United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Hamilton CANADA 28-Oct-2014 Salt-spoiled soils worldwide: 20 percent of all irrigated lands — an area equal to France; Extensive costs include $27 billion+ in lost crop value per year Every day for more than 20 years, an average of 2,000 hectares of irrigated land in arid and […]
United Nations University, Hamilton Canada, and InterAction Council, Toronto 9-Oct-2014 Experts’ address universal concerns identified by former world leaders: World water crisis, sectarianism, energy, denuclearization of Korea A massive 180 km pipeline-canal megaproject to bring water from the Red Sea could prevent the Dead Sea from disappearing while improving the region’s environmental, energy and peace […]
European Marine Board, Oostende, Belgium 9-Oct-2014 Some 340 European scientists, policy-makers and other experts representing 143 organizations from 31 countries spoke with one voice today, publishing a common vision of today’s most pressing marine-related health and economic threats and opportunities. In a declaration concluding a three day meeting in Rome, EurOcean 2014 participants also released an […]
Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology 2-Oct-2014 Proposed urban edition of Malaysia’s ‘smart’ eco-villages debuts Building on the poverty relief success achieved through self-sustaining high-tech “smart villages,” Malaysian innovators have created blueprints for an urban counterpart that combines affordable homes, food security and sustainable jobs, aiming to solve the growing global problem of squalid city […]
Malaysian Industry‑Government Group for High Technology 22-Sep-2014 Malaysia a founding nation in new global sciences education alliance New York — Malaysia today became a founding partner in the Global STEM Alliance, a new high-tech multi-million dollar initiative dedicated to promoting young talent in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) around the world. Led by the […]
Grand Challenges Canada, Toronto 22-Sep-2014 On the eve of United Nations General Assembly events focussed on ways to save and improve the lives of mothers, newborns and children, Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today announced $2.4 million in grants for 22 bold ideas to address this challenge. The novel approaches include: […]
Malaysian Industry‑Government Group for High Technology 17-Sep-2014 As nations zero in on the UN’s post-2015 global Sustainable Development Goals, innovations being successfully pioneered and demonstrated in Malaysia offer several proven tactical ideas for improving the world, says an influential international sustainable development networking organization. The UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), through its Malaysian chapter, […]
United Nations University – Institute for Water, Environment and Health 2-Jul-2014 Business-as-usual management policies risks well-being of 2 billion+ people Leading international environmental and marine scientists today published a joint call for societies to introduce and enforce use zoning of Earth’s coastal ocean waters, mirroring approaches commonly used to manage and protect land resources. Writing […]
University of Toronto 20-Jun-2014 Calling global mental health problems “acute and urgent,” 37 leading medical authorities from 11 countries have published a joint declaration calling for basic mental health care in Africa. The experts also call for global mental health objectives to be included among the United Nations’ post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, for a special UN […]
United Nations University – International Institute for Global Health, Malaysia 15-Jun-2014 Study in Uganda shows under-18s most vulnerable to cholera, typhoid, acute diarrhea, other water-related health risks rising with climate change United Nations University will help pioneer a fresh trail in global health research, exploring links between the planet’s health and human health at an […]
REN21, Paris (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century) 03-Jun-2014 Now 95 emerging economies nurture renewable energy growth through supportive policies, up six-fold from just 15 countries in 2005 The number of emerging economy nations with policies in place to support the expansion of renewable energy has surged more than six-fold in just eight […]
Grand Challenges Canada, Toronto 22 May 2014 New investments top $12 million: 4 scale-up projects plus 61 seed grants announced as Canada prepares to host world summit on maternal, newborn and child health, May 28-30 Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today announces investments of $12 million in projects worldwide, aimed squarely […]
Malaysian Industry Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Kuala Lumpur Malaysia hosts UN-backed symposium: ‘Beyond Gross Domestic Product — Transitioning into Sustainability’ Birth weight, hours slept, eyeglasses, city birds, washing machines, teenage schoolgirls and other quantifiable signals of well-being can help measure the wealth of a nation beyond Gross Domestic Product, experts say. Moving beyond […]
U.N. Environment Programme, Paris / Nairobi 7-Apr-2014 Renewables account for 44 percent of 2013’s newly-installed electricity generating capacity despite global investment dropping for second year Frankfurt / New York, 7 April 2014 – Renewable energy’s share of world electricity generation continued its steady climb last year despite a 14 per cent drop in investments to […]
Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program 31-Mar-2014 Response capacity in Arctic, already stretched, faces fast-growing challenges as North develops: Report Inadequate risk assessment, planning and training are among the gaps in many parts of Canada’s Arctic, compounding the challenges of brutal weather, vast distances, difficult transportation and spotty communications and exposing the region’s residents to the ever […]
Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge MA 25-Mar-2014 Harvard professor calls on developing world, development institutions to revisit, apply proven economic formula stressing innovation, entrepreneurialism Influential economic ideas first advanced in 1911 — stressing innovation and entrepreneurialism as the fundamental generators of growth and wealth — were deemed inappropriate for developing countries, stunting progress in many parts […]
Grand Challenges Canada, Toronto 9-Mar-2014 Scale-up of LGTmedical’s Phone Oximeter™ capitalized with $2 million Canadian private-public investment; device could save lives of women and children in low-resource countries Private and public investors are injecting $2 million into a Canadian mobile health innovation that offers hope of preventing thousands of deaths and improving the health of […]
International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Geneva 20 January, 2014 Unique collaboration between oil/ gas industry, scientists, conservationists proves way to minimize seismic survey impacts on rare whales, other species A step-by-step guide to reducing impacts on whales and other marine species during seismic sea floor surveys has been developed by experts with IUCN’s […]
Grand Challenges Canada, Toronto January 10, 2014 In Bhutan: Clinical tests of new app for diagnosing seizure disorders; $300 device could vastly increase epilepsy treatment — estimated 65 million cases worldwide; 80 percent in developing countries Grand Challenges Canada today announces 22 new projects to improve the quality of mental health care in developing countries. […]
United Nations University, Solving the Ewaste Problem, Bonn 15 December, 2013 Annual world volume of end-of-life electronics expected to jump one-third to 65.4 million tonnes by 2017; New report details US generation and destinations of shipments of used electronics leaving households; methodology offers world guide By 2017, all of the year’s end-of-life refrigerators, TVs, mobile […]
UN Intergov’l Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Bonn 8 December 2013 IPBES experts cite importance of ‘co-production’ of information with indigenous people With the planet losing species 100 to 1,000 times faster than the natural extinction rate, international experts assembling for high-level global biodiversity meetings say knowledge co-production with indigenous peoples has growing […]
Deep Carbon Observatory, Washington DC 8 December 2013 New formula for fast, abundant H2 production may help power fuel cells, helps explain expansive chemical-eating microbial communities of the deep Water + rock + aluminum oxide + extreme pressure, heat = quick, copious H2 Hydrogen: first life’s first food? DCO scientists marvel at genetic similarity of […]