Urbanites help sustain Japan’s historic rice paddy terraces

Urbanites help sustain Japan’s historic rice paddy terraces

Rural–urban cooperation and branding initiatives aim to reinvigorate a traditionally important rice-growing region. >>
Climate change: Human disaster looms, claims new research

Climate change: Human disaster looms, claims new research

A new Oxford-led study forecasts a 4C rise in global temperature with catastrophic consequences. >>
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Climate research nearly unanimous on humans’ role, survey finds

Of 4,000+ academic papers published over 20 years, 97.1 percent agree that humans are impacting climate. >>
Are smart grids an energy game changer?

Are smart grids an energy game changer?

Computerized “smart grids” could be a boon to the global deployment of decentralized renewable energy. But are they there yet? >>
Climate change's 'evil twin': Ocean acidification

Climate change’s ‘evil twin’: Ocean acidification

A new comprehensive study outlines how the Arctic Ocean is rapidly acidifying, due to CO2 emissions. >>
Protecting carbon to destroy forests? Land enclosures and REDD+

Protecting carbon to destroy forests? Land enclosures and REDD+

A new report argues that REDD+ gives forest destroyers a way to legitimize their actions and reinforces historical inequalities. >>
Open Tech can empower local production

Open Tech can empower local production

Worker-owned Open Tech Forever aims to enable locally-owned open source companies to out-compete big businesses that import unsustainable products. >>
Monetising human waste and 101 (slightly) crazy other ideas

Monetising human waste and 101 (slightly) crazy other ideas

Grants of $100,000 to 102 outside-the-box ideas to improve global health could spell world-changing breakthroughs. >>
Yakihata Fire - Keeping the flame of tradition

Farming with fire: Revaluing a Japanese agricultural tradition

Researchers are finding merit in a traditional practice that uses fire to prepare and enrich soil. >>
Bee-harming pesticides banned in Europe

Bee-harming pesticides banned in Europe

In an effort to protect bee populations, Europe will implement a continent-wide ban on some commonly used insecticides. >>
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Social inclusion in Mexico’s PET plastic recycling

Mexico's PET recycling industry is working with waste pickers and showing how this can generate not just profit but social and environmental benefits. >>
Closing the loop for those losing sleep about garbage

Closing the loop for those losing sleep about garbage

Tired of worries over trash, one enviro studies student has a vision that includes re-embracing frugality, anaerobic digestion and high-tech gasification. >>
Fukushima faces long road to repair

Fukushima faces long road to repair

As the IAEA concludes an initial review of cleanup efforts at the Fukushima nuclear plant, it is clear that its decommissioning will be a decades-long task. >>
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Female education: A solution for a crowded planet

Empirical evidence from around the developing world shows that educating women is key in curbing population growth. >>
Desertification crisis affecting 168 countries worldwide, study shows

Desertification crisis affecting 168 countries worldwide, study shows

Severe land degradation is now affecting 168 countries across the world, says a new UN report. >>
How to start a repair café

How to start a repair café

Is your this-or-that broken and you'd rather not buy a new one? Joining up with neighbours is a great way to discover local repair resources. >>
Oil crunch and Eurozone crisis

Oil crunch and Eurozone crisis

The European Greens raise concerns about the possible impacts of peak oil. >>
The ecozoic city

The ecozoic city

A growing global movement is seeing city dwellers tackling practical projects that reconnect them with the ecosystems and natural sources upon which life depends. >>
Climate change will threaten wine production, study shows

Climate change will threaten wine production, study shows

Rising global temperatures will make it much harder to grow grapes in traditional wine regions. >>
Assessing and improving China's e-waste problem

Assessing and improving China’s e-waste problem

A UNU-ISP study investigates the actors, policies and progress surrounding management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in China. >>
Hunting for a solution

Hunting for a solution

For a growing number of people living in tropical forest regions, wild animal meat, also called bushmeat, is increasingly becoming a dietary staple. >>
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US unveils major new proposal to cut vehicle emissions

The US EPA has put forward a long-awaited plan to require cleaner gasoline and more effective vehicle technologies. >>
Are cows climate killers?

Are cows climate killers?

Livestock farming is a major industry in many parts of the world, but scientists are still divided on how much it contributes to global warming. >>
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The city as urban reef

In this contest-winning essay, a young scholar spotlights the dichotomy between city and reef. Need there be such a sharp division, when sea and shore actually share flows of resources? >>
China's exploitation of Latin American natural resources raises concern

China’s exploitation of Latin American natural resources raises concern

Latin America's economy and environment are at odds due to China's swelling resource demands. >>
The Gross Domestic Problem

The Gross Domestic Problem

Lorenzo Fioramonti talks to us about his book, which analyzes the politics behind (and aims to popularize critique of) Gross Domestic Product. >>
Nations urged to combine environmental and development goals

Nations urged to combine environmental and development goals

Will the post-2015 SDGs expand beyond poverty alleviation to promote environmental governance, ecology and climate? >>
Sustainable development goals and our fascination with mega-targets

Sustainable development goals and our fascination with mega-targets

Two UNUers dissect the occasionally contradictory rhetoric to see what is shaping the forthcoming SDGs. >>
Agricultural heritage across the millennia

Agricultural heritage across the millennia

Linking local history and traditions to modern agriculture can revitalize land management with community pride and sustainable practices. >>
Wanted: Your post-2015 development priorities

Wanted: Your post-2015 development priorities

A new UN survey asks individuals to choose six sustainable development issues that most impact their lives. >>
Beekeeping relieves land degradation in Kyrgyzstan

Beekeeping relieves land degradation in Kyrgyzstan

With PALM project support, community-led honey production is helping to reduce the environmental impacts of animal grazing. >>
Recording resilience: Filmmaker shares Japan recovery experience

Recording resilience: Filmmaker shares Japan recovery experience

An Our World 2.0 filmmaker reflects on the recovery of tsunami-hit towns. >>
Guardians of life and of Earth

Guardians of life and of Earth

Around the world, but especially in the planet’s poorest regions, women represent a life force that renews itself daily, sometimes against all odds. >>
A morning in the life-giving Bangweulu swamps

A morning in the life-giving Bangweulu swamps

Descended from hunter-gatherer-fisher tribes, the people of Zambia's Bangweulu swamps still live interlinked with their environment. >>
Values and the sharing economy

Values and the sharing economy

Given the urgency of the crises we face, social and environmental concerns must remain key in the public discourse about the sharing economy. >>
Enough is Enough: A path to true prosperity

Enough is Enough: A path to true prosperity

The authors of a new book lay out why and how to change our economic goal “from the madness of more to the wisdom of enough”. >>
How agroforestry schemes can improve food security in developing countries

How agroforestry schemes can improve food security in developing countries

There is a growing push to integrate trees and shrubs with crops. >>
Endocrine emergency: New UN study reveals our chemical folly

Endocrine emergency: New UN study reveals our chemical folly

The alarming impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals on human health and environment warrant extensive research efforts. >>
1.5C rise in temperature enough to start permafrost melt, scientists warn

1.5ºC rise in temperature enough to start permafrost melt, scientists warn

Melting permafrost and the resulting threats to environment and arctic infrastructure could be closer than we think. >>
Green housing: In Buffalo, it's not just for rich people anymore

Green housing: In Buffalo, it’s not just for rich people anymore

Can we build sustainable housing that's affordable, too? The city of Buffalo did, while also creating community jobs. >>