Covid, Adani, Global Climate Catastrophe … CNN and Me …

… great to be part of a massive Covid-19 story of global importance just published on CNN.

The story entitled ‘The One Chance We Have’ delves into the story of how … during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent confusion and devastation of the global economy … fossil fuel producing countries are injecting taxpayer money into propping up polluting industries that are hastening an earlier climate catastrophe. 

The story uses vignettes from four fossil fuel producing countries … Canada, Poland, Australia and India … to substantiate the premise that ‘The pandemic gave the world a golden opportunity to fix the climate crisis. We’re about to waste it.’

My work appears in the ‘India’ segment … and comprises six of the images I made just on a year ago in Chhattisgarh … set amongst a lengthy story (somewhat based on my original words but ‘updated’) on the destruction of the Hasdeo Arand forest and the Gond tribal population by Indian mining giant Adani hand in hand with Modi’s government.

My images and words from Chhattisgarh have previously been published in The Guardian (here and here), in Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera (here) and elsewhere.  Very gratifying to see the work picked up again.

I must stress that this current story on CNN is a great and incredibly important piece of journalism and is well worth a look (at the images) and a good long read. Please do … there is far too much in the story to go into here and the implications for the future of the planet are chilling. 

I’m joined pictorially in the piece (in the ‘Australian’ section of the story) by Aussie based colleagues David Maurice Smith and Matthew Abbott. Hi Guys !

Thanks CNN for the important story and for using my work to help illustrate it. Thanks yet again to my fixer/friend Srienivas Akella from Mumbai … brilliant travelling with you.

Below … images (3 of my 6) © Brian Cassey … from the CNN story ‘The One Chance We Have’.

CNN story 'The One Chance We Have' on Covid-19 pandemic hastening a global climate catastrophe - images by Brian Cassey

CNN story 'The One Chance We Have' on Covid-19 pandemic hastening a global climate catastrophe - images by Brian Cassey

Adani and the Gond …

Great, at last, to see images and words I put together during late last years journey to India published for the first time.

The Guardian UK have published my work on their ‘The Age of Extinction’ feature page under the head “India’s Ancient Tribes Battle to Save their Forest Home from Mining”.

The ‘ancient tribe’ is the ancient Gond people, their ‘forest home’ is the Hasdeo Arand forest in Chhattisgarh … and they are battling (amongst others) the massive Indian conglomerate that is also planning to mine in central Queensland Australia … Adani.

The Hasdeo Arand forest is the largest continuous stretch of dense forest in central India, covering about 170,000 hectares of the state of Chhattisgarh – the coal mining powerhouse of the country. 

One of the last remaining remnants of the massive deciduous forests that once covered much of India, it is rich in biodiversity, contains many threatened species including elephants, leopards and sloth.  It is also home to the Gond – one of India’s original indigenous peoples or Adivasis. The tribe take their name from the mythical Gondwanaland that gave birth to India and they have a deep spiritual connection to the forest. To the Gond the forest is life itself. Every forest feature has a spiritual significance  – they see spirits in every leaf, tree, stream, river and hill. They also rely on products collected there to sustain life – flowers, fruits, grains, seeds, tubers and roots for food and medicines – and timber, leaves and grasses for ropes, mats, brooms, baskets, fires and building purposes. 

Sadly for the Gond people and other Adivasis forest dwellers, the Hasdeo Arand sits atop over a billion metric tonnes of proven quality coal reserves. 

In 2006 the Hasdeo Arand was legally declared off limits from exploitation, followed by a more explicit declaration by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2009 that the area was a ‘no-go’ area for mining.

That all changed in 2011 when the government changed tack, the community forest rights were revoked and forest clearance and mining permissions was granted for three coal blocks in the Hasdeo Arand …  including the Parsa East and Kante Basan mine managed by Adani. The pace of new mines in the forest has escalated … thirty more newly surveyed open cut mine sites are due to go online in the Hasdeo Arand which threatens to destroy approximately eighty percent of the entire forest … and the lives of the forest dweller Gond people.

I thought that might make a decent story !!!! It is little known in Australia where passions for and against the Adani owned Carmichael mine in central Queensland are running high.

So, with friend and former pic editor Srienivas Akella in tow we travelled Mumbai to Raipur and into Chhattisgarh. We spent a total of a whole day driving over the four days covering the story. We met many Gond, documented their protests, lifestyle and the effects that the mines were having on their well being and that of the forest, resident elephants and other occupants … and saw the massive operating Adani Parsa East and Kante Basan open cut coal mine.

