Humane Issues in the News...

Each week we post links to news about humane education & humane living, and items connected to humane issues, from human rights to environmental preservation, to animal protection, to media, consumerism and culture.

Speciesism isn’t the way to go - Psychology Today (opinion) (8/24/09)
“ It’s individuals who count when we consider how we treat other animals….’If A is to be treated differently from B, the justification must be in terms of A’s individual characteristics and B’s individual characteristics. Treating them differently cannot be justified by pointing out that one or the other is a member of some preferred group, not even the ‘group’ of human beings.’ According to this view, careful attention must be paid to individual variations in behavior within species. It is individuals who personally feel pain and suffer, not species.”

New Mali law giving women “equal marriage rights” sparks controversy - BBC (8/23/09)
"’We have to stick to the Koran,’ Ms Dembele told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. ‘A man must protect his wife, a wife must obey her husband. It's a tiny minority of women here that wants this new law - the intellectuals. The poor and illiterate women of this country - the real Muslims - are against it,’ she added.”

“Getting real about the high price of cheap food” – Time (8/21/09)
“With the exhaustion of the soil, the impact of global warming and the inevitably rising price of oil — which will affect everything from fertilizer to supermarket electricity bills — our industrial style of food production will end sooner or later….Unless Americans radically rethink the way they grow and consume food, they face a future of eroded farmland, hollowed-out countryside, scarier germs, higher health costs — and bland taste.”

Scientists uncover new ocean threat from plastics pollution - The Independent (8/20/09)
“Scientists have identified a new source of chemical pollution released by the huge amounts of plastic rubbish found floating in the oceans of the world. A study has found that as plastics break down in the sea they release potentially toxic substances not found in nature and which could affect the growth and development of marine organisms.”
Thanks, Common Dreams, for the heads up.

Fish tested in 291 freshwater streams all found to contain mercury - Reuters (8/19/09)
"’This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds, and many of our fish in freshwater streams,’ Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.”
Thanks, Common Dreams, for the heads up.

“Man in a Van” offers outlet for sharing recession troubles - Washington Post (8/19/09)
“The Oregon native has spent the past six weeks driving across the country and asking people to write on his orange van stories of how the financial crisis has affected their lives. He provides the Sharpies; they spill their guts. ‘Lost my job. Became homeless. Been robbed, abused, discriminated, arrested, and neglected. There is no compassion in America,’ reads one tale scrawled on the side of his van, parked in downtown Washington on Wednesday.”
Thanks, Ode Magazine, for the heads up.

Want to save the world? Help women and girls - New York Times Magazine (8/17/09)
“There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World Bank to the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism. That’s why foreign aid is increasingly directed to women. The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution.”