Tag: Africa - Page 7
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Oka! Movie: Endangered Music and People in the Heart of the Congo Forest (Interview)
Deep in the forests of central Africa live people who rely on those forests for survival. It is not a game or a TV reality show, and the jungle is not territory to be feared and overcome. Filmmaker
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Beaded Rhino Sculptures Sold to Help Endangered Black Rhinos
There are only somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 black rhinos alive today, and 16 have been killed by poachers this year alone. But there's some good news for the 400 odd black rhinos in Zimbabwe. Canadian group Bundu Designs has
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Climate Change Threatens Kenya's Rainmakers
We hear a lot about the impact of climate change on agriculture, especially smallholder farmers, but there's a group of people who advise those farmers who are also affected: rainmakers.
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Planet Getting Too Hot for Chocolate? Study Finds Climate Change Could Threaten Cocoa Farmers
The world's cocoa supply could be in danger from climate change, according to a new study from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), which says that prices are likely to skyrocket if preventative
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Apple Bans Phone Story App, Game That Shows the "Dark Side" of Smartphones
A game called Phone Story, released this week, is designed to allow players to see the dark sides of the technologies we use everyday—from coltan mining in central Africa to high suicide rates at factories in
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Remembering Wangari Maathai: People Should Be "Active Participants" in Environmental Restoration
When I interviewed Wangari Maathai in July 2004, I had no idea she would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just a few months later. By the time the award was announced, I had booked tickets from
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Bringing 5 Million Rocket Stoves To Women Worldwide: The Paradigm Project
It may sound unbelievable but it's true: smoke inhalation from cooking over an open fire kills 1.6 million adults and children yearly. Not only that, in Africa, for example, women walk up to 15 miles each trip to find wood
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Pay-As-You-Go Makes Solar Accessible to Emerging Markets
We already know that solar lighting can be a lifesaver in Africa, and that clean energy can transform school performance too. So it was exciting to learn that solar is now cheaper than kerosene in many remote, rural communities.
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From Nautical to Domestic: Old African Boats Recycled Into Bold Furniture
Photos: Artlantique Fishing is a traditional way of life and sustenance for many people around the world, including the west coast of Africa. The distinctively colourful wooden fishing boats are a visual mainstay along the coast, each one of a kind and
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New Tax on International Fishing Operations Will Deter African Overfishing
Coastal African countries have long been at a disadvantage when it comes to regional fishing because their smaller boats can't go out far enough out to reach fish stocks caught instead by larger international fishing operations. This
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Trading Charcoal for Sustainably Farmed Biofuel in Africa (Video)
In developing nations around the world, millions of families use charcoal for cooking every day. And they often cook in poorly ventilated homes, exposing everyone inside to dangerous indoor air pollution. Furthermore, farmers often
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What If The World Population Doesn't Stabilize At 10bn?
When I posted about a study forecasting that electric cars may not be cost competitive until 2030, fellow TreeHugger Mike reminded me that prediction is always a dangerous game. Yet when experts tell us that the future will look like this, or like
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Solar Sister and NextAid Showcase 5 Promising Technologies for Africa
Solar Sister showcased just some of the efforts taking place around the world. Here, the Women Barefoot Solar Engineers of Mauritania install solar panels in their villages. They received training in Rajasthan, India. Image: Barefoot Photographers of
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USAID Launches FWD to Bring Attention to Somalia: Famine, War, and Drought
According to USAID, 750,000 people in Somalia are at risk of dying over the next four months if assistance is not increased. The agency launched a new initiative today, FWD, to address the ongoing drought and famine in the Horn of
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Why "Conflict-Free" Diamonds Are Unreliable: Kimberley Process is "Pandora's Box" of Ethical Issues
It's not exactly breaking news, but this topic is worth a recap. The Kimberley Process was established to prevent diamond sales from funding conflict—"blood diamonds"—but in reality, not a whole lot has changed.
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Deforestation Making Somalia Famine Worse, Forestry Experts Say
Some background on one factor contributing to the severity of the famine in the Horn of Africa, from the Center for International Forestry Research: Deforestation
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150 Kenyans Incinerated While Gathering Gasoline From a Leaking Pipeline (Video)
Try, for a minute, to imagine this scenario: You live next to a massive oil pipeline. Rather against your will, but you do. You know it's an oil pipeline, though you usually don't think about it too often. It's just there. One day, a cacophonous crowd
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Oxfam Takes on Land Grabs -- Rich Investors: "They're Not Countries, They're Commodities"
Despite years-old warnings against the increasing trend of land grabs by rich countries in poorer countries, the practice continues with little notice. Oxfam says that "in many cases, the land sold is actually being used by poor families: for homes, to
