EU Pledges Strong Support for Earth Summit

Through coverage of issues like food security, extractive industries, biodiversity and climate change, IPS aims to give a voice to people whose stories are seldom heard. IPS also hopes to highlight the various challenges they face in this globalised world: health and food insecurity, environment degradation, and poverty.

Hello,

While I’m always passionate about the work I do here at IPS, there’s something else that I’m excited about: Support Your Media Day.

On February 15, 2012, thousands of people are going to put their support behind non-profit, independent media in an unprecedented, 24-hour virtual donation drive. And on that day, every donation and donor IPS gets will help us claim our share of more than $10,000 in grants.

These contributions will fund the critical work we do every day and our unique brand of international reporting. They’ll support our writers, photographers, editors and media trainers throughout the world — from the streets of Damascus to the Dadaab refugee camps, from the Amazon basin to the Mekong Delta — wherever citizens are acting for change.

Support Your Media Day is going to be a big event, and everyone will be talking about it. Please join us. This is your opportunity to sustain reporting and analysis that is especially critical in this time of global upheaval.

We need you to help us with these three things:

• 1) Mark Wednesday Feb. 15 on your calendar, bookmark this giving link #video http://www.razoo.com/story/ipsnews/ and make a donation to IPS on Support Your Media Day.
• 2) Share this event on Facebook and Twitter and help build the buzz. You can tweet about this day using #supportyrmedia.
• 3) Spread the word! Forward this email to your family and friends along with a personal note explaining why you believe in our work, and why they should give on Feb. 15.

Support your media. Support IPS. We can’t wait to celebrate the difference your generosity will make.

Sincerely,
Mario Lubetkin
Director-General, IPS

Some stories in this selection were produced by Tierramérica, a specialised information service on environment and development created by IPS in Latin America and sponsored by UNEP, UNDP and the World Bank. This newsletter includes independent IPS news coverage financed by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

These newsletter includes news coverage which is part of a project funded by the European Union

The contents of this news coverage, including any funded by the European Union, are the sole responsibility of IPS and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

ARGENTINA: Progress in River Clean-Up Praised – With Reservations Marcela Valente * – BUENOS AIRES, Feb 8 (Tierramérica) – For the first time in over 200 years, visible progress is being made in cleaning up the Matanza-Riachuelo River basin, the most highly polluted in Argentina, although improvements remain largely superficial so far. MORE >>

Cuba on the Road to Clean Energy Development Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Feb 7 – More than a decade ago, solar electricity changed the lives of several mountain communities in Cuba. Now this and other renewable power sources are emerging as the best options available to develop sustainable energy across the island. MORE >>

Cloud Seeding – Uncertain Solution for Mexico’s Drought Emilio Godoy * – MEXICO CITY, Feb 7 (Tierramérica) – As half of Mexico endures one of the most severe droughts in its history, cloud seeding appears to be a promising way to bring desperately needed rain, although it remains a source of controversy. MORE >>

Q&A: „The Environmental Crisis Is in Fact a Crisis in Democracy“ Stephen Leahy interviews writer and environmentalist FRANCES MOORE LAPPÉ UXBRIDGE, Canada, Feb 7 – To meet the challenges of the 21st century, including climate change, feeding the world and eliminating poverty, we need to free ourselves from the „thought traps“ that prevent us from seeing the world as it truly is and narrow our vision of how to respond. MORE >>

Mines Test Colombia’s Commitment to Sustainable Development Helda Martínez IBAGUÉ, Colombia, Feb 6 – „In the Andes, and all over the world, mining on mountains should be banned. Distinguished scientists and papers in the most prestigious journals are saying this,“ a regional planning expert in Colombia told IPS. MORE >>

ARGENTINA: Fair Trade Going Strong Amid Global Crisis Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Feb 3 – With a steady growth in production and exports, fair trade in Argentina is proving that socially and environmentally sustainable practices can be much more than a refuge from external crises. MORE >>

UNICEF Funding Falls Short Leaving Millions of Children at Risk Bari Bates BRUSSELS, Feb 3 – If the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had 1.28 billion dollars it could help 97 million people around the world. MORE >>

Read more IPS reporting of environment news at: http://www.ipsnews.net/environment.asp

http://www.stwr.org/imf-world-bank-trade

http://www.facebook.com/UN Department-of-Economic-and-Social-Affairs DESA

http://www.amnesty.org/en/economic-social-and-cultural-rights

http://www.facebook.com/ipsenvironment

http://twitter.com/ipsenvironment

http://www.facebook.com/road2rio20

http://www.scidev.net/en/science-and-innovation-policy/science-at-rio-20

Rio+20: Is science getting a say? There’s quite a bit about science in the first draft of the Rio+20 negotiations http://www.facebook.com/scidevnet http://twitter.com/scidevnet