Roundup: Human rights, gay marriage, climate change, time to diversify

Politicians ruling by stealth

Self-serving politicians and their parties on all sides are undermining essential human rights – including the right to freedom from racial discrimination, the right to freedom of association, the right to equality before the law, the rights of the child and common law rights to sue for compensation.

Gay marriage and the future of human sexuality

The controversy surrounding gay marriage has now reached a fever pitch in countries like Australia and the UK, as governments have begun to move past debate and towards legislative change. While such intensity can have the benefit of clarifying just what is at stake – on both sides of the argument – it can also obscure some of the deeper, intrinsically related issues.

World entering a ‘third era’ in efforts to deal with climate change

After 20 years dominated by inaction on climate change, the world is entering a “third era” when the impacts of climate change are unavoidable, says a London climate expert.

Even if countries instantly reduced carbon emissions to zero, the impacts of emissions already in the atmosphere are “inevitable and unavoidable for the next 20 or so years,” said Saleemul Huq, a climate expert at the London-based International Institute of Environment and Development and former executive director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies.

Diversify or die

Not-for-profit organisations must diversify their revenue streams as increasing demand for their services forces them to do more with less, according to a national survey by Deloitte Private.