The United Nations’ World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is annually observed on June 17 to highlight the urgent need to limit desertification and recover from drought. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts but to the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, caused primarily by human… Read More 17 June: World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
Earth Day is celebrated as an annual event by the people all over the world on April 22. Its aims are: • to remind each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance, • to promote harmony with nature, • to achieve a just balance among the economic, social… Read More 22 April: EARTH DAY
Meteor shower on the night of December 13 (but the full Moon will lessen the show) The Geminid meteor shower (named after Gemini, the coinciding constellation) is one of the finest meteors showers visible in either the Northern or the Southern Hemisphere. However, the full moon will be out all night long, subduing the… Read More 13 Dec 2016: Meteor shower
The Lambro: ecological disaster – February 2010 – On 23 February 2010, after a sabotage at a former refinery used by Società Lombarda Petroli S.p.A. as an oil depot in Villasanta (Monza Brianza), tons of oil were spilled into the river, affecting local vegetation and fauna. Here is a poem on the subject: Lenta scorreva… Read More (u3a) The Lambro: ecological disaster – February 2010 –
LONESOME RIVER (by Angelo Vimercati) And still I feel a great sensation here in the park And in the grass I share the life of flowers and dew And still I can find again A sense of freedom in my mind With all your silence And with the smell of your green land And… Read More (u3a) Vecchio Lambro (Lonesome River)
An apology letter to future generations: Dear Future Generations: Sorry Dear Future Generations, I think I speak for the rest of us when I say, sorry, sorry we left you our mess of a planet. Sorry that we were too caught up in our own doings to do something. Sorry we listened to people… Read More (u3a) Dear Future Generations: Sorry
Donald Trump’s Victory Could Mean Disaster for the Planet Nov. 9, 2016 TIME (abridged) How were climate scientists, policymaker and diplomats planning to deal with a Donald Trump presidency? The truth is, they weren’t. People who have dedicated their lives to working to save the planet always preferred to focus optimistically on how they could… Read More (u3a) 22 Nov: WORDS & MUSIC
