By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Last week, on International Day of the Girl– a day recognized by the UN “to help galvanize worldwide enthusiasm for goals to better girls’ lives” – the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two people working on behalf of children’s rights. Malala Yousafzai, the teenager shot by the Taliban two years
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The Living Planet Report 2014, an analysis of undertaken by World Wildlife Fund, the London Zoological Society, and a few other groups, just reported sobering and disturbing news:  the world is losing more species than originally thought, with the state of global wildlife populations halved in 40 years. The opening paragraph
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org To show how far we have come as a civilized society, and how far we still have to go, the organization Engender Health recently released a video (see below) on past types of rather frightening forms of contraception in honor of World Contraception Day (September 26). While there are many ways to
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Hopefully you’ve heard about this weekend’s People’s Climate March in New York City.  It is being billed as the biggest climate rally in the U.S., taking place before UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon’s climate summit. While there will be many organizations and diverse views being touted during the march, there is one
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org They are sent to protect citizens in horrific conflict and refugee conditions in countries in turmoil.  Women in these situations are incredibly vulnerable. Yet sadly, Human Rights Watch  has found that African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Somalia rape women seeking medicine on their bases and routinely pay teenage girls for sex.
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Africa is a rich continent, where the land and its people have been plundered for centuries.  Despite pockets of economic growth and improved living standards, most news from here is of conflict, poverty, environmental degradation and corruption. And it is growing. There are currently more than 1 billion people in Africa. 
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York. Changing the way we live, to better our lives or the environment, is not always an easy thing to do.  Yet often times simple changes can amount to big differences. Take eating less meat, for example.  Eating less meat probably has a greater impact than changing to energy-saving light bulbs. You don’t
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Global overshoot.  You’d have to be in serious denial, or living under a rock, to not realize that humanity today is living beyond planetary means.  We take so much from Earth to live our lives today. August 19th is designated as Earth Overshoot Day, the date humanity exceeds the carrying capacity
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Most Americans are probably aware that California and much of the U.S. Southwest is in the grips of a major drought.  And it’s likely that people know at least something about conserving water.  Take shorter showers, don’t wash your car, water your lawn at risk of $500 fines, etc. But a
[continue reading…]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org All across the planet, species are at risk, due to humankind’s voracious appetite for practically every natural “resource.” The bounty of the oceans, for example, is being decimated at an unprecedented rate, and fish stocks are near collapse. Unfortunately, some of what people (or industrial trawlers) catch is completely wasted for
[continue reading…]