In The News

US Cities Burn Recyclables: Guardian

Oliver Milman February 22, 2019
China stopped accepting 12 forms of imported recyclables for processing and set stringent conditions on contamination as of January 2018. Developed nations do not have adequate domestic markets for handling the waste and did not prepare citizens, packaging firms or cities for the change. So recyclables pile up, with most landfilled and incinerated rather than processed for reuse. “The dilemma...

Global Insect Decline and More Pests: BBC

Matt McGrath February 13, 2019
Intensive agriculture, pesticides, pollution, deforestation, habitat loss, invasive species and a changing climate are decimating populations of bees, ants and beetles, reports research published in Biological Conservation. Meanwhile the populations of houseflies and cockroaches, insects that reproduce quickly and live among humans, could rise. “Insects make up the majority of creatures that live...

Warning on Mining Dam Disasters: BBC

David Shukman February 7, 2019
Companies mining for coal, copper and iron ore remove tons of material during the excavation process – only a small amount is valuable ore and the rest is rock and material contaminated with chemicals and other mining waste. “And the cheapest way to dispose of these remains is to create what's called a ‘tailings pond’ – a rather genteel term for a dumping-ground sealed with a dam,” explains...

TNI: Unused Citizen Power and Public Collateral

Ann Pettifor January 26, 2019
Citizen majorities who support action on climate change or a tax system that reduces inequality must find political courage to battle moneyed interests. Citizens in nations with sound taxation systems hold more power than they realize. Taxpayers can demand that public debt target the public interest – as former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt accomplished during the Great Depression and some...

Phys.org: Human Diet Damages Planet

Marlowe Hood January 17, 2019
The diet of more than 7.5 billion humans could cause “catastrophic” damage to the planet, reports research published in Lancet. People should consume half as much sugar and red meat and twice as many vegetables, fruit and nuts, suggests a commission of more than 30 researchers. Almost a billion people go hungry and more than 2 billion eat too muchof some foods that contribute to obesity, heart...

Book Review: The Sustainable State

Susan Froetschel January 8, 2019
Survival of the world’s livable habitat depends on 6 billion people living in developing nations to resist the lifestyles practiced by 1 billion people living in the world’s wealthiest nations. Reckless consumerism has become more threat than comfort, wasting limited resources and poisoning water and air, and government intervention is required. The only solution, author Chandran Nair concludes,...

Project Syndicate: Climate Safety and Engineers

Jeffrey D. Sachs January 1, 2019
Nations have developed a rulebook for implementing the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Ending reliance on fossil fuels will help stem climate change, improving the environment and health, yet more action is required, explains Jeffrey Sachs for Project Syndicate. “The diplomats have read the science and know the truth: without a rapid move to a zero-carbon global energy system by mid-century,...