Friday, January 28, 2011

Palm oil expansion threatens Palawan tribe - Survival International


Palm oil plantation, Peru. Much of the land used to grow biofuels such as palm oil is the ancestral land of tribal peoples.
© Thomas Quirynen/Survival
Palm oil expansion threatens Palawan tribe - Survival International: "The Philippine government’s push to expand palm oil plantations is threatening the members of the Palawan tribe living in the lowlands of Palawan Island."

Friday, January 21, 2011

1.4 million displaced by floods, slides

DoST prepares to install landslide early-warning devices
By ELENA L. ABEN and GABRIEL S. MABUTAS
January 15, 2011, 8:49pm
MANILA, Philippines — Massive flooding and a series of landslides caused by continuous heavy rains in Southern Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao have displaced close to 1.4 million people and killed at least 47, while damage to infrastructure and agriculture has reached P1.5 billion, disaster officials reported on Saturday.  Read more Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Fossil-fuel greed has no respect for human life

Official Blog of FACES: "I am here because over 80,000 Filipino residents live next to and are negatively impacted by Chevron’s depot in Manila, the Philippines. Chevron’s Manila depot operations are a threat to human health and the environment. People are suffering from exposure to depot emissions and constant spills, accidents and leaks. Rather than a proper buffer zone to protect residents from depot hazards, Chevron and its partners built a buffer that is only 15 meters wide, and contains a park where children walk and play.

Yet despite strong public outcry, numerous ordinances, and a clear order from the Supreme Court demanding its closure, your company continues to operate and refuses to leave. People in the Philippines want healthy lives free from the dangers and health effects of Chevron’s depot. They want to see their children grow up in a healthy and safe environment."

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

33 dead in Philippines after heavy rains - Yahoo! News

AFP/File – Residents watch as a vehicle traverses a flooded road in the town of Sto. Domingo, Albay province, southeast …
33 dead in Philippines after heavy rains - Yahoo! News: "MANILA (AFP) – More than a week of heavy rain has left at least 33 people dead from flashfloods and landslides in the Philippines, the government said, announcing floodwaters were subsiding in some areas.
Almost 11,000 people remained in government evacuation centres but some had started returning home as rains eased, said Lauren Catedral, a civil defence officer in the southern city of Butuan."