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Policy (921) Africa (274) Agriculture (182) Climate Change (169) Flood (96) Management (72) Drought (44) Conference (39) Forests (20) Glaciers (9) Sustainable Practices (8)
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Yesterday, the United Nations released its 350-page atlas, Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment, selling for $150, which pictorially depicts the stark changes occurring in each of that continent's 53 nations. The non-copyrighted material contains over 300 satellite images, over 150 maps, and over 300 ground photographs, from as far back as 1942. Released in English and in French, the digital version will be uploaded to Google Earth and other websites in the future. Through a combination of ground photographs, current and historical satellite images, and narrative based on extensive scientific evidence, this publication illustrates how humans have altered their surroundings and continue to make observable and measurable changes to Africa and its environment. President Thabo Mbeki of the Republic of South Africa, who is hosting the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Johannesburg, launched the book, as leaders meet to discuss policy initiatives that seek to develop climate-proof economies. Mass human migration, a topic not usually highlighted in global warming discussions, adds further stress to the environment as people flee ongoing resource wars, and, increasingly, in pursuit of food and water. Urbanization creates its own feedback loop as drought conditions force farmers into cities that continue to expand into former farmland, further depleting food supplies. Satellite images from 1976 and 2006 reveal that half the famous "Snows of Kilimanjaro" have melted. Mt. Kilimanjaro borders Tanzania and Kenya. Other lesser known changes include:
African forests are disappearing at twice the world's deforestation rate, estimated at more than 4 million hectares per year (or about 1 billion acres a year).
But not all findings are negative, exposing positive impacts from proper resource management:
http://www.re-mediaetc.org/ In 2004, Rady Ananda began contributing to the Web, as part of the growing community of citizen journalists. Focusing mainly on elections, her blogs also address religious, gender, sexual and racial equality, as well as environmental issues; and are sprinkled with book and film reviews on various topics. She spent most of her working life as a legal investigator for lawfirms, and about 5 years as an editor. She currently serves as a senior editor at OpEdNews. All material offered here is the property of Rady Ananda, copyright 2006, 2007, 2008. Permission is granted to repost, with proper attribution including the original link. In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. Tell the truth anyway. Sign this petition: http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/ny_levers_petition
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