Countries didn’t get around to talking about plastic until the third day out of five, stuck in a prolonged debate over voting rules and points of procedure — led…Continue readingGlobal plastic treaty talks limp on despite blockade by oil-rich countries
Tag: health
Concentrations of plastics in round-the-world race through remote ocean environments found to be up to 18 times higher than during previous event in 2017-18.Continue readingMicroplastics found in every sample of water taken during Ocean Race
To help extract oil, companies pump large quantities of water into the ground. For each barrel of oil, many of which are later exported to Europe, up to three…Continue readingIraq’s oil boom blamed for worsening water crisis in drought-hit south
Parks in the city of eight million people are now plunged into total darkness after 11 pm, while two-thirds of street lights are also switched off at the same…Continue readingHeatwave prompts Hanoi to reduce street lights as power cuts loom
The temperature at the bustling station climbed to 36.7˚C later in the afternoon, Shanghai’s meteorological service said. Parts of India saw temperatures reach 44˚C (111˚F) in mid-April with at…Continue readingShanghai records hottest day in May in 100 years
About 19 million leisure journeys by car are expected on Britain’s roads over the next four days, and more than 3,000 planes are scheduled to take off on Friday.Continue readingBusy roads and airports expected over late-May UK bank holiday weekend
A new study found that the feces of four primate species living in Uganda’s Kibale National Park, including chimpanzees and red colobus monkeys, contained significant levels of pesticides and…Continue readingEndangered chimpanzees contaminated with pesticides and flame retardants
Since the 1950s about 8bn tonnes of plastic has been produced. The Greenpeace report catalogues peer-reviewed research and international studies showing not only that just a tiny proportion (9%)…Continue readingRecycled plastic can be more toxic and is no fix for pollution, Greenpeace warns
The dangerous and destructive myths of conventional economics include the claims that: Since planetary boundaries have already been exceeded and low-income countries must develop, social justice demands that the…Continue readingSaving humanity: Here’s a radical approach to building a sustainable and just society
Residents have watched ruefully for years as solar plants crept over the horizon, bringing noise and pollution that’s eroding a way of life in their desert refuge. Kevin Emmerich…Continue readingHow solar farms took over the California desert: ‘An oasis has become a dead sea’
Micro and nanoplastics are pervasive in our food supply and may be affecting food safety and security on a global scale, a new study led by CSIRO, Australia’s national…Continue readingPlastic pervasive in food supply, says new study
50 researchers, 40 years, 28 countries, 550 million fewer birds.Continue readingIntensive farming is biggest cause of bird decline in Europe, study says
The drought that has left some 4.35 million people in the Horn of Africa in dire need of humanitarian aid – with 43,000 in Somalia estimated to have died…Continue readingGlobal warming made Horn of Africa drought possible: WWA study
The ferocious temperatures, which have persisted across parts of Asia for more than a week, amounted to the “worst April heatwave in Asian history ongoing in more than a…Continue readingAsia’s prolonged April heatwave concerns scientists
About 2.4 million people in Thailand have sought hospital treatment for medical problems linked to air pollution since the start of the year, health officials said, as toxic smog…Continue readingThailand air pollution leads millions to seek medical help
Extreme temperatures described as ‘worst April heatwave in Asian history’ as records threatened in India, China, Thailand and Laos.Continue readingSevere heatwave engulfs Asia causing deaths and forcing schools to close
As far as is known, five of the compounds detected have never before been reported in groundwater anywhere in the world.Continue readingNew types of chemicals found in Danish drinking water
The United States is Earth’s punching bag for nasty weather. Blame geography for the U.S. getting hit by stronger, costlier, more varied and frequent extreme weather than anywhere on…Continue reading“Buckle up. More extreme events are expected,” says head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The race for high-tech metals has sparked a cobalt boom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has come at a steep human cost. In an e360 interview,…Continue readingFor Your Phone and EV, a Cobalt Supply Chain to a Hell on Earth
First analysis of plastics’ hazards over life cycle – from extraction to disposal – also shows ‘deep societal injustices’ of impact.Continue readingPlastics cause wide-ranging health issues from cancer to birth defects, landmark study finds
A new report released by the Somalian government suggests that far more children died in the country last year due to the ongoing drought than previously realised. Half of…Continue readingDrought caused 43,000 ‘excess deaths’ in Somalia last year, half of them young children
