EarthAction

"There will not be global security without food security."

"Yatani Ali, a pastoralist, crouches at the edge of the crater at Goraye in Oromiya region as cattle, goats and camels make their way down to the salty wells at the bottom." (Photograph copyright Andrew Heavens, 2006)

Luc Gnacadja, Executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, said, "If we cannot find a solution to this problem... in 2025, close to 70 percent could be affected."

That was in 2009. The problem is as real today as it was three years ago.

In honor of World Food Day, EarthAction is posting some of its best materials on desertification. We cannot achieve global security without food security, and we cannot achieve food security without combating desertification.

Primer on Citizen Advocacy and Desertification

Released earlier this year in conjunction with the The Global Citizens Initiative (TGCI) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Primer is a short, snappy, and useful guide designed to aid the efforts of citizen groups and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) interested in promoting policies and practices that help stop the spread of desertification. 

Click here to read and download the entire Primer for free!

So Much Depends on So Little

Watch this simple but powerful demonstration by Yukie Hori of the UNCCD about just how little we live off of, and just how necessary it is to protect it.

 

 

DESERTIFICATION - Protecting the Fertility of the Earth, July 1995

In 1995, EarthAction released an action alert on desertification to it's international partners. Sadly, after more than 15 years, much of that action alert remains relevant.

Quote from the Action Alert:

"  * When poor farmers or herders can no longer produce enough food, their lives are in danger. Millions of dollars are diverted into emergency aid. Waves of environmental refugees are driven to the cities of developing and developed nations, undermining political and social stability.

    * Wild species native to the drylands are being lost forever. Many of the world's staple grain crops were originally wild dry land species. When the natural dry land flora disappears, we lose the chance to discover new crops that can help to feed humanity.

    * Even if we buy our food in supermarkets, we all live off the land and share in the bounty of the Earth. When the supply of fertile land is shrinking and the world population is growing by 90 million people every year, it is a problem for all of us."

Read our original action alert here, then check out the UNCCD's website to see what reamins to be done.

 

UN Report Warns Ecological Foundations that Support Food Security, Including Biodiversity, Are Being Undermined

Damage to Ecological Basis Can Be Halted Through Sustainable Measures in Context of Green Economy

From http://www.usda.gov/oc/photo/95cs0739.htm, public domain

Nairobi/Hyderabad, 16 October 2012 – Nairobi/Hyderabad, 15 October 2012 – The aim of achieving food security across the globe will become increasingly elusive unless countries factor the planet's nature-based services into agricultural and related planning, a report released today from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says.

Safeguarding the underlying ecological foundations that support food production, including biodiversity will be central if the world is to feed seven billion inhabitants, climbing to over nine billion by 2050 argues the study Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Food Security through Sustainable Food System.

Inefficiencies along the food delivery chain further complicate the challenge, and the report highlights that an estimated one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, amounting to 1.3 billion tonnes per year.

Welcoming the New Interns!

 

Left to right (top row): Christine Chung, Project Coordinator; Xavier Torres de Janon, Intern; Chris Daly, Intern; Ariel Stickles, intern; (botton row) Peter Suechting, Intern; Lois Barber, Executive director; Yelena Kobilaya, Volunteer

EarthAction and 2020 Action are proud to welcome four new interns to the EarthAction Team. These new interns span across different colleges, backgrounds and cultures but all come together to help make a change in the world.

Xavier Torres de Janon is a Hampshire College First-year student. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and lived there the first five years of his life. He gets his passion for social justice and sustainability from his love of Ecuador. He hopes to study international relations and world affairs, global conflicts, peace and security.

Another great addition to our Team is Chris Daly, also from Hampshire College. Chris is focusing on Latin American studies, anthropology, and human rights. He derives his passion for creating change from his international travels, as well as an AmeriCorps gap year program in Boston and New York City.

We also welcome, Peter Suechting who is a sophomore at Amherst college, pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies. Growing up in Neenah, Wisconsin he cites his lifelong passion for the environment as a muse to his work.

