Thirty years have come and gone since the end of the American War – as the Vietnamese call it – and its toxic aftermath lingers on. Between 1961 and the early 1970s, the U.S. drenched Vietnam with almost a hundred million liters of Agent Orange and other herbicides. It wasn’t just rainforests and mangroves that suffered … and the poison continues its dirty work.
read more, and listen to this story ->Monthly Archive for November, 2008
Friendship Village, Ha Noi, Vietnam
Once upon a time, the US was the world’s top emitter of carbon dioxide, the major man-made, heat-trapping gas. The average American still emits more than the rest of us, but – sometime last year – fueled by a rising demand for coal and cement – China’s annual emissions surpassed the US’s, at about six billion tonnes. As the Chinese choke on fume-filled air, their leaders are turning to the wind.
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Think about threatened waters and their wildlife … what comes to mind? Whales … declining codfish stocks … bleached coral reefs. In the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico, tiny, luminescent creatures are taking it on the chin. Chemical and light pollution threaten to quench their bioluminescence.
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In the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains – in northern India – a very energetic woman has declared that seeds should also be free! Her name is Vandana Shiva, and she’s a tireless defender of farmers rights. GPM producer Dave Kattenburg caught up with Vandana Shiva at her biodiversity farm north just outside Dehradun. Click on read more, then on the audio button beneath her photo to hear their conversation.
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To comprehend the obstacles that need to be overcome if peace and justice are to be achieved in the Middle East, one must spend time in the West Bank and Gaza, listening to Palestinians describe their hardships. The Israeli occupation is particularly egregious for youth, who — like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet — feel seriously misunderstood.
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Few industries provoke as much controversy as mining. When powerful companies seek out concessions in poor countries, communities rally around democratic institutions to defend their land and water. From the Andean mountains of Peru, Jen Moore brings us this story about how a democratic vote saved the day … perhaps.
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