Blog Action Day: Voices out of Africa and the Diaspora  · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Today many bloggers around the world united to write about one single theme, the environment. The blogs from Africa and Diaspora that participated did so with much variety in style and content. What follows are links and tidbits from Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and other global citizens.
Kenya
Afrigadget posts ‘Where others see junk, Africa Recycles’. Pictures of Simon the blacksmith who recycles scrap metal into animal sculptures.
Phil of Kenya environment news contributes two posts, one on ‘Environmental change and infectious disease’ and another on  ‘poverty and the environment’
Because poor people have limited financial resources, they depend on the environment for their basic needs, such as water, food, shelter. When environmental degradation occurs, the capacity of poor people to make decisions that contribute to their well-being is undermined. Until the high degree of dependency of poor people on the environment is addressed, poverty alleviation will not be achieved.
Rob writes from Nairobi, Kenya: ‘A convenient excuse’ looking at the oft cited link between climate change and conflict in Darfur. He sees a similar (misplaced) allocation of blame to global warming affecting the lives of nomadic tribes in northern Kenya.
Mzungu Chick posts about ecotourism in Kenya, noting…
Statistics show that spending by tourists makes up 12% of our economy and about half a million Kenyans depend on the travel industry for a living so it is absolutely vital that we take care of it.
Kenyans are generally well aware of this fact and are most definitely making more of an effort with regards to sustainable tourism development and promoting practices that will conserve Kenya’s natural environment and improve livelihoods of associated communities.
Kikuyumoja posts on things he'd like to see more often, from waterless urinals to q-tips made out of rolled paper as opposed to non-biodegradable plastic.
South Africa
Rory of Carbon Copy will have a series of posts from the 15th of October to the 19th. The first in the series is ‘Shades of green’
If I were to identify a single issue that I consider to be critical for environmental sustainability, it would be that there is rarely one clear solution to any particular challenge: there are almost always shades of green.
There is no single correct choice, no state-of-the-art solution to be pulled off the shelf, no world best practice to be taken from one country and applied in another. To be sure, there are benchmarks against which we can judge potential responses to individual challenges, but as knowledge grows and technologies evolve, so do the benchmarks.
Eish asks ‘Blog Action day – Why bother?’  and discusses the importance of environmental issues to each person, giving a rationale for caring about this on a personal level.
Turbosprout contributes with a wrap up of green news.
Flint.za posts tips for ‘efficient electricity use in the home’.
Nic of SA Rocks is incredibly proud of his country and the natural abundance it is blessed with, including some facts about sites, flora and fauna in South Africa;urging others to continue keeping South Africa beautiful.
Notes from the underground posts some links on Orthodox Environmentalism
Worksucks posts tips on how to reduce paper waste at work.
Sarah Manners of Quirk e-marketing posts on ‘saving the world, one blog post at a time’.
Szavanna introduces Ben Saunders, a polar explorer.
Jenty posts a picture showing air pollution from a petrol and oil processing plant (sasol), and also includes a conversation with 4 year old son Bradley who gives her a different perspective on air pollution.
Nigeria
Omodudu writes of the Niger Delta  stating
So here is my one voice of thousands: We demand that the Oil companies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria treat our land and people with respect.
Thank You.
On the Hill shares thoughts on caring for the environment through sustainable design, including design features that have a positive effect on the environment.
Giamarro speaks adds a solemn pledge that reads  in part…
Let's be kind to each other and be kind to this land. Let's take a stand. If we loose the land, what do we have left?
Global Citizens
Dan of Migrations blog looks at the possible link between environmental damage and declining numbers of migratory birds.
Crisscrossed examines the problem of e-waste around the world, with facts relating to India, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and China.
Bluedreamer writes about illegal logging in the worlds’ forests.
Bazungubucks says ‘Everybody's cryin’ mercy’ sharing his thoughts and providing links on sustainable initiatives.
Last but not least is Nobaddays’ top priority for the next home they buy…an outdoor washing line to hang their laundry.
Special thanks to Erik of WhiteAfrican for some of the links on this post, and to all the bloggers who participated in Blog Action day.