Another member on the team is Ariel Stickles, currently a junior studying Civic Engagement, Human Rights Advocacy and Spanish at the University of Massachusetts. Growing up alongside nature in her small town of Copake, New York she uses her passion and love for community service, advocacy and travels as means of inspiration to pursue a career in the non-profit world.

Each intern will select an issue and then research and prepare all the materials for an EarthAction campaign. They will also work with each other to bring new perspectives and fresh ideas building off the many success of EarthAction and 2020 Action. Working behind the scenes on fundraising, communications, marketing and social media, the interns bring something truly special and unique to the table and we are happy to welcome them to the team!

Don't miss "Too Young to Wed" tonight in the UN Headquarters in Observance of the International Day of the Girl Child

Video Preview:

Read More: On world’s first International Day of the Girl Child, UN calls for end to child marriage

Two Birds with One Awesome Stone: Comic Books and Environmentalism

LEGENDARY GREEN MAN GROWN INTO SUPER HERO BY ECO COMICS

Publisher Eco Comics has today announced the launch of a comic book series featuring one of the most iconic and prolific characters from myth and legend, the Green Man.

The publisher says: “Green Man has come to represent the environmental movement and our endangered eco-system, and so has more relevance now than ever. It is therefore fitting that his comic book debut will be entirely paperless and published by Eco Comics”.

-Read more at Mohawk Media

-Preview art and images: http://blog.mohawkmedia.co.uk/ & www.facebook.com/official.GreenMan

-Click here to order Green Man #1 or for the free preview edition

 

Syria Versus the World – Should others intervene?

Syrian refugees and local residents holding opposition flags take part in a
demonstration against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, outside the
Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, July 12. Ali Jarekji/Reuters

 

The Syrian civil war continues. It began on March 15, 2011 and has proven to be a bloody, violent and complicated battle between a government that refuses to step out and an armed rebellion that completely opposes the government. Not one day passes without reading about it, about the need of foreign intervention, about desperate refugees and uncountable human rights violations. The United Nations has attempted to intervene repeatedly, but due to disagreements in its Security Council, no resolution has been officially made, stopping the UN from taking part in the Syrian internal conflict. The UN Leader Ban Ki-moon has stated the urgent necessity of increasing international efforts towards establishing a resolution to the Syrian civil war. However, this would mean foreign intervention in Syria’s affairs, which could be considered a violation to the country’s self-determination and independence. Should others intervene? What if the war escalates and other countries get militarily involved? But shouldn’t alleged human rights violations perpetrated by the Syrian officials be stopped? Or is it simply wrong to meddle in their affairs?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments, or tweet @EarthAction to join the conversation.

 

October 4, 2012, 12:47pm UPDATE: Turkey authorises use of force in Syria

Read more about UN’s Ban Ki-moon statements

Many Syrians are forced to leave the country as refugees, abandoning all their homes, families and belongings. Donate to the UN Refugee Agency.

 

Xavier A. Torres de Janon is an intern at EarthAction. He attended a bilingual school in Ecuador and has always been interested in social justice and sustainability issues and solutions.He currently attends Hampshire College, where he plans to focus on international relations and affairs, global conflicts, peace and security, and human rights in general. In his free time, he knits and reads. 

Open Letter to President Obama and Former Governor Romney: Defend America Against Keystone XL

"The True Cost of Oil" - A photo of the Canadian Tar Sands taken by Garth Lenz.

You can help stop Keystone XL by signing the Open Letter to President Obama and Governor Romney.

3 EASY STEPS: 

1) Add your name (below).  

2) Print out copies.

3) Hand-deliver them to the Romney and Obama campaign offices nearest you.

“And today, I’m directing my administration to cut through the red tape, break through the bureaucratic hurdles, and make this project a priority, to go ahead and get it done.”
- President Obama, speaking about the southern leg of Keystone XL
Cushing, OK (March 22, 2012)

“If I’m president, we’ll build it if I have to build it myself.”
- Governor Romney, commenting on the Keystone XL pipeline
Pittsburgh, PA (May 4, 2012)

Dear President Obama and Governor Romney,

As candidates for president, you both support construction of the southern (OK-TX) leg of Keystone XL, a pipeline that would transport tar sands through the Great Plains from Montana to refineries in Texas.