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87-643: Progressive Bloggers was created in May, 2005 by Wayne Chu from the Canadian political website freethought.ca . The central political belief of the Progressive Bloggers is that Canadian society should move in a progressive direction. The values that they promote include the importance of the environment , the preservation of Canada’s social programs and of Canada's multicultural mosaic . Members often blog in support of these issues. Feminism has been identified as

174-564: A "Nobody knows I'm gay" T-shirt while marching in Toronto's Pride parade in a protest against the inclusion of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in the march after he had said that political groups do not belong in the Pride parade. Zerbisias commented on Farber's decision to march as itself being a political act by sardonically writing in the comments thread of her blog, "Imagine my surprise when I saw Bernie Farber identifying himself as queer by joining

261-514: A BA in applied social sciences from Concordia University (then called Sir George Williams University ). Her first job as a reporter, in the early 1970s, was with the now-defunct Montreal weekly newspaper the Sunday Express . She moved to Toronto and worked as a researcher on the Larry Solway Show for a year before returning to Montreal in 1975. In 1975, she joined CBC-TV, first as

348-455: A change in membership criteria, these calls have been of too general a nature to be systematically addressed by the moderators. In fact, most of those who apply are accepted, based upon very loose criteria indeed (the blogroll is an explicitly political one, with a Canadian focus; new bloggers may have to wait for a period to establish that they have staying power). The diversity of Progressive Bloggers' political affiliations itself shows that there

435-669: A country to actively manage and protect its environment and the health of its citizens. A weighted index is created by giving 50% weight for environmental health objective (health) and 50% for ecosystem vitality (ecosystem); values range from 0–100. No Arab countries were in the top quartile, and 7 countries were in the lowest quartile. South Korea and Taiwan experienced similar growth in industrialization from 1965 to 1990 with few environmental controls. South Korea's Han River and Nakdong River were so polluted by unchecked dumping of industrial waste that they were close to being classified as biologically dead. Taiwan's formula for balanced growth

522-611: A debate about growth, affluence and "flawed technology." Additionally, an association of scientists and political leaders known as the Club of Rome published their report The Limits to Growth in 1972, and drew attention to the growing pressure on natural resources from human activities. Meanwhile, technological accomplishments such as nuclear proliferation and photos of the Earth from outer space provided both new insights and new reasons for concern over Earth's seemingly small and unique place in

609-682: A decade before began to have some political success. In 1986, there was a nuclear accident in Chernobyl , Ukraine . A large-scale environmental campaign was staged in Ukraine in 1986. The end of the 1980s and start of the 1990s saw the fall of communism across central and Eastern Europe, the fall of the Berlin Wall , and the Union of East and West Germany. In 1992 there was a UN summit held in Rio de Janeiro where Agenda 21

696-526: A dozen women, Zerbisias, along with then- Montreal Gazette reporter Sue Montgomery , created the hashtag #BeenRapedNeverReported which went viral internationally and was translated into other languages. While focusing on entertainment, media and cultural issues for the bulk of her career Zerbisias has also taken positions in regards to the Middle East including the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and

783-486: A few members to express suspicions about whether this practice serves to favour a particular political orientation, or approach to politics. For example, some feminist bloggers have questioned the practice of rejecting blogs that emphasize personal over formal politics, although this appears to have been based upon a misunderstanding: "the personal is the political" blogs are accepted, but personal blogs—my garden, my cat—are not. While one or two active members have called for

870-551: A high profile blog as well. Comedian Rick Mercer also keeps a blog that frequently pokes fun at Canadian politicians. The contents of political blogs have been used to both defend and attack politicians in Parliament . In the early 2000s, the Canadian blogosphere began to organize itself into groups based on political philosophy ( left vs. right ), political party ( Liberal , Green , New Democratic Party , Conservative ) and geographic location. Membership in several groups

