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Archives for March 2014

Landmark victory for the Ogiek

Ogiek, Kenya March 31, 2014, www.survivalinternational.org | “After eighteen years of struggle, the Kenyan courts have finally ruled in favour of the Ogiek, one of Africa’s last hunter-gatherer tribes.  Hundreds of families were evicted nearly two decades ago from their ancestral lands in the Mau Forest, and the court has recognised that this violated their constitutional right to life.”

Brazil Kicks Out Illegal Loggers
us1.campaign-archive2.com
Over 60% of the illegal invaders on the land of the Awá tribe have now been evicted in a breakthrough operation in the Brazilian Amazon.”
  • Kevin Village-Stone, Connie Ashby, Maryska Azzena, Michael Sykes, Christine Forest Sea, Pavana Bohegian, Good Vibrations
Mar 31, 2014 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Earth Ceremonies, Forests, Native Peoples, Native Peoples, Land

Victory for campaigners as UN judges order Japan to stop hunting Antarctic whales

Japan had justified the slaughter of more than 10,000 whales in the Southern Ocean in the past 25 years on the grounds that it was done for scientific purposesMarch 31, 2014, www.independent.co.uk | “Japan has been ordered to end whale hunts in the Antarctic in a historic ruling that saw United Nations judges dismiss longstanding Japanese arguments that the hunting of more than 900 whales a year was carried out for scientific research purposes only.”

Merry Bindner shared a link
*Major Victory for Whaling Campaigners as UN Judges Order Japan to Stop Hunting* Independent http://ind.pn/1fGQW8y

Japan has been ordered to end whale hunts in the Antarctic in a historic ruling that saw United Nations judges dismiss longstanding Japanese arguments that the hunting of more than 900 whales a year was carried out for scientific research purposes only. EI Says: IPCC

http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9225735.ece/BINARY/original/whalingv2.jpg
www.independent.co.uk
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Filed under: Animals, Animals & Plants, Compassionate Actions, Endangered Species, Ocean Fish, Oceans

Millions turn off lights for Earth Hour 2014

March 31, 2014, www.renewableenergyworld.com | “This weekend, millions of people around the world came together for Earth Hour. The annual event, which is organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), is designed to raise awareness about a sustainable future for our planet.”

“On March 29, Millions turned off lights for Earth Hour 2014 – 7,000 cities in 162 countries
www.renewableenergyworld.com
This weekend, millions of people around the world came together for Earth Hour. The annual event, which is organized by the World Wide…”
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Filed under: Business Policy, Climate, Economics, Energy, Energy - Polluting, Energy - Renewable, Local Policy, National Policy, Protests

A Giant Basket That Uses Condensation to Gather Drinking Water

March 28, 2014, www.wired.com | “Around the world, 768 million people don’t have access to safe water, and every day 1,400 children under the age of five die from water-based diseases. Designer Arturo Vittori believes the solution to this catastrophe lies not in high technology, but in sculptures that look like giant-sized objects from the pages of a Pier 1 catalog.”

 

“I love stories like this!
A Giant Basket That Uses Condensation to Gather Drinking Water | Design | WIRED
www.wired.com
Vittori hopes to have two WarkaTowers erected in Ethiopia by 2015 and is looking for financial rainmakers who’d like to seed these…”
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Mar 28, 2014 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Buildings, Climate, Energy - Renewable, Local Policy, New, Pollution, Water

Chile Derails ‘Monsanto Law’ That Would Privatize Seeds

monsantoMarch 28, 2014, ecowatch.com | “This month, rural women, indigenous communities and farmers in Chile found themselves on the winning end of a long-fought battle against a bill that had come to be known by many in this country as simply, the ‘Monsanto Law.'”

Good for Chile!
Chile recently derailed the ‘Monsanto Law’, a law that would have privatized seeds. This month, rural women, indigenous communities and farmers found themselves on the winning end of a long-fought battle against a bill that had come to be known by many in Chile as simply, the “Monsanto Law.” The bill, which would have given multinational agribusiness corporations the right to patent seeds, was withdrawn by the Chilean government amid concerns that the law would bring harm to the country’s small and mid-sized farmers. Hats off to Chile! A victory for now. But the battle is far from over. It’s just begun.READ: http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/28/chile-derails-monsanto-law/

#Chile #SeedPatent #GMO #TheMonsantoLaw #Biodiversity #GMOFreeCanada #GMOFreeUSA

— with Ivan Andres Santandreu.

