Humane Education Issues in the News...

Each week we post links to news about relevant humane issues, ways that people all over the world are manifesting humane education & humane living, and items that provide excellent material for discussing humane issues, from human rights to environmental preservation, to animal protection, to media and culture.


They slaughter horses, don’t they? - USA Today (11/18/08)

”A Government Accountability Office report issued last week lent support to the agency's assertion in June that the costs of caring for the animals have skyrocketed. The GAO said the agency should consider euthanizing some horses or selling them, likely to a slaughterhouse, as an alternative to keeping them in long-term holding pens for their entire lives.”


Child soldiers found around the world - Radio Free Europe (11/16/08)

”Increasingly modern, user-friendly military technology and weapons have made it easier for armed groups to misuse children and turn them into warriors. Once recruited, children can be used as cooks, suppliers, or guards. But more often than not, they are sent to the front line of combat, to patrol mine fields, and even on suicide missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.”


What’s the future for fishing? – New York Times (11/16/08)

”But the biggest consumers of these smaller fish are the agriculture and aquaculture industries. Nearly one-third of the world’s wild-caught fish are reduced to fish meal and fed to farmed fish and cattle and pigs. Aquaculture alone consumes an estimated 53 percent of the world’s fish meal and 87 percent of its fish oil. (To make matters worse, as much as a quarter of the total wild catch is thrown back — dead — as 'bycatch.')”


Why aren’t more people paying attention to the global warming threat? - AlterNet (11/14/08)

"’For most of us, most of the time, risk is not a statistic. Risk is a feeling,’ says Weber. We are swayed by our feelings, and those feelings-while an essential part of the decision-making process-can be misleading guides, depending on the type of risk involved.”


Kids inspired to change the world - Ventura County Star (11/13/08)

”Today, they said, they're working on changing themselves and their school. But tomorrow, it will be their city, country, maybe even the world. ‘If we're passionate about it, I think we can do anything,’ fifth-grader Camille Manoukian said.”


Michigan students learning hands-on environmental stewardship - Muskegon Chronicle (11/13/08)

”Students, for instance, learn about water quality by conducting scientific studies of streams instead of solely reading about water pollution in textbooks. In some cases, students select an environmental issue to study and develop proposed solutions.”


Tough economy, concerns about consumerism mean more DIYers - Sign On San Diego (11/12/08)

“’Everybody gets so wrapped up in what big sparkly things they want or they're getting,’ Napier said. ‘I know it helps the economy, but how much impersonal crap do we need in our lives?’”


Supreme court rules for Navy, against whales - New York Times (11/12/08)

”The court, in its first decision of the term, voted to allow the Navy to conduct realistic training exercises to respond to potential threats by enemy submarines. Environmental groups had persuaded lower federal courts in California to impose restrictions on sonar use in submarine-hunting exercises to protect whales and other marine mammals.”


Two environmental groups to initiate e-waste certification program in 2010 - ITWorld (11/10/08)

"’We're developing this program because there's just a severe lack of controls on this electronic waste stream,’ Westervelt said. ‘This certification program is vital right now because our government is essentially asleep at the switch.’ Recyclers wanting to be certified under the new program will not be able to dump toxic e-waste overseas or ship it to local landfills or incinerators. The certification will prohibit companies from using prison labor to process e-waste and prohibit them from releasing private data contained on discarded computers. E-waste processing facilities in many developing countries are the ‘sweatshops of the new millennium,’ Neil Peters-Michaud, CEO of e-waste recycler Cascade Asset Management, said during the press conference.”


Do you want corn with that? - Wired (11/10/08)

”Chemical analysis from restaurants across the United States shows that nearly every cow or chicken used in fast food is raised on a diet of corn, prompting fresh criticism of the government's role in subsidizing poor eating habits.”
Thanks, Common Dreams, for the heads up.


Nature is good for you – BBC (11/7/08)

”Across the country, there are ‘health inequalities’ related to income and social deprivation, which generally reflect differences in lifestyle, diet, and, to some extent, access to medical care. This means that in general, people living in poorer areas are more likely to be unhealthy, and die earlier. However, the researchers found that living near parks, woodland or other open spaces helped reduce these inequalities, regardless of social class.”
Thanks, Worldchanging, for the heads up.