Pope Francis has completed his seven-day tour of three African countries: Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius. It was a significant trip for a number of reasons. During his visit, the pope spoke on issues of peace and ecological sustainability that these countries are facing. Mozambique recently signed a peace accord with longtime rebels, and the country...
Once upon a time, not long ago, Mexicans dominated the flow of migrants coming to the U.S. Mexican migration expanded over the course of much of the 20th century and into the start of the 21st century. That is no longer the case. The number of Mexican migrants fell during the economic recession and has...
Water fetching is associated with poor health outcomes for women and children, including a higher risk of death – according to new research from the University of East Anglia. A new study reveals that adults collecting water is associated with increased risk of childhood death, and children collecting water is associated with increased risk of...
Climate change is increasing the number of days of extreme heat and decreasing the number of days of extreme cold in Europe, posing a risk for residents in the coming decades, according to a new study. Temperatures in Europe have hit record highs this summer, passing 46.0 degrees Celsius (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in southern France....
Thousands of marine species could be at risk if a new United Nations high-seas biodiversity treaty, now being negotiated in New York, does not include measures to address the management of all fish species in international waters, not just the commercial species, warns an analysis by American, Dutch, Swiss and French researchers. “Of the 4,018...
Researchers from Sweden, Germany, Brazil and the USA have developed a financial mechanism to support the protection of the world’s natural heritage. In a recent study, they developed three different design options for an intergovernmental biodiversity financing mechanism. Asking what would happen if money was given to countries for providing protected areas, they simulated where...
Climate change could negatively impact banana cultivation in some of the world’s most important producing and exporting countries, a study has revealed. Bananas are recognised as the most important fruit crop – providing food, nutrition and income for millions in both rural and urban areas across the globe. While many reports have looked at the...
No drug can cure a paradox. That basic truth is at the heart of a new Stanford-led study highlighting how poverty traps make it impossible to eradicate a potentially deadly disease with current approaches. The study, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, looks at why years of mass drug administration in Senegal...
Europe has enough solar and wind resources to meet its electricity demand entirely from renewable sources. A new study by researchers at the Institute for Transformative Sustainability Research (IASS) in Potsdam shows that many regions and municipalities could meet their electricity demand using electricity systems based exclusively on renewables. However, their development would exacerbate land...
Grito in Spanish can mean “to cry.” For example, the cries of despair of María del Pilar Hurtado’s son in a video that circulated throughout the Colombian media this summer. In the video, the boy kicks and screams next to his mother’s lifeless body in the town of Tierralta (Córdoba) in Colombia’s northern Caribbean region....