Photo: Chile recently derailed the ‘Monsanto Law’, a law that would have privatized seeds. This month, rural women, indigenous communities and farmers found themselves on the winning end of a long-fought battle against a bill that had come to be known by many in Chile as simply, the “Monsanto Law.” The bill, which would have given multinational agribusiness corporations the right to patent seeds, was withdrawn by the Chilean government amid concerns that the law would bring harm to the country’s small and mid-sized farmers. Hats off to Chile! A victory for now. But the battle is far from over. It's just begun.</p> <p>READ: http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/28/chile-derails-monsanto-law/</p> <p>#Chile #SeedPatent #GMO #TheMonsantoLaw #Biodiversity #GMOFreeCanada #GMOFreeUSA
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Mar 28, 2014 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Farms & Gardens, GMO Bans, GMO Labelling, GMO Lawsuits, GMO set backs, GMOs, Local Food, Organic Farming

Pumping Polluted Water Into Lake Okeechobee Must Stop, Judge Rules

March 28, 2014, earthjustice.org | “A major decision in federal court today will put an end to government-sanctioned pollution that’s been fouling Lake Okeechobee for more than three decades. The case, first filed in 2002 by Earthjustice, challenged the practice of  ‘backpumping.'”

Good News After An 11 Year Battle!
AFTER AN 11 YEAR LEGAL BATTLE – the federal court decides to put an end to government-sanctioned pollution that’s been fouling Lake Okeechobee for more than three decades. http://ow.ly/v95VV

The case, first filed in 2002 by Earthjustice, challenged the practice of “backpumping.” For years, South Florida sugar and vegetable growers have used the public’s waters, pumped out of giant Lake Okeechobee, to irrigate their fields. They wash the water over their industrial-sized crops, where it is contaminated with fertilizers and other pollutants.

Then, they get taxpayers in the South Florida Water Management District to pay to pump the contaminated water back into Lake Okeechobee, where it pollutes public drinking water supplies.
Earthjustice won the suit proving that the water transfer practice does, indeed, violate the Clean Water Act.

TELL US>> have you seen water pollution from the agriculture industry?

SHARE and LIKE>> to celebrate this victory!

Photo: AFTER AN 11 YEAR LEGAL BATTLE – the federal court decides to put an end to government-sanctioned pollution that’s been fouling Lake Okeechobee for more than three decades. http://ow.ly/v95VV The case, first filed in 2002 by Earthjustice, challenged the practice of “backpumping.” For years, South Florida sugar and vegetable growers have used the public’s waters, pumped out of giant Lake Okeechobee, to irrigate their fields. They wash the water over their industrial-sized crops, where it is contaminated with fertilizers and other pollutants. Then, they get taxpayers in the South Florida Water Management District to pay to pump the contaminated water back into Lake Okeechobee, where it pollutes public drinking water supplies. Earthjustice won the suit proving that the water transfer practice does, indeed, violate the Clean Water Act. TELL US>> have you seen water pollution from the agriculture industry? SHARE and LIKE>> to celebrate this victory!
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Mar 28, 2014 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Business Policy, Economics, Farms & Gardens, Local Food, Local Policy, Pollution, Protests, Water

Fracking protest village Balcombe raises funds for solar power

Villagers in Balcombe are raising funds for solar powerMarch 27, 2014, www.theguardian.com | “Residents of Balcombe, the Sussex village which last summer became the centre of anti-fracking protests, have formed a new co-operative that aims to harness the power of the sun for electricity.”

Kevin Village-Stone shared 350.org’s photo.

