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Planet Under Pressure 2012 - State of the Planet Declaration

submitted by Nguyen Huu Ninh

International scientific community issues first
“State of the Planet Declaration”

Recognizing the complexity and urgency of current challenges, researchers propose a new vision for science for global sustainability at major international conference.

Scientists today issued the first “State of the Planet” declaration* at a major gathering of experts on global environmental and social issues in advance of the major UN Summit Rio+20 in June.

The declaration opens: “Research now demonstrates that the continued functioning of the Earth system as it has supported the well‐being of human civilization in recent centuries is at risk.” It states that consensus is growing that we have driven the planet into a new epoch, the Anthropocene, where many planetary‐scale processes are dominated by human activities. It concludes society must not delay taking urgent and large‐scale action.

“This is a declaration to our globally interconnected society,“ said Dr Lidia Brito, director of science policy, natural sciences, UNESCO, and conference co‐chair.

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Special Report - Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX)

28 March 2012

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) on 28 March. The report assesses the evidence that climate change has led to changes in climate extremes and the extent to which policies to avoid, prepare for, respond to and recover from the risks of disaster can reduce the impact of such events. Please click here for an IPCC press release on the report, and here for the report itself.

http://www.ipcc.ch/news_and_events/news.shtml#.T3UOlfXh98F

Special Report - Overview

http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/

Special Report - Press Release (4 page .PDF file)

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Global Warming Presents Historic Disaster Risk, Report Says

submitted by Samuel Bendett

      

Mumbai is among the densely populated cities that scientists say is at great risk. (Photo: Getty Images)

by Seth Borenstein - Associated Press - yahoo.com - March 28, 2012

WASHINGTON — Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts, and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate scientists said in a new report issued Wednesday.

The greatest threat from extreme weather is to highly populated, poor regions of the world, the report warns, but no corner of the globe — from Mumbai to Miami — is immune. The document by a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges, and droughts.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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George Clooney's Satellite Spies Reveal Secrets of Sudan's Bloody Army

      

George Clooney on a visit to the Zamzam refugee camp in north Darfur in 2008. Photograph: Sherren Zorba/AP

by Paul Harris - guardian.co.uk - March 24, 2012

Actor and activist funds a hi-tech project that is tracking troops and warning civilians of attacks.

Nathaniel Raymond is the first to admit that he has an unusual job description. "I count tanks from space for George Clooney," said the tall, easygoing Massachusetts native as he sat in a conference room in front of a map of the Sudanese region of South Kordofan.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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"Syrian opposition seeks to wipe the Assad name off the map -Via Google"

Revolutionaries, anti -government activist  are tearing down signs and renaming "streets, bridges and boulevards" and replacing them with their heroes.
It seems it began from Social Media using Facebook to gain support, and now they are electronically renaming the same in Google maps.

(ARTICLE FOUND HERE) by Colum Lynch, The Washington Post with Foreign Policy,WORLD,National Security February 14,2012

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"Mystery Disease in Central America Kills Thousands"

Mysterious epidemic Killing more than 24,000 people in El Salvador and Nicaragua since 2000 and the Pacific coast of Central America.
Agriculture Chemicals seems to be a factor in kidney disease,kidney damage and death. Field workers seem to be most affected.

(ARTICLE FOUND HERE) HUFF POST WORLD February 13,2012 by Filadelfo Aleman and Michael Weissenstein

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Elephants and Buffalo on the Beach,Hippos Surfing !

Gabon at the Congo Basin, the second largest tropical forest in Africa

Loango Lodge at Gabon,Loango National Park.

Tourism needed to save Gabon,the park, the land, the animals and to utilize its natural resources.
Political issues cause setbacks for Gabon and its Eco-Tourism vision ,new President new outlook.

(ARTICLE FOUND HERE) BBC NEWS, by David Baron,PRI's The World, February 7,2012

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Pathfinder - Geospatial Intelligence Supports Community and National Resilience

submitted by Karen Walker

In the past two years, NGA has responded to a series of natural disasters at home and abroad. Whether providing support to emergency response teams working the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, the tsunami in Japan or tornadoes and floods in the United States, NGA employees worldwide have demonstrated the critical role of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in answering the call for help.

Our humanitarian assistance/disaster response work, among all the roles and responsibilities that come with managing the nation’s GEOINT capabilities, brings us closest to the people and communities in need during times of crisis. Our GEOINT tools and analyses save lives by helping our mission partners determine where help is needed most, by enabling the right people to be at the right place at the right time, and by anticipating what might happen next.

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Close Call for Doc PJ in Sudan

By Dr. C. Louis Perrinjaquet - summitdaily.com - January 16, 2012

             

Dr. Craig Perrinjaquet of Breckenridge examines a gun-toting Honduran villager in 2007. In his most recent international medical aid trip to Sudan, Doc PJ had his camera and other belonging confiscated by rebels.  Special to the Daily

Breckenridge doctor returns from war-torn nation

I am a medical doctor based in Breckenridge. I recently returned from a medical mission in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. I spent the month of October volunteering at the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel near the village of Kauda in South Kordofan, Sudan.

I am about the only U.S. citizen to have been in this area in the past six months and can testify to the fact that the aerial bombings of civilians are real. We cared for many men, women and children who were the victims of these senseless attacks. I feel an obligation to share what I saw and urge everyone in the strongest way possible to use whatever means are available through the U.S. government to pressure the rulers of Sudan to stop terrorizing and killing their own people.

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Sustainability & equity linked: A better future for all

United Nations Human Development Report 2011

The 2011 Human Development Report argues that the urgent global challenges of sustainability and equity must be addressed together – and identifies policies on the national and global level that could spur mutually reinforcing progress towards these interlinked goals. Bold action is needed on both fronts, the Report contends, if the recent human development progress for most of the world’s poor majority is to be sustained, for the benefit of future generations as well as for those living today. Past Reports have shown that living standards in most countries have been rising - and converging - for several decades now. Yet the 2011 Report projects a disturbing reversal of those trends if environmental deterioration and social inequalities continue to intensify, with the least developed countries diverging downwards from global patterns of progress by 2050.

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