957-542: A large inflow of immigrants that are living in substandard housing. Enforcement of the pollution standards is lax and penalties are minimal; in Venezuela, the largest penalty for violating an environmental law is 50,000 bolivar fine ($ 3,400) and three days in jail. In the 1970s or 1980s, many Latin American countries were transitioning from military dictatorships to democratic governments. In 1992, Brazil came under scrutiny with

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1044-473: A ministry is also indicative of the level of engagement. Saudi Arabia was the first to establish environmental law in 1992 followed by Egypt in 1994. Somalia is the only country without environmental law. In 2010 the Environmental Performance Index listed Algeria as the top Arab country at 42 of 163; Morocco was at 52 and Syria at 56. The Environmental Performance Index measures the ability of

1131-478: A national body to coordinate environmental conservation efforts across the country; the " National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty " was formally inaugurated in 1894. The organisation obtained secure footing through the 1907 National Trust Bill, which gave the trust the status of a statutory corporation. and the bill was passed in August 1907. An early "Back-to-Nature" movement, which anticipated

1218-556: A peripheral issue to Progressive Bloggers. As of the end of 2018, Progressive bloggers includes over 250 members. Membership is open to any Canadian-themed progressive blog anywhere in the world. It is not affiliated with any political parties and attracts people with differing views, including some members of the Conservative Blogging Tories . Those wishing to join Progressive Bloggers submit an application. Members review all applicant blogs to ensure that they fit with

1305-527: A pro-Israel gay rights group in the parade." The Canadian Jewish Congress responded by filing a complaint with the Toronto Star against Zerbisias for allegedly "outing" Farber. The Star' s public editor , Kathy English , ruled that Zerbisias' comments "fell short of the Star's standards of fairness, accuracy and civility," and promised to rein in journalists who "put the Star in a negative light." Readers lamented

1392-406: A rare commodity in today's bland politically correct journalism." In 1997, she became TV critic and then, in 2003, was appointed media columnist. Zerbisias' first blog for the Star, Azerbic [1] effectively went on hiatus in August 2006 and ceased publishing the following December. She continued as media critic until June 2007, when she became the social issues and cultural affairs columnist at

1479-559: A researcher and eventually becoming a reporter for The City at Six which later was renamed Newswatch. In 1980 she returned to Concordia to earn her MBA (Marketing Research, Honours, 1985), while still working as a journalist for CBC-TV and Variety . In 1986, she became a reporter/producer for the CBC-TV business show Venture . In 2002–2003, she co-hosted the CBC Newsworld program Inside Media with Matthew Fraser . Zerbisias joined

1566-555: A simple life. He published his experiences in the book Walden , which argues that people should become intimately close with nature. Muir came to believe in nature's inherent right, especially after spending time hiking in Yosemite Valley and studying both the ecology and geology. He successfully lobbied congress to form Yosemite National Park and went on to set up the Sierra Club in 1892. The conservationist principles as well as

1653-634: A wider appeal and influence. Although it lacked a single co-ordinating organization the anti-nuclear movement 's efforts gained a great deal of attention, especially in the United Kingdom and United States. In the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, many mass demonstrations took place. The largest one was held in New York City in September 1979 and involved 200,000 people. Since

1740-405: Is a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy". The modern conservation movement was first manifested in the forests of India , with the practical application of scientific conservation principles. The conservation ethic that began to evolve included three core principles: human activity damaged the environment , there

1827-466: Is also on the rise and environmentalists argue that these also contain risks, if these organisms were ever to end up in nature. This, as unlike with genetically modified organisms, synthetic biology even uses base pairs that do not exist in nature. In the early 1990s, multiple environmental activists in the United States became targets of violent attacks. In 2022, Global Witness reported that, in

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1914-672: Is characterized by the rise of environmental NGOs, policy advocacy, spontaneous alliances, and protests that often only occur at the local level. Environmental protests in China are increasingly expanding their scope of concerns, calling for broader participation "in the name of the public." The Chinese have realized the ability of riots and protests to have success and had led to an increase in disputes in China by 30% since 2005 to more than 50,000 events. Protests cover topics such as environmental issues, land loss , income, and political issues. They have also grown in size from about 10 people or fewer in

