Stories about Environment from March, 2008
Trinidad & Tobago: Food for Thought
Blogging from Trinidad & Tobago, This Beach Called Life offers some food for thought: “Citizens of the country are being urged to plant food in their backyards in order to reduce the effects of rising food prices…with this in mind I planted two boxes of original KFC with fries, a...
Azerbaijan: Deal with Turkmenistan
NewEurasia reports on a deal signed in Baku that ends a 16-year dispute between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan over debt. The blog says the news is an “important step forward on the way to build a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline.”
Lijiang’s war on plastic bags
On ChinaDialogue, Lijiang’s war on “white pollution”: “A recent Chinese government ban on plastic carrier bags was hailed around the world. Under the new regulations from the State Council, which come into effect on June 1, 2008, shoppers at supermarkets, shopping malls and markets across the country will have to...
Arabeyes: Rising Cost of Living
Prices of commodities ranging from grocery to building material and rent are going up, up, up and being the true mirrors of their societies, bloggers from Yemen, Egypt, Kuwait and Qatar are speaking up.
Brasil: The most beautiful street in the world
The Porto Alegre Vive [“Porto Alegre Lives”, PT] blog tells us[PT] about the Portuguese blog A Sombra Verde [“The Green Shadow”, PT] that elected one of Porto Alegre‘s streets as “the most beautiful street in the world”, by the beauty of it's trees and the hard fight it's inhabitants are...
Ecuador: Natural Forces Threatening the Country
The recent diplomatic crisis in Ecuador did not stop other natural forces from producing a crisis of their own in the country. Heavy rainfalls and a threatening volcano have continued to be a focus of local bloggers, who hope that the government and media can be better equipped to handle these ongoing issues. One even poked fun at a governmental campaign that asks Ecuadorans to stay positive in spite of these hardships.
Singapore: Nesting Hornbills
The Bird Ecology Study Group has posted images of a male and female hornbills inspecting potential nesting cavities in Singapore's Changi area.
Guyana: Hedonism Too?
Guyana-Gyal spends a hedonistic moment in the tropics…almost.
Madagascar: Lessons learned after 3rd severe tropical cyclone in a month
Since late January, 3 severe tropical cyclones have affected Madagascar tremendously, the latest being cyclone Jokwe who made landfall in the northern region of Madagascar, destroying 40 homes and leaving 400 people stranded in Nosy-be. The city of Antsiranana was also affected but not as extensively and Jokwe is now...
Japan: Coastal Whaling
Shisaku discusses the Japan government's decision on the revival of commercial coastal whaling, in particular its relation to local politics.
Yemen: The Spectacular Wadi Doan
Yemeni Omar Barsawad links to a video showing the “spectacular” Wady (Valley) Doan.
India: Saving the Tiger
There appears to be a renewed interest in saving the tiger in India – My Module points to a provision in the national budget and the ongoing campaign by a leading TV news channel.
Dubai: Famous Trees
From Dubai, Kinan Jarjous writes about famous trees.
Barbados, Venezuela: Petro Caribe
“We have often asked the question on this blog, ‘What is it that Chavez gets out of Petro Caribe?'”, writes Barbadian blogger Notes From The Margin: “Thankfully it seems that other people are asking the same question.”
Taiwan: Hunter Action
Peopo.org puts up a video on the weekend music concert organized by indigenous groups in Taiwan. The ethnic minorities are claiming their land right [zh].
China: Thoughts on bankruptcy of the last ‘Animal Farm’
Nanjie Village, the last “Animal Farm” in China, has been known by the Chinese as the ‘red billionaire village’ and ‘communism village’ until the recent revealment by newspapers that it has arrears around 1 billion yuan although it gradually changed its economic system years ago in light of some ‘capitalistic...
Environment: Elephant Culling and Crisis in The Mara
In this issue of Global Voices environment, we check in with various blogs around the world. The themes are varied, and some are of global concern with commentary from Kenya about elephant culling in South Africa, commentary from Europe on “Eco-colonialism” in Botswana, Brazil, DRC, Patagonia and other countries. Image...
Trinidad & Tobago: Tourism Leader?
As a new study reveals that Trinidad & Tobago is set to show the greatest tourism growth in the region, Discover TnT Blog says: “What we all hope is that T&T – promoted as the ‘true Caribbean’ – does not dilute all that makes it unique in order to compete...
Russia, Venezuela: “Exxon Strikes Back”
White Sun of the Desert writes about how “international oil and gas companies are not as completely helpless in the face of politically contrived domestic disputes as most would think”: “ExxonMobil is currently demonstrating rather effectively how an international oil company can remove the dispute from the domestic arena into...
India: Environment and Journalism
Don't Trust the Indian Media! on the deplorable coverage of environmental issues in the media.
Japan: Eat Whale And Save The Planet?
James from Japan Probe blogs a survey from the pro-whaling group which argues eating whale is more environmental than other meat. There is a poll attached in the post.