Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ পরিবেশ আইনবিদ সমিতি), or BELA (বেলা), is a nonprofit legal organization established in 1992 to assist efforts to protect the environment. In 2003, it was placed on the 'Global 500 Roll of Honour' of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).[1][2] BELA was awarded the prestigious "Poribesh Puroshkar" (পরিবেশ পুরস্কার), or 'Environmental Prize', of the Bangladeshi government in 2007 and the joint winner of the Tang Prize in Rule of Law in 2020.
Bangladeshi lawyer Dr. Mohiuddin Farooque established BELA in 1992 and was the first Chief Executive of the organization. From the very beginning BELA monitored compliance with Bangladesh's environmental Laws, took initiatives to increase environmental awareness and sought to ensure the development of proper environmental jurisprudence.
BELA faced a serious shock after the death of Dr. Farooque in 1997 and a member of BELA, advocate Ms. Rizwana Hasan took over the direction of BELA.[3]
In 1994, election candidates for the Dhaka City Corporation were unlawfully campaigning in Old Dhaka in violation of the 1860s Environmental Law of Bangladesh. Rizwana Hasan brought suit in court and the Court judged it an unlawful act.[3] Thereafter, Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) took initiatives to stop election campaigning that is harmful to the environment.
Under the supervision of Rizwana Hasan, BELA started its war against the shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh. On behalf of BELA, Rizwana brought the first suit against the shipbreaking industry, accusing it of creating an unsafe work environment and producing environmentally unsafe waste. Bela then brought another three suits demanding rights for the workers and the banning in Bangladesh of ships carrying poisonous substances. And in 2003 the court ruled that no ship will be allowed for shipbreaking without 'Environmental Clearance'.[3]
BELA also took other initiatives where the environment is under threat, including housing covering wetlands, unnecessary usage of polythene, cutting of hills, deforestation, shrimp cultivation, and unlawful construction in St. Martin's Island.
In recent days, BELA opened a regular section in their headquarters where they receive legal complaints regarding the environment.[3][4] BELA also sought judicial compensation from Naiko after the Tengratila Exploitation in 2006.[5]
BELA published many books on Environmental Preservation and Law Enforcement for Environment. Some of the notables are:
Beside that, BELA published "BELA Newsletter" in English and "Bela Barta" (বেলা বার্তা) in Bangla, two weekly supplements of their recent activities and timeline.
BELA achieved the 'Global 500 Roll of Honour' under United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) in 2003.[1] BELA, along with Dejusticia: The Center for Law, Justice and Society from Colombia and The Legal Agenda from Lebanon are joint winners of the 2020 Tang Prize in Rule of Law.
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ পরিবেশ আইনবিদ সমিতি), or BELA (বেলা), is a nonprofit legal organization established in 1992 to assist efforts to protect the environment. In 2003, it was placed on the 'Global 500 Roll of Honour' of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). BELA was awarded the prestigious "Poribesh Puroshkar" (পরিবেশ পুরস্কার), or 'Environmental Prize', of the Bangladeshi government in 2007 and the joint winner of the Tang Prize in Rule of Law in 2020.
A garbage patch is a gyre of marine debris particles caused by the effects of ocean currents and increasing plastic pollution by human populations. These human-caused collections of plastic and other debris are responsible for ecosystem and environmental problems that affect marine life, contaminate oceans with toxic chemicals, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Once waterborne, marine debris becomes mobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of oceanic gyres where currents are weakest. Within garbage patches, the waste is not compact, and although most of it is near the surface of the ocean, it can be found up to more than 30 metres (100 ft) deep in the water. Patches contain plastics and debris in a range of sizes from microplastics and small scale plastic pellet pollution, to large objects such as fishing nets and consumer goods and appliances lost from flood and shipping loss. Garbage patches grow because of widespread loss of plastic from human trash collection systems. The United Nations Environmental Program estimated that "for every square mile of ocean" there are about "46,000 pieces of plastic". The 10 largest emitters of oceanic plastic pollution worldwide are, from the most to the least, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, largely through the rivers Yangtze, Indus, Yellow, Hai, Nile, Ganges, Pearl, Amur, Niger, and the Mekong, and accounting for "90 percent of all the plastic that reaches the world's oceans". Asia was the leading source of mismanaged plastic waste, with China alone accounting for 2.4 million metric tons. The best known of these is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which has the highest density of marine debris and plastic. The Pacific Garbage patch has two mass buildups: the western garbage patch and the eastern garbage patch, the former off the coast of Japan and the latter between California and Hawaii. These garbage patches contain 90 million tonnes (100 million short tons) of debris. Other identified patches include the North Atlantic garbage patch between North America and Africa, the South Atlantic garbage patch located between eastern South America and the tip of Africa, the South Pacific garbage patch located west of South America, and the Indian Ocean garbage patch found east of South Africa listed in order of decreasing size.
Denis Delestrac is a French director and producer who is best known for creating feature-length investigative documentaries. His films focus on the ecological, social, and political impacts of natural resources. His film, Sand Wars, influenced the United Nations Environmental Program to write a report on sand scarcity in 2019. He has won over 40 international prizes and became a member of the European Film Academy in 2017.
The White Beaches (Italian: Spiagge Bianche) are a stretch of about five kilometers of sandy coastline located in the municipality of Rosignano Marittimo in Tuscany, between the hamlets of Rosignano Solvay and the center of the hamlet of Vada. Bathed by the Thyrrenian sea, they are located at the northernmost edge of the Maremma coastline. The unusual color of the sand, which leads to comparisons with tropical coastlines, is the result of years of processing and discharge of calcium carbonate by a Solvay Group plant located in Rosignano Solvay, about a kilometer from the coast. The soda plant, which is the largest in Europe, was built in 1912 near the beach and began operations in 1914, producing, in addition to soda ash, hydrogen peroxide, polyethylene, calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and hydrochloric acid. Access to the beach is via a small hill that until 1983 served as a dump for production waste and domestic refuse. Due to the Solvay discharges, which include various pollutants toxic and/or carcinogenic (including mercury, once released during processing through the sodium chloride electrolysis plant), Spiagge Bianche is among the most polluted beaches in Italy, and fishing in the surrounding waters is extremely limited. Additionally, this stretch of coast is among the 15 most polluted coastal sites in Italy according to the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations environmental program. Over 100,000 tons of waste are discharged into the sea each year. Despite this, even in the years before the industry's conversion, this stretch of coast has been awarded the Blue Flag several times and Spiagge Bianche remains one of the most popular seaside destinations in Tuscany despite the strict ban on swimming and lingering issued by the municipality of Rosignano near the industrial waste discharge. In July 1994 the players of Rugby Rosignano gathered on the beach for a sangria party; the following year, the private event expanded to friends and others, and by 2003, it attracted 25,000 people to the area. In 2004, due to the high number of attendees, and as a result of some disruptions and unauthorized activities, the municipality of Rosignano Marittimo decided to suspend the event.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Madam C.J. Walker
