Graph of the Day: Change in debt-to-GDP ratio in advanced and developing nations, 2007-2014

February 2015 (McKinsey Global Institute) – A new McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report, Debt and (not much) deleveraging [pdf], examines the evolution of debt across 47 countries—22 advanced and 25 developing—and assesses the implications of higher leverage in the global economy and in specific sectors and countries. The analysis, which follows our July 2011 report […]

Tree-cover loss spikes in Russia and Canada, remains high globally

By Nigel Sizer, Rachael Petersen, James Anderson, Matt Hansen, Peter Potapov, and David Thau2 April 2015 (WRI) – New, high-resolution satellite-based maps released today by the University of Maryland and Google on Global Forest Watch, a partnership of over 60 organizations convened by the World Resources Institute, reveal a significant recent surge in tree cover […]

Pursuit of notorious poaching vessel Thunder enters record 100th day – Sea Shepherd calls on Navies to intercept ‘slave’ ship

By Captain Paul Watson27 March 2015 (Facebook) –  DAY 100: The Pursuit of the Thunder. The Bob Barker and the Sam Simon are both on the tail of the world’s most notorious toothfish poacher. A pursuit that has covered over 10,000 nautical miles over three oceans, the Southern, the Indian, and now the South Atlantic, […]

U.N. warns world could have 40 percent water shortfall by 2030

20 MARCH 2015, NEW DELHI (AP) – The world could suffer a 40 percent shortfall in water in just 15 years unless countries dramatically change their use of the resource, a U.N. report warned Friday [The United Nations World Water Development Report 2015]. Many underground water reserves are already running low, while rainfall patterns are […]

China is responsible for a quarter of the plastic clogging our oceans

By Gwynn Guilford13 February 2015 (Quartz) – Trillions of microscopic plastic bits litter the oceans of Earth, converging in huge trash vortexes before becoming lodged in the seabed and getting gobbled up by tiny fish. But since countries don’t report how much plastic they’re flushing, it’s been impossible to tell how much there is—or where […]

Despite green promise, Indonesia timber company continues to destroy forests – ‘They are simply implementing business as usual’

By Rhett A. Butler3 February 2015 (mongabay.com) – A year after it pledged a dramatic shift in how it operates in Indonesia’s fast dwindling native habitats, Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL) continues to destroy forests and peatlands in Sumatra, allege environmentalists. On January 28th, 2014 — just days before APRIL’s biggest competitor Asia Pulp […]

Can’t afford to wait: Why disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation plans in Asia are still failing millions of people

By Steph Cousins6 November 2014 (Oxfam) – Climate-related disasters and food crises are devastating thousands of lives and holding back development across Asia. A year after the devastating super-typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Oxfam is calling for governments across Asia to increase efforts to address these challenges – and for them to be backed by […]

Mongabay: Indonesia developing mega coal mine five times larger than Singapore

By David Fogarty20 October 2014 (mongabay.com) – Global miner BHP Billiton and Indonesian partner PT Adaro are developing what could become the single largest mine in Indonesia in terms of land area, with BHP owning 75 percent. The IndoMet mine complex in Central and East Kalimantan provinces on Borneo comprises seven coal concessions, which cover […]

Sebastião Salgado: His camera takes us to the world ‘We must preserve’

By Rena Silverman19 September 2014 (NPR) – They’re silvery and stunning — and their beauty bears a message. “Genesis” is a new exhibit of more than 200 black-and-white images from the noted Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado. He wants to show us what the world and its peoples look like now, how climate change has already […]

How the tuna we buy is killing sharks in Indonesia – ‘The big problem is a total lack of management regulations for most shark species – no catch quotas, no minimum sizes, and no fishing bans’

By Johnny Langenheim     15 September 2014 (theguardian.com) – The tuna fishermen use a crane to lift the clutch of frozen sharks onto a flat bed truck backed up on the edge of the wharf at Benoa harbour in Bali, Indonesia. The sharks’ heads and dorsal fins are missing, but the crane operator obligingly tells me […]

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