terrycollins1

Political Inertia Exacerbates Water Crisis, Says World Water Development Report

United Nations University / UNESCO 5 March, 2003 First UN system-wide evaluation of global water resources Faced with “inertia at the leadership level”, the global water crisis will reach unprecedented levels in the years ahead with “growing per capita scarcity of water in many parts of the developing world”, according to a United Nations report […]

SARS Crisis Highlights Need for Ethical Framework to Guide Decisions During Infectious Outbreaks

Joint Center for Bioethics, University of Toronto Responding to important challenges raised by Toronto’s handling of the SARS crisis, experts from the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB), a leading medical ethics think tank, have designed an ethical framework to guide policy makers and public health authorities through future infectious disease outbreaks. The […]

Greater public role in health care spending decisions needed more than extra money to cure ailing system

Joint Center for Bioethics, University of Toronto Amid mounting pressure for a massive injection of funds into Medicare, one of Canada’s leading medical policy think tanks says money alone will not cure what ails the country’s public health care system. Analysis by the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto shows health authorities […]

Experts rank top 10 biotechnologies for improving global health within 5-10 years

Joint Center for Bioethics, University of Toronto First list of priority technologies to avoid looming ‘genomics divide’      between rich and poor countries Millions of people in developing countries die each year from diseases that could be prevented or treated cheaply and easily in future through the development and use of a handful of […]

New guidelines for MDs draw line between relief of suffering and euthanasia

Joint Centre for Bioethics, Toronto 12 Sept 2002 Intensive care unit physicians need to be comfortable prescribing drugs in whatever dose is needed to relieve a dying patient’s pain and suffering, even if this hastens the patient’s death, according to proposed new guidelines released today by researchers at an international medical ethics think-tank. The guidelines […]

New UNU ads broadcast on CNN International

United Nations University September 2002 A third series of television public service announcements about UN University’s work to promote sustainable development is being broadcast to television viewers worldwide, thanks to CNN. The 60-, 30- and 15-second commercials, released to coincide with the start of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, will be broadcast on CNN International six […]

UN Oceans Atlas Provides First Comprehensive Real-Time Tool To Observe State Of World’s Oceans

5 June, 2002 United Nations Washington / Rome / Paris – The UN and leading international scientific agencies will launch on June 5 (World Environment Day) a pioneering Internet-based atlas providing users with continuously updated strategic data on the state of the world’s oceans, maps, development trends and threats to human health from the deteriorating […]

War, exploitation and pollution threaten mountain ecosystems, says UNU expert

United Nations University 27 January, 2002 The degradation of mountain ecosystems — home to 600 million people and the source of water for more than half the world’s population — threatens to seriously worsen global environmental problems including floods, landslides and famine, according to an analysis by United Nations University. Climate change, pollution, armed conflict, […]

Mountain Ecosystems Endangered: War, exploitation and pollution threaten freshwater source for half of world’s population

United Nations University, Tokyo The degradation of mountain ecosystems – home to 600 million people and the source of water for more than half the world’s population – threatens to seriously worsen global environmental problems including floods, landslides and famine, according to an analysis by United Nations University. Climate change, pollution, armed conflict, population growth, […]

Great Lakes “starting to exhale,” cleansing themselves of accumulated chemicals

Environment Canada, Toronto 28 September, 2001 With lower pollution levels in the air, Lakes start to “out-gas” PCBs, pesticides Significant quantities of chemicals, including PCBs and pesticides, are being released from the Great Lakes into the atmosphere, according to data compiled by a long-term Canada-U.S. research project. Researchers say pollution controls have caused atmospheric concentrations […]

Lessons From the 1997-98 El Nino: Once Burned, Twice Shy?

United Nations University 27 Oct 2000 Thousands of human casualties and tens of billions of dollars in economic damage will continue to befall the world’s developing countries every two to seven years until an investment is made to improve forecasting and preparedness against El Nino, a new international study warns. The study, a joint project […]

Greening the WTO: Five Things the World Trade Body Should Do — And One it Should Not

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Winnipeg Canada’s International Institute for Sustainable Development, in a departure from the position adopted by most organizations dealing in environmental issues, says liberalized trade need not threaten the environment but the World Trade Organization should adopt a six-point agenda to deal with the legitimate environmental concerns of many public […]

Environmental Crisis As Seen By World Youth: “Don’t Treat Earth As Poorly As Parents Have”

United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi Pachamama, Our Earth, Our Future, is launched as educational guide for youth to environmental problems, solutions The Earth’s condition is deteriorating in nearly every category, ranging from the water we drink, the air we breathe and the oceans and forests that sustain all life, according to a book by and […]

Africa may be able to feed just 40% of its population in 2025

United Nations University,  Institute for Natural Resources in Africa Soil Infertility, Malnutrition at Root of Half of African Child Deaths Today; Needed to Bring Land Toward Full Food Potential: $100 – $500 million per country The continuing degradation of African soils threatens the world’s fastest-growing region with starvation and poverty on an unprecedented scale within […]

Global Biodiversity Outlook 2000: UNEP launches definitive study of global environmental crisis – concludes time is running out

United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi Today, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launches Global Environment Outlook 2000 (GEO-2000) – the most authoritative assessment ever of the environmental crisis facing humanity in the new millennium. Based on contributions from UN agencies, 850 individuals and 30 environmental institutes, GEO-2000 outlines progress in tackling existing problems and points […]

Blueprint to Solve Global Forest Crisis Presented by Top World Leaders World Commission Proposes New Political Structure to Save World’s Forests

World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development The world can satisfy its material needs from forests without jeopardizing their ecological services, says the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, a group initiated by former top world leaders, which today released its report “Our Forests…Our Future.” After conducting hearings on five continents over the past […]

Unsafe Water: 3.3 Billion Illnesses and 5.3 Million Deaths Yearly Price Tab for Safe Water $50 to $105 Per Person

United Nations University, Tokyo 18 March 1999 Clean, safe water can be brought to the 1.4 billion people around the world without it for as little as $50 per person, which can prevent many of the 3.35 billion cases of illness and 5.3 million deaths caused each year by unsafe water, says a United Nations analysis. At […]

Canadian-based U.N. Water/Environment Program Reports Year 2 Progress to International Advisors Meeting at McMaster

UNU-INWEH, Hamilton, Canada First UNU-INWEH news release, 1998, click here “I am pleased to learn of the progress made to date by UNU/INWEH and proud that this new organization has helped to showcase internationally Canada’s environmental management products and expertise.” The Hon. Sheila Copps, Canada’s Minister of Canadian Heritage, whose support, as Minister of the […]