Environment

G20 breathes new life into UN climate talks

A pledge by G20 leaders, whose countries account for most global CO2 emissions, to pursue the most ambitious target against global warming breathed new life into fraught UN climate talks in Egypt on Wednesday.. - 'Loss and damage' - The G20 document also addresses the main source of tensions at COP27 talks: a debate on funding to help developing countries least responsible for global emissions cope with here-and-now impacts of climate change, or "loss and damage". 

Wed, Nov 16, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Christmas brings bad tidings for endangered Guatemalan fir

As Christmas approaches, Guatemalan authorities step up controls against poachers targeting an endangered fir tree that is a much sought-after festive decoration.. The Guatemalan fir, known locally as the pinabete, is listed as "endangered" on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), due to its decreasing numbers. 

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Brazil's Lula to take star turn at UN climate talks

After years of Amazon deforestation under Brazil's outgoing leader Jair Bolsonaro, president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will address Wednesday a UN climate conference eager to hear how he will protect the rainforest.. The leftist politician, who served as president from 2003 to 2010, is expected to present his plan for "zero deforestation" in a speech Wednesday afternoon at the COP27 conference.

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Floods sweep future from Pakistan schoolchildren

Pakistani three-year-old Afshan's trip to school is a high-wire balancing act as she teeters across a metal girder spanning a trench of putrid floodwater, eyes fixed ahead.. Undaunted by the difficulties ahead, the girls of Chandan Mori's high school trudge every day to a temporary classroom three kilometres (two miles) away.

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Flash floods sweep away houses, cars in Australian town

Entire buildings have been ripped from their foundations after flash floods swamped a small Australian town, with disaster management officials on Wednesday describing the deluge as a destructive "wall of water".. Local MP Andrew Gee said Eugowra was "strewn" with cars swept up in the floods and that some buildings had been "picked up from their foundations and washed down streets".

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 1 mins read

Environment

Billion youth risk hearing loss from headphones, venues: study

Around one billion young people worldwide could be at risk of hearing loss from listening to headphones or attending loud music venues, a large review of the available research estimated on Wednesday.. Combining these findings, the study estimated that between 670,000 to 1.35 billion young people could be at risk of hearing loss.

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Smoking cannabis may be more harmful to lungs than tobacco: study

Cannabis may do more harm to a smoker's lungs and airways than tobacco, according to a small Canadian study published Tuesday.. Despite these possible explanations, the authors of the study, which was published in the journal Radiology, pointed out that some of the cannabis smokers also smoked tobacco, and that some of the lung scans produced inconclusive results, meaning more study is necessary.

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 1 mins read

Environment

Indigenous campaigners at COP27 channel 'spirit' of nature

Delegates at COP27 representing Indigenous communities -- some of the world's most vulnerable to the climate crisis -- have used traditional clothing to draw attention to their plight and urge action.. As Indigenous "communities are not the focus of discussions" at the UN climate summit in Egypt, Ninawa Huni Kui said it was important for him to visually represent his constituency as president of the Federation of Huni Kui Peoples in Brazil's Amazon basin.

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Sperm count is declining at accelerating rate worldwide: study

Sperm count among men worldwide is falling at an accelerated rate after halving over the last 40 years, a large new study said Tuesday, calling for action to stop the decline.. "Furthermore, data suggest that this worldwide decline is continuing in the 21st century at an accelerated pace," said the study published in the journal Human Reproduction Update.

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Jailed Egypt activist ends hunger strike: letter

Jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has ended a months long hunger strike, his family said Tuesday, after fears for his health grew and amid criticism of Cairo during the ongoing COP27 climate summit.. Abdel Fattah, who consumed "only 100 calories a day" for seven months, escalated his strike, first to all food, then water as the COP27 climate summit opened on November 6 in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Tue, Nov 15, 2022 3 mins read