What Companies Do Not Disclose But Consumers Must Know
Bottled water usually comes from the same source as kitchen tap water. However, it is less regulated and monitored than most municipal tap water supplies. In many countries, like in the United States, it is beverage companies that treat and test the water they sell, which often result in the adoption of inferior quality standards and inadequate protection against contamination.
A recent study on more than 250 bottles from 11 leading brands worldwide revealed that a single liter of bottled water can contain dozens or even tens of thousands of microplastic particles, which is much greater than the levels found…
Nuclear weapons have been posing a threat to humanity for 75 years — ever since the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
Originally published at https://wagingnonviolence.org on August 4, 2020.
These days, our focus is understandably on the COVID-19 virus and the threat it poses to human life. But as we commemorate the anniversary of these bombings, it is important to acknowledge that unlike the coronavirus, nuclear weapons can only be remediated with prevention. Millions of people could be killed if a single nuclear bomb were detonated over a large city, and the added threats of radiation and retaliation could endanger all life on Earth.
As political and socioeconomic instabilities grow, the risk of nuclear conflicts and even a global nuclear war…
As COVID-19 spreads, people are showing a growing interest in permaculture principles and techniques to heal their lives, communities and the planet.
Despite their urgency, coronavirus outbreaks, health crises and failing institutions are just some of the problems our global society is facing today. Billions of people worldwide still lack access to healthy food, clean water and sanitation services — being unable to properly wash hands and stay safe in the midst of a pandemic. And we are still trapped in an economic system that fuels environmental damage, from biodiversity loss to climate change, which is threatening the quality and sustainability of life on Earth.
Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we rethink and redesign our modes of living and…
In the absence of an effective response by Brazil’s right-wing government to an oil disaster five months ago, civil society is rising to the challenge.
Originally published at https://wagingnonviolence.org on January 30, 2020.
A major oil spill, coming from a mysterious source in the South Atlantic Ocean, has been contaminating Brazil’s coastline since Aug. 30. The oil has already reached a 1,500-mile stretch of the coast across 11 Brazilian states. It’s contaminated beaches, coral reefs, estuaries, mangroves, and at least 14 nature conservation areas. And it has been impacting the health of traditional coastal communities, including the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people.
While the oil was spreading out of control, President Jair Bolsonaro was on a tour around the Middle East, seeking to…
Throughout Portugal, people are organizing to stop a boom in lithium mining, as the government rushes to become Europe’s top supplier of the valuable mineral.
Originally published at wagingnonviolence.org on December 19, 2019.
The global transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles — technologies that are currently powered by lithium-ion batteries — is creating a high demand for lithium, popularly known as white gold, among other minerals. In Portugal, where some of the largest reserves of lithium in Europe are located, the government recently launched a strategy to increase mining and supply of the mineral for this emerging market. However, residents and organizations throughout the country are questioning the impacts of that large-scale mining plan and who will really benefit from it.
“Lithium mining in…
As people around the world pray for Amazonia, indigenous Brazilians are taking action for social and environmental justice.
Originally published at wagingnonviolence.org on September 17, 2019.
A record outbreak of fires is incinerating the Amazon, the largest remaining tropical rainforest in the world, which is home to at least one in every 10 species of plants and animals on Earth and millions of indigenous people.
Rather than working for environmental preservation, Jair Bolsonaro, the recently elected president of Brazil, is committed to opening up the Amazon to business. He has also refused to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples — who are facing a wave of increasing attacks and threats — to their ancestral land. …
Starts with uncovering the root causes of the problem
In order to prevent climate change effects, and safeguard the future of human societies, we must investigate what’s triggering it in the first place. That’s exactly what a group of scientists has been doing while tracing worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
By analyzing data from 1988 to 2015, researchers from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) found out the fossil fuel industry is the largest source of global GHG emissions that are causing climate change. …
What can we learn from climate activists?
“Some people say that I should be in school instead [of going on strike]. Some people say that I should study to become a climate scientist so that I can ‘solve’ the climate crisis…[But] what is the point of learning facts in the school system, when the most important facts, given by the finest science of that same school system, clearly means nothing to our politicians and our society?” — Greta Thunberg, TEDxStockholm
Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old from Sweden, decided to go on school strike due to her profound frustration with world leaders’ inaction on curbing climate change, which is…
That the alcohol industry is too afraid to reveal, but you deserve to know
Humans, as cultural animals, have learned over the years to appreciate and accept alcohol drinking. However, most people are unaware of the real risks and consequences of alcohol on health, society, and life in general. And that may be on purpose.
Here are a few uncomfortable truths that alcohol companies have been avoiding to tell you.
The global market is overfilled with “fake alcohol” — and you can be a victim even if you only drink well-known or pricier booze brands
The 2018 “Opson operation” coordinated by the INTERPOL and Europol that investigated fake food and drinks across 67 countries, seized nearly 10 million liters of counterfeit and substandard alcohol, which was again the most confiscated product from the global market. In the previous year…
What Pet Lovers and Animal Guardians Must Know
Global sales of pet food products, mostly for dogs and cats, reached over US$70 billion last year and revenues are expected to keep growing insanely. But what about the quality of these products? Can we expect to find (truly) safe and healthy pet foods in stores?
In 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that some commercial pet foods were contaminated with melamine, a toxic industrial chemical that ended up poisoning and killing thousands of dogs and cats around the world. This widespread food fraud became known as the Great Pet Food Recall. …
Marina Martinez
Global sustainability researcher. Writing about the controversial relationships among People, Nature, and Economy.