Pleased that The Guardian have seen the importance of this story, not only to Australians and Indians, but also to the planet in general.

Special Thanks to Srienivas and local Raipur contact Bipasha Paul.

My ‘The Guardian’ story and images may be found at … https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/10/indias-ancient-tribes-battle-to-save-their-forest-home-from-mining

Below are just a small percentage of the images (© Brian Cassey) from the project … some that didn’t make the published story. Pics of the Adani operations at their PEKB mine, Gond protests, the threatened Hasdeo Arand forest and Chhattisgarh.

STOP PRESS … seventeen of my images from this story are now published as a ‘special feature’ over a week on the planet wide instagram feed … https://www.instagram.com/everydayclimatechange/ … devoted to bringing attention to climate change issues.

Gond tribal people of India battle coal mining giant Adani to save their forest home. Words and Image © by Brian Cassey

Gond tribal people of India battle coal mining giant Adani to save their forest home. Words and Image © by Brian Cassey

Gond tribal people of India battle coal mining giant Adani to save their forest home. Words and Image © by Brian Cassey

Gond tribal people of India battle coal mining giant Adani to save their forest home. Words and Image © by Brian Cassey

Gond tribal people of India battle coal mining giant Adani to save their forest home. Words and Image © by Brian Cassey

Gond tribal people of India battle coal mining giant Adani to save their forest home. Words and Image © by Brian Cassey

Gond tribal people of India battle coal mining giant Adani to save their forest home. Words and Image © by Brian Cassey

Cairns School Climate Strike in South Korea …

Last Friday school children around the planet once again took to the streets in their millions to protest against their respective governments refusal to instigate meaningful plans to combat the effects of climate change … and save the only home we have from possible extinction.

The ‘Global Youth Strike for Climate Action’ was the second World wide youth strike this year … and numbers this time far out-numbered the earlier event in March. I covered both events in Cairns for the Everyday Climate Change Global Instagram feed ( @everydayclimatechange ) which now has around a hundred and forty thousand followers.

At a (well timed) event in the city of Seongnam in South Korea the day before last Friday’s youth marches, an exhibition officially opened on the same subject of climate change … and it features my images made at the March climate action protests by school students in Cairns.

I was invited to participate (the only oversees exhibitor) in the exhibition ‘Every Day for Tomorrow’ … ‘ 내일을 위한 매일 ‘ … by event organiser and artist Yoa Eunkyung K, alongside three other South Korean artists with a variety of works and messages.

Hoseob Yoon ( 윤호섭 ) is an environmental activist and creative designer … the most well known artist working on environmental issues in South Korea.

Jeeyoung Lee ( 이지영 ) is a visual artist dedicated to spreading the word on climate change to the children of South Korea.

Joo Yangseob is a graphic artist who produces posters on the subject of climate change and social injustice.

Exhibition co-ordinator Yoa ( 좋아은경 ) uses wire in creative ways to make statements in her artworks.

So … it was a distinct pleasure to be asked to participate alongside such talent … and help showcase the plight of our planet to South Koreans. According to Yoa the subject of climate change is not a big issue in South Korea so it is gratifying to think the my images of Cairns school children may make a difference. The event was also an opportunity to showcase the work of our talented bunch of @everydayclimatechange photographers.

Below is the poster (top and bottom) for the exhibition which runs until the 27th October at the majestic Pangyo Eco Center in Seongnam … and just two of my images (© Brian Cassey) which grace the gallery wall made at the March schools climate action rally in Cairns.

Oh yes … apparently … my name in Korean is … ‘ 브라이언 캐시 ‘ … it’s on the poster (top) ! (at least I hope that’s what it says !).

Getting Wet on the GBR …

… made a lightning fast visit to the Great Barrier Reef out from Cairns recently for The Australian.

Journalist Graham Lloyd and I were choppered out to Moore Reef … certainly one of my quickest (and shortest) visits to the Great Barrier Reef !

A twenty five minute helicopter flight … then straight into the water with camera, reef crew Katherine, reef ecologist Eric and journalist Graham … forty five minutes working in the lagoon, the flat and the wall of Moore Reef … then straight back on the chopper to Cairns.

The Australian published a couple of my images to accompany Graham’s story on page 3  (middle pic below) with a pointer from page 1.

