By Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK (IDN) – The polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth is warming at an accelerating rate and as sea ice continues to melt away, Arctic waters are becoming increasingly navigable to vessels carrying heavy fuel oil (HFO). HFO, which is one of the world’s dirtiest fuels, is not only virtually impossible to clean up in the event of a spill, but also produces higher levels of air and climate pollutants than other marine fuels.

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A gold mine in Ethiopia’s most populous and restive region, Oromia, has been anything but a blessing. Residents claim that contamination from the mine, owned by an Ethiopia-born Saudi tycoon, has led to disastrous health problems.

Locals say chemicals used to process gold at the open-pit mine near Shakiso, 222 miles south of the capital, Addis Ababa, have polluted water streams and the air, causing humans and animals respiratory illnesses, miscarriages, birth defects and disabilities.

Ramesh Jaura Talks to Ian Redmond

A tropical field British biologist and conservationist Ian Redmond has served as Ambassador for the UN Year of the Gorilla in 2009 and for the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species since 2010.

BERLIN | LONDON (IDN) – The fact that ecosystems and human health intersect has been repeatedly emphasized by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “As we encroach on nature and deplete vital habitats, increasing numbers of species are at risk. That includes humanity and the future we want,” he reiterated in a message on the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed on May 22, 2020.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

Long before the Coronavirus and global warming, the great philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote: “Unhappy men would increase their happiness more by walking 6 miles every day than by any conceivable change in philosophy.”

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Shouldn’t we be Panglossian when it comes to the progress now being made to defeat the Coronavirus? Pangloss in his youth was unreasonably optimistic. He was in Voltaire’s novel “Candide” Candide’s mentor, and coined the phrase, “All this is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.”