2001-514: Is common, and there is considerable overlap between membership in the Progressive Bloggers and other blogging groups, especially geographic ones. There is a friendly rivalry between the Progressive Bloggers and the other large groups of Canadian bloggers, especially the Blogging Tories . Blogging Tories who consider themselves Red Tories share many views in common with the Progressive Bloggers and some have memberships in both groups. Soon after

2088-542: Is no narrow ideological screening on the part of the moderators. Political Weblogs have a high visibility in Canada. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin kept a high-profile blog during his campaign for leadership of the Liberal Party . As an opposition member, former Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Monte Solberg kept a widely read blog. Warren Kinsella , a former advisor to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien , maintains

2175-615: The Toronto Star as a TV columnist in 1989. She was assigned to the Montreal bureau in 1991. In 1993, she returned to Toronto and became a media critic. She won the 1996 National Newspaper Award for critical writing for her columns about magazines; the award noting that Zerbisias "is not one to mince with words as she focuses on the subject matter at hand. She proceeds to give us her insights, analysis and critique not only with rhetorical, stylistic and intellectual rigor, but with gusto and passion,

2262-801: The Aarhus Convention . In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Jan 10. that the first $ 100 million in federal environmental justice will open up to community organizations, local governments and other qualified applicants in the coming weeks. Beginning in the conservation movement at the beginning of the 20th century, the contemporary environmental movement's roots can be traced back to Rachel Carson 's 1962 book Silent Spring , Murray Bookchin 's 1962 book Our Synthetic Environment , and Paul R. Ehrlich 's 1968 The Population Bomb . American environmentalists have campaigned against nuclear weapons and nuclear power in

2349-623: The Iraq War . In 2009, on Twitter, she took issue with former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler who, as a keynote speaker at a Stand With Us event at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, boasted about his children enlisting in the Israeli military and asked "Which country are you loyal to, sir?" In the same year, she mocked Bernie Farber , then CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress , in her blog for wearing

2436-486: The Toronto Star . In January 2008, she launched a new Star blog, with a focus on feminist issues, called Broadsides [2] . In April 2010, she ended her regular column to become a feature writer at the Toronto Star . She took early retirement from the Star on 31 October 2014. On the day before retiring from The Star , during the controversy over allegations that CBC Radio personality Jian Ghomeshi had assaulted half

2523-621: The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has a history of little environmental awareness. It has the highest biodiversity in the world and also the highest amount of habitat destruction . One-third of the world's forests lie in Brazil. It is home to the largest river, The Amazon , and the largest rainforest, the Amazon Rainforest . People have raised funds to create state parks and increase

2610-467: The atmosphere during the Industrial Revolution . The emergence of great factories and the concomitant immense growth in coal consumption gave rise to an unprecedented level of air pollution in industrial centers; after 1900 the large volume of industrial chemical discharges added to the growing load of untreated human waste. Under increasing political pressure from the urban middle-class,

2697-514: The environment through changes in public policy and individual behavior. In its recognition of humanity as a participant in (not an enemy of) ecosystems , the movement is centered on ecology , health , as well as human rights . The environmental movement is an international movement, represented by a range of environmental organizations, from enterprises to grassroots and varies from country to country. Due to its large membership, varying and strong beliefs, and occasionally speculative nature,

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2784-467: The institutionalization of forest conservation activities in British India through the establishment of Forest Departments . The Madras Board of Revenue started local conservation efforts in 1842, headed by Alexander Gibson , a professional botanist who systematically adopted a forest conservation programme based on scientific principles. This was the first case of state management of forests in

2871-633: The "taint of manufacture or the canker of artificiality", were enthusiastically revived, including the Morris dance and the maypole . The movement in the United States began in the late 19th century, out of concerns for protecting the natural resources of the West, with individuals such as John Muir and Henry David Thoreau making key philosophical contributions. Thoreau was interested in peoples' relationship with nature and studied this by living close to nature in

