Lindipendente

Chile conserves, in its subsoil, some of the largest reserves of lithium in the world, a fundamental material for the ecological transition and therefore increasingly sought after.The extraction of this material, which has undergone a surge in recent years, it is however causing the collapse of the Salar de Atacama, the large saline lake located in the Antofagasta region, in the north of the country.This was discovered by some researchers from the University of Chile, who found that the extraction of brine, rich in lithium, is drying up the aquifers and causing the lake to sink at a worrying rate of 1 or 2 centimeters per year. Chile is the second largest producer of lithium in the world and, with the advancement of the "ecological transition" and therefore with the increase in demand for lithium batteries, the extraction of this material proceeds at an ever-increasing pace.This, inevitably, has irreversible consequences on the environment.Through the use of data collected be...

«Green Umbria is under attack».Thus Roberto Malini, co-president of the international human rights organization EveryOne Group, supported by the environmentalist association Italia Nostra, launches his appeal to the Government and local institutions to curb the wind speculation that is about to hit the Region.Specifically, there are six projects launched in Umbria, which include the installation of 60 wind turbines in naturalistic areas «characterized by delicate natural environments and enchanting landscapes».The blades that will be used are the same ones featured in the similar projects based in Sardinia and Tuscany The Independent he has already spoken several times:structures of approximately 200 meters with reinforced concrete bases «as large as half a football field», which would «a devastating impact on territories characterized by important avifaunal qualities". The project to build wind farms in Umbria involves construction, as re...

In Sardinia, the collection of signatures has officially started to stop wind and photovoltaic park projects on the island in the absence of an adequate regional energy plan.It was launched by the "No Committee", which aims to obtain the vote soon 10 thousand signatures needed to bring citizens to a consultative referendum.The protagonists of the initiative are, specifically, the lawyer Michele Pala, responsible promoter, and the Arzachena doctor Pietro Satta, contact person for Gallura.«Do you want the Sardinian landscape, on land and sea, to be modified with the installation on the land and at sea of ​​industrial wind and/or photovoltaic systems for the production of electricity?» we read in question at the center of the signature collection, which the Committee aims to achieve submit to the vote of Sardinian citizens. “Meetings to promote the referendum and initiatives to collect signatures are underway throughout the island,” wrote...

In Thailand, a recent seizure of 48 lemurs and over 1,200 endemic Madagascar tortoises, in danger of extinction, has once again put the spotlight on the global reach of wildlife trafficking networks.The success of the operation was aided by information from a joint transnational investigation between Thai law enforcement and international anti-trafficking organizations working to dismantle networks in Asia, Africa and South America.Among the confiscated animals were ring-tailed lemurs, common brown lemurs, spider tortoises and radiated tortoises, all likely destined for the illegal animal trade in Asia.The story also shed light on limits of the institutions in containing the phenomenon.The government of Madagascar, for example, under the admission of the Madagascar Minister of the Environment herself, should guarantee greater enforcement of the law, fight systemic corruption and strengthen surveillance in the remote protected areas of the country. Authorities discovered the animals c...

Planting olive trees against the indiscriminate and coercive expropriation of land.Return to the earth the plants eradicated by corporate interests.The roots as an emblem of the struggle.This is the meaning behind it popular uprising that arose spontaneously within a few hours in the countryside of Selargius, in Sardinia, immediately renamed "the revolt of the olive trees".Here, last Saturday, a citizen was the victim of a forced expropriation.He had refused to sell his lands to Terna, the company in charge of carrying out the work for the commissioning of the Tyrrhenian Link, the long cable that will connect Sardinia to the peninsula to transport the electricity produced by wind power to the island .In response, the company began to uproot the olive trees forcibly planted on the land.The reaction from the area was immediate:about a hundred people were on site to prevent the company from continuing.He was born like this a permanent garrison, which intends to resist against th...