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Why Occupy Wall Street is Green
(And why it’s just plain right.)
The protesters at Occupy Wall Street have been criticized for being a scruffy...
Videos of flood aftermath in Rio de Janeiro highlight Brazil’s rich-poor divide
Heavy rains in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro resulted in flooding and mudslides, killing perhaps hundreds...
London 2012: The Greenest Olympics Ever?
When London bid for the 2012 Olympics against other cities like New York, Paris, Madrid and Moscow, they...
Corporate Giants devise misleading commercials to halt proposed tax for sugar-sweetened beverages
Twisting issues through masked corporate speech that supposedly convey public protest against certain issues has become a common...
Rio de Janeiro’s Death Toll Climbs to 246; Nearly 200 Still MissingRio’s death toll keeps climbing higher as more bodies are recovered from mudslides that devastated the city last...
Tip of the Day
Go grocery shopping locally to help reduce your carbon footprint
Rio de Janeiro’s Proposed Wall: Eco Barrier or Slum Cover Up?
Image source: commondreams.org
While many groups are lauding Rio de Janeiro’s efforts to save the Atlantic Forest from destruction, by erecting “eco-barriers” in the city. The over 10-foot barriers to be erected are supposed to solve the problem of urban sprawl – preventing further devastation to over 20,000 species of plants and animals who call the forest home. But critics are questioning the real motives behind building these so-called “eco-barriers” in the city – is it to protect the environment or the cover up the many slums around Rio? With the upcoming World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics, detractors are saying that that the wall will be used to shield the slums from visitors. The government is denying any of this, naturally, and emphasized the need to protect the natural environment. Some neighborhoods though, have come up with alternatives, such as the Rocinha Favela, which plans to build a city park that will have community spaces and green paths for everyone. Read the full article here
Tags: eco-barrier, rio
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Coal Power: Damages the Environment, the Economy, and Lives
Coal does a massive amount of damage to the environment everyday. It is responsible for high greenhouse gas emissions, crop and timber damage, is an extreme air pollutant and causes many health risks, like asthma, chronic bronchitis and cardiovascular disease. All of this damage costs the US alone at least $62 billion per year. The National Academy of Sciences released a report that entails a study of 406 coal plants, which create a combined 95% of the nation’s coal-burned electricity. The...
Chinese medicine, ecology and endangered species
2010 is (roughly) the Year of the Golden Tiger according to the Chinese calendar. An article from the Press Association reports that this alone is enough to inspire increased vigilance against tiger poaching in India – and so the South Asian nation is 'beefing up' security due to this concern: 'They fear an increase in the demand for tiger parts and derivatives widely used in Chinese traditional medicine as the new year could fuel the illegal trade of the animal from...
Methane even worse greenhouse gas than we thought
Just when you quote a source about how much livestock farming contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, it gets worse. A lot worse. According to a recent article in the London Times, methane – the second most important greenhouse gas produced by human activity – has an even more powerful effect on climate change than previously believed by scientists. 'Methane’s impact on global temperatures is about a third higher than generally thought because previous estimates have not accounted for its interaction with...
South American Countries to Stop Deforestation of Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest of South America—one of the most endangered rainforests in the world—is finally gaining more protection. Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay announced a joint plan at the World Forest Congress to create protected zones in the forest as part of an effort to stop deforestation by 2020. The three governments are hoping to achieve “net zero deforestation”, which means the total amount of forest land will be stable by that year. “We plan to maintain over 1 million hectares (3,860...
Endangered Species of the Week: Greater adjutant
Species: Greater adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) Status: Endangered (EN) Interesting fact: The greater adjutant is named after an adjutant (military officer) because of its stately manner and habit of standing motionless for long periods of time. With its naked pink head, very thick yellow bill and low-hanging neck pouch, the greater adjutant is a rather eye-catching stork. Colonies of greater adjutants can be seen gathering in India and Cambodia at the start of the dry season in October. Large nests are constructed on tall...
Clotheslines are making a comeback
People’s desire to be frugal and help the environment by using clothesline to dry their laundry has sparked debates that it might hurt property value. While most private developers and homeowner associations have bans and restrictions against using clotheslines, state legislatures are already changing that. The percentage of Americans who find clothes dryers to be a necessity has declined by more than 20 percent since 2006. It suggests that most people are willing to go back to drying their laundry outside...
Sowing the SEED of Haiti’s Emergency Housing Project
Image Source: SEED It is no big secret by now that Haiti has been devastated by a massive earthquake and a great number of aftershocks. People died, homes were destroyed, and many supplies are needed. There is always the possibility that another earthquake will happen in the future and they can’t keep dealing with rubble and reconstruction projects forever. So, how do you build a home that has a better chance of withstanding an earthquake? With shipping containers, that’s how! The...
Seeds for the future: Bolivia’s revolutionary food security laws
I recently read Paolo Bacigalupi’s award winning “biopunk” science fiction novel The Windup Girl, set in a future Thailand where nationalist politics intertwine with genetic engineering and energy scarcity. In Bangkok’s bleak dystopian landscape, corporations control food supplies via copyrighted “gene hacked” produce, always threatened or bolstered by engineered plagues which threaten plants, animals and humans. Climate change is also ravaging the planet, fuel is scarce and methane strictly rationed. Bacigalupi’s vision lies firmly within the genre of speculative fiction, but the...
Saturn’s hazy moon: Could there be life on Titan?
Methane lakes, an orangey atmosphere and a 'creme brulee-like' surface make Titan – the largest of Saturn's moons – sound almost inviting. The European probe named Huygens reached Titan aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft in January of 2005. It has been sending signals Earthward ever since. What's so remarkable about Titan is its resemblance to Earth. The main differences are that Titan is much colder and has vast bodies of liquid methane instead of water. The fact is that if Titan were not so...
Northeast States Sow the Seeds of Offshore Wind Farming
Hurricane winds along the U.S. Atlantic coast may finally prove to be useful. Northeastern states—ranging from New Jersey to Maine—are collaborating on starting the nation’s first offshore wind farm. Trying to become more independent from the use of energy from the Midwest, the eastern states are rushing to get this giant project up and running. Initially, the states were working on their own, individual projects; but now they see that combining their efforts and resources will have a much greater advantage...
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