2958-691: The 1960s and 1970s, acid rain in the 1980s, ozone depletion and deforestation in the 1990s, and most recently climate change and global warming . The United States passed many pieces of environmental legislation in the 1970s, such as the Clean Water Act , the Clean Air Act , the Endangered Species Act , and the National Environmental Policy Act . These remain as the foundations for current environmental standards. In

3045-565: The 1970s, public awareness, environmental sciences , ecology , and technology have advanced to include modern focus points like ozone depletion, global climate change , acid rain , mutation breeding , genetically modified crops and genetically modified livestock . With mutation breeding, crop cultivars were created by exposing seeds to chemicals or radiation. Many of these cultivars are still being used today. Genetically modified plants and animals are said by some environmentalists to be inherently bad because they are unnatural. Others point out

3132-690: The 1990s, the anti-environmental 'Wise Use' movement emerged in the United States. After the International Environmental Conference in Stockholm in 1972 Latin American officials returned with a high hope of growth and protection of the fairly untouched natural resources. Governments spent millions of dollars, and created departments and pollution standards. However, the outcomes have not always been what officials had initially hoped. Activists blame this on growing urban populations and industrial growth. Many Latin American countries have had

3219-552: The 20th century, environmental ideas continued to grow in popularity and recognition. Efforts were beginning to be made to save wildlife, particularly the American bison . The death of the last passenger pigeon as well as the endangerment of the American bison helped to focus the minds of conservationists and popularize their concerns. In 1916, the National Park Service was founded by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson . Pioneers of

3306-557: The 23-man crew of the Japanese fishing vessel Lucky Dragon 5 to radioactive fallout. The incident is known as Castle Bravo , the largest thermonuclear device ever detonated by the United States and the first in a series of high-yield thermonuclear weapon design tests. In 1967 the oil tanker Torrey Canyon ran aground off the coast of Cornwall , and in 1969 oil spilled from an offshore well in California's Santa Barbara Channel . In 1971,

3393-646: The EPA. Beginning in 1969 and continuing into the 1970s, Illinois-based environmental activist James F. Phillips engaged in numerous covert anti-pollution campaigns using the pseudonym "the Fox." His activities included plugging illegal sewage outfall pipes and dumping toxic wastewater produced by a US Steel factory inside the company's Chicago corporate office. Phillips' "ecotage" campaigns attracted considerable media attention and subsequently inspired other direct action protests against environmental destruction. The first Earth Day

3480-533: The Imperial Forestry School at Dehradun. The late 19th century saw the formation of the first wildlife conservation societies. The zoologist Alfred Newton published a series of investigations into the Desirability of establishing a 'Close-time' for the preservation of indigenous animals between 1872 and 1903. His advocacy for legislation to protect animals from hunting during the mating season led to

3567-704: The Indian environmental movement consider global warming, sea levels rising, and glaciers retreating decreasing the amount of water flowing into streams to be the biggest challenges for them to face in the early twenty-first century. Eco Revolution movement has been started by Eco Needs Foundation in 2008 from Aurangabad Maharashtra that seeks the participation of children, youth, researchers, spiritual and political leaders to organise awareness programmes and conferences. Child activists against air pollution in India and greenhouse gas emissions by India include Licypriya Kangujam . From

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3654-471: The League of Arab States have demonstrated an interest in environmental issues, on paper some environmental activists have doubts about the level of commitment to environmental issues; being a part of the world community may have obliged these countries to portray concern for the environment. The initial level of environmental awareness may be the creation of a ministry of the environment. The year of establishment of

3741-659: The Toronto Star's sudden lack of humour and appreciation for one of its own columnists. "Imagine if top-notch cartoonist Theo Moudakis had penned a cartoon expressing the same thing. Would the Star have griped? I think not," suggested a Star reader. English acknowledged that her ruling had elicited widespread criticism and subsequently modified her assessment and criticized Farber and the Canadian Jewish Congress since in their complaint they did not "think to tell me that [Farber], along with dozens of others who marched with

