They Murder Trees in Egypt

Michael Hanna, an Egyptian blogger and pharmacist, mourns the murder of trees, as well as demolishing antique villas in Heliopolis suburb in Cairo. Find out what happened to what is perhaps the oldest palm tree in the area.

2015 is the Year of Oil and Gas in Lebanon

The year 2015 will be the Lebanese year for oil and gas exploration according to a timeline, which is supposed to be approved by the cabinet, and which is posted by the Lebanon Spring Blog.

Mexico: Federal Court Halts Controversial Wind Park

The largely indigenous opposition to wind farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec of Oaxaca, Mexico won a tremendous victory when a District Seven Federal Court judge granted an injunction temporarily halting the construction of a controversial wind park in San Dioniosio del Mar in the southern state of Oaxaca. While the indigenous Ikojts (Huave) peoples of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec celebrated and called for government and industry to comply with the decision, their grassroots struggle continues.

Promoting Recycling in Macedonia

Continuing the tradition that started last year (en, mk, nl, es), the Macedonian Twitter community has erected a new Christmas Tree made of plastic bottles (mk, mk, photos 1, 2, 3) in Skopje City Park in order to raise awareness of the importance of recycling. The event was again organized...

China's Environment in 2012

From mass protests to trade wars, shale-gas drilling to hazardous cosmetics, chinadialogue has reviewed China's major environmental events in the past 12 months.

Pangolin Rehabilitation Center in Cambodia

Half of the world’s species of pangolins are found in Asia where they have been hunted heavily to very low numbers. The Sunda pangolin, Manis javanica, is the only species found in Cambodia and is now very rare due to hunting pressures to supply the international illegal market. A new...

Film Festival on Organic Farming in Japan

The international Film Festival on Organic Farming was held in Satta Hall at Hosei University in Tokyo, December 16, 2012. One participant ama_san [ja] commented on Twitter: Yesterday I went to the International Film Festival on Organic Farming. I was surprised to learn about the power of soil. This day and age, we...

Colombia: Where's the Indignation?

Blogger Miguel from Mike's Bogota Blog lists some situations that make people feel indignation and wonders: So, why is it that all kinds of vehicles and industry can poison us, day in and day out, in plain sight, and almost nobody does anything? He also shares pictures and concludes his...

Fiji Hit by Strong Cyclone

Japan: Signature Campaign Calling for the Release of Anti-Nuclear Scholar

An online signature campaign has been launched to call for the release of Masaki Shimoji, Associate Professor of Economy at Hannan University, who has been arrested by Osaka police on December 9 for his campaign to oppose city plans to incinerate imported earthquake debris contaminated by nuclear leak in Fukishima.

Offshore Oil Leak Threatens Protected Lagoon in South West Gabon

NGO H2O Gabon reported that an oil leak [fr] off the shore of Gabon have polluted the Fernan Vaz Lagoon. Oil Company Perenco later confirmed the leak but it claims that the leak did not reach the lagoon [fr].

Treeplanting Campaign in Yogyakarta

A student from Yogyakarta in Indonesia is adorned with bright green paint as he hands out a tree sapling to road users during a treeplanting campaign.

Analysis on Water and Enviromental Bloggers in China

China has serious water shortage problems due to the population and landscape. How many Chinese are talking about this issue on the internet? Check out this interesting analysis on water and environmental bloggers on Twitter and Weibo (China's Twitter) by ChinaWaterRisk.

What is Web Mapping?

In this post we learn more about web mapping with MapBox's Ian Ward, as he explains some of the organization's recent projects and how these visualization tools are improving communication locally and globally.

Land Grabbing for BioFuel in Madagascar

The Association for the Protection of Malagasy Lands and its representative Mamy Rakotondrainibe bemoans [fr] the manner in which the Tozzi Green group is approaching the development of jatropha exploitation over 100 000 ha of lands in Southern Madagascar. Local farmers are quoted as saying [fr] : We, small farmers, are forced to leave...

Deadly Storm in the Philippines: “Everything was flying. It was surreal.”

Father Joel Tabora summarizes the extent of damage left by Typhoon Pablo in Southern Philippines: "Entering the Municipality of Compostela was like entering a warzone, its hectares and hectares of banana and fruit trees flattened. People there have no food. No potable water. No signal. Electricity is expected to return after at least two months."

China's Disempowered Urban Planners Build Support Through Weibo

China is experiencing major urban expansion, but urban planners have little freedom to do their work, as the government and developers are the main decision makers. Urban planners have now found a new way to make their voices heard: they use Weibo (China's twitter) to communicate with the public and criticize improper planning strategies forced upon them by the government.

Tropical Storm Pablo Leaves Trail of Devastation in Southern Philippines

Tropical storm Pablo (international name: Bopha) left a trail of destruction in various parts of the southern Philippine islands of Mindanao, Leyte, Cebu, and Negros after entering the country last December 4. Pablo is the strongest typhoon to ever hit Mindanao

Italy: Staying in Venetian Monasteries

Olia and Claude Barrère, two French expatriates in Venice, Italy, write on their blog, “Olia i Klod” [fr]: Today, as in the past, monasteries offer the possibility of accommodation. They are places of peace, places rich in culture, very well managed, and offer moments of serenity. In Venice, many of...

Ecuador Launches Oil Auction Amid Indigenous Protests

On Wednesday November 28, 2012, Ecuador began an international licensing round for 13 oil blocks - nearly ten million acres - of untouched south-central Amazonian territory as indigenous leaders took to the streets in Quito to protest petroleum concessions on their lands.

Argentina's Impending ‘Monsanto Law’ is Not Welcome

A bill by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina regarding genetically modified seeds has generated much controversy in different sectors who argue that Argentina could lose its food sovereignty if the law moves forward. Social organizations called for an event to protest the law.