The report presents a mixed picture. Over the past 25 years, there have been notable improvements in child well-being in the group of countries examined in this report: steady decline in child mortality, overall reduction in adolescent suicide and increase in school completion rates. But the last five years have …
India is now among the top 10 countries generating the highest amount of municipal solid waste due to growing urbanisation and high consumption, says a new report by Worldwatch Institute. The US leads in generating such waste at 621,000 tonnes a day (approximately). Globally, municipal solid waste is projected to …
A coalition of countries and agencies seeking to curb Earth-warming pollutants like soot released by wood-fired ovens and methane from oil extraction, on Tuesday welcomed seven new members to its fold. At a meeting in Paris, the Clean Air and Climate Coalition, launched by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton …
At least nine European climbers were swept to their deaths early Thursday by an avalanche that left at least 11 injured in France’s Mont Blanc mountain range, the authorities said. Officials say they believe the avalanche, around 13,000 feet, started when a nearly 16-inch-thick sheath of ice broke off and …
A deal is one thing. A deal that means progress another. By the end of the three-day UN environment summit due to end on June 23rd in Rio de Janeiro, a hundred-plus national leaders and representatives were expected to approve a 283-point agreement negotiated in advance by their envoys. The …
Worldwide, there is a need to enhance our understanding of vulnerability and to develop methodologies and tools to assess vulnerability. One of the most important goals of assessing coastal flood vulnerability, in particular, is to create a readily understandable link between the theoretical concepts of flood vulnerability and the day-to-day …
Much of the change in the Arctic is understood; little of it is reassuring . NY-ALESUND IS a special place in Arctic science. A huddle of wooden buildings by an icy fjord on Norway's island of Spitsbergen, high in the Barents Sea, it is the world's most northerly civilian settlement. …
The majority of planned nuclear power closures globally are forecast to take place in Europe, with 150 plants in line for closure by 2030. That's the conclusion of a new report by energy intelligence provider GlobalData, which revealed that Europe accounts for 69% of the 200 closures globally. In contrast, …
France said it plans to ban a pesticide made by Swiss agro-chemical group Syngenta that is widely used to treat rapeseed crops after scientists suggested it could pose danger to bees. A sharp decline in bee populations across the world in recent years, partly due to a phenomenon known as …
France said it plans to ban a pesticide made by Swiss agro-chemical group Syngenta that is widely used to treat rapeseed crops after scientists suggested it could pose danger to bees. A sharp decline in bee populations across the world in recent years, partly due to a phenomenon known as …
A pioneering project to study to carbon cycle over the Amazonian rainforest has been launched by the University of Leicester (UoL) in partnership with research institutions from the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. As part of the initiative, a new UK/Brazil institutional research network has been set up with funding …
Talks between Iran and six world powers on its disputed nuclear program failed to produce a breakthrough on Thursday, in an apparent diplomatic setback for both sides. The six wanted a freeze on Iranian production of uranium enriched to 20 percent purity, which is considered a short step from bomb …
France's attempt to ban the planting of a Monsanto strain of genetically modified maize was rejected by the EU's food safety body on Monday. In response to scientific evidence submitted by France backing its bid to ban the GM maize, the European Food Safety Authority ruled that "there is no …
British MPs address letter to Manmohan, Jayalalithaa Carrying placards that read, “No More Chernobyls! No More Fukushimas!,” activists representing a coalition of anti-nuclear and human rights groups held a protest outside the Indian High Commission here on Friday, demanding a halt to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and withdrawal …
New Delhi Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha on Friday urged the group of ministers on pharma pricing, headed by Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, to extend the regime of price control to all the drugs available in the retail market. Mirdha argued that profits earned by pharma companies were primarily used …
There will be no compromise on the safety of atomic plants and it will be harmful to close the additional source of energy. It will be harmful for the country to pass ordinance on denial of nuclear power, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Dr. …
Scientists from 15 countries are calling for a better political response to the provision of water and energy to meet the challenge of feeding a world of 9 billion people within 30 years. The joint statement by some of the world's leading science academies was issued on Thursday ahead of …
Recycling plutonium is dangerous and costly. Britain should take the lead on direct disposal, say Frank von Hippel, Rodney Ewing, Richard Garwin and Allison Macfarlane.
Vermont will be the first state to outlaw a controversial oil and gas drilling method known as fracking when Governor Peter Shumlin signs a bill banning the practice, a largely symbolic move given the state's apparent lack of energy reserves. Hydraulic fracturing has helped companies tap potentially decades of gas …
The Czech Environment Ministry is planning to put up to a two-year moratorium on granting licenses for shale gas exploration until new legislation is put in place, the ministry said. During the moratorium, the ministry would look at preparing geological and mining legislation that is clear for potential exploration companies. …
Today, we have made history. We're a major missile power: V.K. Saraswat India on Thursday propelled itself into an elite club of nations with Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) technology by successfully test-firing nuclear-capable Agni-V, which covered a range of more than 5,000 km. The significance of the success lies in …
