By Cate Nelson •
August 25, 2009
Walmart has won approval to build a Supercenter on the edge one of the most important battlefields from the Civil War: the Wilderness Battlefield.
Wilderness was the location when Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant first met in battle, on May 4, 1864. Altogether, on both sides of the fighting, 160,000 soldiers total took part with approximately 29,000 killed or wounded. It was the beginning of the turning point of the Civil War.
Supervisors in Orange County, Virginia voted Monday night to grant a permit to the corporate giant, despite public outcry, especially from historians and Civil War buffs.
Jim Campi, of the Civil War Preservation Trust, is against it because,
What Walmart is proposing would absolutely transform the landscape. Walmart is proposing a superstore closer to a national park boundary than any previous Walmart, and this is right on the boundary of the national park.
Only one-quarter of the historic battlefield is protected, so the controversy has surrounded the question, “What is a battlefield?”
By Levi Novey •
April 17, 2009
A project that trained medical personnel to install solar power at hospitals and mobile clinics along the war-torn border of Burma has won the top prize at this year’s Energy Globe environmental awards.
The medical centers provide crucial aid to approximately 200,000 refugees who have fled Burma because of the catastrophic, genocidal efforts [...]
By Jake Richardson •
April 4, 2009
On April 2nd the Washington Times reported that political turmoil and weeks of protest which have killed nearly 100 people have pushed the country almost to the verge of civil war.
The upheaval stems from the removal of President Ravalomanana who says he was kicked out: “I never resigned. I was forced to hand power over, at gunpoint”.
By Bryan Nelson •
February 3, 2009
In an inspiring testament to the resiliency of life even amidst war and conflict, the Congo’s critically endangered population of Mountain Gorillas increased over the last 16 months, including 10 new births.
The new babies were part of an overall population increase of 12.5% in UNESCO-listed Virunga National Park, where habituated Mountain Gorilla numbers jumped from 72 to 81 since the region’s last census in 2007. The report brings hope to the troubled nation, which has been wrought with bloodshed and political turmoil for decades.
But despite the encouraging news, serious threats still remain. In the months leading up to the last census, 10 of the Park’s apes were slaughtered by unidentified poachers during a violent insurgency. Some of the dead were discovered shot execution-style in the back of the head. It was the bloodiest year on record for the gorillas since famed primatologist Dian Fossey first began her efforts to save them in the 1960’s.
