Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/602004
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 NOVEMBER 2015 This Week 41 Some of the largest and most influential companies in the world are up for public vote for awards in three categories – lobbying, greenwashing and impacts on communities. Cash from big corporations is being used, through lobbying or greenwashing, to undermine necessary action on climate change a few weeks ahead of a crucial climate summit in Paris. Nominees include sponsors of the UN climate talks BNP-Paribas, EDF and Engie, who have significant investments in dirty energy, from fossil fuels to nuclear energy. Nominees include those whose activities are harming communities worldwide, with Shell nominated for its legacy of environmental and social devastation in Nigeria. Other nominees are Total, the oil and gas giant, for infiltrating the European renewables lobby, Avril for pushing biofuels, Chevron, Yara and mining company Anglo-American. The Pinocchio Climate Awards call on governments to take concrete action to end corporate impunity through binding regulation, and to ignore corporate false solutions, giving priority to the protection of human rights, the environment and the climate. The worst Climate Pinocchio for each category will be announced on 3 December 2015 in a public awards ceremony during the UN climate talks in Paris. *** The Pinocchio Climate Awards 2015 are organised by Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of the Earth France, Corporate Europe Observatory, CRID, and Action Aid France. In media partnership with Basta, The Multinational Observatory and Real World Radio People sometimes ask me why the nature reserve at Għadira is fenced in, since it is public land after all. One answer that I found makes instant sense is : "For the same reason that public places like Ħaġar Qim and Ġgantija are fenced in." They are far too precious to be left unprotected and just hope for goodwill from everyone. If we can appreciate the need to protect unique prehistoric structures, surely we can understand the need to safeguard endangered habitat. The rare coastal lagoon and saltmarsh at Għadira deserve rigorous and constant protection, which is why access is restricted and which indeed is why the site has survived to this day. The place is so small that it can be destroyed by a single angry person in a single night of rampage. Can we risk it? No we can't. We need Għadira to stay nice and attractive to birds and other wildlife. And people are of course most welcome to visit: the nature reserve is again open to the public Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 4pm. And, as always, BirdLife charges no entrance fee. 480. GĦADIRA GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 383: : READ MORE – FOR MORE INFORMATION, AND TO VOTE: HTTP://WWW.PINOCCHIO-AWARDS.ORG/ Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Desirée Falzon The connection between art and medicine THE relationship between disease and works of art is an intriguing study, detect- ing medical conditions that would be present in the sit- ter and faithfully reproduced by the artist. The artist him- self might be suffering from physical or psychological conditions which affect his works. Identifying these traits in famous and less- known paintings has been the fo- cus of fascinating detective work on the part of Prof. Carmel Mallia, Professor in Medicine, University of Malta, who will share his dis- coveries on November 17 at 18:30 at the Italian Cultural Institute, St George's Square, Valletta. Medicine and art do not seem to be related, however a closer look reveals several parallels, as both doctor and artist have to observe their patient or sitter very closely to ensure that as few clues as pos- sible are missed. This is much like detective work and it is not surprising that the creator of the greatest detective of all time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was himself a doctor. Another area of overlap is the depiction of diseases in paintings, usually conditions that the sitter might be suffering from which the artist reproduces in his work. Some such abnormalities may be quite obvious – such as a squint, blindness, foot deformities or dwarfism – a popular Baroque theme. However others may be more subtle, only raising the sus- picion of disease and requiring practitioners to use all their pow- ers of observation, experience and deduction to arrive at a conclu- sion. Since those examining cannot check the patient or order medi- cal tests, a firm diagnosis cannot always be established, generat- ing interesting controversy as in Caravaggio's 'Sleeping Cupid': did he suffer from rickets? Or from juvenile arthritis? Or was he just a normal boy? What about Ghir- landaio's 'Old Man and Child' – the man has an easily recognizable abnormality in his nose, but is the child's hand normal? Are Durer's famous praying hands normal or could the subject be suffering from diabetes mellitus – or rheumatoid arthritis? The list is endless. Finally, artists are also subject to disease which may have an impact on their work: eyesight may start to fail, arthritis may affect their hands, chronic ill health may de- press them. These various physi- cal and emotional characteristics may find expression in the works of such artists. Bookings at www.faa.org.mt or by calling 3131 0720 Caravaggio's 'Sleeping Cupid' Pinocchio Climate Awards 2015