Environment

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Pollution Poses Health Risks to Transport Workers

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Workers whose jobs place them in direct contact with air pollution face a higher possibility of health problems involving the eyes and lungs, as well as a higher risk of cancer.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Communities Reject Open-Pit Mining Project

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Residents of some 15 municipalities in El Triunfo, in southern Honduras, have rejected an open-pit mining project proposed by a Canadian company.

Women Take up Care of Tohoku Elders

By Suvendrini Kakuchi
Yumiko Yonekura, who survived last year’s massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Tohoku in northeast Japan, has just launched ‘Hot Care Kesenuma’, a welfare company that provides special care for feeble elders in the affected region.

Men and Women Farming Together Can Eradicate Hunger

By Isaiah Esipisu
Three years ago, the residents of the semi-arid Yatta district in Kenya’s Eastern Province lived on food aid due to dwindling crops of maize that could not thrive because of the decreased rainfall in the area. That was until a local bishop, trying to find ways to prevent mothers from forcing their teenage daughters into prostitution, changed everything.

Women Spend 40 Billion Hours Collecting Water

By Thalif Deen
As the weeklong international conference on water concluded Friday, it was left to one of the keynote speakers from the United Nations to focus on a much neglected perspective on water and food security: the role of women.

PACIFIC ISLANDS: Marine Protected Areas Bolster Conservation Efforts

By Stephen Leahy
The world's smallest island nations wield more power than their sizes would suggest, with millions of square kilometres in their domains, said leaders of Pacific Island nations gathered at a special forum here in the Cook Islands.

Burkina Faso’s VIPs – Very Important People Championing Ventilated Improved Pit Latrines

By Brahima Ouédraogo
For far too many households in Burkina Faso, going to the toilet means heading for the bush. The Burkinabè government has launched a new campaign to change this, calling on prominent personalities as both sponsors and champions.

Kashmir’s Melting Glaciers May Cut Ice With Sceptics

By Athar Parvaiz
Jowhar Ahmed, an air-conditioner dealer in Srinagar, is pleased at a spurt in business this summer caused by temperatures soaring over 35 degrees Celsius - unusual in this alpine valley ringed by snow-capped mountains.

International Food Prices Again at Record Levels, World Bank Warns

By Carey L. Biron
After decreasing somewhat in recent months, international food prices have again risen dramatically, according to figures published on Thursday by the World Bank. Statistics for July indicate a 10 percent rise over just the previous month, and a six percent increase over already high prices from the same time frame a year ago.

Farming Among the Waste in Cameroon

By Monde Kingsley Nfor
Cameroonian urban famer Juliana Numfor has six plots of land where she grows maize, cassava, sweet potatoes and leafy vegetables, including cabbages, wild okra and greens.

Despite Possible Attacks, Gaza Plans Half-Billion-Dollar Desalination Plant

By Thalif Deen
Last May the European Commission reported that scores of infrastructure projects in the Gaza Strip, financed mostly by the European Union, have been damaged or destroyed, wittingly or unwittingly, by Israeli military forces in the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

Hurricane Isaac Highlights Vulnerabilities in the Caribbean

By Patricia Grogg
The impact of Hurricane Isaac as it made its way through the Caribbean region highlighted both the fragility of some countries in the face of extreme meteorological events, which are expected to become more and more intense, and the different strategies adopted to mitigate the risk of disasters.

U.S.: Government and Industry Partner to Promote Electric Cars

By Matthew Charles Cardinale
A 120-million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to the nationwide Electric Vehicle (EV) Project aims to promote and expand the use of electric vehicles in the United States.

Sweden to Fund Innovations in Water Sector

By Thalif Deen
When the international community was struggling to ward off a potential decline in development aid in early 2000, it came up with a novel idea: a proposal for "new and innovative sources of financing", including a tax on airline tickets and a levy on foreign exchange transactions.

As Temperatures Rise in Sri Lanka, Drought Wreaks Havoc

By Amantha Perera
It is a time of extreme heat and anxiety in Sri Lanka. Even the rains last week felt like a sudden burst of cold water on the smouldering asbestos sheets on most Sri Lankan household roofs, creating a blast of cold air before the heat returns once the rains end.

Drought Dries Up Balkans Harvests

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic
After two months of waiting, people from the central Serbian town Valjevo followed the call of their bishop and went to local Orthodox Church to pray for rain.

Could Water Strife Lead to ‘Mass Killings’ in the Future?

By Thalif Deen
As the world faces possible water scarcities in the next two to three decades, the U.S. intelligence community has already portrayed a grim scenario for the foreseeable future: ethnic conflicts, regional tensions, political instability and even mass killings.

Shifting to Renewables in Japan – An Uphill Task

By Suvendrini Kakuchi
Renewable energy is emerging as the “clinch deal” in Japan`s painful power crisis that pits the government and business against public demand for zero nuclear power. But experts say the going is easier said than done.

Study Damns Mekong Dams

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
Impoverished Laos is unlikely to cancel a Thai project to build a mega dam across the Mekong River at Xayaburi, despite warnings from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that it could devastate the region’s rich biodiversity.

In Uruguay, the Answer Is Blowing in the Wind

By Inés Acosta
Uruguay needs to reinforce and expand its electric power grid to absorb the 1,200 megawatts of wind energy that it plans to generate by 2015.
An organic farm in the village of Swierze Panki, about 100 kilometres east of the Polish capital Warsaw. Credit: Claudia Ciobanu/IPS

Feed Europe, Feed the World

By Claudia Ciobanu
A huge moment for reform of the industrial farming system in Europe has many stakeholders on edge. Farmers who are feeling the crunch of rising input costs – from fertilisers to fuel – believe they can benefit greatly from a transition to more traditional and sustainable farming methods.
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