Observing the 2012 Human Trafficking Awareness Day
This week US citizens observed National Human Trafficking Awareness Day through acts of education, legislation, and enforcement; whilst, around the world, other people highlighted or tackled this global problem in their own countries.According to an annual report on human trafficking released by the US State Department in...
BRAZIL: Murder of indigenous child provokes reaction
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights. The murder of an eight year old child from the Awa-Gwajá indigenous community, allegedly burnt alive [pt] by loggers in the state of Maranhão, Brazil, has caused outrage throughout the Internet, as well as disbelief by many in the face of such cruelty. The Indigenous...
US government expands definition of rape to include men
On Friday, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) expanded its long-standing definition of rape to include men, and the rape of any gender by lack of consent — as opposed to physical coercion. The revised definition should ensure all rapes are recorded in crime statistics. Valerie Jarrett, a White House...
Suspect arrested in Los Angeles arson rampage case
In the Los Angeles, US arson spree, where more than 50 attacks occurred in four days, local police arrested a German national Monday. The suspect, reportedly 24-year-old Harry Burkhart, was stopped in the vicinity of West Hollywood due to the appearance of his van, matching a description law enforcement authorities issued...
Oh, Canada’s become a home for record fracking
By Nicholas Kuznetz in ProPublica.Early last year, deep in the forests of northern British Columbia, workers for Apache Corp. performed what the company proclaimed was the biggest hydraulic fracturing operation ever. The project used 259 million gallons of water and 50,000 tons of sand to frack 16 gas wells side by side. It...
Armenian and Greek clergy clash at Christmas
Armenian and Greek priests have once again clashed, but this time at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, much to the astonishment and amusement of social media users worldwide. Apparently stemming from a dispute over which priests would clean which part of the church, such brawls are nothing new. In November 2008, for...
US Congress moves toward tougher stand on pipeline safety--but is it enough?
By Lena Groeger in ProPublica A bill to strengthen pipeline safety regulations passed the House and Senate last week and now awaits President Obama’s signature. But while many applaud Congress’s move toward more oversight, others question whether the impending law goes far enough to prevent oil and natural gas pipeline...
Responses to the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il
North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-il, died on December 17, 2011, from a heart attack. North Korean state television has shown North Koreans mourning and sobbing hard at the news. There are looming concerns that the death of Kim Jong-il could destabilize the Korean peninsula; the country's military has reportedly conducted...
Study finds link between air pollution and increase in DNA damage
By ClickGreen staff A study in the Czech Republic has found a link between exposure to certain air pollutants and an increase in DNA damage for people exposed to high levels of the pollution. They found that breathing small quantities of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), called benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), caused an increase in the number […]
USGBC says “green” building retrofits exceed new construction
By Jeanne Roberts According to the U.S. Green Building Council, or USGBC, in December of 2011 the total square feet of existing LEED-certified building space exceeded the square feet of LEED new construction by 15 million square feet. In August, LEED-certified commercial space alone totalled 1.3 billion square feet. The USGBC, a nonprofit dedicated to […]
