Whose Onus Is It, Anyway?
“The land of familiar places will change;
Let’s do something before it gets strange!”
Tag: Environment
Transparent Solar Panels: Good or Bad?
By Chung Hyunhwa In my previous article, I argued that using nuclear energy needs to end due to the fact that it requires a thorough nuclear waste management plan including permanent … Read More
Environmental Awareness Through English Teaching: An Interview with Julian Warmington
If you have been around Gwangju for a while, you have likely heard of Julian Warmington – that pack of energy from New Zealand. Julian taught for years at Chosun University. During that same time, he also spent years contributing to a fledgling Gwangju News, where he wrote articles, served as co-editor, and later served as editor-in-chief. Julian was also considerably involved in Korea TESOL, serving for several years as editor-in-chief of The English Connection, KOTESOL’s quarterly magazine, as well as founding and being a driving force in KOTESOL’s Environmental Justice Special Interest Group. In this interview, we touch on all of the above but focus on how EFL instructors can instill in their students a strong sense of environmental awareness.
One Big Step Toward Change
My week in Pollica, Italy, was full of precious opportunities to mark a new beginning. I applied for this camp with one purpose: to learn how other cities, and especially the youth living in them, are working to end discrimination. This is because I have seen and experienced that some people have to fight for their rights, even though such rights are what they deserve, and those who always suffer more are socially disadvantaged.
Be the Change You Want to See in the World: An Interview with Lee Na-gyeong
Youth Climate Emergency Action is a rather new group consisting of young people in their 20s. On their website, they describe themselves as “a non-violent, direct-action group on the climate crisis.” These young people are not climate experts, but rather ordinary people like you and me with one ultimate goal: to realize climate justice for all countries, regions, classes, generations, genders, and species. They demand drastic reductions in greenhouse gases and other transformations from countries and big companies.
Climate Crisis, Displacement, and Human Rights à la Special Rapporteur Ian Fry: Featured Speaker at WHRCF 2022
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) established the mandate of the special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change at its forty-eighth session in October 2021 (RES/48/14), following which Dr. Fry was appointed as the first to fill the role in March 2022 and began his duty in May 2022. Among others, the roles of the special rapporteur include studying and identifying the ways in which the adverse effects of climate change affect the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and make recommendations on how to address and prevent these adverse effects, as well as promoting and exchanging views on lessons learned and best practices related to the adoption of human rights-based, gender-responsive, age-sensitive, disability-inclusive, and risk-informed approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, all of which lead to making Dr. Fry a distinguished speaker at the 12th WHRCF.
Why Human Rights in the Climate Crisis Era?
Many scientists have warned that we would face devastating consequences when the temperature rises by 1.5˚C from the level of the beginning of industrialization. Currently, however, we have come closer to that point. Therefore, now is time for us to raise awareness of and take actions against the climate crisis in order to brace for more serious risks in the future.
Look Up? Or Don’t Look Up?
Newly elected President Yoon announced that Korea would resume building the two nuclear power plants that Moon had stopped and mentioned ‘pyroprocessing technology’ could be used to solve the nuclear waste problem. At this point, questions arise in times of carbon-neutrality: Is nuclear energy green? Is nuclear energy a shortcut to net-zero emissions? Are there not any other energy solutions?