(Comunicato Stampa, 10/05/13) – Il Tribunale di Milano ha respinto il ricorso di Enel contro Greenpeace per la campagna contro l’utilizzo del carbone da parte dell’azienda. Secondo il Tribunale anche l’uso del logo dell’azienda rientra nel diritto di critica e non ha alcuna motivazione o tornaconto commerciale. L’azienda elettrica, infatti, accusava l’associazione ambientalista di fare raccolta fondi utilizzando la campagna contro l’uso del carbone da parte di Enel, e, accusa ancora più bizzarra, di voler preparare il terreno per l’ingresso

(E.Barry, A.E.Kramer – The New York Times, 15/02/13) – Bright objects, tentatively identified as fragments of a meteorite, streaked through the sky in western Siberia early on Friday, accompanied by a boom that damaged buildings across a vast swath of territory. Around 500 people were reported to have been injured, most from breaking glass. Emergency officials had reported no deaths by Friday afternoon but said that 14 people had been hospitalized. Yelena Smirnykh, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Emergency

(C.Rouzet – The Pulitzer Center, 13/02/13) – “We are a very friendly people, but the government and Exxon Mobil better not forget what we are capable of when it comes to our land,” said Janett Koriama, president of a women’s association in the Hela region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). She smiled, but a strange light of both pride and anger shone in her russet eyes. Koriama was there when an armed gang attacked the Mount Kare gold mine site

(AFP, 28/01/13) –  Recycling entrepreneur Tom Szaky is stubbing out the world’s cigarette problem – one butt at a time. The 30-year-old who dropped out of Princeton University to start his innovative company TerraCycle in New Jersey, said there’s no such thing as rubbish, even when you’re talking about the contents of ashtrays. In a program started in May in Canada, TerraCycle collects cigarette butts from volunteers and turns them into plastic, which can be used for anything, even ashtrays.

(O.Bowcott, J.Vidal – The Guardian, 28/01/13) –  Ruling by permanent court of arbitration in The Hague may challenge UK’s unilateral declaration of marine protected area. Britain’s colonial-era decision to sever an Indian Ocean archipelago from Mauritius and turn it into a US military base will have to be justified before an international tribunal – a process that could lead to the return of the islands’ exiled inhabitants. The unexpected ruling this month by the permanent court of arbitration in The

(Kiera Butler – Le Courrier International, 24/01/13) –  Métaux indispensables à nos appareils électroniques, les terres rares sont à l’origine d’une catastrophe environnementale dans les pays où elles sont traitées. Reportage en Malaisie. Un après-midi de la fin du mois de février 2012, par une chaleur étouffante, je m’arrête dans une station essence Esso de la petite ville malaisienne de Bukit Merah. Mon guide, un boucher du nom de Hew Yun Tat, me prévient que le gérant a la réputation

(IRIN, 10/01/13) –  Developing nations are grappling with a rise in mercury emissions that pose a serious health risk to their populations, according to a new study by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). The report, Global Mercury Assessment 2013, released in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 10 January, reveals that emissions of the toxic metal from artisanal gold mining have doubled since 2005, attributable to rising gold prices that have led to increased gold mining. “This report is a

(IRIN, 07/12/12) – In legalese, natural disasters are termed “acts of God,” the implication being that they are beyond human control or predictability. So it may have seemed an impossible task when John Beddington, UK government chief scientific advisor, was asked to look ahead to 2040 and prophesy potential disasters around the world. He was asked what science can determine about future catastrophes – whether they can be predicted, when they are likely to happen, and what sensible policies could

(W.Allen – The Guardian, 19/10/12) – Du haut du temple IV de l’ancienne cité maya de Tikal, on a une vue spectaculaire sur les vastes étendues de forêt tropicale vierge d’Amérique centrale. En cette fin d’après-midi, des singes-araignées suspendus aux branches les plus proches s’étendent pour attraper de petits fruits. Les cris gutturaux des singes hurleurs résonnent à travers la canopée. Cette forêt de plaine est le cœur de la réserve de biosphère maya du nord du Guatemala, un sanctuaire