“Last year, Balcombe hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as the sleepy West Sussex village found itself in the eye of the national storm surrounding the push for fracking in the UK.
Keen to see a positive, practical response to the…”
Photo: Last year, Balcombe hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as the sleepy West Sussex village found itself in the eye of the national storm surrounding the push for fracking in the UK. Keen to see a positive, practical response to the divisive fracking debate, residents have set up a clean-energy co-operative called REPOWERBalcombe. The goal: build enough community-owned solar power to match the electricity needs of all 760 homes in the village within 2 years. Yesterday, as they publicly launched their co-op, our friends at 10:10 launched a Back Balcombe campaign, to help them crowd fund their way out of fossil fuels. We LIKE this and we can't wait for co-operatives like these to spread even further!
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Filed under: Economics, Energy - Renewable, Solar

The best of the worst: fossil-fuel extractors pave the way for the low-carbon revolution

March 26, 2014, news.mongabay.com | “At the end of last year, the world got some good news on the green business front concerning a very unlikely set of participants. A recent market review revealed that Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell, Duke Energy, PG&E Corporation, American Electric Power Company, ConAgra Foods and Walmart, among others, are including shadow carbon prices in their forecasts.”

“Carbon pricing, and thus reduction in pollution, is predicted by Big Oil’s economic forecasts
news.mongabay.com
At the end of last year, the world got some good news on the green business front concerning a very unlikely set of participants. A recent market review revealed that Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell, Duke Energy, PG&E Corporation, American Electric…”
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Filed under: Business Policy, Climate, Economics, Energy, Energy - Polluting, Energy - Renewable, Green Jobs, Investments, Oil

California GMO Labeling Bill SB 1381 was voted out of the Senate Health Committee

BREAKING NEWS: California GMO Labeling Bill SB 1381 was voted out of the Senate Health Committee today by a vote of 5-2. You did it! ONWARD!
#GMO #California #Labelgmos #SB1381 #NeedToKnowGMO #GMOfreeCalifornia #GMOFreeUSA — with Ramona Bloodwell Stovall.
Photo: BREAKING NEWS: California GMO Labeling Bill SB 1381 was voted out of the Senate Health Committee today by a vote of 5-2. You did it! ONWARD! #GMO #California #Labelgmos #SB1381 #NeedToKnowGMO #GMOfreeCalifornia #GMOFreeUSA
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Filed under: GMO Labelling, GMO set backs, GMOs

Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor Requests Total Ban of Glyphosate Herbicides

gmo brazil soybeans

March 26, 2014, sustainablepulse.com | “The Brazilian Federal Public Prosecutor in the Federal District has requested the Justice Department to suspend the use of glyphosate – the most widely used herbicide in Brazil. In addition, the prosecutor wants to challenge 2,4-D and the active ingredients methyl parathion, lactofem, phorate, carbofuran, abamectin, tiram and paraquat.”

“Brazil’s Public Prosecutor has requested a total ban on glyphosate based herbicides. The Public Prosecutor has also sought an injunction on 2,4-D as well as several other herbicides that are all suspected of damaging human health and environment, pending further toxicity studies and seeks to prohibit the release of 2,4-D resistant GMO crops. YAY! for Brazil. Let’s hope they follow in Sri Lanka’s footsteps and drop the ban hammer on Roundup and all glyphosate based herbicides. This leads us to ask: How many countries will BAN ROUNDUP before the U.S. decides it’s not ok to feed us carcinogenic, endocrine disrupting, genotoxic, neurotoxic and infertility producing Roundup and finally does the same?READ: http://sustainablepulse.com/2014/03/26/brazils-federal-public-prosecutor-requests-total-ban-glyphosate-herbicides/#.UzLj4a1dWqR.”

Photo: Brazil's Public Prosecutor has requested a total ban on glyphosate based herbicides. The Public Prosecutor has also sought an injunction on 2,4-D as well as several other herbicides that are all suspected of damaging human health and environment, pending further toxicity studies and seeks to prohibit the release of 2,4-D resistant GMO crops. YAY! for Brazil. Let's hope they follow in Sri Lanka's footsteps and drop the ban hammer on Roundup and all glyphosate based herbicides. This leads us to ask: How many countries will BAN ROUNDUP before the U.S. decides it's not ok to feed us carcinogenic, endocrine disrupting, genotoxic, neurotoxic and infertility producing Roundup and finally does the same?</p> <p>READ: http://sustainablepulse.com/2014/03/26/brazils-federal-public-prosecutor-requests-total-ban-glyphosate-herbicides/#.UzLj4a1dWqR</p> <p>#GMO #Brazil #Roundup #Glyphosate #BanRoundup #BanGlyphosate #LabelGMOs #NeedToKnowGMO #GMOFreeCanada #GMOFreeUSA
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Filed under: Animals & Plants, Business Policy, Climate, Economics, Local Policy, Plants