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Long Way to go on Iran Nuclear Deal

The U.N. nuclear chief said on Friday there was "still a long way to go" to resolve a decade-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program, a note of caution days after Tehran curbed its atomic activity under an interim deal with world powers.

Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the comment as he won broad backing from the IAEA's 35-nation board for the U.N. body's expanded role in Iran to check that it complies with the accord over the next six months.

Many governments said they would help pay the estimated $8 million the IAEA needs to inspect Iranian nuclear sites under the deal, which took effect on Monday, diplomats who attended the closed-door meeting said.

The IAEA will nearly double the number of people it already has working on Iran. Amano said the interim agreement - under which Iran will get relief from some economic sanctions - was an "important step forward towards achieving a comprehensive solution" to the nuclear dispute.

But, he added: "there is still a long way to go".

Article courtesy of Reuters. Learn more here.

Photo: IAEA/Dean Calma

 

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Martin Luther King: Practicing Non-violence when Sitting on a Bus

In 1956, Martin Luther King and his colleague W. J. Powell wrote a list of "Integrated Bus Suggestions" as guidance for how to practice non-violence when integrating the buses in the South. The suggestions include: "Be loving enough to absorb evil and understanding enough to turn an enemy into a friend." MLK's list continues to  provide helpful guidance in living one's life. 

 

Thanks to a post on slate.com. You can read the whole list of Integrated Bus Suggestions here. 

Peru - Gas Expansion in Amazon 'Indigenous Reserve'

The Peruvian government is pushing ahead with plans to expand gas operations in a supposedly protected reserve in the Amazon despite calls by the United Nations to suspend them.

The company leading the operations, Pluspetrol, moved one step closer to proceeding with the expansion of the Camisea gas project - Peru's biggest ever energy development - following a report by the vice-ministry of inter-culturality (VMI) last week.

Pluspetrol's plans include drilling 18 wells and conducting seismic tests in an 'intangible' reserve for indigenous peoples living in 'voluntary isolation' and 'initial contact'.

The reserve is also part of the buffer zone for the Manu national park, where Unesco says the biological diversity "exceeds that of any other place on Earth."

Pilar Cameno, from Peruvian NGO DAR, told the Guardian that the expansion could lead to "violent encounters" between gas project workers and indigenous peoples, "increased mortality rates", the loss of land and access to resources, and environmental contamination.

"The Peruvian state must heed the UN rapporteur's recommendations and implement them", Cameno says. "What's at stake here is the survival of the indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact - not just as individuals, but as whole cultures."

Here's how you can help:

• Writing a letter to the Peruvian government can make a real difference.
• Write to your Senators and members of Congress (US)
• Write to your local Peruvian embassy

Article courtesy of The Guardian. Learn more here.

Images from Zoom's Edible Plants

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"What a Wonderful World" by Sir David Attenborough

Thanks to Sir David Attenborough for bringing us "What a Wonderful World." Your support of EarthAction will help keep it that way.

Child deaths from malaria fall 51% since 2000

Child deaths from malaria fall 51% since 2000, WHO report says.

The number of children under the age of 5 dying from malaria dropped by 51% from 2000 to 2012, says the annual report on malaria from the World Health Organization. WHO expects the death rate will continue to fall, which bodes well for helping countries meet health-related Millennium Development Goals. Still, lack of funding and the emergence of drug-resistant malaria concern health officials. 

Learn more: The Guardian (London), Al Jazeera, BBC, Los Angeles Times 

Photo by Maggie Hallahan