily around the world about controversy surrounding the construction of the Belo Monte dam in the Amazon. At the same time, however, it is unclear how well circulated the concerns of those to be directly affected - the river-dwellers, 'caboclos' and indigenous peoples - by what some have labeled 'pharaonic' construction work.