(L.Polk – Alternet, 18/10/12) – Why are scientists in alarm mode over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a 1,700-mile long conduit that would transport a chemical-laden synthetic oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas? Scientists across specialized fields have joined forces to make public statements, penned a formal letter to President Obama, and have even committed acts of civil disobedience in front of the White House during the national  Tar Sands Action . What do

(I.Goutova – Rousski Reporter, 18/10/12) – L’Arctique, ce sont des icebergs, des journées d’été où le soleil ne se couche jamais et des ours blancs. C’est sous ces latitudes que se trouve le territoire le plus septentrional de Russie, l’archipel François-Joseph. Des îles aujourd’hui inhabitées, mais qui portent encore les stigmates des années où elles accueillaient des bases militaires. Fûts rouillés, kérosène et déchets de toutes sortes y sont demeurés depuis lors. En cette fin d’été, le navire Polaris vient

(G.Leone – Il Manifesto, 28/09/12) – Decine di operai aderiscono allo sciopero filo-aziendale di Uil e Cisl e bloccano la città. Battibecchi e spintoni con il contro-corteo di altri lavoratori e cittadini in difesa del lavoro ma anche della salute; ma c’è anche il dialogo. La protesta indetta dopo che il gip Todisco ha bocciato il piano di risanamento dell’azienda. Che annuncia ricorso. Un’altra giornata di passione. Come annunciato mercoledì, Fim Cisl e Uilm hanno dato il via allo sciopero

(ABI, 25/08/12) – La presidenta de la Cámara de Diputados, Rebeca Delgado, aseguró que el proyecto de Ley Marco de la Madre Tierra y Desarrollo Integral para Vivir Bien, aprobado en esa instancia legislativa, respeta los derechos de los pueblos indígenas y garantiza la consulta libre, previa e informada, como establece la Constitución Política del Estado. En un contacto con los periodistas afirmó que esa norma tiene también por objeto establecer la visión y los fundamentos de desarrollo integral en

(J.K.Boyce, M.Ash – Occupy.com, 23/08/12) – Researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst today released the fourth Toxic 100 Air Polluters, an updated list of the top corporate air polluters in the U.S. “The Toxic 100 Air Polluters informs consumers and shareholders which large corporations release the most toxic pollutants into our air,” said Professor James Boyce, co-director of PERIs Corporate Toxics Information Project. “We assess not just how many pounds of pollutants

(B.Lewis – Occupy.com, 08/08/12) – The European Union and small island states have criticized the United States for backing away from a U.N. goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F). They urged almost 200 governments to stick to the target, one of the few agreed goals in international climate policy, even though U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said it was unworkable. “World leaders pledged in Copenhagen to stay below the 2C temperature increase. What leaders

(A.Rivera- MicroMega, 04/08/12) – Era l’alba degli anni sessanta quando un gruppo di adolescenti vide per la prima volta un cadavere: il corpo ricomposto a malapena di un ragazzo, loro compagno di vacanze estive al mare. Per ironia tragica della sorte, lui, campione di tuffi, era precipitato da un’impalcatura del cantiere che costruiva l’Italsider di Taranto. Era una delle prime vittime dell’acciaieria, oltre che di una bocciatura scolastica punita con l’obbligo di un lavoro estivo. Lavoro nerissimo, controlli zero e

(Prensa Latina, 02/08/12) – La Antártida era una selva tropical hace unos 56 millones de años, según los resultados de un estudio difundido hoy en la revista Nature. Investigadores de Universidad de Goethe y del Centro de Investigación del Clima y Biodiversidad en Frankfurt, Alemania, realizaron perforaciones en las profundidades de la costa oriental donde encontraron polen y esporas. En el Eoceno, el polo sur era un bosque casi tropical donde las temperaturas alcanzaban los 20 grados Celsius, aseguran los

(Kyodo, 02/07/12) – Reactor 3 at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture attained a self-sustaining chain reaction, or criticality, early Monday after being restarted the previous night, becoming the first in the nation reactivated since the Fukushima meltdown crisis effectively shut down the nuclear power industry. Kansai Electric Power Co.’s reactor 3 in Oi, Fukui Prefecture, was taken offline for mandatory checks in March last year. It is now slated to gradually increase output and resume power transmission as