Oil companies plan to pump crude oil from Lake Albert, Uganda to the coast of neighbouring Tanzania, with the goal of producing 1.4bn barrels over the next two decades.…Continue readingCounting the cost of Uganda’s east Africa oil pipeline – in pictures
The University of Melbourne study estimated that 11,105 people die prematurely from transport emissions, many more than past figures.Continue readingCar pollution kills more Australians than crashes, new research finds
Far more tiny particles now come from tyres than are emitted from exhausts.Continue readingHealth impact of tyre particles causing ‘increasing concern’, say scientists
Analysis says hundreds of animals are contaminated with dangerous compounds linked to cancer and other health problems.Continue readingAlarming toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in animals’ blood – study
Study also says eating one serving of fish with PFAS could be equivalent to drinking contaminated water every day for a month.Continue readingFreshwater fish more contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’ than in oceans
It’s lost 73% of its water and is unable to sustain some wildlife – and could soon negatively affect human health.Continue reading‘Last nail in the coffin’: Utah’s Great Salt Lake on verge of collapse
At the bottom of a crater in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20,000 people work at a cobalt mine, in shifts of 5,000 at a time.Continue readingDR Congo’s faltering fight against illegal cobalt mines
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of about 12,000 chemicals typically used to make thousands of products water-, stain- and heat-resistant. They do not naturally break down…Continue readingToxic ‘forever chemicals’ detected in commonly used insecticides in US, study finds
Toxic air pollution particles have been found in the lungs, livers and brains of unborn babies, long before they have taken their first breath. Researchers said their “groundbreaking” discovery…Continue readingToxic air pollution particles found in lungs and brains of unborn babies
Rainwater everywhere on the planet is unsafe to drink due to levels of toxic chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). PFAS were initially found in packaging, shampoo…Continue readingRainwater unsafe to drink due to chemicals
In its State of the Climate report for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) for 2021, the WMO said ecosystems, food and water, human health and welfare were all…Continue readingBattered by climate change, Latin America must brace for worse
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in southern China, according to state media, amid floods and landslides triggered by the heaviest rainfall the region…Continue readingHundreds of thousands evacuated in China amid heavy rains, floods
Experts say the catastrophic rain-triggered floods, which submerged large part of the country’s northern and northeastern areas, are an outcome of climate change. Saiful Islam, director of the Institute…Continue readingBangladesh floods: Experts say climate crisis worsening situation
Floodwaters have inundated more of Bangladesh and northeast India, officials say, as authorities struggle to reach more than 9.5 million people stranded with little food and drinking water after…Continue readingBangladesh, India floods kill over 100; millions in need of aid
Niger is on the frontline of the climate crisis. Increasingly erratic rainfall and longer dry seasons mean that many parts of the country have not had a good harvest…Continue readingNiger is in the eye of the climate crisis – and children are starving
Muhammad Akbar, 40, sells dried chickpeas on a wheelbarrow in Jacobabad, and has suffered heatstroke three times in his life. But now, he says, the heat is getting worse.…Continue reading‘It seems this heat will take our lives’: Pakistan city fearful after hitting 51˚C (124˚F)
Iraq closed public buildings and temporarily shut airports Monday as another sandstorm—the ninth since mid-April—hit the country. More than 1,000 people were hospitalised across the nation with respiratory problems.…Continue readingIraq sandstorm grounds flights, sends 1,000 to hospitals
While driving an electric car has fewer environmental impacts than gasoline-powered cars, the production of the parts necessary for these green technologies can have dire effects on human well-being.…Continue readingCobalt’s human cost: Social consequences of green energy must be assessed in addition to environmental impacts
Concurrent heatwaves the size of Mongolia or Iran were 7x more frequent in 2010s than 1980s. And their intensity rose 17%, and geographic extent increased 46%.Continue readingConcurrent heatwaves seven times more frequent than 1980s
In the largest city of Nicaragua’s sugar cane-growing region, agricultural workers – who have scant labour protection and usually come from poor families – see little option but to…Continue readingGlobal heating is having a deadly impact on Nicaragua’s sugar cane workers, who toil in temperatures of up to 45˚C
The nightmare scenario: Year 2100, global waming exceeds 4˚C:→ Massive frequent wildfires→ Dead coral reefs→ Frequent prolonged droughts→ Increased air pollution→ Ice-free Arctic summers→ Rapid sea level rise→ Abandoned small…Continue readingClimate change: how bad could the future be if we do nothing?