3828-579: The Toronto alternative weekly, Now . Petros Zerbisias immigrated from Greece to Canada arriving in Halifax in 1928. He settled in Montreal where he met his wife, Loula, where they owned and operated the Deli-Q restaurant. Zerbisias attended Wagar High School in the suburb of Cote-St-Luc . She was married to the late Mark Blandford, a prominent Quebec television producer, director and screenwriter. Zerbisias has

3915-492: The belief in an inherent right of nature were to become the bedrock of modern environmentalism. However, the early movement in the U.S. developed with a contradiction; preservationists like John Muir wanted land and nature set aside for its own sake, and conservationists, such as Gifford Pinchot (appointed as the first Chief of the US Forest Service from 1905 to 1910), wanted to manage natural resources for human use. In

4002-405: The best but this feature was removed in 2015. Environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement ) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living . Environmentalists advocate the just and sustainable management of resources and stewardship of

4089-628: The coast. In 1972, in Stockholm, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment created the UN Environment Programme . The EU's environmental policy was formally founded by a European Council declaration and the first five-year environment programme was adopted. The main idea of the declaration was that prevention is better than the cure and the polluter should pay. In the 1980s the green parties that were created

4176-524: The coming years. Environmental and public health is an ongoing struggle within India. The first seed of an environmental movement in India was the foundation in 1964 of Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh , a labour cooperative started by Chandi Prasad Bhatt . It was inaugurated by Sucheta Kriplani and founded on land donated by Shyma Devi. This initiative was eventually followed up with the Chipko movement starting in 1974. The most severe single event underpinning

4263-526: The conclusion of a lawsuit in Japan drew international attention to the effects of decades of mercury poisoning on the people of Minamata . At the same time, emerging scientific research drew new attention to existing and hypothetical threats to the environment and humanity. Among them were Paul R. Ehrlich , whose book The Population Bomb (1968) revived Malthusian concerns about the impact of exponential population growth. Biologist Barry Commoner generated

4350-481: The consciousness of people who have destroyed forests and polluted waterways. From 1973 to the 1990s, and then in the 2000s, indigenous communities and rubber tappers also carried out blockades that protected much rainforest. It is home to several organizations that have fronted the environmental movement. The Blue Wave Foundation was created in 1989 and has partnered with advertising companies to promote national education campaigns to keep Brazil's beaches clean. Funatura

4437-428: The costs of environmental negligence, disease, and the expansion of air and water pollution through the occurrence of several environmental disasters that occurred post-World War II. Aldo Leopold published A Sand County Almanac in 1949. He believed in a land ethic that recognized that maintaining the "beauty, integrity, and health of natural systems" as a moral and ethical imperative. Another major literary force in

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4524-419: The creation of Earth First! , a group with an ecocentric view of the world – believing in equality between the rights of humans to flourish, the rights of all other species to flourish and the rights of life-sustaining systems to flourish. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, several events illustrated the magnitude of environmental damage caused by humans. In 1954, a hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll exposed

4611-518: The creation of Progressive Bloggers, a list of Liberal bloggers known as Liblogs was formed. Monitoring the Progressive Bloggers website can give a quick snapshot of what political developments and world issues are considered important in the Canadian blogosphere, as well as what the range of opinion is on these issues. Journalist Antonia Zerbisias uses Progressive Bloggers to tell Toronto Star readers what political happenings have engaged Canadians' attention (e.g., 1 , 2 ). Progressive Bloggers

4698-623: The definitive work on the subject and was widely used by forest assistants in the subcontinent. Dietrich Brandis joined the British service in 1856 as superintendent of the teak forests of Pegu division in eastern Burma . During that time Burma's teak forests were controlled by militant Karen tribals. He introduced the "taungya" system, in which Karen villagers provided labour for clearing, planting, and weeding teak plantations. Also, he formulated new forest legislation and helped establish research and training institutions. Brandis as well as founded

