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Billions Still Lack Access to Safe Drinking Water, Sanitation

Author: 

Lisa Schlein
FILE - A child fills a container with water for domestic use in Delmas, east of Johannesburg, South Africa.
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GENEVA — Two leading U.N. agencies are calling for greater action to provide safe drinking water and basic sanitation to more than three billion people. A joint report by the World Health Organization and U.N. Children’s Fund says more must be done to close the gap between the billions who have access to improved water and sanitation and those who do not.

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Climate change poses growing threat of conflict in the Arctic, report finds

Author: 

Suzanne Goldenberg
Report by former military officers says prospect of ice-free Arctic has set off scramble for shipping lanes and for access to oil
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Climate change poses a growing security threat and could cause conflict in the Arctic, a group of retired American generals and admirals said on Tuesday.

In a new report, the former military officers said the Pentagon had been caught out by the rapid changes under way in the Arctic because of the melting of the sea ice.

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Research makes desalination cheaper and greener

Author: 

Tim Kevin
The pilot-scale FDFO desalination plant being installed.
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A new cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly method of desalination that could use up to 80 per cent less energy has been developed by a team of Sydney researchers.

With an El Nino weather pattern expected to develop in Spring, possibly triggering droughts and bushfires, researchers from the UTS Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater (CTWW) have developed an innovative way of desalinating water for irrigation.

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Plastic waste causing $13bn in damage: UN

Nairobi - The dumping of plastic waste into the world's oceans is causing at least $13bn a year of damage, threatening marine life, tourism and fisheries, the United Nations warned on Monday at the launch of a global environment conference.
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Nairobi - The dumping of plastic waste into the world's oceans is causing at least $13bn a year of damage, threatening marine life, tourism and fisheries, the United Nations warned on Monday at the launch of a global environment conference.

"Plastics have come to play a crucial role in modern life, but the environmental impacts of the way we use them cannot be ignored", said UN Environment Programme (UNEP) chief Achim Steiner said.

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The literacy injustice: 493 million women still can't read

Author: 

Fatimah Kelleher
Giving women a second chance at literacy will increase their earning power and give their children a brighter future
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Educating girls is now at the core of much development thinking and programming, but illiteracy among women and older adolescent girls outside formal education is an increasingly critical issue that risks falling between the gaps. Of the 774 million adults (15 years and older) who still cannot read or write, two–thirds of them (493 million) are women.

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Auto Production Sets New Record, Fleet Surpasses 1 Billion Mark

Author: 

Michael Renner
World Light Vehicle Production, 1950 - 2014
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Global production of automobiles keeps rising to new heights. London-based IHS Automotive puts passenger-car production in 2013 at 69.6 million, up from 66.7 million in 2012, and projects a figure of 71.7 million for 2014. (See Figure 1.) Adding light trucks (which in some countries, such as the United States, are used for passenger transportation), total light vehicle production rose from 81.5 million in 2012 to 84.7 million in 2013 and is projected to reach 86.8 million in 2014.

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Sustainable development goals face $2.5 trillion funding shortfall

Author: 

Sophie Yeo
UN report says climate, poverty and health targets will require huge cash injection from private sector
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The UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) will fail unless governments and businesses find an extra US$ 2.5 trillion a year to support them.

The World Investment Report 2014, which the UN launched today in Nairobi, found that between $3.3 trillion and $4.5 trillion would be needed in the developing world to deliver the goals as they appear in drafts so far.

Current investment in these sectors is around $1.4 trillion, creating an average investment gap of about $2.5 trillion.

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Experts urge urgent action to cut climate pollutants

Author: 

Gilbert Nakweya
Experts urge urgent action to cut climate pollutant
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[NAIROBI] Measures to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) in developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa could benefit key sectors, including health and agriculture, experts say.

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