Languages
Saturday, May 30, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Europe Sowing the Seeds of Hunger
Europe is facing a hungry future unless it changes agricultural policies and makes farmers the main participants in agriculture research, a new report has found. And there is little hope of meeting Europe's recently announced goal of reducing the loss of biodiversity in ten years without making those changes.Humanity Hitting the Resource Ceiling
Better living through using far fewer material resources is the only possible future, experts agree. Humanity is pressing up against the limits of a finite planet to provide resources like water, oil, metals and food, according to a new report released Thursday.The Nuclear Cost Shell Game
The nuclear energy industry only exists thanks to what insurance experts call the "mother of all subsidies", and the public is largely unaware that every nuclear power plant in the world has a strict cap on how much the industry might have to pay out in case of an accident.A Fatal Addiction to Plastic
"Be fantastic, don't use plastic!" chanted a troop of 10-year- olds from President Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Honolulu at the conclusion of an international conference on the millions of tonnes of trash that enter the oceans every year, with serious consequences for marine life and habitats as well as to human health and the global economy.Fight Against Marine Garbage Runs Into Plastics Lobby
Every day, billions of plastic bags and bottles are discarded, and every day, millions of these become plastic pollution, fouling the oceans and endangering marine life.
Plastic Circulating Endlessly in World’s Oceans
That plastic bottle or plastic take-away coffee lid that has 20 minutes of use can spend decades killing countless seabirds, marine animals and fish, experts reported here this week.
Who Controls the Nuclear Control Agencies?
As Japan struggles to confront a nuclear disaster that could be the worst in history, it seems clear that any discussion about the safety of nuclear energy should address the independence of regulatory agencies.Peak Water Has Already Come and Gone
Canadian Kevin Freedman is celebrating World Water Day Tuesday by living on 25 litres of water a day, instead of the North American average of 330 litres per day. And he has enlisted 31 others in his "Water Conservation Challenge" to go water- lean, using just 25 litres per day for cooking, drinking, cleaning, and sanitation for the entire month of March.Japan Nuke Disaster Could Be Worse Than Chernobyl
A global nuclear disaster potentially worse than Chernobyl may be under way in Japan as hundreds of tonnes of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel are open to the sky, and may be on fire and emitting radioactive particles into the atmosphere.Save Climate and Double Food Production With Eco-Farming
Eco-farming could double food production in entire regions within 10 years while mitigating climate change, according to a new U.N. report released Tuesday in Geneva.Enthusiasm For 2012 Earth Summit Lagging
Timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the Rio 2012 Summit hopes to recapture the optimism of that earlier era.
Biodiversity Panel Learns from IPCC Experience
After five years of preparation the international community is expected to launch the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services this year. For some of its proponents, even the decisions of the World Trade Organisation should be subject to its analysis.
Q&A: Fossil Fuel Lobby Following the Playbook of Big Tobacco
Powerful fossil energy interests are preventing the United States from making the necessary transition to 21st century energy sources, one of the country's leading environmental economists documents in a just-published book.Two Percent Price-Tag for a Green Economy
Growth-obsessed markets and governments are pillaging the planet and it must stop, a new U.N. report warns.Permafrost Melt Soon Irreversible Without Major Fossil Fuel Cuts
Thawing permafrost is threatening to overwhelm attempts to keep the planet from getting too hot for human survival.Link Confirmed Between Warming and Heavy Storms
Human-induced heating of the planet has already made rainfall more intense, leading to more severe floods, researchers announced Wednesday.
Tourism Is Poisoning the Mexican Caribbean
The booming tourist industry along Mexico's Caribbean coast, particularly in the area of Cancún and the "Riviera Maya," is polluting the world's largest underwater cave system and harming the world's second largest coral reef, a new study has found.Amazon Drought Accelerating Climate Change
Last year's severe drought in the Amazon will pump billions of tonnes of additional carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, a new report has found.
Arctic Defrost Dumping Snow on U.S. and Europe
The world's northern freezer is on rapid defrost as large volumes of warm water are pouring into the Arctic Ocean, speeding the melt of sea ice, according to a new study.Rampant Speculation Inflated Food Price Bubble
Billions of dollars are being made by investors in a speculative "food bubble" that's created record food prices, starving millions and destabilising countries, experts now conclude.
In Corrupt Global Food System, Farmland Is the New Gold
Famine-hollowed farmers watch trucks loaded with grain grown on their ancestral lands heading for the nearest port, destined to fill richer bellies in foreign lands. This scene has become all too common since the 2008 food crisis.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