4785-448: The early 2000s, activists believed that environmental policy concerns were overshadowed by energy security, globalism, and terrorism. Since that time major movements concerning issues such as climate change, fracking and other issues have arisen. The environmental movement is reaching the less developed world with different degrees of success. The Arab world , including the Middle East and North Africa , has different adaptations of

4872-538: The environment only began in the late 19th century; it grew out of the amenity movement in Britain in the 1870s, which was a reaction to industrialization , the growth of cities, and worsening air and water pollution . Starting with the formation of the Commons Preservation Society in 1865, the movement championed rural preservation against the encroachments of industrialisation. Robert Hunter , solicitor for

4959-431: The environmental movement in India is the anti-dam movement. Dam creation has been thought of as a way for India to catch up with the West by connecting to the power grid with giant dams, coal or oil-powered plants, or nuclear plants. Jhola Aandolan a mass movement is conducting as fighting against polyethylene carry bags uses and promoting cloth/jute/paper carry bags to protect the environment and nature . Activists in

5046-490: The environmental movement is not always united in its goals. At its broadest, the movement includes private citizens, professionals, religious devotees , politicians, scientists, nonprofit organizations , and individual advocates like former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson and Rachel Carson in the 20th century. The origins of the environmental movement lay in response to increasing levels of smoke pollution in

5133-668: The environmental movement. Countries on the Persian Gulf have high incomes and rely heavily on the large amount of energy resources in the area. Each country in the Arab world has varying combinations of low or high amounts of natural resources and low or high amounts of labor. The League of Arab States has one specialized sub-committee, of 12 standing specialized subcommittees in the Foreign Affairs Ministerial Committees, which deals with Environmental Issues. Countries in

5220-564: The environmentally harmful Carajás iron ore mine. In 1952 the Great London Smog episode killed thousands of people and led the UK to create the first Clean Air Act in 1956. In 1957 the first major nuclear accident occurred in Windscale in northern England. The supertanker Torrey Canyon ran aground off the coast of Cornwall in 1967, causing the first major oil leak that killed marine life along

5307-436: The experience of China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan reveals that the impact of environmental activism is heavily modified by domestic political context, particularly the level of integration of mass-based protests and policy advocacy NGOs. Hinted by the history of neighboring Japan and South Korea, the possible convergence of NGOs and anti-pollution protests will have significant implications for Chinese environmental politics in

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5394-604: The first large-scale, modern environmental laws came in the form of Britain's Alkali Acts , passed in 1863, to regulate the deleterious air pollution ( gaseous hydrochloric acid ) given off by the Leblanc process , used to produce soda ash . Early interest in the environment was a feature of the Romantic movement in the early 19th century. The poet William Wordsworth had travelled extensively in England's Lake District and wrote that it

5481-664: The formation of the Plumage League (later the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) in 1889. The society acted as a protest group campaigning against the use of great crested grebe and kittiwake skins and feathers in fur clothing . The Society attracted growing support from the suburban middle-classes, and influenced the passage of the Sea Birds Preservation Act in 1869 as the first nature protection law in

5568-463: The mid to late 2010s a coalition of urban and Indigenous communities came together to protect Aarey , a forest located in the suburbs of Mumbai . Farming and indigenous communities have also opposed pollution and clearing caused by mining in states such as Goa , Odisha , and Chhattisgarh . Antonia Zerbisias Antonia Zerbisias is a Canadian journalist associated with the Toronto Star from 1989 until she took early retirement from

5655-585: The mid-1990s to 52 people per incident in 2004. China has more relaxed environmental laws than other countries in Asia, so many polluting factories have relocated to China, causing pollution in China . Water pollution , water scarcity , soil pollution , soil degradation , and desertification are issues currently in discussion in China. The groundwater table of the North China Plain is dropping by 1.5 m (5 ft) per year. This groundwater table occurs in

