Global Threat Blog

News from the mining community front

Mines and Communities Website has some great info on it.  Recent news talks about Colombia's latest gold fever, tribal protests in Nevada, Mining Interests are driving investment protection in Madagascar and a lot more.

Global Climate and it's effects on vulnerable populations

A recent article on care.org talks about the effects of climate change to vulnerable populations.  Careful consideration must given to gender when planning in the worlds poorest areas, for climate changes, mainly, women would suffer the most.  Why?   Women have less cash savings, less education and smaller social networks to draw from.  This is due in large part to the social roles that women vs. men are assigned in their culture.  Men will typically travel farther to go in search of food, and fuel while women pick up the labor at home.  School age girls are first to be pulled from school when stress caused by climate change happens (drought, flooding, etc.).

For more information, please see the article here.

Celebrity Causes

(photo credit Alexia Hay)

I, like most people, think if you are a celebrity you should use your name to contribute to the general good of the planet, by supporting a good cause.  The problem is some celebrities use this opportunity as a means to get press or attention on themselves only and are not necessairly educated on the cause they are choosing to champion.  Can the celebrity answer some of the hard questions when it comes to their chosen cause?  Fortunately, there are also those that put their money where their mouth is and also take the time to fully vest themselves in the causes they support.  But I am also of the thinking that every man and woman that can afford a Starbucks should be actively involved in a cause whether it is non-profit, or something as simple as helping small businesses with humanitarian goals, anything in terms of meeting any of the Millennium Development Goals.  The idea can start small like spending time dishing out meals at a soup kitchen or meals on wheels, donating money at church or like I did this week to the American Cancer Society.  Sure we have americans here inour country going through some really tough times, but I like to think bigger.  Entire countries - can we stamp out poverty in this life time? 

The NY Times recently wrote an article Celebrity Solution which highlights George Clooney's efforts in Darfur, Angelina Jolie's UN and other charitable causes and Natalie Portman's role with an organization called FINCA - an organization that creates "Villiage Banking" micro financing in neighborhoods that are very poor.  This is where small loans can be obtained, at low interest rates for famillies and individuals in these communities, so they can eventually be debt free.  This is part of the UN's Millennium Development Goals.