In The News

Debate Goes Dark in Beijing: The Guardian

January 5, 2020
China’s human rights violations with regard to the ethnic Turkic minority of the Xinjiang province attract international criticism. The Chinese government’s detention of Uighurs into concentration camps was the subject of a segment of a US Democratic presidential debate. China refuses to acknowledge the criticism, and a live CNN broadcast of the debate “went dark in Beijing,” reports the Guardian...

Clash of Killer Robots? Japan Times

Daisuke Akimoto December 22, 2019
Development of robots, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines outpaces regulations and leads to human rights concerns. “Although no ‘fully autonomous’ weapon exists at this stage, several countries, such as the United States, Russia, China, South Korea, and Israel, are thought to have developed ‘semi-autonomous’ weapons equipped with artificial intelligence,” explains Daisuke Akimoto for...

UN Cash Crunch: Washington Post

David Bosco October 15, 2019
The United Nations is running a deficit of $230 million and has stopped hiring, slashed travel and cancelled meetings due to funding shortages resulting from members failing to pay annual dues in a timely way. “The organization uses factors including a country’s economic size and wealth to assess its ‘capacity to pay’ and determine its annual bill,” reports David Bosco for the Washington Post. US...

Ocean in a Changing Climate: IPCC

September 25, 2019
The ocean covers more than 70 percent of earth’s surface. “Human communities in close connection with coastal environments, small islands (including Small Island Developing States, SIDS), polar areas and high mountains are particularly exposed to ocean and cryosphere change, such as sea level rise, extreme sea level and shrinking cryosphere,” notes the recent 1,170-page IPCC report “The Ocean and...

Change for Aquaculture Industry: Vancouver Courier

Nelson Bennett September 17, 2019
With the catch of wild fish in decline, consumers turn to farmed seafood. “Aquaculture is already a $244-billion industry … and is the fastest-growing sector in the global food industry,” notes a new Nature Conservancy and Encourage Capital report, as reported by Nelson Bennett for the Vancouver Courier. The planet has limited food-production capabilities, and a growing population cannot rely on...

Global Rosewood Crisis: EIA

August 24, 2019
Rosewood, or Hongmu, refers to 29 species that produce durable beautiful wood used for antique furniture reproduction. “The insatiable demand for scarce hongmu resources has caused the expansion of supply chains from Southeast Asia to new frontiers in Africa and Central America,” reports Environmental Investigation Agency. “Prior to the surge in international demand, domestic markets in Africa...

World Food Security at Risk: UN News

August 8, 2019
Rising temperatures, linked to pressures on fertile soil, are putting world food security at risk, notes a special report on climate change and land by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. More than 100 authors reviewed research on land. The UN urges sustainable land use and limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Humans impact more than 70 percent of land’s ice-free surface, and about...