5742-617: The movement called for more efficient and professional management of natural resources. They fought for reform because they believed the destruction of forests, fertile soil, minerals, wildlife, and water resources would lead to the downfall of society. The group that has been the most active in recent years is the climate movement . "The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to solve all others". Theodore Roosevelt (4 October 1907) The U.S. movement began to take off after World War II , as people began to recognize

5829-460: The movement was the Bhopal gas leakage on 3 December 1984. 40 tons of methyl isocyanate was released, immediately killing 2,259 people and ultimately affecting 700,000 citizens. India has a national campaign against Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola plants due to their practices of drawing groundwater and contaminating fields with sludge. The movement is characterized by local struggles against intensive aquaculture farms. The most influential part of

5916-456: The paper on 31 October 2014. She has been a reporter and TV host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , as well as the Montreal correspondent for the trade paper, Variety . She was nominated for ACTRA awards for her documentary writing in 1980 and 1981, and won the 1996 National Newspaper Award for critical writing for her columns about magazines. Currently a freelancer, she regularly writes opinion columns for Al Jazeera English and

6003-582: The people learned that protesting can bring results. The polluting factories were forced to make immediate improvements to the conditions or pay compensation to victims. Some were even forced to shut down or move locations. The people were able to force the government to come out with new restrictive rules on toxins, industrial waste, and air pollution. All of these new regulations caused the migration of those polluting industries from Taiwan and South Korea to China and other countries in Southeast Asia with more relaxed environmental laws. China's environmental movement

6090-420: The political mission statement of Progressive Bloggers. Membership can be rejected or revoked if a blogger acts in bad faith, such as berating readers of his or her blog, or falsifying their comments. Unlike some prominent sites like Daily Kos , which all self-identified progressives can join, the members of Progressive Bloggers on occasion vote to deny membership to certain applicants. This has predictably led

6177-423: The possible benefits of GM crops such as water conservation through corn modified to be less "thirsty" and decreased pesticide use through insect – resistant crops. They also point out that some genetically modified livestock have accelerated growth which means there are shorter production cycles which again results in a more efficient use of feed. Besides genetically modified crops and livestock, synthetic biology

6264-598: The preceding decade, more than 1,700 land and environmental defenders were killed, about one every two days. Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, and Mexico were the deadliest countries. Violence and intimidation against environmental activists have also been reported in Central and Eastern Europe . In Romania , anti-logging activists have been killed, while in Belarus , the government arrested several environmental activists and dissolved their organizations. Belarus has also withdrawn from

6351-480: The promotion of the environmental movement was Rachel Carson 's 1962 book Silent Spring about declining bird populations due to DDT , an insecticide, pollutant, and man's attempts to control nature through the use of synthetic substances. Her core message for her readers was to identify the complex and fragile ecosystem and the threats facing the population. In 1958, Carson started to work on her last book, with an idea that nature needs human protection. Her influence

6438-483: The region of China that produces 40% of the country's grain. The Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims works to confront legal issues associated with environmental justice by hearing court cases that expose the narratives of victims of environmental pollution. As China continues domestic economic reforms and integration into global markets, there emerge new linkages between China's domestic environmental degradation and global ecological crisis. Comparing

6525-437: The romantic ideal of modern environmentalism, was advocated by intellectuals such as John Ruskin , William Morris , and Edward Carpenter , who were all against consumerism , pollution and other activities that were harmful to the natural world. The movement was a reaction to the urban conditions of the industrial towns, where sanitation was awful, pollution levels intolerable and housing terribly cramped. Idealists championed

6612-489: The rural life as a mythical Utopia and advocated a return to it. John Ruskin argued that people should return to a "small piece of English ground, beautiful, peaceful, and fruitful. We will have no steam engines upon it ... we will have plenty of flowers and vegetables ... we will have some music and poetry; the children will learn to dance to it and sing it." Practical ventures in the establishment of small cooperative farms were even attempted and old rural traditions, without

