What’s New January 2005

This page lists changes to this site for January 2005.

See below for other updates and to get notified of changes to the site.

The deadly tsunamis triggered by a massive earthquake in Asia have killed some 150,000 people and millions more are left homeless or with livelihoods destroyed. Humanitarian aid has come from all over the world, with many citizens, countries and businesses donating considerable sums in a short amount of time. Some areas have been so devastated that it could take a decade or so to restore. A new page has been created to look at some of the issues around this disaster.

A new site section on natural disasters has been created. To start with, this section has three pages. The first looks at the recent devastating Asian Tsunami that has killed so many. The second looks at the impact third world debt has when trying to rebuild from natural disasters. The final is a page with a few links to other sites for more information.

When the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was formulated and then signed and ratified in 1992 by most of the world's countries the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in climate change negotiations was acknowledged. How does this principle relate to why poor countries are exempt from greenhouse gas emission restrictions under the Kyoto Protocol? What is climate justice and equity and why is it important to the third world? The climate justice page has been updated to discuss this issue in more depth. In addition, a new page on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change also discusses this.

The 10th Conference of Parties meeting (COP10) was held in Argentina, mid December 2004. It looked into the Kyoto Protocol's entry into force, as well as other issues. Post-Kyoto discussion was also attempted. As with previous meetings, various blocs of nations had their own interests and agendas, leading to weakened agreements for future action. A new page has been created looking into this.

Media 'false balancing' on climate change issues have sometimes allowed extreme views on climate change to be presented as equal to general scientific consensus views. This has sometimes created a distorted image of climate change understanding. The US stance on climate change has been to go against the Kyoto Protocol for reasons such as economic concerns, for not including countries like China and India, and because the Protocol is a 'political' document. Updates have been added looking at these issues further.

Coral reefs are rich but sensitive ecosystems, providing many services to nature and humankind. Yet, climate changes and increases in global temperature in recent years have had devastating impacts on many coral reefs around the world. Updates have been added on recent findings of impacts to the reefs.

New ape and monkey species were just recently discovered, showing there is still much to discover and learn about our diverse planet. Also, recent findings further strengthen the argument that sonar is having a detrimental impact on sea animals such as whales and dolphins, sometimes killing them. Some small updates have been added on these issues.

From creating fake citizens on the internet to discrediting scientific studies when those studies could affect the bottom line, some companies have enormous resources at hand to manage the media. An update has been added looking at these issues.

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