United Nations University, Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Canada 23 Sep 2012 Study highlights horizon issues for world’s freshwater and marine systems A study of almost 200 major international water-related projects over the past 20 years has identified a suite of existing and emerging challenges and how science can offer remedies. The Global Environment […]
United Nations University, Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Canada InterAction Council, Tokyo Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, Canada 10-Sep-2012 World confronts serious water crisis, former heads of government and experts warn in new report; India and China may exceed supplies in less than 20 years The world today confronts a water crisis with critical […]
Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, Toronto 3 September, 2012 Watershed covers roughly 20 percent of Canada, including oil sands; The Mackenzie may discharge more water into the Arctic than the St. Lawrence into the Atlantic The governance of Canada’s massive Mackenzie River Basin holds enormous national but also global importance due to the watershed’s impact […]
Block Lab, Stanford University, Monterey Bay, CA, USA 16-Aug-2012 New high-tech ocean observers debut above ‘The Blue Serengeti’; ‘Shark Net’ app lets public follow tagged animals in real time Monterey Bay, CA, August 16, 2012—A sleek, unmanned Wave Glider robot has been deployed off the US coast near San Francisco — the latest addition to an […]
Office of the Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, Malaysia Malaysian Industry‑Government Group for High Technology 16-Jul-2012 California innovation experts counseling Malaysia’s development drive An innovative, high-tech “smart village” built in Malaysia provides a potential global template for addressing rural poverty in a sustainable environment, say international experts meeting in California’s Silicon Valley. Rimbunan Kaseh, […]
6-Jul-2012 United Nations University ‘Urban mining’ deposits are 40 to 60 times richer than mined ore, experts tell 1st GeSI and StEP e-Waste Academy in Africa; New PCs, cell phones, tablets, other e-products now use 320 tons of gold, 7,500 tons of silver per year, and rising A staggering 320 tons of gold and more […]
United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi and REN21, Paris Installations up but manufacturer overcapacity drives down margins; Renewable energy sector maturation recalls early days of auto industry Solar generation surged past wind power to become the renewable energy technology of choice for global investors in 2011. Solar attracted nearly twice as much investment as wind, driving the […]
Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, Toronto 29-May-2012 As Canada prepares to chair the Arctic Council, Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program offers 19 recommendations based on international workshop in January Finding a new way to fund the full participation of northern indigenous groups with Permanent Participant status at the Arctic Council in all of the organizations working […]
Bioscience Education Canada, Toronto 8-May-2012 Powerful anti-oxidant discovered in tree pulp; Grade 12 researcher wins top honors at national biotech science competition OTTAWA — An Ontario girl, 16, who invented a disease-fighting, anti-aging compound using nano-particles from trees, won top national honours today in the 2012 Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC). Her super anti-oxidant compound […]
Earth System Science Partnership, Paris 28-Mar-2012 Brazil and India pay a high price for rapid economic growth, according to experts speaking at a major international meeting in London, Planet Under Pressure. Between 1990 and 2008, the wealth of these two countries as measured by GDP per capita rose 34% and 120% respectively. But a myopic […]
Earth System Science Partnership, Paris 27-Mar-2012 Unless development patterns change, by 2030 humanity’s urban footprint will occupy an additional 1.5 million square kilometres – comparable to the combined territories of France, Germany and Spain, say experts at a major international science meeting underway in London. UN estimates show human population growing from 7 billion today […]
DIVERSITAS, Paris 26-Mar-2012 Concluding a four-year global consultation, international experts have agreed on key efforts needed to reduce the on-going loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. On Day 2 of the Planet under Pressure conference in London (planetunderpressure2012.net) March 27, leaders of the global biodiversity research programme DIVERSITAS described the urgent need to better […]
Earth System Science Partnership, Paris 26-Mar-2012 Time is running out to minimize the risk of setting in motion irreversible and long-term climate change and other dramatic changes to Earth’s life support system, according to scientists speaking at the Planet Under Pressure conference, which began in London today. The unequivocal warning is delivered on the first […]
Office of the Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, Malaysia / Malaysian Industry‑Government Group for High Technology, Kuala Lumpur 29-Feb-2012 Educational challenges, remedies common worldwide: Experts Plugging major “leaks” of students exiting formal education prematurely is a top priority in all countries — developed and developing alike — to successfully address a suite of problems […]
Office of the Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, Malaysia / Malaysian Industry‑Government Group for High Technology, Kuala Lumpur 21-Feb-2012 ‘Conditions right for important reform of environmental governance’ With environmental threats on the rise and more than 120 countries now in favor of reforming international environmental governance, conditions are right to create a new, specialized […]
United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Hamilton, Canada 14-Feb-2012 The impact of unsafe water and sanitation on the death rates of children under five and mothers in the year after childbirth has been quantified for the first time by Canadian-based researchers. In a paper published in the UK journal Environmental Health, researchers at […]
Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, Toronto 15-Jan-2012 International experts to recommend key issues as Canada prepares to assume Arctic Council chair With an eye on rapid changes in the resource-rich Arctic, countries like China, India and Brazil, which have no Arctic territories, are nonetheless knocking on the door of the increasingly influential Arctic Council looking […]
Grand Challenges Canada, Toronto 16-Dec-2011 Grand Challenges Canada and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invest almost $32 million in the discovery and development of new and improved diagnostics at point-of-care Grand Challenges Canada and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have teamed up on an unprecedented global effort to discover and develop affordable, easy-to-use […]
Consortium for the Barcode of Life, Smithsonian Institution 27-Nov-2011 Global ‘barcode blitz’ accelerates; 450 experts converge on Adelaide Nov. 28-Dec. 3 The newfound scientific power to quickly “fingerprint” species via DNA is being deployed to unmask quack herbal medicines, reveal types of ancient Arctic life frozen in permafrost, expose what eats what in nature, and […]
United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Hamilton, Canada 16-Nov-2011 Sustainable coastal management, regional coordination and long-term, holistic viewpoint needed to protect fragile ecosystems The rapid, large scale coastal development underway in the Middle East must be better planned and managed to avoid aggravating already “severe” degradation and losses in the fragile marine […]
Grand Challenges Canada, Toronto 7-Nov-2011 A new hand-held device called the Electronic Nose, which has the potential to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) in symptomatic patients, was awarded a $950,000 grant from Grand Challenges Canada and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today to support further development and testing of this ground-breaking technology. The funding will help […]
United Nations University, Solving the E-waste Problem initiative 30-Oct-2011 Tests at a school beside an informal electronic waste salvage site in Ghana’s capital Accra reveal contamination due to lead, cadmium and other health-threatening pollutants over 50 times higher than risk-free levels. A produce market, a church headquarters and a soccer field are likewise polluted to varying […]