Amidst abuse of the Earth, Earth Day was recently celebrated with much furor on the social networks, in the press and through celebrated world events. Rio20+ or the Rio Earth Summit in June is the year's major event at which there is expected to be a binding agreement on Climate Change. This, after the much hyped agreement that should have been formed in Copenhagen and the rushed non-binding agreement that was drafted in Durban, much attention is being given to this event, particularly to the apparently possibility that some climate change goals may be shifted to 2020. Given Canada's stance as a detractor as well as the non-eagerness on the part of others to adapt their policies, the success of the summit is highly questioned.
As described in a recently read article, the term, 'Ecocide' could be adapted as the 5th crime against peace and is described as the committing of actions which lead to resource depletion, that maybe immediately precipitate to war. It was mentioned in a previous post that the Lebanese-Israel border has the potential to cause war based on infringement in demarcated zones. The perspective of some European countries towards a large percentage of their energy originating from renewables by 2050 shows great promise. Such countries include Scotland and Denmark. Significant ecological Earth events include; the Popocatepetl volcano awakening in Mexico, the Iceland Volcano spewing ashes over Northern Europe, the many earthquakes including that have occurred in Japan and Indonesia, and the droughts that have occurred in England over the past two years. Sustainable practices should neither be evidently adapted in order to be anti-business or because abundance tells them not to, but also because it is the right thing to do for the individual's perspective contribution to society.
Link (http://tiny.cc/6cl8cw).
Much of the progress of the developing world (formerly the 3rd world) has rested in ingenious people trying to think of means of adapting global solutions to local situations. The name Haiti comes from the Taino/Arawak word meaning mountainous. This has created historical difficulty in creating credible infrastructure (due to terrain issues) in Haiti resulting in the 2010 Earthquake. The fertility of the soil made it a rich multi-culture economy, where there was an abounding amount of agricultural products as well as labour that was steady in amount. What made it the more interesting was that through the ameliorative proposals of Code Noir, there were attempts at appeasement of the enslaved persons ('should not be called slaves') in the colonies. Further, the dichotomy that existed between the blacks in the North and the coloured in the South in both racial harmony and wealth served to create an inbred culture of hate.
The Dominican Republic has consistently increased the number of baseball players headed to the United States. Invented by Alexander Cartwright (and not Abner Doubleday), the sport has expanded to islands that have strong associative ties with the United States. Particularly, Sammy Sosa who played from 1989-2007, was born in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, took to the sport as a kid. Others from that city included Luis Castillo, Rafael Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano. Link (http://tiny.cc/n968cw).
A new documentary film call Baseball In The Time Of Cholera 'is the story of Joseph, a young baseball player, and a Haitian Lawyer fighting for compensation for the victims. As the epidemic spreads, the two stories intersect in the struggle for survival and justice'. Link (http://tinyurl.com/cwv6zrs).
The incidence of diseases like Cholera in Haiti have been a terrible endemic, caused by improper sanitation and non-clean water. The cost of US$1.1 billion to eradicate the endemic allegedly caused by UN soldiers of Nepalese descent is both mortifying and questionable as has the question of allocation of aid and time resources for the commitants to aid in disaster relief.
The film is in English (hence anglophonic) and the concepts of people being appreciated for their humanity and not their statistical contribution could be seen as admirable. 7,000 out of 7 billion are featured as suffering, but as we still speak with high regard about Einstein, Newton, and Gallileo as just three human beings. The 7,000 sick are just as important, each in their own right. Two years ago, a devastating earthquake shook, homes were destroyed, and food items (including government and foreign rice) rationed. Films like this highlight a plight that many miss because the concentration of media coverage in places like Haiti often don't peak during non-crises times nor have the origination centralization to command attention to the outside world. Since these people have been historically marginalized in, what is described as dire circumstances, this film brings to light the trials of a representative group of people of the black Haitian population. A widespread vaccination programme is necessary, as well as, the commitment on the part of the representatives and the people to demand more humane conditions. Link (http://tiny.cc/yc78cw).
Originally: April 24th 2012
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