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World must end 'dirty' fuel use - UN

Author: 

Matt McGrath
Scientists believe there needs to be a step change in the energy sector
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A long-awaited UN report on how to curb climate change says the world must rapidly move away from carbon-intensive fuels.

There must be a "massive shift" to renewable energy, says the study released in Berlin.

It has been finalised after a week of negotiations between scientists and government officials.

Natural gas is seen as a key bridge to move energy production away from oil and coal.

But there have been battles between participants over who will pay for this energy transition.

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This Tower Pulls Drinking Water Out of Thin Air

Author: 

Tuan C. Nguyen
Warka Water towers are designed to take advantage of condensation. (Architecture and Vision )
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In some parts of Ethiopia, finding potable water is a six-hour journey.

People in the region spend 40 billion hours a year trying to find and collect water, says a group called the Water Project. And even when they find it, the water is often not safe, collected from ponds or lakes teeming with infectious bacteria, contaminated with animal waste or other harmful substances. 

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Made in America: Staggering amounts of toxic chemicals

Author: 

Richard Denison
Although concerned about chemicals such as BPA, consumers often don't know what chemicals are present in the products they use.
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Recent spills in West Virginia and North Carolina cast a spotlight on toxic hazards in our midst. But as bad as they are, these acute incidents pale in scope compared to the chronic flow of hazardous chemicals coursing through our lives each day with little notice and minimal regulation.

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Aquaculture Continues to Gain on Wild Fish Capture

Author: 

Michael Renner
Global Fish Production, 1950 - 2013
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According to preliminary estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), total global fish production was expected to reach an all-time high of 160 million tons in 2013, up from 157.9 million tons in 2012. This figure includes a projected wild capture of 90 million tons, down from 91.3 million tons in the previous year and from 93.7 million tons in 2011.

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The most deadly creature on earth

Author: 

LENNY BERNSTEIN
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You were going to say humans, right? All those guns, bombs, chemicals and G0d-knows-what-else we use to kill each other.

Okay, we’re second, at 475,000 deaths annually. But it’s a distant second to the lowly mosquito, which, according to Bill Gates, kills 725,000 people a year; 600,000 of them by transmitting malaria. Another 200 million people are incapacitated annually by the disease.

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Africa must work harder to reduce inequality: Annan

Author: 

Matthew Mpoke Bigg
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan attends a news conference with former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa in Nairobi, October 11, 2012.
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(Reuters) - African governments should work harder to reduce inequality that has prevented the benefits of a decade of economic growth from being spread equitably, according to a report by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan released on Thursday.

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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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