Archive for the ‘About Society’ Category

Dog Cull: Citywide Canine Slaughter of Pet and Stray Dogs Begins Thursday

Dog

A citywide dog cull in China is slated to begin on Thursday, September 10, 2009.  According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the canine cull is taking place in order to contain rabies and control the dog population in the area.  Read the rest of this entry »

Japanese Dolphin Slaughter to Continue Despite Current Suspension

Last Tuesday, EcoWorldly Staff Writer Bryan Nelson wrote an article on the suspension of dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. The suspension came off of Japanese local media swarming on Taiji, after the award winning documentary film “The Cove” put the spotlight on the small Japanese village that slaughters thousands of dolphins every year.

Ric O’Barry, the dolphin trainer and activist who brought the location to the attention of filmmakers, returned to the site of the slaughter this week, just as the annual “hunt” would normally begin. However, this time with all of the media attention, no dolphins were killed in the first 2 days of the season.

Read the rest of this entry »

Reservation for Women in Rural Water Management in India

Woman Carrying water

Gender concern in water resources management is globally seen as instrumental in
achieving greater efficiency, effectiveness and equity in the sector. The role of women in water management has long been recognized by the Indian administration. One of the reasons for this is the importance of women in terms of their numerical strength and the significant contribution they make to the agricultural labor force.

In the primarily agricultural Indian setup, there is a strong need to encourage participation of women in even greater strength. Consequently, at least one of the states in India (and a drought hit one) has now declared reservation for women in all local water governing bodies at all levels.
Read the rest of this entry »

Recycling the Karoo’s Trash to Decorate the White House for President Obama

Waste Chandelier

The interior decorator tasked with the redecoration of the Obama’s private quarters in the White House has introduced chandeliers built around waste materials into his proposals. These chandeliers links rural development in South Africa to the White House.

Magpie Art Collective

Magpie, a socially conscious art collective, was founded in 1998 by designer Scott Hart and social entrepreneur Shane Petzer. It produces ornate light fittings, home décor and jewelry crafted from, among other things, recycled glass bottles, yoghurt containers, plastic, dog food cans, mosaic, bits of mirror, toys, charms and copper wire. Read the rest of this entry »

What is a Global Citizen? Are You One?


We live in a “global” world now. Corporate globalization is prevalent nearly everywhere. Travel is more common than ever before. We get news in our homes about anyplace in the world seconds after it happens. The internet allows us to connect with people all over the world. It allows us to stay in touch with people as we move all over the world as well — (a friend of mine is in Antarctica and he keeps in touch with people through Facebook everyday). We even have an international language! English is spoken (by at least some portions of the population) nearly everywhere you go.

BUT, what does it mean to be a “global citizen”?

Read the rest of this entry »

Celebrating Women and Wildlife in Nepal

Nepal’s Chitwan Buffer Zone hosted more than 800 people for the “Women on Conservation” event to mark the occasion of Teej - a festival of Nepalese women.

Lighting candle to start \

The “Women on Conservation” event was kicked off by Surdevi Community Forest User Group President lighting the ceremonial candle.

This lively theatrical competition was held at the Surdevi Community Forest User Group Office on August 23, 2009 and presented by Partnership for Rhino Conservation and Friendship Chitwan. A total of seven groups from the Chitwan Buffer Zone and surrounding villages participated in the program with songs, poems, and stories about wildlife conservation. Read the rest of this entry »

World Water Week Wrap-up


World Water Week (August 16-22) brought some interesting information and important research findings to the world. We got a peek at the true water usage of developed countries, we identified some critical concerns for Indians and all of us who rely in Indian products, we learned more about water usage for beer, we saw the installation of the first commercial-scale hydrokinetic power plant in the US, and more. The following is a wrap-up of some key topics from the World Water Week Conference in Sweden.
Read the rest of this entry »

Obama’s Grandma — Gets Solar Panels on her Kenyan Home from Greenpeace


Greenpeace’s “Solar Generation” activists installed solar panels on President Obama’s Grandmother’s house in Kenya last week.
Read the rest of this entry »

Himalayan Forest and Leopards Saved!


In an uplifting and rare story from a very precious and endangered area of the world, we can see why those of us who are working for better environmental preservation should continue to work for good in all situations.
Read the rest of this entry »

How Much Water are You Really Using?

In a press release by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today, we can see that people in developed countries actually use several times more water than they “use” — the water used indirectly to create our products is several times more than the water we use ourselves. According to the WWF, “German households use 124 litres of water a day directly, individual Germans use 5288 litres of water a day when the water requirements of producing their food, clothes and other consumption items are included.”
Read the rest of this entry »