Can we ever talk too much about the environment?

central america climate dry corridor

It's our planet, after all

Climate change talk is everywhere...

And rightly so. From Greta Thunberg's latest Vice documentary, India's big move to renewable energy sources, to Extinction Rebellion taking up headlines, talking about and acting upon climate change is never too much – not until together as a planet we make serious steps to stop a human-induced apocalypse.

June 5 marks the UN's World Environment Day, a day to broaden our knowledge and enlighten our minds on human being's impact on the environment from an individual, a corporate and a government level.

You already know it, but this is FairPlanet's weekly roundup, a place for insight, thought and discussion. We bring you the good coupled with the bad, and always make sure that you Read. Debate: Engage.

The good

70 percent of India's top 100 corporates are moving towards renewable energy

Just a few days ago India announced its new and ambitious 2020 target, where 70 percent of its top corporates will be moving for renewable energy sources. With a population of 1.3 billion people and one of the world's fastest growing economies, India's pollution levels are some of the highest on the globe. Yet despite its need for rapid growth in order to bring electricity to its estimated 239 million people currently without it, the country is making bold steps on the climate change front and setting a glistening example to the rest of the Western world.

According to a new WWF-India report, corporates in the country constitute over 50 percent of India's electricity demand, meaning that this new target will make a palpable impact on its emissions. As the world's second largest population – estimated to become the largest by 2050 – this move has allowed India to lead climate change action by example. It is now up to us, the people, to make sure we pressure our local representatives, politicians, corporations and ourselves to follow suit.

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The bad

Wildlife is still in massive danger across the globe

Many invaluable populations of wildlife across the world is still under grave danger of becoming extinct. A recent decision by the Botswana government to reverse a ban of hunting its elephant population, which was introduced 5 years ago, is just one example of many.

Humane Society International is a charity dedicated to protecting animals all over the globe in a stand against the exploitation of vulnerable species. Through both advocacy and fieldwork, Human Society Internation strives to limit animal suffering and are currently fighting to convince the Botswana government to withdraw this fatal decision.

Sign the petition to help save the elephants of Botswana, and make sure to keep following the work of Human Society International as well as the countless organisations like it that are working to preserve the precious wildlife keeping our planet's animals diverse and thriving.

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The elephants of Botswana are now more vulnerable than ever

by Mei Alozie

Humane Society International is urging the Botswana government to reverse the lifting of the elephant hunting ban.

Under serious threats

	Walking the talk in beating air pollution by Bob Koigi Picture this. Nine out of ten people globally live in extremely air polluted areas that have surpassed the WHO’s guideline limits. Read

	U.S. Gov’t guts its own climate research mechanisms by Yair Oded The Trump administration is set to limit its agencies' ability to accurately report on and effectively conduct climate research. Read

	Climate change therapy: a flying shame I’m on a video call with a friend, let’s call him Sid, who works as cabin crew for a major airline. He’s generation Z and has a plant-based diet. He tells me he tried to eat scallops the other night when he landed late in France. He couldn’t do it, felt too bad. Instead, he picked at the carrot puree underneath and forgot about the seafood. Sid feels bad about consuming animal products, and about contributing to food waste, but he feels worse about his carbon-intensive job. It’s an inescapable web of shame. Read

A new voice at FairPlanet

Igor Serebryany

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Igor is every inch a journalist and a dual Canadian and Russian national. He graduated from the Department of Journalism in the Moscow State (Lomonosov) University. Growing through professional ranks rapidly, he has been working as a bilingual (Russian/English) author and editor for a wide range of Russian, British, U.S., Canadian, Chinese, Turkish, and Latvian mass media.

All stories by Igor Serebryany

Russia

Spanning across a large portion of the northern hemisphere, Russia is the largest country on Earth in terms of geography and has a population of over 142 million citizens. The nation has always fascinated the world as being somewhat of an anomaly in the minds of global media and politics.

After the decline of the USSR, Russia has been striving to rebuild its former global influence. The military intervention in the Syrian war, the disputable Crimea annexation and the ongoing conflict with Ukraine assert its claim for power in the world.

Vladimir Putin, its president since 2000 – with a 4-year term as prime minister in 2008, followed by his 2012 re-election and then again in 2018 – has imposed a growing control over the media and national institutions with rising right-wing policies and autocratic-like ruling.

While being an oil and gas-rich country, with some immense wealth in private, corporate and banking sectors, Russia is battling with growing poverty and grave danger of human rights under its current government.

It is assumed that Russian intelligence has been intervening in western democracy through social media propaganda, with an ongoing investigation into its possible collision in the U.S. voting systems during the 2018 presidential election.

All stories about Russia

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