No Beba El Agua: Don’t Drink the Water
Jessica Sanchez sits on the edge of her seat in her mother’s kitchen, hands resting on her bulging belly. Eight months pregnant, she’s excited about the imminent birth of her son. But she’s scared too. A few feet away, her mother, Bertha Dias, scrubs potatoes with water she bought from a vending machine. She won’t use the tap water because … Read More
UN Calls for New Way to Measure Sustainable Wealth
It makes little sense to talk about growth if it’s not sustainable. That’s why the United Nations called for a new index at the Rio+20 Summit that seeks to change the way prosperity is measured.… Read More
Stress + Pollution = Health Risks for Low-Income Kids
When doctors told Wanda Ford her 2-year-old son had lead poisoning, she never suspected that the back yard in her low-income neighborhood was the likely culprit. Ford knew that exposure to the heavy metal could be dangerous. So when she and her husband moved into the Lower Lincoln Street neighborhood, Ford, then pregnant, took steps to make sure … Read More
‘We are Richmond:’ A Diverse Community Fights Pollution
“Sa Bai Dee, begins the small, white-haired man in the lime-green T-shirt, speaking in his native dialect, Khmu. “Good evening, Madame Mayor and members of the city council, translates the younger man in a matching green shirt, “I am Lipo Chanasack. I live here in Richmond. Through his translator, Chanasack urges the seven members of… Read More
Governments May Not Be Key Players In Rio+20 Talks
“This is no way to run a planet, wrote Todd Stern, American chief negotiator on climate change in a letter to former President George W. Bush in 2007. He stressed that just like you can’t run a company through large meetings in which every opinionated shareholder participates, you can’t solve global challenges by inviting roughly 200 countries to … Read More
Low-Income Area Copes with Oil Refineries, Toxic Waste
From the house where he was born, Henry Clark can stand in his back yard and see plumes pouring out of one of the biggest oil refineries in the United States. As a child, he was fascinated by the factory on the hill, all lit up at night like the hellish twin of a fairy tale city. In the morning, he'd go out to play and find the leaves on the trees … Read More
Rio+20: Economic Growth at Core of Summit
This month’s summit, taking place June 20-22 in Rio de Janeiro, marks the 20-year anniversary for the first Earth Summit on sustainable development. Back then the summit attracted unprecedented media coverage and generated a range of landmark conventions on sustainability, biodiversity and climate change. The latter laid the foundation for the … Read More
Hot News: Second-Warmest May on Record for Globe
In 132 years of record keeping, this past May ranks second warmest, according to Thursday’s monthly report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). With its average temperature of both land and ocean of 59.79°F, it fell short of first place by only 0.05°F; May 2010 holds the title of warmest May on record.… Read More
