Stories about Environment from December, 2011
Taiwan: Land Expropriation Revision Fails to Address Farmers’ Woes
As the presidential election is approaching, the politicians in Taiwan's Executive Yuan have decided to revise the Land Expropriation Act. However, instead of addressing the farmers' woes, lawmakers have passed a revision of the Act that reinstates the interests of development over human rights.
Iran: Fire department rescues baby lion
A film in YouTube shows Iranian fire department rescues baby lion walking in Tehran highway.
Peru: Bloggers Report Police Harassment During Discussion Group about Conga Mining Project
Members of the group “Casa Cultural Poco Floro” blogged denouncing [es] an alleged case of police harassment during a discussion group about the Conga mining project, one of the most heated social conflicts at the moment. The representative of Poco Floro talks about the incident in an interview (audio) [es]....
Peru: Protests Against Mining in Videos, Part II
Recent protests against the environmental damage caused by mining in Peru have sparked plenty of audiovisual material. In this second post of a two-part series, Juan Arellano highlights what citizens, journalists and organizations in the area have been uploading to the Internet.
Brazil: Journalist Threatened at Belo Monte Dam Construction Site
Brazilian journalist Ruy Sposati, in Altamira, Pará, denounces the death of yet another worker at the Belo Monte Dam construction site, another round of mass layoffs of workers on strike and a death threat against him for covering the stories in a series of tweets [all links in pt].
Southeast Asia: Crocodiles in the News
A giant crocodile in the southern Philippines and crocodiles in the flooded waters of Thailand and Cambodia were among the top news topics in Southeast Asia in the last quarter of the year. Here are some crocodile sightings and online reports.
Sri Lanka: Full Moon In Jaffna
Sayanthan, a student of IT and Business Strategy captured the recent full moon in Jaffna with a nice photo and shares it.
China: Beijing Winter Air
Pekinglogy shows the air pollution in Beijing with photos and data.
Confusing information for NGOs at COP 17 in Durban
Addressing the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) in Durban on climate change, René Audet complained on the website blogueaqlpa.com: “Since the arrival of Ministers in Durban, negotiations have been taken to another level, so to speak. Now, this level is inaccessible to observers like us. Information circulates well within NGO networks, but they are confusing.”
Macedonia, China: Comparing Air Pollution in the Capitals
Anastas Vangeli, а Macedonian studying in Beijing, compared the levels of air pollution and policy measures between that city and his hometown Skopje.
Jamaica: Blue Lagoon
Labrish reports that “Jamaica's precious Blue Lagoon won a significant victory this week when a Preservation Notice was signed by the Government.”
Latin America: Social Networks Bring Recognition to Primary Recyclers
Using various social media, primary recyclers of Latin America, also known as pepenadores, cartoneros, buzos (waste pickers) or simply recyclers, have joined together in search of social inclusion and formal recognition of their work.
Brazil: Video-debate on Belo Monte Dam
Brazilian journalist and blogger Lino Bocchini published [pt] the video of a debate on the construction of the Belo Monte Dam, in the Amazonia rain forest. Journalists and experts on the matter participated in the debate, which was livestreamed on the self-managed and participatory online channel #posTV [pt].
Peru: Netizens Denounce Police Repression During Protest in Lima Against Conga Mine
Peruvian netizens are denouncing police repression during a protest held in Lima on December 5, 2011, against the Conga mining project in Cajamarca. Juan Arellano links [es] to several citizen media reports, including blog posts, photos and videos.
Haiti: Business Wins, Haiti Loses
Haiti Grassroots Watch has been looking at the issues surrounding the inauguration of an industrial zone in the north of the island, and finds that “once again, Haiti’s government and her private sector – and their international supervisors – are pitching sweatshop level salaries as a key ‘comparative advantage.'”
China: Beijing Air Pollution
On December 4, Beijing’s PM 2.5 reading soared to 522, or “beyond index” on the scale of 500. Ministry of Tofu has translated some local reports on the situation of air pollution in Beijing.
Macedonia: Is Skopje Really the Most Polluted City in the World?
Unlike the authorities, social media users are reacting to the empirical information about high levels of pollution in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. Filip Stojanovski reports.
Bangladesh: Lone Woman Shows Resilience by Peaking Summits
Wasfia Nazreen, a Bangladeshi rights activist and development worker quit her job to fulfill her dream to reach seven summits of the seven continents. Her climbs highlight the resilience of the Bangladeshi people, who continue to face new threats due to climate change.
Colombia: Mixed Feelings About Ecotouristic Project
Cineaoloido points us to this documentary [es] on the social and economical impact that the people of Santa Elena near Medellin have experienced since the opening of a massive ecotouristic park in their community.
Barbados: Environmental Laws Needed
In the wake of a fire at a chemical warehouse, Barbados Free Press says: “This week’s spill disaster again reminds us that when it comes to environmental standards, laws and performance, our leaders have made us a third world country.”
Brazil: Documentary on Belo Monte Seeks Funds from the Crowd
Belo Monte: Announcement of a War is the title of a Brazilian independent video production about the hydroelectric plant's impact, which has made its way to the top of the most expensive crowdfunding campaigns in the Catarse platform. The short documentary had tried crowdfunding before without success.
