Six in 10 people worldwide lack access to flush toilets or other adequate sanitation, falling far short of UN Millennium Development Goal

Contact: Michael Woods, Editor, 202-872-629320 February 2013 It may be the 21st century, with all its technological marvels, but 6 out of every 10 people on Earth still do not have access to flush toilets or other adequate sanitation that protects the user and the surrounding community from harmful health effects, a new study has […]

NASA satellites find alarming freshwater losses in Middle East, totaling 144 cubic kilometers in 7 years – ‘If it’s not replenished, eventually it will be gone’

Pasadena, California, 15 February 2013 (JPL) –  A new study using data from a pair of gravity-measuring NASA satellites finds that large parts of the arid Middle East region lost freshwater reserves rapidly during the past decade. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; and the National […]

South Americans face deadly water battles – ‘The only thing the people want is water for families, but the mining companies want to take it. And soldiers will kill if you get in the way.’

By Michael Smith12 February 2013 (Bloomberg Markets Magazine) – People streamed into the central square in Celendin, a small city in the Peruvian Andes, the morning of July 3, 2012. They were protesting the government’s support for Newmont Mining Corp.’s plan to take control of four lakes to make way for a new gold and […]

Koalas become ‘urban refugees’ as global warming causes record fires across Australia – Deforestation, dogs, and traffic increase peril

By Jeremy Hance28 January 2013 (mongabay.com) – According to Susan Kelly, koalas have become “urban refugees,” under siege by expanding cities that bring with them deforestation, dogs, traffic, and other ills for native wildlife. Director of Global Briefing, and writer, producer and director of the new documentary Koala Hospital, Kelly has spent 3 years working […]

Humans are a ‘plague on Earth’: Sir David Attenborough warns that negative effects of population growth will come home to roost

22 January 2013 (PA) – TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough has warned that human beings have become a “plague on the Earth”. The 86-year-old broadcaster said the negative effects of climate change and population growth would be seen in the next 50 years. He told the Radio Times: “It’s coming home to roost over the […]

Graph of the Day: World Energy Consumption by Source, 1820-2010

By Gail the Actuary11 January 2013 Most of us have heard that Thomas Malthus made a forecast in 1798 that the world would run short of food. He expected that this would happen because in a world with limited agricultural land, food supply would fail to rise as rapidly as population. In fact, at the […]

China: One-child policy is here to stay

By Le Li and Alastair Jamieson16 January 2013 BEIJING (NBC News) – China has quelled speculation its controversial “one-child” policy is to be scrapped, instead announcing Wednesday that family planning laws to curb the birth rate will remain. “The policy should be a long-term one and its primary goal is to keep a low birthrate,” […]

Dietary shifts driving up phosphorus use – World phosphorus footprint increased 38 percent since 1960s

Contact: Chris Chipello  Organization: Media Relations OfficeOffice Phone: 514-398-4201   Mobile Phone: 514-717-4201  17 January 2013 (mcgill.ca) – Dietary changes since the early 1960s have fueled a sharp increase in the amount of mined phosphorus used to produce the food consumed by the average person over the course of a year, according to a new study […]

As Texas bakes in a long drought, water becomes a focus for legislators

By MANNY FERNANDEZ12 January 2013 AUSTIN, Texas (The New York Times) – There is usually no shortage of controversial and politically divisive issues for lawmakers to address in the opening days of a state legislative session, from abortion to immigration to gun rights. But throughout the opening of the 83rd Texas Legislature last week, one […]

Human population may peak in 2070 and decline to extinction in the next few centuries

By Jeff Wise 9 January 2013 The world’s seemingly relentless march toward overpopulation achieved a notable milestone in 2012: Somewhere on the planet, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the 7 billionth living person came into existence. Lucky No. 7,000,000,000 probably celebrated his or her birthday sometime in March and added to a population that’s […]

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