2009: The year of Un- sustainability.
DNA test kits of the H1N1 influenza virus (The rapidly spreading swine flu virus) prepared by PrimerDesign Ltd are displayed at the company laboratory in Southampton in May, 2009. Photo: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)
The year 2009 was memorable for many reasons; once again the world experienced economic recession and recovery, conflict, political unrest, corruption, terrorism and defense, climate change battle, drug war and so on. EV decided to summarize the most important happenings (events) of 2009. Here are the ten biggest and most memorable events of the year 2009.
Swine Flu: The 2009 flu pandemic is a global outbreak of a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus, often referred to as “swine flu” in the media. The virus, first detected in April 2009, contains a combination of genes from swine, avian(bird), and human influenza viruses.
The outbreak began in Veracruz, Mexico, with evidence that there had been an ongoing epidemic for months before it was officially recognized as such. The virus continued to spread globally, clinics were overwhelmed by people infected, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control(CDC) stopped counting cases and in June declared the outbreak to be a pandemic.
Currently, there are 12,121 confirmed deaths worldwide. This figure is a sum of confirmed deaths reported by national authorities and the WHO states that total mortality (including deaths unconfirmed or unreported) from the new H1N1 strain is “unquestionably higher” than this.
Obama’s inaguration and Nobel peace prize: The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C, marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joseph Biden as Vice-President. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership and Internet traffic, it was among the most observed events ever by the global audience.
The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to U.S President Barack Obama ”for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award citing Obama’s promotion of nuclear non-proliferation and a “new climate” in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world.
Climate Change/Copenhagen Summit: The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bell Center in Copenhagen, Denmark , between 7 December and 18 December. The conference included the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 5th Meeting of the Parties (COP/MOP 5) to the Kyoto Protocol. According to the Bali Road Map, a framework for climate change mitigation beyond 2012 was to be agreed there.
The Copenhagen Accord was drafted by the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa on December 18, and judged a “meaningful agreement” by the United States government. It was “recognised”, but not “agreed upon”, in a debate of all the participating countries the next day, and it was not passed unanimously. The document recognised that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the present and that actions should be taken to keep any temperature increases to below 2°C. The document is not legally binding and does not contain any legally binding commitments for reducing CO2 emissions. Leaders of industrialized countries, including Barack Obama and Gorden Brown, were pleased with this agreement but many leaders of other countries and non-governmental organizations were opposed to it.
Maldives hold the Cabinet meeting inside the sea and Nepal hold at the Everest base camp to draw the global attention towards climate change impacts.
Anna Kennan and Sara Svensson with other inspiring climate justice campaigners organized 45-days long an international hunger strike calling strong, just action on climate crisis at the Copenhagen Summit.
Financial Hangovers: Global economic collapse, averted. Recession, analysts declared, was over. But aside from the few who got Wall Street bonuses, nobody was celebrating. In 2009, old-fashioned thrift became dire necessity. Those lucky enough to have jobs and homes scrimped, saved, and sanctioned. Stimulus plans tried to revive a wilted economy, but the bubble burst had had the effect of a financial atomic bomb. People rolled up their sleeves and dug in to make the shift from crisis to survival, and went online to make sense of the seeming chaos around them. Here now, the Search lowdown on economic bad news.
Michael Jackson’s death: The death of Michael Jackson (King of Pop) occurred after he suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, Californiaon June 25, 2009. He was treated by paramedics at his home, but was pronounced dead at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Jackson’s death triggered an outpouring of grief around the world, creating surges of Internet trafficand causing sales of his music and that of the Jackson5 to soar. He had been scheduled to perform the This is it concert series to over one million people at London’s O2 arena , from July 13, 2009 to March 6, 2010. His public memorial service on July 7, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where he had rehearsed for the London concerts just two days before his death, was broadcast live around the world, attracting a global audience of up to one billion people.
Total Solar eclipse 2009: The solar eclipse of 22 July 2009 was the longest total solar eclipse during the 21st century, not to be surpassed until June 2132. It lasted a maximum of 6 minutes and 39 seconds off the coast of Southeast Asia, causing tourist interest in eastern China, Japan, India and Nepal.
The End of Sri Lanka’s Cataclysmic Civil War: The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers), a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil Eelam in the north and the east of the island. After a 30-month-long military campaign, the Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009.
For over 25 years, the insurgency caused significant hardships for the population, environment and the economy of the country, with over 80,000 people officially listed as killed during its course.
After two decades of fighting and three failed attempts at peace talks, In 2007, the government shifted its offensive to the north of the country, and formally announced its withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement on January 2, 2008, Since then, aided by the destruction of a number of large arms smuggling vessels that belonged to the LTTE, and an international crackdown on the funding for the Tamil Tigers, the government took control of the entire area previously controlled by the Tamil Tigers, including their de-facto capital Kilinochchi, main military base Mullaitivu and the entire A9 highway, leading the LTTE to finally admit defeat on May 17, 2009.
“Endless War” in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan: On March 3 Gunmen attack a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, Pakistan, killing eight people and injuring several others. This is not a large terrorist attack but one that was significant by virtue of the target. Analysts say al-Qaida is mutating into a global insurgency and US and its ally must display sincerity. Pakistan is now becoming a new Afghanistan. Hundreds of innocent people are dying every day in these countries because of bombing and bloody war. Experts fear ‘endless’ terror war.
Sports- Bolt and Messi Year: Usain St. Leo Bolt, born on 21 August 1986, is a Jamaican sprinter and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He holds the world recordfor the 100 meters, the 200 meters and, along with his teammates, the 4000 meters relay. He also holds the Olympic record for all three of these races. At the 2008 Summer Olympics. Bolt became the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. In 2009 he became the first man to hold the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time.
Lionel Andrés Messi born on 24 June 1987 is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for La Liga’s Barcelona and the Argentine national team. Messi is considered to be one of the best football players of his generation, having received several Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year 2009 2009. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to football legend Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his “successor”.
Also, the International Olympic Committee awards the 2016 Summer Olympics to Rio de Janerio.
World’s first openly Lesbian head of government: Johanna Siguroardottir is appointed as the new Prime Mibister of Iceland, becoming the world’s first openly Lesbian head of government. Born 4 October 1942, she had previously been Iceland’s Minister from 1987–1994 and 2007–2009. She has been a member of the Althing (Iceland’s parliament) for Reykjavik constituencies since 1978, winning re-election on eight successive occasions. She became Iceland’s first female Prime Minister on 1 February 2009; she also became the world’s first openly gay head of government of the modern era. She is a social democrat and Iceland’s longest-serving member of Parliament.
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