Blogs and Opinions
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Slowing an epidemic starts with you
Wednesday 19th of February 2020
Improving the rate of handwashing at just 10 major airports could significantly slow the spread of a viral disease, researchers estimate.
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The irreversible emissions of a permafrost ‘tipping point’
Tuesday 18th of February 2020
Across vast swaths of the northern hemisphere’s higher reaches, frozen ground holds billions of tonnes of carbon.
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Democrats and Republicans: who is more fearful of the power of fake news?
Monday 17th of February 2020
There is broad concern among Democrats and Republicans about the influence that made-up news could have during the 2020 presidential election – and partisans on both sides expect it to be aimed at their own party much more than the other.
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These countries are aging the fastest – here’s what it will mean
Wednesday 12th of February 2020
The implications of an aging population
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These sporting events have all been affected by coronavirus
Monday 3rd of February 2020
The following is a list of international sports events affected by the coronavirus, which has killed over 300 people and infected more than 14,000 in China after it first emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, late last year:
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How contagious is the Wuhan coronavirus?
Thursday 30th of January 2020
Cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have increased dramatically over the past week, prompting concerns about how contagious the virus is and how it spreads.
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Heatwave and high winds could reignite the Australian wildfires
Thursday 30th of January 2020
Swathes of southeast Australia were bracing on Thursday for a days-long heatwave that threatens to stoke bushfires that have been burning for months.
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As the climate warms, wine-growing regions are at risk. Here’s how diversity can save them
Thursday 30th of January 2020
Global warming of 4C would threaten up to 85% of the world’s wine-growing regions, according to a new study.
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Locust swarms are devastating agriculture across the Horn of Africa
Thursday 30th of January 2020
Ethiopian farmer Ahmed Ibrahim batted empty water bottles at a swarm of desert locusts the size of his palms that were devouring his field of khat – the mildly narcotic leaf that is his family’s main source of income.
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We need natural solutions to fight ocean and climate risk
Monday 27th of January 2020
For the first time, environmental concerns are the top five global risks in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report. The health of the ocean – or lack of it – is everywhere. 2019 was the hottest year ever recorded for the ocean, capping the hottest decade on record for the planet.
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The Australian wildfires are a reminder that we need to protect our forests. Here’s how
Friday 24th of January 2020
Forests don’t make headlines; forest fires do. Unfortunately, in the past year, forests have been in the news for the wrong reasons.
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Read Yuval Harari’s blistering warning to Davos in full
Friday 24th of January 2020
As we enter the third decade of the twenty-first Century, humanity faces so many issues and questions, that it is really hard to know what to focus on. So I would like to use the next twenty minutes to help us focus of all the different issues we face. Three problems pose existential challenges to our species.
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Snakes could be the source of the new coronavirus outbreak in China
Thursday 23rd of January 2020
Snakes – the Chinese krait and the Chinese cobra – may be the original source of the newly discovered coronavirus that has triggered an outbreak of a deadly infectious respiratory illness in China this winter.
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Look to cities, not nation-states, to solve our biggest challenges
Thursday 23rd of January 2020
The world in 2020 is looking more turbulent and uncertain than ever. Powerful economic, demographic and technological forces are rewiring international politics. According to the World Economic Forum’s new Global Risks Report, structural shifts are encouraging nation-states to adopt more transactional and unilateral postures. Some nations are abandoning old alliances, questioning the value of multilateralism and retreating to narrowly defined national interests. Amid continued downward pressure on the global economy, citizens are growing restless and frustrated with their national politicians.
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The first person in Hong Kong has tested positive for the Wuhan virus
Wednesday 22nd of January 2020
Hong Kong quarantined a 39-year-old man on Wednesday after the city’s first preliminary positive result in a test for the new flu-like coronavirus found in an outbreak in central mainland China, authorities said.
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A silver bullet won’t solve a green problem
Wednesday 22nd of January 2020
Recent developments on the climate front have been more cause for concern than celebration. The failure of COP25 delegates to put forward comprehensive rules for implementing the Paris Agreement for carbon reduction all but ensures more paralysis and represents a lost opportunity.
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5 ways business leaders can prepare for the future of cybersecurity
Tuesday 21st of January 2020
In a business environment where a company’s reputation increasingly depends on how well it acts as a steward of customer, client and partner information, boards of directors must be able to make informed decisions about cybersecurity.
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Millennials fear catastrophic war: it’s time for the world to act on their concerns
Monday 20th of January 2020
The world’s millennials see catastrophic war on the horizon, including the real likelihood of a nuclear strike.
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NASA and NOAA: last decade was the hottest on record
Friday 17th of January 2020
The last decade was the hottest since record-keeping began 150 years ago, according to the latest data from U.S. agencies the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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Climate resilience is make or break for businesses. Here’s why
Thursday 16th of January 2020
Despite steadily growing climate action by both governments and companies, we continue to fall short of the level of ambition required to curb climate change. In fact, the UN estimates that even if we meet all the climate commitments of the Paris Agreement, temperatures can be expected to rise this century to 3.2°C above pre-industrial levels, far above the 1.5°C threshold to avoid the most severe climate impacts.
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Climate change is a planetary emergency – how can we avert disaster?
Wednesday 15th of January 2020
While politics continue to cripple efforts to fight the planetary emergency, the science remains as unequivocal and irrefutable as ever.
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Biodiversity loss puts our food supplies and medical care at risk. It must be stopped
Wednesday 15th of January 2020
The cinchona tree and the axolotl deserve to be better known. They play an important role in our wellbeing. One gives us the malaria drug, quinine, and the other is critical for medical research. Sadly, both are close to extinction.
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Top risks are environmental, but ignore economics and they’ll be harder to fix
Wednesday 15th of January 2020
Watch the launch
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The heat is on businesses to respond to climate change
Wednesday 15th of January 2020
Concerns about climate change have been rising over the past 10 years, and this year the top five long-term risks in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report were all in the environmental sphere. With all key indicators pointing to a bad situation getting worse, both the public and private sectors need to accelerate their climate risk mitigation and adaptation efforts.
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These are the top risks facing the world in 2020
Wednesday 15th of January 2020
Following a year of floods and droughts, when fires ravaged Australia and the Amazon, and teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg was chosen as Time’s Person of the Year, it is perhaps little wonder that environmental issues dominate leaders’ concerns for the future.
