Environmental activist assassinated in Mexico

By Natalie Gallón19 January 2017 (CNN) – An indigenous activist who protested against illegal logging in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains has been killed, highlighting the dangers that Latin American environmentalists face. Isidro Baldenegro López, 51, a leader of the Tarahumara people and fervent environmentalist — was shot dead Sunday at his uncle’s home in the […]

Scientists race to save U.S. government climate data from Trump

By Zoë Schlanger19 January 2017 (Wired) – At 10 AM the Saturday before inauguration day, on the sixth floor of the Van Pelt Library at the University of Pennsylvania, roughly 60 hackers, scientists, archivists, and librarians were hunched over laptops, drawing flow charts on whiteboards, and shouting opinions on computer scripts across the room. They […]

Processed foods drive surge in obesity rates in Latin America and Caribbean

19 January 2017 (United Nations) – Obesity and overweight are on the rise throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and are prevalent particularly among women and children, according to a new United Nations-backed report. Nearly 360 million people, or 58 per cent of the inhabitants of the region, are overweight with the highest rates observed […]

Even the most efficient coal plants put global climate goals out of reach

Brussels, Belgium, 14 April 2016 (Ecofys) – Event the most efficient coal plants are not compatible with the global climate change goals, a new study reveals. As world leaders prepare to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change next week, a report [pdf] from Ecofys published today shows that any coal-fired power generation will take […]

Three months after Hurricane Matthew, 1.5 million Haitians face hunger

  18 January 2017 (United Nations) – While the number of Haitians facing hunger in areas hardest hit by Hurricane Matthew has declined steadily in the three months since the deadly storm ripped through the tiny island nation, more than 1.5 million people nevertheless remain food insecure, the United Nations said today. The UN World […]

NASA and NOAA data show 2016 warmest year on record globally

18 January 2017 (NASA) – Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit (0.99 degrees Celsius) warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year […]

Unlike Trump, Americans want strong environmental regulator, says Reuters/Ipsos poll

By Chris Kahn and Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Matthew Lewis17 January 2017 (Reuters) – More than 60 percent of Americans would like to see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s powers preserved or strengthened under incoming President Donald Trump, and the drilling of oil on public lands to hold steady or drop, according to a Reuters/Ipsos […]

Oxfam report shows widening gap between rich and poor – Just 8 people now have the same wealth as the poorest 3.6 billion

[If you’re wondering about the rise of far-right, ultra-nationalist politics around the world, you need look no further than this report to understand why. –Des] 15 January 2017 (Oxfam) – The gap between rich and poor is far greater than had previously been estimated, with big business and the super-rich fueling the inequality crisis by […]

Japanese poaching fleet caught with dead whale in Australia sanctuary

15 January 2017 (Sea Shepherd Global) – After five weeks of patrolling the Southern Ocean, Sea Shepherd has located the Japanese whale poachers’ factory whaling vessel in the Australian Whale Sanctuary with a dead minke whale on its flensing deck, the first to be documented since the International Court of Justice ruled against their whaling […]

World unemployment rate to rise amid economic uncertainty, growing inequality

12 January 2017 (United Nations) – The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) released its 2017 World Employment and Social Outlook report today, which finds economic growth trends lagging behind employment needs and predicts both rising unemployment and worsening social inequality throughout 2017. “We are facing the twin challenge of repairing the damage caused by […]

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