Environment

Companies Urged to Disclose “Plastic Footprint”

By Carey L. Biron
The environmental cost of the plastics used by corporations producing consumer goods likely mounts to more than 75 billion dollars a year, according to a first-time valuation released Monday by the United Nations and others.

Senegal Walks a Fine Line Between Development and Environmental Protection

By Doreen Akiyo Yomoah
While the cement factories in Senegal are at war, ostensibly over the environmental impact one company will have on this West African nation, experts have cautioned that as the government plans to radically develop and industrialise the country, striking a balance between environmental protection and development will be key.

Siberian Global Warming Meets Lukewarm Reaction in Russia

By Pavol Stracansky
People in Siberia must prepare to face frequent repeats of recent devastating floods as well as other natural disasters, scientists and ecologists are warning, amid growing evidence of the effects of global warming on one of the world’s most ecologically diverse regions.

Q&A: “Fukushima Accident Still Ongoing After Three Years”

By Fabíola Ortiz
It has been three years since the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. But the consequences are still ongoing due to continuous leaks of radioactivity into the environment, says independent nuclear energy consultant Mycle Schneider.

Nicaragua’s Mayagna People and Their Rainforest Could Vanish

By José Adán Silva
More than 30,000 members of the Mayagna indigenous community are in danger of disappearing, along with the rainforest which is their home in Nicaragua, if the state fails to take immediate action to curb the destruction of the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, the largest forest reserve in Central America and the third-largest in the world.

Green Groups Offer Broad Vision for Global Paper Sector Reforms

By Carey L. Biron
More than 120 environmental groups from across the globe have offered a comprehensive vision document on how to enact, strengthen and implement sustainability reforms across the paper sector.

Water Cut-off in U.S. City Violates Human Rights, Say Activists

By Thalif Deen
When the United Nations reaches out to resolve a water or sanitation crisis, it is largely across urban slums and remote villages in Asia, Africa or Latin America and the Caribbean.

U.S. Turns Attention to Ocean Conservation, Food Security

By Michelle Tullo
A first-time U.S.-hosted summit on protecting the oceans has resulted in pledges worth some 800 million dollars to be used for conservation efforts.

Picture the World as a Desert

By Kanya D'Almeida
Try to imagine an expanse of barren land, stretching for miles, with no trace of greenery, not a single bough to cast a sliver of shade, or a trickle of water to moisten the parched earth. Now imagine that desert expanding by 12 million hectares a year. Why? Because it’s already happening.

Op-Ed: Overcoming the Twin Hurdles of Inequality and Climate Change

By Winnie Byanyima
Two major injustices – inequality and climate change – are threatening to undermine the efforts of millions of people to escape poverty and hunger.

South Sudan’s Wildlife Become Casualties Of War and Are Killed to Feed Soldiers and Rebels

By Charlton Doki
While South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar agreed last week to end the country’s devastating six-month conflict by forming a transitional government within the next two months, it may come too late for this country’s wildlife as conservation officials accuse fighters on both sides of engaging in killing wild animals to feed their forces.  

Natural Gas – Both Crisis and Solution in Chile

By Marianela Jarroud
In April 2004, Argentina began to steadily cut natural gas exports to neighbouring Chile, triggering a major energy crisis and revealing structural problems in this vital sector.

Germany’s New Energy Revolution Still Moving Ahead

By Risto Isomaki
Germany has now become the world’s first modern renewable energy economy, according to the experts. The Federal Republic of Germany already obtains 29 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, meaning photovoltaic, hydro and wind power, and power produced by burning wood or other biomass.

Disaster-Prone Caribbean Looks to Better Financing

By Desmond Brown
A freak storm, followed by heavy floods in December 2013, will go down in history as the most destructive natural disaster to have hit the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with reported total damages and losses of at least 103 million dollars.

In Developing World, Pollution Kills More Than Disease

By Stephen Leahy
Pollution, not disease, is the biggest killer in the developing world, taking the lives of more than 8.4 million people each year, a new analysis shows. That’s almost three times the deaths caused by malaria and fourteen times those caused by HIV/AIDs. However, pollution receives a fraction of the interest from the global community.

Renewable Energy for “Cold” Areas

By Lowana Veal
Although most of Iceland already uses renewable energy for its heating and electricity, a handful of places are still reliant on oil. But, at least on Grimsey island in the north, this could change in the future.

Chile’s Patagonia Celebrates Decision Against Wilderness Dams

By Marianela Jarroud
The Chilean government rejected Tuesday the controversial HidroAysén project for the construction of five hydroelectric dams on rivers in the south of the country. The decision came after years of struggle by environmental groups and local communities, who warned the world of the destruction the dams would wreak on the Patagonian wilderness.

U.N.’s Energy Funding Falls Short of Target by Billions

By Thalif Deen
When the United Nations inaugurated the first-ever global forum on renewable energy last week, it provided a laundry list of financial pledges aimed at achieving one of the world body's most ambitious goals: sustainable energy for all (SE4ALL) by 2030.

Peru Needs to Know More About its Water in Order to Supply More People With the Valuable Resource

By Milagros Salazar
Peru urgently needs a national plan for the management of water over the next two decades, one that will take into account the effects of climate change and the social and environmental conflicts triggered by problems over water.

Mauritian Sugar Farmers Squeezed by Low Prices as Bagasse and Ethanol Become Popular By-products

By Nasseem Ackbarally
While Mauritius has been forced to transform its sugar industry because of low prices for the commodity, the country’s small-scale sugarcane farmers who contribute to it say they are barely earning a living.

Latin America’s Forests Need Laws – and Much More

By Emilio Godoy
Latin America’s parliaments have failed to protect the forests and to guarantee their sustainable use, despite the fact that a number of countries have laws on forests, legislators from the region said at a global summit in the Mexican capital.
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