BBC News - Typhoon Bopha: Fears for Philippines missing

Typhoon-hit communities are desperate for relief supplies,

 resorting to holding up signs along roadsides asking for donations

BBC News - Typhoon Bopha: Fears for Philippines missing: "The number of people missing after Typhoon Bopha struck the southern Philippines has risen to more than 800, with 620 confirmed dead."

'via Blog this'

Philippine address to Doha COP18, pleading for action on #clmate

U.S. cares only about oil, not the Philippine people

Why Filipinos should know their real history | Opinion, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com: " We do not realize that we are cheering the US in their attempt to make our country the frontline of a US-China conflict. Because nobody is talking about the looming Peak Oil Crisis — that point when supply can no longer service the demand — Filipinos fail to appreciate why the US invaded Iraq when Saddam Hussein and Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack in New York City. It was all about the looming shortage of oil supply. Iraq has the world’s fourth largest oil reserves. Why is the US so hot in now targeting Iran? Iran has just as much oil as Iraq. Are you surprised that the US has been very active in the issues among territorial claimants in the South China Sea?"

UN warns 'unplanned urban expansion' to cause more floods - The Philippine Star » News » Headlines

UN warns 'unplanned urban expansion' to cause more floods - The Philippine Star » News » Headlines: "She said governments, countries and communities should be alarmed by the increasing flood risk and frequency of massive flooding and that measures to address them are ineffective.

The Philippines has seen three recent catastrophic floods - first in 2009 when tropical storm Ondoy dumped half a month's rain fell on Metro Manila in 24 hours; typhoon Sendong which led to floods that killed more than 400 people in Mindanao; and the recent monsoon rains that caused landslides and deep floods in many parts of Luzon."

'via Blog this'

It's climate change, people, we have to get rid of the cars!

Residents wade on a flooded street during a heavy downpour in the Philippines, where Typhoon Saola has killed 14 people. (Erik De Castro/Reuters

Deadly Typhoon Saola slams into Taiwan - World - CBC News: "A slow-moving typhoon spawning torrential rains slammed into eastern Taiwan early Thursday, flooding farmlands, disrupting transportation and turning the normally bustling capital of Taipei into a ghost town.

Typhoon Saola, which killed at least 14 people in the Philippines, has already been blamed for four deaths in Taiwan, with the toll expected to rise."

'via Blog this'

Flooding disasters are man-made

Roy's Green Views: "In discussing the root causes, it would also be important to remind ourselves that in most cases, these disasters were due to continuing logging (despite many bans), land conversion resulting to forest denudation and soil run-off lowering the capacities of critical river systems flowing across and around our communities."

'via Blog this'

Desperate to solve traffic? Try free public transport! [Manila]

Manila’s 'Christmas Lanes' Streamline Holiday Traffic - Commute - The Atlantic Cities: "Known as “Christmas Lanes,” this network of roads-turned-highways launched last December on 12 streets, covering 157 kilometers. The streamlined sections of roads create one-way feeder routes that are intended to ease traffic congestion as shoppers flood into the city toward shopping centers. This holiday season, the city has expanded its Christmas Lanes to cover 45 streets and more than 200 kilometers."

'via Blog this'