Of oil and troubled waters: The exploitation of the earth's resources and the human injustice and environmental degradation which often follows is the central theme of this year's Afri conference on Saturday and Sunday next in St Joseph's Academy, Kildare town.
"Natural resources such as water and oil, which should be a source of life, are instead a source of conflict and the causes of war in many African and Middle Eastern countries," says Joe Murray, director of Afri. Speakers at the conference include Susan George, author of How the Other Half Dies: the real reasons for World Hunger; Paddy Mackey, an environmental campaigner and member of the Heritage Council's working group on water, and Caoimhe Butterly, a development worker who recently spent seven months in Iraq. To book for the Afri conference, "Sources of Life - Sources of Conflict", tel 01 8827581. The conference is part of Féile Bríde, an annual artistic, spiritual and environmental festival commemorating the life of St Brigid. St Brigid's day is celebrated on February 1st. For full programme details, tel 045-522890
Recycling phones
With an estimated 150,000 mobile phones replaced over Christmas, the inappropriate disposal of mobile phones - into your household or office rubbish bin - is a bigger issue than ever. It takes just a little more effort to recycle your old mobile phone. Vodaphone now has recycling bins in its shops and in Superquinn stores. A donation is made to Conservation Volunteers Ireland for every phone recycled. CVI in turn assists local community-based environmental projects with this money through its Nature Fund. Incidentally, applications for funding in 2004 must be received by CVI by Friday, January 30th. Tel 01-4952878 for more details. Some local authorities also have mobile phone recycling bins at their bring centres. Meanwhile, companies keen to dispose of mobile phones in bulk can contact Environmental Mobile Control, a business which buys back (or makes a donation to Focus Ireland) mobile phones for recycling. Tel 01-6649334 for more details.
Ethical chocolate choice
Chocoholics with a conscience should opt for chocolate made in Brazil, according to a new report. Most of the chocolate that comes from Brazil is helping to preserve endangered rainforest, says the British-based Worldwatch Institute. Brazil's Atlantic Forest is one of the world's richest ecosystems (476 tree species have been found in a single hectare compared with 15 to 20 in Irish woodlands). Cocoa grows ideally in the rainforest. Brazilian farmers have stuck with this system despite pressures from their counterparts in some other countries who clear forests so they can grow cocoa more intensively. Raising awareness of environmental issues among schoolchildren is a well respected strategy towards building keener, greener citizens in the future. Sustainable Energy Ireland's photo competition for second-level students in the North and the Republic encourages students to capture in a photograph how climate change is having an impact on their lives. Closing date for entries is January 31st.