This fortnight's themeWorld Environment Day Issue 136
 
 
Discovery CentreWorld Environment Day
 


Each year, June 5 is set aside as World Environment Day. It's a day to remind us of our interconnectedness to the earth and the importance of caring for our earth. As the Native American Indians say, "We do not inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children." To coincide with the UN International Year of Deserts and Desertification, the theme for World Environment Day this year is Deserts and Desertification. Rather appropriately, the slogan for this campaign is: Don't Desert Drylands!

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Latest News
 

Don't rush to nuclear power, warns Blair's environment adviser
Tony Blair's own environmental adviser has warned him that building more nuclear power stations could "drain resources" from developing renewable energy and other green forms of fuel. The Independent Online, 21st May 2006

Canada 's PM expresses interest in climate change partnership
Canada 's Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he wants his country to join the Asia-Pacific Partnership on climate change. The partnership is a non-binding alternative to the Kyoto Protocol that has been criticised by environmentalists. ABC, 20th May 2006

Government evicts herdsmen in environment conservation effort
The Tanzanian government has started evicting hundreds of pastoralists from riverbeds and basins in Mbeya, to the southwest of the country, in a bid to protect the environment from further degradation. IRIN, 19th May 2006

Deep-sea fish stocks 'plundered'
Fish stocks in international waters are being plundered to the point of extinction, a leading conservationist group has said. Illegal fishing and bottom-trawling in deep waters are to blame, according to a report from WWF. BBC News, 18th May 2006

Himalayan forests are quietly vanishing
The Himalayas may never be the same again. The forests growing on the roof of the world are disappearing, and the rate of deforestation is so rapid that a quarter of animal and plant species native to this biodiversity hotspot, including tigers and leopards, could be gone by the end of the century. New Scientist, 18th May 2006

 
Feature
 

Gore in movie campaign to protect Earth
Al Gore brushes aside talk of another run for the US presidency and wages a new campaign to protect the Earth that he says must be won. Reuters, 18th May 2006

 
Opinion
 

Why nuclear power won't stop climate change
"The debate about nuclear energy is welcome recognition of the urgent need to respond to climate change. But the nuclear option is not a wise response. It is too costly, too dangerous, too slow and makes too little impact on greenhouse pollution. That is why most of the developed world is rejecting the nuclear option in favour of renewable energy and improved efficiency,". says Professor Ian Lowe AO.

 
Web site
 

World Environment Day June 5, 2006
World Environment Day is essentially a people's event with colourful activities such as green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns. The day is also meant to be an "intellectual" event, providing opportunities for seminars, workshops and symposiums on preserving the environmental health of our planet for the benefit of generations to come. This site contains a range of resources to help individuals and groups to be more environmentally aware.

www.unep.org/wed/2006/english/

Web Site Image

 
Media
 

Planet Slayer is an interactive website aimed at young people that tells the shocking truth about how the environment is affected by the way we live and what we buy. The site is full of surprising and accurate greenhouse information that's Australian, showing how our lifestyles make an impact on the environment. Planet Slayer includes a greenhouse calculator, where you can add up how much of the planet you use up, a lifestyle quiz that includes advice on making 'greener' choices, a hilarious 12 part animation and an interactive game where you can choose to save or slay the planet.

ABC Online
 
Reflection
 

"There is a growing awareness that world peace is threatened not only by the arms race, regional conflict, and continued injustice among peoples and nations, but also by a lack of due respect for nature... The ecological crisis is a moral issue." Pope John Paul II, World Day of Peace Message 1990

PLEASE NOTE : LINKS TO EXTERNAL WEBSITES ARE NOT NECESSARILY ENDORSED BY CARITAS AUSTRALIA.

 

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Caritas Australia Latest News
Holistic approach needed to address issues of Indigenous violence
Recent reports of the alarming level of sexual abuse and other violent crimes within Aboriginal communities have sparked great concern amongst many. Caritas Australia has supported various Indigenous communities through its Australian Indigenous Program for over 30 years, and will commit $900,000 towards Indigenous programs for the next financial year.

Humanitarian crisis causes chronic insecurity in Darfur
The conflict in Sudan's Darfur region has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with over 200,000 people killed and more than two million displaced in the past three years.

Despite a recent peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and a key Darfur rebel group, millions of Darfurians are still living with chronic insecurity and may not feel any benefits for some time to come. Caritas Australia is continuing to support the Darfur Emergency Response Operation (DERO).

 

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