A people-powered win in Ecuador
Ecuador protest movement wins over mining interests
In a win for the environment and a grassroots protest movement, the Ecuadoran government announced on October 4 that it is revoking a mining license for a project that would have polluted waterways in the country.
The Loma Larga gold mining project would have affected the Quimsacocha water reserve which provides drinking water to local communities and is part of the UNESCO Macizo del Cajas Biosphere Reserve. Protests against the project had been sustained for years but increased in urgency after permission was granted in July to begin construction.
Operations were paused in August for an environmental review. That review, as well as local technical reports, was cited by the Ecuadoran Environment and Energy Ministry as the reason for the project’s halt. Canadian company DPM Metals had already suspended operations due to the protests.
“Our water, a heritage that is encoded in the spirit of every citizen of Cuenca, can’t just be put on pause.”—Cristian Zamora, mayor of Cuenca
(Reuters) (Mining.com) (Mongabay) (The Guardian)
In other news
Tech money put a sycophant in control of a major media property on Monday as billionaire David Ellison’s Skydance Media bought The Free Press and placed the conservative site’s founder, Bari Weiss, in control of CBS News.
Weiss in control of a network like CBS, with flagship properties like 60 Minutes, is likely to push the news operation to the right and promote the interests of Silicon Valley and industry.
(the New York Times) (The Intercept)
Moroccan Gen Zers are demonstrating against government spending priorities as the nation pushes money into projects like football stadiums rather than on the country’s health system and other social services. A collective that calls itself Gen Z 212 is behind the protests, which boasts chants like “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?”
“I am protesting because I want my country to be better. I don’t want to leave Morocco, and I don’t want to resent my country for choosing to stay.” —demonstrator Hajar Belhassan
(The Independent) (BBC)
Activist Greta Thunberg is being held in unsanitary conditions in Israeli detention and being abused by the military, she told Swedish authorities. Thunberg is perhaps the most famous member of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which tried to break the siege on Gaza and deliver food and aid to the territory.
Thunberg said she was being held in a cell infested with bedbugs and not given enough food and water. Other members of the flotilla, since released, claim that she was beaten and forced to kiss the Israeli flag.
Here’s your campaign of the day
Japan’s demand for ivory is one of the drivers of the trade.
But the country is reviewing its laws on ivory and the global public has the opportunity to be heard.
Add your name to the petition below and let Japan know it’s time to protect the world’s elephants.
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Ivory belongs to elephants only.