Issues & Trends

	U.N. sustainable development summit shifts from climate change (Reuters) - Representatives from around the world gather in Rio in June to try to hammer out goals for sustainable development at a U.N. conference designed to avoid being tripped up by the intractable issue of climate change.
2012-01-21	The future of food By 2050 there will be another 2.5 billion people on the planet. How to feed them? Science's answer: a diet of algae, insects and meat grown in a lab
	UN Report: UN Report: Resiliant People Resiliant Planet, A Future Worth Choosing The report of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability.
	Map: Where all the junk in the ocean ends up If you read this story by Ken Ellingwood about the deluge of trash on a Mexican beach, you may be wondering: Just where does all the junk that goes into the ocean end up?
	Extreme heat hurts wheat yields as world warms-study SINGAPORE, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Extreme heat can cause wheat crops to age faster and reduce yields, a U.S.-led study shows, underscoring the challenge of feeding a rapidly growing population as the world warms.
	PHILIPPINES: Geo-hazard maps go public MANILA, 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - The Philippine government has made geo-hazard maps, which outline areas prone to natural disasters, publicly available in a bid to reduce vulnerability at community level.
	Images from space track relentless spread of humanity The past century has been defined by an epic migration of people from rural areas to the city. In 2008, for the first time in history, more of the Earth's population was living in cities than in the countryside. The U.N. now predicts that nearly 70% of the global population will be city dwellers by 2050.
	Rising Ocean Temperatures Prime Amazon Rainforest for Fire Scientists used to think the Amazon was too wet to burn, but a warming Atlantic Ocean is drawing moisture away from the rainforest
	From 2 Satellites, the Big Picture on Ice Melt Melting glaciers and ice caps are perhaps the most striking illustrations of the effects of global climate change. Surprisingly, however, there is relatively little data on just how fast the ice is disappearing.
	US tops global clean energy investment rankings The US has regained top spot from China as the biggest investor in clean energy in 2011, according to global rankings. The table, published in a report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, showed that US invested more than $48bn (£30bn) in the sector, up from $34bn in 2010.