The Emerald Ash Borer and our Ash

It was purely by happenstance that I learned about the Emerald Ash Borer.  I was on an exercise walk through our neighborhood, and casually asked a man "You cutting down that tree?"  It was a tree like this one, also situated in the parkway, that segment of yard between the sidewalk and street.  His tree was bereft of leaves, and it was way too late to save it from the ash beetle.  I asked about it, and he showed me small D-shaped hole in the branches he had already cut.  In fact he found one crawl on my shirt, and it was a tiny thing with a body of a translucent green and yellow.  He said that his tree began to sprout branches at the trunk, and added that it was a sign the tree was in distress.  Funny, I told him, our parkway tree sprouted the same things, and my wife had me snipped them off.  Our tree, like others I began to notice in the neighborhood, was bald at the top, but otherwise it looked healthy.  I believe there is still time to save it.

Nigerian Wale Tinubu Leads African Oil and Gas

Africa as a whole has massive oil and gas reserves, but developing them is another story altogether.

Africa's oil and gas potential:  Boom or hype?

Africa's oil and gas potential will grow significantly over the next two decades, driven by population growth, urbanization and the emergence of a wealthier middle class on the continent. Six of the top 10 global discoveries in the oil and gas sector in 2013 were made in Africa, with more than 500 companies currently exploring deposits there. There were nearly nine million barrels of crude oil produced daily in Africa last year, with more than 80% of it coming from established players such as Algeria, Angola and Nigeria.

There is no doubt that Africa remains significantly under-explored by oil and gas companies. The price of oil and the incentives for exploration partly determine this, but major investors are also cautious because of the lingering challenges of corruption, lack of infrastructure and regulation.

Click on the link in the caption above for the reference and more information.

Elsewhere, Nigerian Adewale Tinubu, Group CEO of the integrated oil and gas solutions company Oando, speaks to more democratic governance in the continent (Meet Wale Tinubu, The Man Building Africa's Largest Energy Company - Part One) and adds that the corruption is just not fashionable anymore (CNN African Voices features Wale Tinubu Part 1).

Best wishes to Tinubu for further building up Africa's economic base!    

A Week with Ethiopian Supermodel Liya Kebede

Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede launched her own fashion line - Lemlem - which means "to flourish or bloom" in her native Amharic.  As we walk through her week (below), I love the fact that it's less about how she looks and poses, and more about what she says and does:

Monday

Ever wanted to know what it's like to sit on the FROW (that's the runway's front row in fashionista lingo)? Or to rub shoulders with the world's A-list trendsetters? Welcome to the world of super chic Ethiopian supermodel and designer Liya Kebede.

Tuesday

Day Two and Kebede took us along to her first MM6 runway show, and she loved every minute of it! She adds: "Of course, the collection is always inspiring and fun! [It's] out of the box, very imaginative and twists the impossible into the possible."

Wednesday

Time to pack your bags, Kebede's en route to Paris for a charity event. There's no rest for this jetsetting businesswoman ... not that she minds. Here's a selfie in the airport bookstore ahead of her flight. She passionately explains: "The possibility to give back is a privilege, I feel lucky that I can do my part."

Thursday

Boujour Paris! Kebede's stepped into another of her roles: as founder of the Liya Kebede Foundation, she spent the day helping brokers from consulting firm, BCG with their clients and trades. "Every year BGC commemorates colleagues lost on 9/11 by distributing the day's global revenue to dozens of charities around the world. I'm so proud that LKF can be a part of helping to focus this day."

Friday

Never forgetting her African roots, Kebede says Ethiopian weaving techniques are at the core of her label. "We use a textured fabric this season in our scarves and tunics that is traditionally used for Ethiopian wedding dresses. Supporting Ethiopian weavers and their craft has remained our central mission and we're proud we can sell a beautiful product while also helping these artisans thrive."

Saturday and Sunday

The maternal health advocate returned home in May when she spent the week with WAHA International and Save the Children. "I was stunned when I first learned that a woman was dying every minute in my home country and other developing nations from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. I'm excited at how [LKF] is continually learning and evolving to help connect more women to care," she says.

Reference: Step into a supermodel's shoes with Liya Kebede.

African Wildlife Foundation Saves Congo Basin

Wildlife 101:  Can this school save the environment?

What Patrick Bergin, CEO of African Wildlife Foundation, has conceived and developed in an awesome win-win scenario:  In brief, the AWF builds schools in remote areas of the Congo Basin that are in terrible need of care and conservation.  The governing communities in these areas are cash-strapped, and are willing to allow for conservation efforts, in exchange for AWF support.  The schools are state-of-the-art to attract the best possible teachers and therefore to teach disadvantaged children in the best possible way.  The curricula engender good environmental values and activities, and the building of the schools themselves draw on indigenous workers and materials.  The idea is to do good, which is, well, doable and sustainable.  It's all brilliant, so read more by clicking the link in the caption above.

Mexican-Kenyan Lupita Nyong'o after Guadalupe

Lupita Nyong'o has just a thin trail in film:  She debuted as an actress in the short film `East River (2008); starred in the TV series `Shuga (2009); and wrote, produced and directed the documentary `In my Genes (2009).  So to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in her very first feature-length film `12 Years a Slave (2013) is astounding.  At the Academy Awards ceremony earlier this year, the camera often stole glances of her, and no wonder, as she had such arresting looks that it was difficult to peel your eyes away from her. 

Nyong'o was born in Mexico City to Dorothy and Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, and boasts a Mexican-Kenyan dual citizenship.  She was still an infant, when her family moved back to their native Kenya, upon her father being appointed professor at the University of Nairobi.  Her family is of the Luo ethnic group from western Kenya, and it is their tradition to give a child a name that echoes the culture or events of her birth locale.  So Lupita is short for Guadalupe, as in Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

South African Lothando Kaka on the Bicycle

I love road cycling, particularly its most famous and grueling race - Tour de France.  South African Luthando Kaka is quite a novelty, in a peloton that is predominantly European in nationality.  He offers a simple explanation for that:  Cycling is too expensive for the lot of Africans, who may otherwise be interested in the sport.  But fortunately for him, he has managed to land a spot on a Danish team and to captain the Bonitas team in South Africa.

Best wishes to Lothando Kaka!

Malawian Fashion Designer Lilly Alfonso in Demand

I draw on the African Voices series on CNN to journey into a continent I've traveled to just once, so far, and to learn about its countries and people. 

Malawian fashion designer Lilly Alfonso

Nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa," Malawi is just a sliver of a country in southeastern Africa.  It is not a well-to-do country, and its government relies on outside help to run the country and take care of its people.  The tiny beats of that heart don't beat for very long, as there is high infant mortality, and the more voluble beats don't last for very long, either, as life expectancy is low.  Nevertheless, the sounds of that warm heart steadily grow stronger, in step with improving economics, education and healthcare.

Enter, Lilly Alfonso.

Alfonso is demure about her passion and talent for fashion, but she is not weak at heart.  She has tinkered with fashion, since she was a little girl, but it was only in 2010 that she accepted the sobriquet of designer.  She has an eye for color and design, even rhythm and motion, which, to my own uninitiated eyes, echo those of African art culture. 

Art, by Hamban Mhone

Lilly Alfonso

There is increasingly interest and demand for her fashion, and greater exposures at shows in London, Barcelona and Paris.

Best wishes to Lilly Alfonso!