Stories about Environment from January, 2011
Taiwan: Petrochemical industry pays for blog posts
Michael Turton writes about how the Taiwan Green Party accused the government of paying bloggers to write about a visit to petrochemical plants. Green Party member Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) says the practice is greenwashing [zh-tw] and accused the government and corporations of forming a “$5,000 Party” (五千黨) [zh-tw].
U.S.V.I.: Ferry Challenges
“It's been a tough couple of weeks for ferries at Enighed Pond”: News of St. John explains.
China: Mining in Tibet
Tibetan Plateau blog uses Google Earth to monitor mining activities in Gyama, Tibet.
Philippines: Thousands affected by flashfloods
According to the Philippine govenrment's Department of Social Welfare and Development, more than 800,000 people are affected by flashfloods in the southern provinces
Energy Crisis In Pakistan
Hamid Abbasi at Chowrangi writes about the ongoing energy crisis in Pakistan and its fall out.
China: Human error at Zhouqu mudslide
Jiang Gaoming explains in China Dialogue how human development increases the risk of natural disasters by looking into Zhouqu mudslide happened last year.
Floods Continue to Devastate Australia
Devastating floods on both the East and West coasts of Australia have caused a war of words over water as well as some high quality online crowdsourcing by our national broadcaster. There has been a series of online spaces to share flood experiences.
Arab World: “Stop Crying Over Sudan”
Today's independence referendum in Sudan has put the country on the radar in the Arabic twitterosphere. From Saudi Arabia to Palestine, Arab tweeps are discussing Sudan's unity, division and resources.
Lebanon: Snow Finally
Sietske posts about the trip she took with her children to enjoy the snow that has finally covered the slopes of the Lebanese mountains.
Lebanon: Architecture and Environment
Tarek Chemaly posted, two years ago, of a house with its balcony designed to wrap around a pine tree. He now posts an update of this house as it is being transformed into a restaurant, and the first thing to go was the pine tree.
Nepal: Energy Potential Not Harnessed
Nepali informs that: “Nepal has the capability to produce 40,000 MW (of electricity). Currently, it produces about 600 MW, roughly 1.5% of the potential. And of that 600 MW, 25% is lost due to “technical errors” like pilfering.”
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Effects of Fireworks
“Nature is under assault from humans on all sides”: Diaspora blogger Labrish posts a requiem for the 5,000 blackbirds that literally fell out of the sky in Arkansas on New Year's Eve.
COP 16: Agreement on Form But Without the Funds
The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ended in Cancun last December 11 with the adoption of a host of decisions. Bloggers in Bolivia, Mexico, and Togo give a lukewarm reception to the decisions, which don't seem to have a clearly defined roadmap for their financing.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: The “What Ifs” of Earthquakes
“Are we really prepared or are we sitting ducks waiting for the worst?”: Abeni finds herself thinking about earthquakes.
Madagascar: Lemur Poisoning On the Rise
Mongabay writes that the environmental NGO Fanamby in Madagascar warns of a new practice of poisoning lemurs to poach them [Warning: graphic images]. Fanamby also notes that lemur poaching and rosewood trafficking are on the rise since the political crisis of 2009 (fr).
Iran: Snow in Tehran
Kosoof, a leading photo blogger has published a photo from snowy Tehran.
North Korea: Kim Jong-il Said Mt. Baekdu Will Erupt in 2016
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il is allegedly to have said “Mt. Baekdu will erupt in 2016” and urged mine workers to produce iron ore when it is available, PSCORE(People for Successful COrean REunification), a human rights group founded by a North Korean wrote[ko] in its website. Korea Times provided a...
Russia: Ushahidi Project Adresses Problems of Russian Winter
“Help Map for Russian Winter” (Holoda.info), a new crowdsourcing project, was launched in Russia to address the problems of people who are affected by cold weather. RIA Novosti news agency reports [RUS] that the website's goal is to raise awareness about people suffering from the lack of heating and other...
Southeast Asia: Review of 2010
Here are the top stories in the Southeast Asia region in 2010 as reported by the Southeast Asia team of Global Voices.
South Korea: Pleas Against Cattle Killing in Foot-and-Mouth Outbreak
A farm boy's online posting about how he and his family watched all their cattle be killed, has inspired even more public outrage against a decision by the South Korean government to cull all animals at risk of contracting foot-and-mouth disease as a preventive measure.
South Korea's Haemaji(Sunrise Greeting) in 2011
South Korea's Wikitree posted photos of the very first sunrise of the year across the country. Annually, thousands of Koreans travel for hours to the far eastern or southern side of the country or climb nearest mountains for Haemaji(Sunrise Greeting), their centruries-old tradition.
