In this world of 7 billion people, the global rural-urban balance of populations has tipped irreversibly in favour of cities. But what, exactly, is a “city” in 2011? Hania Zlotnik, the director of the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs cautions against assuming too easy a definition because governments […]
The economy’s bust, the climate’s on the brink and even the arts are full of gloom. Has there ever been an era so bleak? By Andy Beckettm www.guardian.co.uk 18 December 2011 It is a crisp bright winter morning, but in a windowless basement gallery at Tate Britain, minutes after opening time, there is already quite […]
In Ethiopia, a low-income country with 39 per cent of its 82.9 million people living below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank, hardship rather than rising expectations and better living standards may be the major factor in motivating young women and men in cities when family choices are […]
20 November 2011 (Desdemona Despair) – Here’s Desdemona giving a presentation on the accelerating destruction of the oceans by various human activities. It’s basically Graph of the Day with narration. Download the slide deck: http://www.leftopia.com/presentations/State_Of_The_Oceans_2011.pdf http://www.leftopia.com/presentations/State_Of_The_Oceans_2011.pptx State of the Oceans 2011 Technorati Tags: ocean acidification,global warming,climate change,phenology,overfishing,ocean overexploitation,fish decline,mass extinction,extinction,coral,habitat loss,ecosystem disruption,dead zone,ocean anoxia,phosphorus,nitrogen,carbon,carbon dioxide,overpopulation,doom
By Lord Julian Hunt and Professor Yuguo Li Oct 31, 2011 08:41 EDT The world population has officially reached seven billion, according to the UN. This historic landmark reminds us of the massive challenges, including here in Europe, created by an ever-increasing number of humans on the planet. Growing populations are also driving another mega […]
Estimated world population at 7:00AM Pacific Time, 31 October 2011. LUCKNOW, India, Oct. 31 (UPI) – India Monday marked the arrival of girl named Nargis as the world’s symbolic 7 billionth citizen, the Plan India child rights group said. [Des: Not this Nargis] The United Nations had estimated that Oct. 31 would mark the […]
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch 25 October 2011 SAN LUIS OBISPO, California (MarketWatch) – The theme: Repent. Haunting images of fanatical serial killers warning, “The End is Near, Repent!” That message seared my brain as the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” rode into Dexter’s dark world, the Miami Metro Police cable TV series. Now duty […]
By Scott Thill8 August 2011 Mass extinction is finally fighting its way back into the news cycle, thanks to recent scary reports on climate change from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, the United Nations Environment Program and the July issue of Science. But University of Washington paleontologist Peter Ward has been […]
Global capture fisheries production in 2008 was about 90 million tonnes, with an estimated first-sale value of US$93.9 billion, comprising about 80 million tonnes from marine waters and a record 10 million tonnes from inland waters. World capture fisheries production has been relatively stable in the past decade, with the exception of marked fluctuations driven […]
By Sunanda Creagh, Editing by David FogartyJAKARTAThu Mar 25, 2010 8:52am EDT (Reuters) – Indonesia would have to clear about 700,000 hectares of forest, an area 10 times the size of Singapore, if it proceeds with plans for a vast agricultural estate in Papua province, an activist group said on Thursday. Indonesia wants to […]