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BANGLADESH ‘Country’s climate-fund demands too low’ December 15th, 2009
Prominent Church people say the claim by Bangladesh for 15 percent of any climate change adaptation fund that may be pledged at the Copenhagen talks, may not be enough.
“Our people are not only suffering from sea-level rise and cyclones but also more people each day become refugees because of river erosion which is an effect of climate change too,” Benedict Alo D’Rozario, executive director of Caritas Bangladesh, told UCA News.
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Safe Drinking Water Treatment Guides Available December 11th, 2009
Are you living in or planning to be working in an area without safe, clean drinking water? These fact sheets from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) contain useful information on how to filter, treat and store drinking water to maintain a safe supply.
- Boiling: Household Water Treatment Options in Developing Countries. January 2009. CDC Safewater/USAID. (Download pdf, 538KB).
Boiling is arguably the oldest and most commonly practiced household water treatment method, and it has been widely promoted for decades. Organizations recommend boiling both for water treatment in developing countries and to provide safe drinking water in emergency situations throughout the world.
- Filtration & Chlorination Systems: Household Water Treatment Options in Developing Countries. January 2009. CDC Safewater/USAID. (Download pdf, 150KB).
Several household water treatment systems incorporate both a physical filtration step for particle removal and a chlorination step for
disinfection. This dual approach leads to high quality treated water.
- Safe Storage of Drinking Water: Preventing Diarrheal Disease in Developing Countries. January 2009. CDC Safewater/USAID. (Download pdf, 254KB).
Safe storage options fall into three general categories: 1) existing water storage containers in the home; 2) water storage containers used in the community and modified by an intervention program; or, 3) commercial safe storage containers purchased by the program and distributed to users.
- Simple Options to Remove Turbidity: Preventing Diarrheal Disease in Developing Countries. January 2009. CDC Safewater/USAID. (Download pdf, 173KB).
Filtration or flocculation removes particles and reduces turbidity. These pretreatment methods may also increase the efficacy of household water treatment products by removing contaminants that interfere with disinfection and physical filtration processes.
Human Rights Day Marks 100th Day of Unjust Conviction of Tamil Journalist December 10th, 2009
Today, International Human Rights Day, marks the one hundredth day of the draconian sentence for Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainayagam. Tissainayagam was given a harsh sentence of twenty years of hard labor for what has widely been seen as trumped up charges and a forced confession. Ms. Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement at the 12th session of the Human Rights Council,
“We should all be dismayed by the recent sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment imposed on Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, who had been critical of the army’s treatment of Tamil civilians. His conviction raises serious concerns about respect for the right to freedom of expression.”
Read more about the plight of Tissainayagam here
Climate Justice for a Changing Planet December 8th, 2009
Climate Justice for a Changing Planet: A Primer for Policy Makers and NGOs shines a light on the important intersection of equity and justice in the context of the current climate change debate. This new publication from the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) explores climate justice as an emerging concept and as a key to understanding the global debate. The book demonstrates that climate justice is not only an ethical imperative, but also an economic and social one.
Learn more and access a PDF of the publication.
In an effort to further highlight the issue and to develop further understanding of the concept, NGLS has also launched a series of guest articles and interviews with climate justice experts and advocates. This series will continue through January of 2010. The series and more information can be found at www.un-ngls.org/climatejustice
2009 Global Parliament of Religions Gather in Australia December 7th, 2009
There are No Jobs on a Dead Planet
The Rev. Seamus Finn, OMI will speak at the fifth global conference of the Parliament of World Religions which is meeting from December 3 to 9, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions aims to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.
The theme for the 2009 Parliament is “Make a World of Difference: Hearing each other, Healing the earth.” The 2009 Parliament will welcome over 10,000 people from 80 countries to take part in approximately 500 events including keynote addresses, seminars, conferences, debates, performances, concerts and exhibitions.
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