By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Corporations, law, and governments often operate as if nature is something only to be exploited for its abundant resources.  Little thought is given to what this might mean for the global ecosystem, let alone for future generations. In mid-January, the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature hosted a thought-provoking conference in
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org For a river that is as venerated as the Ganges River (known as Ganga to Indians), it comes as a shock when people hear how polluted and imperiled the waterway is today. Roughly 3 billion liters of sewage is dumped into the river every day, and there is further contamination of
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The government of Ecuador, after failing to convince wealthy, industrialized countries to pay to leave oil in the ground, has now reversed course and approved drilling in Yasuní National Park, located in the Amazon rainforest. The revolutionary plan was originally hailed in 2007 as a potential model for a more sustainable/less
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org A recent op-ed in the New York Times titled Overpopulation is not the Problem takes an “interesting” position on the topic of population growth and the environment. The author, Erle C. Ellis, a geography professor and biologist by training, wrote, “The conditions that sustain humanity are not natural and never have
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org World Oceans Day is June 8th, designated to raise global awareness on the state of oceans and the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.  Given increasing global problems – especially climate change – the urgency of protecting oceans is imperative. Our Vital Oceans A few
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The news of late out of Australia has not been the most encouraging.   For starters, the country continues to mine coal at a rapid pace, upping its exports of the dirty fuel.  It is the world’s biggest coal exporter.  A recent report found that if the expected expansions of Australia’s
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org During that 15 minute coffee break you took this morning, somewhere across the ocean an elephant was killed.  It is estimated that every 15 minutes an elephant is slaughtered, about 40,000 annually. It makes you wonder how much longer wild elephants will roam the earth.  Because at this rate, with high
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org A recent story on BBC News epitomizes some of the challenges for balancing conservation efforts and the needs of people. The news article of note addressed wildlife, endangered species, development, and population growth in Nepal. Titled Attacks Prompt Nepal to Cap Wildlife Growth, the BBC reports that “Officials in Nepal have
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By HowMany.org Today, almost everywhere we turn, we are inundated with negativity about the state of our world. There is climate chaos, economic uncertainty, terrorism, inequality, environmental degradation, overcrowding, poverty; the list goes on and on. It can be overwhelming to think about global issues and global problems. However, they can’t be ignored, or if
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By Suzanne York, HowMany.org, May 30, 2012 During a week spent ensconced in the depths of the concept of degrowth at the Degrowth in the Americas conference, it was encouraging to find that population issues were interwoven  into plenaries and workshops throughout the week.  The issue is often viewed as taboo and/or the elephant in
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