· June, 2012

Stories about Environment from June, 2012

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

  26 June 2012

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 Mejicanos, a municipality in northern San Salvador.” In a stament, organizers say that communities must be consulted about these projects.

Brazil: Fortaleza City Dwellers Demand Liberation of Green Area

  25 June 2012

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 of Rachel de Queiroz Park [pt]. On June 24, supporters planted wooden crosses on the site, symbolizing the death of...

Brazil: Second Round of Occupy Belo Monte Started

  24 June 2012

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 Monte, which started on June 22, 2012, in the construction site of the hydroelectric power plant.

Kenya: Human-Wildlife Conflict in Urban Jungle

  24 June 2012

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

  23 June 2012

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.

Puerto Rico: Concerns About Wind Energy Proposal

  18 June 2012

“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 are they feet away from [our] homes but they are in fertile grounds used for agriculture,” wrote Puerto Rican blogger...

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 raise awareness to the insignificant amount of public green space and to demand the re-opening of the city's park.

South Korea: Fight Continues over Jeju Naval Base Construction

  16 June 2012

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 environmentalists and rights groups struggling to protect the natural resources. A net user posted an English subtitle (not embedded) for...

Guatemala: Anti-Mining Activist Shot

  15 June 2012

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 shooting and invites citizens to sign a petition “to call on the Guatemalan Government to investigate this crime and prosecute...

Sri Lanka: The Colombo Fun Ride

  13 June 2012

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 Sustainable Built Environment” initiative. This video, subtitled in English, entitled “No sir these are self-built communities” is the first episode...

Indonesia: Sumatra Deforestation Mapping Tool

  13 June 2012

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

  10 June 2012

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.