NASA helicopter makes history with flight on Red Planet

Published on Apr 19, 2021
For more: https://www.cgtn.com/video​

#NASA​ made space history with the successful lift-off of the first powered, controlled flight by an #aircraft​ on another planet. The successful test could pave the way for new modes of exploration on the planet and other destinations in the solar system, from #Venus​ to Saturn’s moon Titan.

CLIMATE EQUITY & INNOVATION

NowThis News – 19 April 2021

CLIMATE EQUITY & INNOVATION: Laurene Powell Jobs is moderating a live conversation between BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. Follow live as the three discuss ways the Biden administration and private sector can work together to tackle the impending challenges of climate change while fostering innovation, economic growth, and racial equity at the same time.

Could climate change force a billion people to move? | The Stream

Al Jazeera English – 19 April 2021

Ever-more frequent extreme weather events have in recent years devastated rural regions in developing countries, with millions of people having to start from scratch after losing everything in storms, droughts and floods. But scientists also warn that ‘slow onset’ changes to the climate are forcing growing numbers of people to migrate in order to earn a living and support their families. Global temperatures could increase more in the next 50 years than in the previous 6,000, according to a study by scientists published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in May 2020. The UN’s International Organization for Migration estimates that environmental factors may factor into the migration of between 25 million and 1 billion people by 2050. While researchers say harsh climatic conditions are rarely a lone factor behind individuals’ decision to migrate in search of a stable livelihood, environmental challenges are exacerbating existing hardships, especially in rural regions. People across Central America, Africa’s Sahel region and South Asia are among those moving to urban centres in search of work. Many migrants who then face difficulties in cities feel they have little option but to cross international borders, as a last resort. In the first episode of four episodes in support of climate journalism partnership Covering Climate Now, The Stream asks what is needed to humanely address the challenges of increased migration as global heating affects vulnerable communities.

John Thornton, ‘Religion, the Kingdom of Kongo and The Slave Trade’ | The Hutchins Center for African & African American Research

Detailed information:

John Thornton received his PhD in African history in 1979, and after stints at the University of Zambia, Allegheny College, the University of Virginia and then Millersville University after 1986, he joined the Boston University faculty in the fall 2003. His specializations include Africa and Atlantic History, as well as world history. He is the author of The Kingdom of Kongo: Civil War and Transition, 1641-1718 (1983); Africa and Africans in the Formation of the Atlantic world, 1400-1680 (1992); The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684-1706 (1998); Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800 (1999); and in 2007 with Linda Heywood published Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas (Cambridge University Press, 2007), which won the Melville J. Herskovits Prize that year. His latest book, A Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1350-1820 (Cambridge University Press, 2012) won the World History Association’s Prize for the Best New Book in World History in 2012.

Cape Town Wildfires Ravage South African Countryside as Firefighters Tackle the Blaze

On Demand News – Apr 18, 2021

‘Cape Town Wildfires Ravage South African Countryside as Firefighters Tackle the Blaze’ Cape Town firefighters were battling a wildfire raging on the slopes of Table Mountain on Sunday. More than 200 firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed and four helicopters were being used to drop water on threatened areas. Winds spread the blaze across dry brush and forced some roads to close down and burned part of the Rhodes Memorial restaurant. Cape Town University students were forced to evacuate the campus.

Fire burned Rhodes Memorial restaurant near Cape Town South Africa 18.04.2021

World Is DangerousApr 18, 2021

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Exclusive audio extract of Life on Earth by David Attenborough | #FirstChapterFridays

HarperCollins Publishers UK – Nov 30, 2018

The nation’s greatest voice, David Attenborough, reads a brand-new edition of Life on Earth, now available as an audiobook for the first time. Find out more about the book: https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/97800…

54th session of the Commission on Population and Development, CPD54

United Nations – Scheduled for Apr 19, 2021

By the year 2050, 9.7 billion people will inhabit the Earth. Yet, already hundreds of millions are going hungry. How can we feed a growing population without wrecking our planet in the process? Countries gather at #CPD54​ to find an answer. More info: https://bit.ly/3x2fKY4

Living On Ghana’s Largest Toxic E-Waste Scrapyard (Reggie Yates Documentary) | Real Stories

Real Stories – Mar 6, 2021

Reggie heads to Ghana to live on one of the largest electronic waste dumps in the world, Accra’s Agbogbloshie. Working with a group of burner boys, Reggie discovers first hand what life is like for the people who earn a living on the site.

Cape Town Suffers Harshest Drought In A Century

Journeyman Pictures – Apr 3, 2018

A three-year drought in Cape Town means that “Day Zero”, the day when the city must cut off its water supply, is now a real possibility. The city’s residents are doing everything they can to save water.

Cape Town is experiencing its worst drought in 100 years. Ian Neilson, Executive Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, fears that “Day Zero” would be catastrophic. “The social economic implications are enormous.” The city’s residents, rich and poor, are working hard to conserve water. Julia Lee, who lives in a middle class area of the city, says her attitudes to water conservation have been transformed by the crisis. “Every single drop of water that you see going down the drain freaks you out.” Goshi Kwezi, a resident of the township Gugulethu, believes that the water crisis has been a great equalizer in a country still recovering from apartheid. “Now at least everybody is going to be equally restricted with water. It’s not about colour now.”

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