The Week With IPS 12/19

2014/12/19	Click here for the online version of this IPS newsletter
	Europe Dream Swept Away in Tripoli Karlos Zurutuza It's easy to spot Saani Bubakar in Tripoli´s old town: always dressed in the distinctive orange jumpsuit of the waste collectors, he pushes his cart through the narrow streets on a routine that has been his for the last three years of his life. "I come from a very poor village in Niger where ... MORE > >
	After 53 Years, Obama to Normalise Ties with Cuba Jim Lobe In perhaps his boldest foreign-policy move during his presidency, Barack Obama Wednesday announced that he intends to establish full diplomatic relations with Cuba. While the president noted that he lacked the authority to lift the 54-year-old trade embargo against Havana, he issued directives ... MORE > >
	Aboriginal Knowledge Could Unlock Climate Solutions Neena Bhandari As a child growing up in Far North Queensland, William Clark Enoch would know the crabs were on the bite when certain trees blossomed, but now, at age 51, he is noticing visible changes in his environment such as frequent storms, soil erosion, salinity in fresh water and ocean ... MORE > >
	Cuba’s Reforms Fail to Reduce Growing Inequality Patricia Grogg One of the major challenges assumed by President Raúl Castro when he launched a series of reforms in Cuba is improving living standards in a country still suffering from a recession that began over 20 years ago and has undermined the aim of achieving economic and social equality. Inequality has ... MORE > >
	Russian Arms Producers Move Ahead of Western Rivals Thalif Deen The world's top 100 arms producing companies racked up 402 billion dollars in weapons sales and military services in 2013, according to the latest figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). But this was a decrease of about 2.0 percent over the previous ... MORE > >
	OPINION: The Sad Future of Our Planet Roberto Savio It is now official: the current inter-governmental system is not able to act in the interest of humankind. The U.N. Climate Change Conference in Lima – which ended on Dec. 14, two days after it was scheduled to close – was the last step before the next Climate Change Conference in Paris in ... MORE > >
	Lima Agrees Deal - but Leaves Major Issues for Paris Diego Arguedas Ortiz After a 25-hour extension, delegates from 195 countries reached agreement on a “bare minimum” of measures to combat climate change, and postponed big decisions on a new treaty until the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21), to be held in a year’s time in Paris. After 13 days of debates, COP ... MORE > >
	Dirty Energy Reliance Undercuts U.S., Canada Rhetoric at Climate Talks Leehi Yona While U.S. and Canadian officials delivered speeches about how the world needs to step up to their responsibilities at the U.N. climate negotiations in Lima, Peru, activists from North America demanded clear answers back home on their governments’ relationships with fossil fuel corporations, as ... MORE > >
	Renewable Energy: The Untold Story of an African Revolution Wambi Michael Africa is experiencing a revolution towards cleaner energy through renewable energy but the story has hardly been told to the world, says Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Steiner, who had been advocating for renewable energy at the U.N. ... MORE > >
	Glaciers and Fruit Dying in Peru with no Response from COP20 Milagros Salazar Snow-capped mountains may become a thing of the past in Peru, which has 70 percent of the world’s tropical glaciers. And farmers in these ecosystems are having a hard time adapting to the higher temperatures, while the governments of 195 countries are wrapping up the climate change talks in Lima ... MORE > >
	Climate Change Creates New Geography of Food Fabiola Ortiz The magnitude of the climate changes brought about by global warming and the alterations in rainfall patterns are modifying the geography of food production in the tropics, warned participants at the climate summit in the Peruvian capital. That was the main concern among experts in food security ... MORE > >