Across the world, around sixty million human beings are currently displaced from their homes. It is a number so enormous it is hard to visualise, but it is as if roughly the entire population of the UK was violently tipped out on to the roads and oceans of the world.
How ‘clean’ is the palm oil used by major brands around the world? Today, we’re releasing the results of our investigation into which companies are keeping promises to stop deforestation in Indonesia for palm oil.
Blog post from Cayla Tikaram - Greenpeace Australia Pacific Intern
On Saturday night, the cyclone of all cyclones rocked our tiny island nation. As we clung together in cupboards, under tables and holding the people we loved close, I’m sure a collective prayer or two went up! Nothing prepares you for the wrath of Mother Nature at her harshest, and with 350mph winds pummeling through our land, Cyclone Winston showed no discrimination in its destruction. It’s too safe to say none of us want to ever feel that sort of force again.
Tropical Cyclone Winston was one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever been through. I live on the western side of Viti Levu, in Nadi. On Saturday night, by the time the sun went down, the wind had began howling and it was bucketing down. The electricity went off. Within a few hours, the concrete walls of our apartment were shaking. The light and fan fittings in our ceiling came loose and water started gushing through them. We couldn't go outside, because trees and signs and bits of people's roofs were flying around.
Land clearing has returned to Queensland in a big way. After we expressed concern that policy changes since 2012 would lead to a resurgence in clearing of native vegetation, this outcome was confirmed by government figures released late last year.
For the past month fires have ravaged through parts of Tasmania’s World Heritage listed forests, destroying 1,000 year old trees. Is this the new normal?
