Renewable Energy In Australia

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is a high-income country with approximately 12.8 percent of its population living below the national poverty line and 575,000 or approximately 17.3 percent of children living below this same poverty line. There is also a larger percentage of poverty among social security recipients, 36.5 percent due to a stagnant level of benefits since 1994. Despite the countries past two decades of continuous growth, poverty is still a concern.

One of the countries most recent concerns is energy poverty and its relation to the proposed abolishment of Australia’s RET goal otherwise known as a Renewable Energy Target. Australia’s renewable energy target is to generate 20 percent of all the countries electricity through renewable energy by 2020.

Full Article @: Renewable Energy In Australia Borgen Magazine

Is Genetic Engineering the Solution to Drought?

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The United Nations has referred to drought as the “world’s costliest natural disaster.” Drought causes 6 to 8 billion dollars in damages annually and has been responsible for 11 million deaths since the start of the twentieth century. It has affected a total of two billion people. However, scientists are finding ways to genetically engineer crops to be drought resistant. This means despite drought conditions, the rural poor can still harvest their crops for sale or food.

Areas that suffer from drought conditions are varied and include sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Australia. Yet, the overall area of land that is affected by drought has doubled over the past three decades according to the National Center of Atmospheric Research in the U.S.

Full Article @: Is Genetic Engineering the Solution to Drought? Borgen Magazine

Flooding in Nepal: Poor Most Vulnerable

On August 2, a landslide and flooding in Nepal killed approximately 156 people. It completely covered a main highway leading to China with 20 feet of debris, blocked a major river and damaged hydro power stations, causing a 10 percent power loss across the nation. The Nepal Red Cross Society said that this recent two kilometer-long landslide was the worst in the nation’s history.

As a result, experts are encouraging the Nepalese government to map out hazard areas and include natural disaster planning in its economic and development plans for the country. Experts also agree that an early warning system could have avoided the large death toll.

Full Article @: Flooding in Nepal: Poor Most Vulnerable Borgen Blog

Human Rights Watch Executives Denied Entry

CAIRO, Egypt — On Aug. 10, Egyptian authorities stopped two Human Rights Watch executives from entering the country. Kenneth Roth and Sara Whitson were entering Egypt to report to journalists and diplomats the results of a 188-page report about the role of law enforcement in the mass killing of activists. The demonstrators were protesting the military takeover of their elected President Mohamed Morsi.

Human Rights Watch reports that law enforcement officials shot and killed at least 1,150 demonstrators during Morsi supporter sit-ins spread across six different locations. The two HRW executives were held at Cairo International Airport overnight for approximately 12 hours before being denied entry into the country.

Full Article @: Human Rights Watch Executives Denied Entry Borgen Magazine

Lollapalooza 2014 Teams Up With Anti-Poverty Organizations

CHICAGO — Music website Consequence of Sound describes Lollapalooza, one of the largest alternative music festivals in the country, as a “metropolis.” The festival is held in Chicago and consumes 319 acres of Grant Park with eight separate stages every year. Sold-out Lollapalooza 2014, which took place August 1-3, featured “Eminem, Outkast, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Skrillex, Calvin Harris, Lorde, Foster the People, Krewella, Nas and more.”

Since 1991, Lollapalooza has teamed up with non-profits and cause-oriented organizations to promote issues like registering to vote and fighting global poverty. This year Lollapalooza teamed up with organizations ONE and Oxfam.

Full Article @: Lollapalooza 2014 Teams Up With Anti-Poverty Organizations Borgen Magazine

Qatar: Foreign Workers and FIFA

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar is the richest country per capita in the world. Home to 1.9 million people, over 80 percent of whom are foreign workers, Qatar has the highest ratio of migrants to citizens in the world. Despite being the majority population, migrant workers can earn as little €4.90 ($6.54) a day. The country has been criticized by the media for its foreign worker labor conditions and its selection as the FIFA 2022 host country.

This is not the whole story however. To some, Qatar is a wonderful and welcoming nation. One 20 year-old Qatari citizen who shares this perspective is Sharifa Almarri.

Full Article @: Qatar: Foreign Workers and FIFA Borgen Magazine

Amazon or Flipkart, Either Way India Wins

With half of India’s population lacking bank accounts and a consumer class consisting of approximately 300 million people, India poses many challengers for investors. However, that has not stopped Amazon or Flipkart from investing further.

India’s population is the second highest in the world and Amazon Founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, sees enormous potential for its economy. “At current scale and growth rates, India is on track to be our fastest country ever to a billion dollars in gross sales, we’ve never seen anything like it.”

Full Article @: Amazon or Flipkart, Either Way India Wins Borgen Magazine

5 Poverty-Related Causes To Donate To

Clean Water and Sanitation

According to Water.org, lack of access to sanitation is the leading cause of infection in the world. The diarrhea that results from lack of sanitation is the “second leading cause of death among children under five.” What is most disturbing is that most of these deaths could be avoided through basic services.

Sanitation facilities and use of soap would reduce cases of diarrhea by approximately 73 percent. Similar to the rates of hungry people in the world, one out of eight also do not have access to safe drinking water. This amounted to approximately 884 million people in 2010, according to the World Health Organization.

Water for People and The Water Project are two effective organizations that focus on addressing water and sanitation access for the poor. Water for People accepts online donations and The Water Project offers the option of sponsoring a water project.

Full Article @:5 Poverty-Related Causes To Donate To Borgen Magazine

Gaza’s Tunnel Economy

Despite the destruction of these tunnels, this alternate economy reportedly accounts for two-thirds of all consumer goods in Gaza. However, economic conditions are still poor.

Shortages of building materials have also stopped several construction projects in Gaza, and as shortages of resources increase prices continue to rise as well. The cost of bread has risen by 11 percent, cooking gas by 20 percent and rice by 33 percent.

”We hope the border will open and we can bring what we want legally, but now there are no lights in the street and there is no hope,” said Masrool Ramadan of Abu Musa Electronics.

Full Article @: Gaza’s Tunnel Economy Borgen Magazine

Sustainable Architectural Designs

Self-Repairing Architecture

Architect Rachel Armstrong proposes a new approach to building: incorporating metabolic materials in architecture. Armstrong works with other scientists to create these materials, which include protocells in their makeup. This “bottom up” approach and use of materials can extract carbon dioxide from the air, grow and even repair themselves. Armstrong proposed the example of using protocell technology to grow a limestone coral reef underneath the sinking city of Venice, Italy.

“The benefits are that you don’t have to spend a lot of time, money and energy trying to work against nature or natural forces.” Armstrong notes that we spend approximately two- three percent of the original costs of a building per year on maintenance and repair. She further explains that by creating self-repairing architecture, maintenance costs can be decreased.

Full Article @: Sustainable Architectural Designs Borgen Magazine