By Rebecca Willis, Professor in Energy and Climate Governance, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University
The Scottish government’s decision to row back on its 2030 climate pledge illustrates the crux of any target: it’s easy to set one with a big political flourish, but harder to follow through with a careful plan to achieve it.
Does that mean that targets for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gas driving climate change are worthless? Not necessarily. There are two types of climate target: the empty promise and the calculated…
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By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition
A reckless experiment in Earth’s atmosphere caused a desert metropolis to flood.
That was the story last week when more than a year’s worth of rain fell in a day on the Arabian Peninsula, one of the world’s driest regions. Desert cities like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) suffered floods that submerged motorways and airport runways. Across UAE and Oman, 21 people lost their lives.
The heavy rain of Tuesday April 16 was initially blamed on “cloud seeding”: a method of stimulating precipitation by injecting clouds with tiny particles that moisture can attach to –…
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By Michael M. Atkinson, Public Policy Professor Emeritus, University of Saskatchewan
Haizhen Mou, Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan
Drawing on insights from their recent book, two academics shed light on why Canada’s anemic growth should be a cause for concern.
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By Rebecca Shepherd, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, University of Bristol
In recent years, the global trade in elephant ivory has faced significant restrictions in an effort to protect dwindling elephant populations. Many countries have stringent controls on the trade of elephant ivory. The sale of mammoth ivory, sourced primarily from long-extinct species, however, remains unregulated.
But it’s a significant challenge for customs and law enforcement agencies to distinguish between ivory from extinct mammoths and living elephants. This is a process that is…
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By Nino Antadze, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, University of Prince Edward Island
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has placed Ukraine’s nuclear sites under considerable threat with a growing risk that further conflict may lead to radioactive contamination.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Dominica’s High Court of Justice in the capital Roseau, pictured with other commercial and government buildings, January 9, 2023. © 2023 Nandani Bridglal/Shutterstock In a historic judgment published on April 22, the Dominica High Court decriminalized consensual same-sex relations. Dominica becomes the fourth Eastern Caribbean country to strike down discriminatory legal provisions and decriminalize gay sex, following Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados. Dominica’s Sexual Offences Act had punished “buggery” with up to 10 years’ imprisonment and…
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By Amnesty International
The Iraqi authorities must immediately halt all executions, said Amnesty International today, after at least 13 men were put to death on 22 April in Nasiriyah Central Prison, in the southern governorate of Thi Qar, following their conviction on overly broad and vague terrorism charges. Amnesty International is concerned that many more people may have […] The post Iraq: At least 13 people executed amid alarming lack of transparency appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Amnesty International
Responding to the discovery of mass graves containing hundreds of bodies at two of Gaza’s hospitals, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas said: “The harrowing discovery of these mass graves underscores the urgency of ensuring immediate access for human rights investigators, including forensic experts, to the occupied Gaza Strip […] The post Gaza: Discovery of mass graves highlights urgent need to grant access to independent human rights investigators appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Nao Hagiwara, Professor of Public Health Sciences, Director of the Program on Health Disparities and Community Engagement Research, University of Virginia
Tiffany Green, Associate Professor of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
There is increasing evidence that implicit bias – non-conscious attitudes toward specific groups – is a source of racial inequities in certain aspects of health care, and lawmakers are taking note.
Since the tragic murder of George Floyd in May 2020, wherein a Black man was…
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By Andrew Herbert, Professor of Psychology, Visual Perception, Rochester Institute of Technology
While reading, scrolling and focusing on other objects near our faces increase the risk of developing myopia, a little time outdoors in the sun can help mitigate it.
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