In the top two images below Katherine is exploring the ‘wall’ area of Moore Reef which was smashed during Cyclone Yasi in 2011, impacted by Cyclone Ita in 2014 … and then extensively bleached during climate change related extreme temperature events in 2016 and 2017. Damage on the ‘wall’ section is still evident but it does appear that corals are making a comeback (and the fish numbers were astonishing.)

Even on the ‘flat’ area between the lagoon and the wall … where there has been extensive bleaching (which I documented back in May 2017 for @everydayclimatechange and News) … there is some coral regrowth.

Sadly, with more frequent extreme temperature events and cyclones almost a certainty as the planet warms, the World’s largest reef system still faces a distinctly uncertain future.

The reef trip also gave me a chance to use a nice new bit of kit … the Sealife 0.5X wide angle dome lens … on my Sealife DC2000 underwater camera (pic bottom below). The wide angle is perfect for my choice of underwater pics … making underwater ‘landscapes’ much more impressive. If you are interested in any underwater kit (including the excellent Sealife system) may I suggest contacting Tim Hochgrebe at Underwater Australasia for the best range and prices.

Images © Brian Cassey

20190717_MooreReef_BrianCassey_Blog

MooreReefTheAustralian_BCBlog

SealifeWide

Image Theft From @everdayclimatechange …

In May I was invited to join the Everyday Climate Change @everydayclimatechange Instagram group … a collaborative feed founded by James Whitlow Delano to highlight the visual effects of warming on our precious planet. It has recently grown to surpass one hundred thousand followers. Delighted to join a group of dedicated wonderful photographers with a vitally important agenda.

Sadly, @everydayclimatechange has been the victim of blatant image theft by a ‘for profit’ company. A dozen contributors, including myself, have seen their work stolen, their personal and @everydayclimatechange image credits stripped … and featured on the companies instagram feed complete with our copyright holders captions in place.

We at @everydayclimatechange are now collectively contemplating what action to take to redress the situation.

Below … side by side … are my relevant © contributions to @everydayclimatechange (left) and the stolen works as published (right – with the offending company name etc obscured at present).

Images © Brian Cassey

@everydayclimatechange by Brian Cassey

‘Fluorescing’ Coral … and the SeaLife DC2000 …

… following a catastrophic incident with an underwater housing and not wishing to face the prospect of drowning a perfectly good and expensive Nikon D5 and turning it into a salty paperweight, I searched for an underwater camera that wouldn’t break the bank, shoots raw, has an off camera strobe, versatility … and would be stress free.

I came across the new SeaLife DC2000 when it was first announced. The specs included a SONY 2.5cm back-illuminated 20MP CMOS image sensor, RAW & JPEG capture, built in underwater colour correction, full Manual, Auto and Mode shooting, a comprehensive selection of lighting options and accessories … and both the housing AND camera are waterproof to depths far below that which I will descend to.

Surprisingly the BEST price deal on the new kit … I opted for the kit which included the Sea Dragon Flash … can be found in Australia from Tim Hochgrebe at Underwater Australasia. His price is way under anyone else I could find around the planet (including B&H) and he expedited stock into the country, offered free shipping AND a free extra battery. He still has some stock I believe and it can be found at https://underwater.com.au/shop/sealife-dc2000-camera-pro-flash-set.html.

I’ve now used the SeaLife DC2000 (pic bottom below) on a couple of occasions on news stories on the Great Barrier Reef … and have found it easy to shoot … admittedly a little slower and more measured than a housed DSLR … and easy to view and make adjustments underwater. For my shooting style adding the SeaLife ‘Fisheye’ (which it isn’t) wide angle lens to the setup was a no brainer.  The image quality from the camera is fine …

It isn’t perfect … what camera ever is … but the SeaLife has provided me with a relatively stress free setup to use for underwater news jobs.

The image below (with marine biologist Sam Grey from Silver Sonic) was taken with the SeaLife at Moore Reef on the GBR this week … and … before you mention the vivid colours I should explain that many of these corals are ‘fluorescing’ … showing amazingly vibrant and brilliant colours as they become stressed by too high water temperatures. These colours are exactly how the coral appeared … particularly striking was the plate coral near the centre of the frame. A prelude to bleaching and possibly coral death. I also witnessed large gardens of totally white ‘bleached’ coral. Our Great Barrier Reef IS under threat from Global Warming.

Main Image © Brian Cassey

Fluorescing coral Great Barrier Reef Moore Reef by Brian Cassey

SeaLife DC2000 underwater camera with Sea Dragon flash