After decades of thinning, Earth’s ozone layer is slowing recovering, the United Nations (UN) said in a report released Monday, highlighting how international co-operation can help tackle major environmental issues. The ozone layer, which protects humans and other species from the sun’s highly hazardous ultraviolet radiation, has been declining since the 1970s due to the […]
The number of hungry people in the world has reverted to levels last seen a decade ago, the United Nations warned Tuesday in its annual report on food security and nutrition. Nearly 821 million global citizens—or one out of every nine people—were undernourished in 2017, the third consecutive rise since 2015. Hunger affected 804 million […]
The final draft of a UN compact on migration published July 11 recognized the existence of climate refugees specifically for the first time, The Thomson Reuters Foundation reported Thursday. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration acknowledged climate change as a cause of migration, both due to extreme weather and “slow onset events” […]
A final draft report from the United Nations‘ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says only “rapid and far-reaching” changes in the world economy can keep global warming below the internationally agreed target barrier. “If emissions continue at their present rate, human-induced warming will exceed 1.5°C by around 2040,” the draft states, according to Reuters, […]
The theme for this year’s World Environment Day, the world’s largest environmental celebration which takes place June 5, is “Beat Plastic Pollution.” In honor of the occasion, UN Environment released the first ever “state of plastics” report, tracking government action against plastic waste, a UN Environment press release reported. The report, titled “Single-Use Plastics: A […]
Today, on World Environment Day 2018, the United Nations’ Environment Program is urging governments, industries, communities and individuals around the world to take on a daunting but necessary task: Beat Plastic Pollution. “Plastic pollution has become an epidemic,” the agency writes. “Every year, we throw away enough plastic to circle the Earth four times. Much […]
The world of sport is not immune to the problem of plastic pollution. Stadiums and arenas can become filled with discarded cups, bottles and straws after sporting events. Sailors, swimmers and surfers are competing in oceans and waterways with an ever-growing presence of marine debris. That’s why on Monday the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced […]
A pilot whale died in southern Thailand last week after swallowing 17 pounds of plastic waste, despite a five-day effort to save the animal’s life. A necropsy revealed that the plastic debris, which included 80 plastic bags, clogged the whale’s stomach, Reuters reported. The whale was found in critical condition in a canal near Thailand’s […]
In one of the coolest social media campaigns since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, the United Nations launched a global challenge to #BeatPlasticPollution, the theme of World Environment Day on June 5. The movement encourages you to give up single-use plastics and replace them with reusable and sustainable alternatives. Participants are asked to announce their […]