EYE ON THE NEWS
Bolivia Proposes Mother Earth Law
Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous President, has introduced a remarkable, precedent-setting concept at the UN.  In April, he proposed granting Nature the same rights and protections as are expected for human beings.  Bolivia is set to pass its own “Law of Mother Earth,” with the intention of encouraging greater awareness of the importance of conservation and enforcing strong controls on industry in order to decrease environmental destruction.  
Stating that all of Nature has the right to life, free of human interference, and ought not to be polluted or genetically altered, the law is sweeping in its scope.  If implemented by nations worldwide, it could have a profound effect on the preservation of species, both animal and plant, and would certainly be a vast improvement on the reckless destruction of habitat and resources that is occurring globally today. 
 President Morales has long been a spokesman for environmental protection.  Despite his country being one of the poorest in the hemisphere, a circumstance which has usually led to governments welcoming industrial development no matter what the cost to wildlife and nature in general,  Morales is more concerned with stemming the tide of climate change which has already caused serious melting in the Andean glaciers.  Sadly, his intelligent concern has been largely ignored by the UN as a whole, with only a few nations showing support.  
Canadian activist Maude Barlow is in accord with Morales.  She said, “It’s going to start first with these southern countries trying to protect their land and their people from exploitation, but I think it will be grabbed onto by communities in our countries, for example, fighting the tar sands in Alberta.”  
Conferring what we usually think of as “human” rights on all of Nature – such as pure water and clean air, and the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration – could be a significant benefit to wildlife, too. The Law of Mother Earth should be considered seriously by all peoples.
Read the whole story at:  http://tinyurl.com/3wthh4w 
Full text of the law (Google translation) at:
http://f.cl.ly/items/2Z2n2D0g2x2E0X1B272Y/law_of_mother_earth_translation.pdf 

BULLFIGHTING BANNED IN CATALONIA!
A tradition of cruelty that is over 600 years old has been ended in Catalonia as that region became the first part of mainland Spain to ban the bloody “sport” of bullfighting.  Barcelona, the chief city of Catalonia, and home to the giant arena, La Monumental, will no longer allow the sadistic slaughter of the magnificent animals, as lawmakers there voted for the ban in answer to a petition signed by 180,000 people.
Joan Puigcercos, a lawmaker from Catalan, insisted this was not about politics or national identity but rather “the suffering of the animal. That is the question, nothing more.  We have a responsibility that goes beyond the borders of Catalonia. It is a responsibility to civilization.”
“Today has been the day we were hoping for,” said Leonardo Anselmi on behalf of PROU, the animal rights groups whose signature-collecting campaign caused Catalonia’s Parliament to debate the issue and vote last year.

You can read the full story at: 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2041057/Death-bullfight-Last-spectacle-Barcelona-Catalonia-bans-matadors.html.   
Please see more details of the law at:
http://www.prou.cat/english/index.php?c=proposta.php

“I OWN A TREE”
This September, a significant Green Initiative project was carried out in Bangalore, India.  Sponsored by the Kshiti Foundation and the Bangalore Midtown Rotary, their Eco-Club began “I Own a Tree.”  The club’s goal is the planting of 1000 trees on the campus of Bangalore University.
The idea was to help people build a personal, hands-on relationship with trees.  Schoolchildren were involved in the program, acquainting them with the need to keep our planet as green as possible.  Deploring the rapid deforestation of the globe merely the sake of convenience,” the organizers noted the innumerable benefits offered by trees.  Animal habitat, the regulation of weather and climate, and the health of us all depend on maintaining sufficient numbers of trees.   
Kshiti Foundation’s mission is “to create sensitivity towards the environment and to awaken the philanthropic side of mankind.”  
“Mother Nature has given us enough.  Now it is our chance.” 
Read more and see a charming video at: 
http://www.ourecoclub.com/.