Issues & Trends

What do self-driving cars, the Mars rover and remote solar site assessment have in common?

The amount of primary materials extracted from the earth will almost triple by the middle of this century if action is not taken, as emerging economies develop and consume more, a U.N.-backed report said on Wednesday.  The use of fossil fuels, metal ores and non-metallic minerals has accelerated rapidly since 2000 as emerging economies such as C

JAKARTA—

Rising temperatures caused by climate change may cost the world economy over $2 trillion in lost productivity by 2030 as hot weather makes it unbearable to work in some parts of the world, according to U.N. research published Tuesday.

Find out how and why the Earth's climate is changing as Paris hosts a major summit to discuss global warming.

Earth's ecosystems are becoming more fragile, a study suggests, as biodiversity loss threatens their ability to preform functions vital to their survival and ours.  About 58 percent of land on earth has dropped below the biodiversity safe limit, due largely to human land use practices, says a new study published Thursday in Science.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 8 2016 (IPS) - The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) warned Thursday that global fish stocks cannot keep up with record consumption, with the average person now consuming 20 kilograms of fish a year.  “Life below water, which the Sustainable Development Agenda commits us to conserve, is a major ally in our effort

Energy authority says governments must take responsibility, and investment would pay for itself in health benefits.  The global air pollution crisis killing more than 6 million people a year must be tackled by governments as a matter of urgency and not just left to the private sector, a report from the world’s leading energy authority says.

Two leading national environmental groups—Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and Earthworks—unveiled a suite of tools Wednesday designed to inform and mobilize Americans about the health risks from toxic air pollution from the oil and gas industry.