Published on June 18th, 2008
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World Wildlife Fund (WWF) published a report in 2006 that documented the plunder of natural resources by human activity and warned that the globe itself could be outstripped in its capacity to support life, rendering the earth extinct in under 50 years.
Based on scientific data collected from across the globe, it revealed that more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed by human activity in just over the past three decades, because of, among others, increased emissions of green house gases into the ecosystem.
Unless consumption of natural resources was cut and the destruction of vital ecosystems was stopped, human life and that of thousands of other animals and plants would not be sustainable hence the suggestion that the earth itself could be extinct by 2050. In short, the demise of biodiversity will be the death of life on earth, as we know it.
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Published on June 17th, 2008
Understandably, developing countries face unique challenges in addressing concerns related to the environment. Apart from the environment, poor developing countries have more pressing and immediate problems that oftentimes present themselves so forcefully that politicians are forced to make too many compromises, particulalrly on environmental issues.
But simply ignoring “going green” will indeed destroy the base of natural resources that developing countries need for sustainable economic, social, and political prosperity.
“For most, emission reduction is not a viable option in the near term. With income levels far below those of developed countries and per capita emissions on average just one-sixth those of the industrialized world developing countries will continue to increase their emissions as they strive for economic growth and a better quality of life,” says Eileen Claussen, President of Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
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Published on June 16th, 2008
“Khotso, pula, nala.”
“Peace, rain, prosperity.”
When there is peace and rain people live happier because they will not be fighting; they will plough their fields and will have food. - African proverb.
Listening to Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni at any forum has never been boring. He can make his audiences jeer and laugh at the same time but not without drama at times. Museveni is both loved and hated by many because of his straight talking. But that is not to say he does so all the time.
One such time was at a recent Commonwealth leaders meeting in London where he happily laughed off the current global food crisis.
What seems good riddance for his small landlocked nation in east Africa has been boggling minds elsewhere and governments from Argentina to Senegal, from Egypt to South Africa, have grappled with riots of sorts over high prices of food. In Haiti, it cost the political life of a prime minister who had to vacate office for failing to soften the hunger pangs of his people.
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Published on June 16th, 2008
Contrary to popular opinion, bicycling can potentially damage the environment due to the increased longevity of people engaged in physical activity, says Karl Ulrich, a Wharton Business School professor.
Ulrich argues that the greatest environmental peril society may face is the looming prospect of slowing the aging process, and bicycling potentially contributes to slowing aging.
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Published on June 16th, 2008
Bicycling it isn’t always easy. Busy streets, honking horns, and inadequate city funding for bike lanes and paths can make bicycling an uphill battle. However, with green in the news, the economy in a slump, and summer on its way, it’s getting easier to find reasons why there are some 1.4 billion bicycles and only about 400 million cars in the world today.
This week, EcoWorldly authors from six continents contributed articles on bicycling in their country. With exerpts from those articles and others in the blogosphere, here are seventeen very good reasons to bicycle no matter where you live. Click the headings as you go to read more.
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Published on June 13th, 2008
Note: this article is part of this week’s EcoWorldly cycling series: Cycling and its importance in countries around the world.
What does it cost you to get to get around these days? How much was your fuel spend in May in the wake of the sky-high gas prices?
With global crude oil prices anywhere between US$ 120 and US$ 140 on an average week these days, it is highly likely that you are grimacing or gnashing your teeth each time you get to fill your tank at the pump.
But that is not all the gas costs you. It also depends with your choice. As more and more motorists around the world find ways to beat the high gas prices, quite a number are turning to ingenuity of the cheap, just to remain afloat in the bubbling sea of high oil prices.
In America, for instance, a friend tells me that a new craze (or is it culture) is slowly catching on - pedal power. The popularity of bicycles as gasoline prices hit the roof is on a remarkable rise in many US cities. Big automobile makers like General Motors seem to be seeing the light early enough and have announced plans to close several plants for manufacturing of their gluttony SUV models that still remain the darling of most Americans.
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Published on June 12th, 2008
Note: this article is part of this week’s EcoWorldly cycling series: Cycling and its importance in countries around the world.
As a writer on global writer issues, I wasn’t quite sure what to do when my writing colleagues at EcoWorldly suggested that we all contribute to a series on bicycling.
Bikes and water: could the two really be related? To my pleasant surprise, they are indeed!
I learned about several organizations dedicated to providing people in developing nations with the means to get clean water through the use of bicycles.
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Tags:
alternative mobility,
Aquaduct,
bicycle,
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bicycling,
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Engineering for Developing Communities,
filtration,
Google,
water,
water pump,
water shortages
Published on June 12th, 2008
Note: this article is part of this week’s EcoWorldly cycling series: Cycling and its importance in countries around the world.
The Internet search engine company Google, now a reputable green icon with its solar powered Mountainview headquarters, last year gave away bicycles to its staff in Europe, Asia and Africa as part of its efforts to reduce the impact of transportation on the environment.
Nearly 2,000 members of Google permanent staff benefited from this scheme that also provided free helmets emblazoned with the famous brand name.
The great bit about this stuff is that they had freedom to choose from a variety of trendy, sexy models from Raleigh, the German bike maker, and these included men’s and women’s hybrids, as well as a Google cruiser. Another sexy model, the Dahon Curve folding bike, was retailing at about US$ 280 in 2007.
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Published on June 9th, 2008
If you want a blissful sex life, don’t ride a bike. I am not a keen biking enthusiast, particularly of the black mamba or Indian type, those old type ugly contraptions that are the primary mode of transport in most parts of Africa, other than human feet.
While walking is good for health and the environment, when you do it for miles and miles on end with a heavy load on your back or head as most men, women and children do in Africa, a bicycle comes in handy for it is in black Africa what a camel is in Arabia or a Llama is in some parts of South America.
Those who can afford a taxi ride take not the yellow cabs you’ll find idling on any street corner in New York City but a boda boda, as they are known in East Africa, literally a bicycle taxi that would take you from one border to another.
But the bicycle taxi riders here have learned the hard way and have taken to heavy drinking of cheap, traditional brew to drown their troubles. Becoming sexually inactive or rather a man who cannot sexually perform is the worst thing that can ever happen to a man, especially if his wife starts looking for fun elsewhere, risking catching the HIV/ Aids virus in the process.
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Published on June 9th, 2008
This week at EcoWorldly, we’re talking about bicycling, bicycling, and more bicycling!
All week long, EcoWorldly writers from six continents will put their heads together to explore the ups, downs, ins, and outs of bicycling in many countries around the globe.
You can stay tuned to this topic by checking in daily at EcoWorldly, or subscribe to the RSS feed to stay tuned in by email.
Current Articles in Ecoworldly’s Bicycling Series
