2012 has arrived – the UN Year of Sustainable Energy for All. It’s an initiative launched by the United Nations to bring attention to developing new energy sources. We know by now that sustainable power is an environmentally-friendly solution to solving our energy needs, but UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is also using this directive in a special way: developing sustainable energy to fight poverty.

Some 1.4 billion people across the world do not have access to electricity, and almost 2.5 billion use biomass for cooking and heating. So finding sustainable energy sources can provide solutions with serious impact. Energy is essential to daily life and clean power can generate income.

The UN initiative has set out to reach 3 goals by the year 2030: to ensure universal access to modern energy, double the rate of improvement on energy efficiency and most importantly, double the share of renewable power across the globe. All year, you can take part in events and activities to support the initiative and bring awareness to the importance of investing in sustainable energy – for the present and the future.

Global Ideas is on a hunt to find the basic answers to climate issues. That’s why we’ve come up with a series of information films where we want to explain complicated issues in a very simple and clear way. Here you can see the first episode. It raises the question: Does global warming really exist in light of the increasingly cold winters in Europe in recent years? We would like to read your comments! Start the discussion now!

I go to national parks to see beautiful nature, endemic species and the last paradises on earth. After being in some, I know that I have to be lucky to see any animals. They are shy and wild – and won’t just jump in front of my camera. Still, I always hope they will. National parks are established to protect nature. But in Vietnam, that goal has not been reached and species are still more a product than something that has to be protected.

Some days ago I went to the Cuc Phoung National Park in Northern Vietnam. It is its oldest Nationalpark and was established in 1962. Walking though the deep rainforest it is said that you can see more than 200 different kinds of trees and several mamals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. And there are also caves of prehistoric humans you can visit. But the park is very quiet. From time to time I heard bird tweeting-but that’s all.

The reason is poaching – a big problem in Cuc Phuong. “Hunters are especially interested in chasing monkeys and turtles. And then they sell them to China,“ Ling, our tourguide, tells us. As the park is located in the middle of four different provinces, which means four different department are responsible, it is difficult to protect the area. To enhance awareness of endangered species and nature, the park has established conservation centers for primates and turtles. Let’s hope they will be successful.

 

The video was uploaded to youtube by bittusahgal – it has amazing pictures and delivers a very strong message. The film is described as a ‘non-commercial attempt to highlight the fact that world leaders, irresponsible corporates and mindless ‘consumers’ are combining to destroy life on earth.’ All you have to do is watching and think. There’s a lot possible to keep those beautiful pictures. The cut was compiled by the Sanctuary Asia network.

As a Journalist from Berlin, traffic in Asian cities is usually quite chaotic and for foreigners mostly an adventure. In Mumbai, India crossing a street could be a struggle of survival as one has to pass a mixture of motorbikes, cars, cows and rikshas. It’s the same in Bangkok,Thailand – just without cows.  The worst about the traffic is not the chaos, it’s the pollution. The air people inhale is filled with dust, it sticks on the skin and it is also full of emissions polluting the air.

In Laos, the chaos has not arrived yet. The streets of its capital Vientiane are quiet and mostly empty. There are just a few bikes, scooters or motorbikes – sometimes a car. That keeps the CO2-emission low: 2010 Laos emitted a little more than 1,5 million tons, the United States for example 5,7 billion tons. Another reason is, that Laos has no heavy industry. But it would be a mistake to think of Laos as climate-friendly country where everyone could take a deep breath of clean air. Because it is not people’s climate-awareness that makes Laos climate friendly. The reason is the poverty of the country. The Human Development Index lists Laos as a one of the poorest countries in the world. People just can´t effort a car.