6699-565: The society, worked with Hardwicke Rawnsley , Octavia Hill , and John Ruskin to lead a successful campaign to prevent the construction of railways to carry slate from the quarries, which would have ruined the unspoilt valleys of Newlands and Ennerdale . This success led to the formation of the Lake District Defence Society (later to become The Friends of the Lake District). In 1893 Hill, Hunter and Rawnsley agreed to set up

6786-568: The universe. In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm , and for the first time united the representatives of multiple governments in discussion relating to the state of the global environment. This conference led directly to the creation of government environmental agencies and the UN Environment Program . By the mid-1970s anti-nuclear activism had moved beyond local protests and politics to gain

6873-587: The world. For most of the century from 1850 to 1950, however, the primary environmental cause was the mitigation of air pollution. The Coal Smoke Abatement Society was formed in 1898 making it one of the oldest environmental NGOs. It was founded by artist Sir William Blake Richmond , frustrated with the pall cast by coal smoke. Although there were earlier pieces of legislation, the Public Health Act 1875 required all furnaces and fireplaces to consume their own smoke. Systematic and general efforts on behalf of

6960-457: The world. Eventually, the government under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie introduced the first permanent and large-scale forest conservation programme in the world in 1855, a model that soon spread to other colonies , as well as the United States . In 1860, the Department banned the use of shifting cultivation . Hugh Cleghorn 's 1861 manual, The forests and gardens of South India , became

7047-404: Was a civic duty to maintain the environment for future generations, and scientific, empirically based methods should be applied to ensure this duty was carried out. James Ranald Martin was prominent in promoting this ideology, publishing many medico-topographical reports that demonstrated the scale of damage wrought through large-scale deforestation and desiccation, and lobbying extensively for

7134-631: Was adopted. The Kyoto Protocol was created in 1997, setting specific targets and deadlines to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol has 192 signatories, including the European Union, Cook Islands, Niue, and all UN member states except Andorra, Canada, South Sudan, and the United States. In the 1990s blockades were held in Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands to protect forests and other areas from clearing for road construction. In

7221-423: Was celebrated on April 22, 1970. Its founder, former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson , was inspired to create this day of environmental education and awareness after seeing the oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969 . Greenpeace was created in 1971 as an organization that believed that political advocacy and legislation were ineffective or inefficient solutions and supported non-violent action. 1980 saw

7308-553: Was created in 1986 and is a wildlife sanctuary program. Pro-Natura International is a private environmental organization created in 1986. From the late 2000s onwards community resistance saw the formerly pro-mining southeastern state of Minas Gerais cancel a number of projects that threatened to destroy forests. In northern Brazil’s Pará state the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Landless Workers Movement) and others campaigned and took part in occupations and blockades against

7395-536: Was created in May, 2005 by Wayne Chu with the help of Dan Arnold. In 2006 Scott Tribe took over as head admin. A group of Progressive Bloggers were accredited to cover the Liberal Party's 2014 Biennial Convention Progressive Bloggers uses custom designed software for its site. It aggregates member posts as they are uploaded to their own blogs and creates a tag cloud from the posts. The website once allowed users to vote on which Progressive Blogger posts were currently

7482-414: Was radioactive fallout, smog, food additives, and pesticide use. Carson's main focus was on pesticides, which led her to identify nature as fragile. She believed the use of technology dangerous to humans and other species. Both of these books helped bring the issues into the public eye Rachel Carson's Silent Spring sold over two million copies and is linked to a nationwide ban on DDT and the creation of

7569-470: Was to prevent industrial concentration and encourage manufacturers to set up in the countryside. This led to 20% of the farmland being polluted by industrial waste and 30% of the rice grown on the island was contaminated with heavy metals. Both countries had spontaneous environmental movements drawing participants from different classes. Their demands were linked with issues of employment, occupational health, and agricultural crisis. They were also quite militant;

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