Stories about Environment from November, 2008
Peru: After-Effects of Mercury Spill in Choropampa
Silvio of Lapicero Digital [es] writes about the lack of news in the Peruvian media about deaths caused by mercury contamination in Choropampa. The recent death of the Mayor of Choropampa, Vicente Zarate Minchán is thought to be a result of the contamination caused by the mercury spill that took...
Guyana: A Snake Story
Guyana-Gyal says that her life sometimes feels “like endless days of stories, anecdotes, drama, comedy, tragic-comedy, punctuated by…ssssssssnake!”
Yellow Humvees and the UN Procurement Scandal
The use of SUVs by UN staff in Nairobi is rankling some bloggers. They are posting pictures on their blogs, and have even created a flickr pool called ‘Kick The Habit’. The title of the set of pictures borrows from UNEP's (United Nations Environment Program) campaign from June of this...
Morocco: Rustic Picnic
Moroccan blog My Marrakesh takes us on a rustic picnic and here are the photographs.
Anguilla, Trinidad & Tobago: Memories of The Abbey
Anguillian Don Mitchell takes a trip to his Alma Mater at Mount St. Benedict in Trinidad.
Haiti: Dire Situation
Konbit Pou Ayiti says that “although most of the world has moved on from the tragic stories of the four powerful storms that thrashed Haiti in August and September, Haitians certainly have not. In Gonaives, people are still living on the roofs of homes that are covered in mud. In...
Jamaica: Only in Jamaica
A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah posts photos of some humourous scenarios that could be “ONLY IN JAMAICA, MON!”
Bahamas: Call of the Parrots
Womanish Words hears “a wonderful sound…the raucous cries of wild Bahama Parrots in (her) Avocado tree. Real, honest-to-the-Goddess, wild parrots, the ones that are highly endangered…but by some miracle there is now at least one flock of these beautiful, rare birds alive and well on New Providence.”
Hong Kong: Netizen's DIY Environmental Impact Assessment to Save Lung Mei
The Lung Mei （龍尾）Coastline is a natural muddy stretch at the eastern boundary of Ting Kok（汀角） Site of Special Scientific Interest (which is the fourth largest mangrove stand in Hong Kong). There are prolific biodiversity and ecological niches. Early last year, the Civil Engineering and Development Department put forward a...
Romania: Elections and Gazprom
Kosmopolito writes that in Romania, “[t]he fight against corruption is ongoing and is progressing according to schedule: endless” – and as the country prepares for the parliamentary election on Nov. 30, “[m]ost likely it will not vote”: “Those who will vote, will have to choose pretty much the same thing....
India: Stop Cutting Trees in Bangalore
Rajesh at Non Stop Goli writes about a protest march in Bangalore against cutting trees for widening the roads and for the Metro. He also posts pictures of the protest.
Dominican Republic: Frequent Blackouts Impede Progress
The Dominican Republic is suffering through frequent blackouts and Rocío Díaz of Monaco [es] writes that “without electricity, there is no progress.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Is this Development?
Trinidadian blogger Coffeewallah finds it “distasteful on so many levels that a man could be reduced to less than my dog, that as a nation stumbling towards what we call development, we still have not found a way to treat with our dispossessed.”
Japan: Granny's blog
The first of its kind, a Japanese blog called Sobolog (祖母ログ) [ literally “Grannylog”] crosses three generations, written by a nephew living in Tokyo in collaboration with her mother (who records the facts), presenting the daily life of her funky granny named Hide (82 y.o.) living in Gunma Prefecture. In...
Brazil: National Park Under Threat from Illegal Fires
For over a month now the Chapada Diamantina National Park has been burning relentlessly and lost 50 percent of its forest area (roughly the size of New York City). Authorities say the fires were started by ranchers clearing land for pasture. The situation is out of control and if not reforested, Chapada may lose its exuberance for ever.
Brazil: Criminal fire at Chapada Diamantina National Park
Paulo Bicarato [pt] echoes the news that fires that have destroyed 50% of the Brazilian Chapada Diamantina National Park, roughly the size of New York City, were likely started by ranchers clearing land for pasture. “For those who had the pleasure to have been to that piece of paradise, it...
Environment: Planting Trees in Cameroon
From the Kabissa Newletter, a project is profiled: The organization aims to plant trees in thirteen Village communities of Ngoketunjia Division, as a means to fight climate change in Cameroon and the world at large.
Barbados: The Fate of Graeme Hall
Barbadian blogs are doing their part to raise awareness of the plight of the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary: The Bajan Dream Project, Barbados Free Press and Barbados Photo Blog all say their piece.
Cuba: Hurricane Paloma
In the latest installment of the chronicles of the 2008 hurricane season, Hurricane Paloma struck Cuba, destroying hundreds of homes in the process and compounding the damage and economic losses the island experienced two short months ago after Hurricane Ike. Bloggers from both Cuba and the diaspora were monitoring the...
Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana: From the Yard
“Growing up in a semi-rural, agricultural area of Trinidad, every household would make garden. Some larger than others, depending on the availability of land. Neighbours shared peas, beans, fruits, trade dasheen bush for avocados, encouraging diversity without having to plant everything yourself”: Lifespan of a Chennette highlights “the joy that...
Ecuador: Chelito the Giraffe Died of Heart Attack
Investigators have determined that Chelito the Giraffe died of a heart attack writes Voces Lojanas [es], which has been following the events following the death of the beloved animal in Loja, Ecuador.
