TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege – David Roberts – Climate Change is Simple
This is a must see video. If you are skeptical about what he is saying, then dig into the data and prove him wrong. I hope you will leave a comment on this page with your findings. The point is that we, as a society, can’t ignore the potential implications for our children and their children. Please share this with everyone you know.
TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege – David Roberts – Climate Change is Simple
This is a must see video. If you are skeptical about what he is saying, then dig into the data and prove him wrong. I hope you will leave a comment on this page with your findings. The point is that we, as a society, can’t ignore the potential implications for our children and their children. Please share this with everyone you know.
“Water does not just save lives in the short term – it is also a cornerstone for delivering economic growth and helping countries to work their way out of poverty,” he said.
“This is why UK aid will give an additional 15 million people access to clean water by 2015 and supporting a number of programmes, like this one, to help the world’s poorest countries harness the full potential of their water resources.”
The technology has other potential benefits. It will allow scientists to compile a real time database of how much water is being used across the continent. Greater predictability of breakdowns could also help drive down the cost of repairs.
This issue is near and dear to my heart. I live in the Llanos Tuna area of Cabo Rojo where we do not get Choice or PRT (Claro) internet. We use HughesNet, a satellite-based internet service, but it does not meet our needs, and is too expensive. We have tried various cell phone-based approaches (Open-Mobile, Claro, Centenial) but we do not get good reception. Not only that, the cell-phone approaches are slow and do not provide unlimited data downloading, as do Choice and PRT. HughesNet allows us only 425 Mbytes per day, which we exceed frequently. Downloading movies is out of the question. If we exceed the amount then we are basically shut down for 24 hours!! We do get some restore tokens each month, but if we use them up we have to pay $7 for additional restore tokens. Every night before I go to bed I pray that someone will bring decent internet to my neighborhood. I will now focus my prayers on the success of the Puerto Rico’s Broadband Strategic Plan. 🙂
‘Water Crisis’ Looming, Hillary Clinton WarnsBy JEREMY B. WHITE: March 22, 2012 International Business Times
Did you know that “…up to 75% of people living in developing countries rely on agriculture for their livelihoods and that over 90% of Africa’s agricultural production comes from small-scale production. Many of these farmers are women, who play a critical role in food and nutrition security and are responsible for growing, buying, selling and cooking the food. Between 60 and 80% of the food produced in most developing countries is produced by women and in sub-Saharan Africa, the figure is between 80 and 90 per cent. Yet less than 2% of land in sub-Saharan Africa is owned by women.”
“Across Africa, farmers are experiencing unpredictable growing seasons, making the age-old art and science of farming a guessing game. It is estimated that by 2050, up to 25% of world food production could be lost as a result of climate change, water scarcity and land degradation. This, combined with an expected population of 9 billion in 2050, paints a frightening picture of what may lie ahead for the next generation.”
Excerpt from GIMAC speaking notes for Mary Robinson President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice (MRFCJ)
227 million hectares are reported to have been acquired since 2001, an area of land the size of North-Western Europe. Source: Land Matrix Partnership
History warns that any change in land relations is likely to be affected by systemic gender discrimination and that there is no a priori reason to assume that changes [induced by the new commercial pressures on land] will be any different. -Elizabeth Daley (2011) ‘Gendered impacts of commercial pressures on land’, ILC/CIRAD/Mokoro28
All our plantations were cut down – we lost the banana and cassava. We lost everything we had. The company’s casual labourers would attack us – they beat and threatened people. Even now they won’t let us back in to look for the things we left behind. I was threatened – they told me they were going to beat me if we didn’t leave. -Christine, mid-40s, previously of Kayindiyindi village, Kiboga district, Uganda
Clearly, it is the interests of the company to develop the agro-fuel project that prevail, rather than the Q’eqchi peasant families living in the area.
– Daniel Pascual, Comité de Unidad Campesina
The details of these big land acquisitions are often shrouded in secrecy, particularly the really big ones, which seem to be negotiated at a very high level.
Esther Obaikol, Executive Director, Uganda Land Alliance
Any land which increases in value gets taken out of the hands of the poor. – Fernando Eguren, CEPES, Peru
PRAGWATER 