Problem

Read more about Kiribati: a Drowning Paradise in the South Pacific
Log in or register to post comments

Rioting Engulfs Paris as Anger Grows Over High Taxes

Sat, 2018-12-08 18:34 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Protesters demonstrate against rising costs of living they blame on high taxes near the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on Dec. 8, 2018. Sameer Al-Doumy/ AFP/Getty Images

chicagotribune.com - apnews.com - by ELAINE GANLEY and JOHN LEICESTER - December 8, 2018

The rumble of armored police trucks and the hiss of tear gas filled central Paris on Saturday, as French riot police fought to contain thousands of yellow-vested protesters venting their anger against the government in a movement that has grown more violent by the week . . .

. . . Amid the melee, President Emmanuel Macron remained invisible and silent, as he has for the four weeks of a movement that started as a protest against a gas tax hike and metamorphosed into a rebellion against high taxes and eroding living standards . . .

. . . Macron on Wednesday agreed to abandon the fuel tax hike, which aimed to wean France off fossil fuels and uphold the Paris climate agreement. Many economists and scientists say higher fuel taxes are essential to save the planet from worsening climate change, but that stance hasn't defused the anger among France's working class.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about Rioting Engulfs Paris as Anger Grows Over High Taxes
Log in or register to post comments

The Humanitarian Impacts of Climate Change

Mon, 2018-12-03 08:51 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Recent reporting on how global warming is disrupting lives and livelihoods

irinnews.org

Warnings on the dire consequences of climate change in the coming years have been ramping up recently.

Hundreds of millions of people may be at risk of climate-related poverty, especially in developing countries, if the global economy does not cut greenhouse gas emissions, a UN report warned in October. It also noted that food shortages, fires, floods, and droughts would put ever larger numbers of lives and livelihoods at risk within the next 12 years. And in November scientists noted that the oceans have been warming at faster rates than previously thought – which could mean that coastal and island communities will experience greater flooding and storms will become fiercer, among other things.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about The Humanitarian Impacts of Climate Change
Log in or register to post comments

Portrait of a Planet on the Verge of Climate Catastrophe

Sun, 2018-12-02 23:02 — Kathy Gilbeaux

How South Beach, Miami, could look if temperatures rise by 2C. Photograph: Nickolay Lamm/Courtesy of Climate Central/sealevel.climatecentral.org

As the UN sits down for its annual climate conference this week, many experts believe we have passed the point of no return

theguardian.com - by Robin McKie - December 2, 2018

On Sunday morning hundreds of politicians, government officials and scientists will gather in the grandeur of the International Congress Centre in Katowice, Poland . . . For 24 years the annual UN climate conference has served up a reliable diet of rhetoric, backroom talks and dramatic last-minute deals aimed at halting global warming . . .

. . . As recent reports have made clear, the world may no longer be hovering at the edge of destruction but has probably staggered beyond a crucial point of no return. Climate catastrophe is now looking inevitable.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Broad threat to humanity from cumulative climate hazards intensified by greenhouse gas emissions

Read more about Portrait of a Planet on the Verge of Climate Catastrophe
Log in or register to post comments

Climate Change Will Bring Multiple Disasters at Once, Study Warns

Tue, 2018-11-20 10:26 — Kathy Gilbeaux

cbsnews.com - by Jeff Berardelli - November 20, 2018

In the not-too-distant future, disasters won't come one at a time. Instead, according to new research, we can expect a cascade of catastrophes, some gradual, others abrupt, all compounding as climate change takes a greater toll . . .

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about Climate Change Will Bring Multiple Disasters at Once, Study Warns
Log in or register to post comments

One Concern Uses AI to Streamline Disaster Relief Efforts

Fri, 2018-11-16 23:25 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Image: One Concern

fastcompany.com - by Katharine Schwab - November 15, 2018

. . . One Concern is launching a machine learning platform that provides cities with specialized maps to help emergency crews decide where to focus their efforts in a flood. The maps update in real-time based on data about where water is flowing to estimate where people need help the most. It’s the latest in a wave of AI-powered tools aimed at helping cities prepare for an era of severe, and increasingly frequent, disasters.

---------------------------------------------------------

Our platform provides unprecedented situational awareness and actionable insights for decision-makers.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Solutions

Read more about One Concern Uses AI to Streamline Disaster Relief Efforts
1 comment
Log in or register to post comments

80% of Nigeria affected by floods disaster - Nigeria

Thu, 2018-11-08 22:46 — Kathy Gilbeaux

https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/80-nigeria-affected-floods-disaster

80% of Nigeria affected by floods disaster

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about 80% of Nigeria affected by floods disaster - Nigeria
1 comment
Log in or register to post comments

CDC Director Warns That Congo’s Ebola Outbreak May Not Be Containable

Wed, 2018-11-07 18:57 — Kathy Gilbeaux

A Congolese health worker administers Ebola vaccine to a boy who had contact with an Ebola patient in the village of Mangina, in North Kivu province, on Aug. 18. (Olivia Acland/Reuters)

washingtonpost.com - by Lena H. Sun - November 5, 2018

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

CLICK HERE - WWF - Living Planet Report 2018: Aiming Higher

Read more about CDC Director Warns That Congo’s Ebola Outbreak May Not Be Containable
2 comments
Log in or register to post comments

World's Vertebrate Population Dropped by an Average of 60 Percent Since 1970, WWF Says

Thu, 2018-11-01 09:14 — Kathy Gilbeaux

"There cannot be a healthy, happy and prosperous future for people" without biodiversity, the report warns.

nbcnews.com - by Rachel Elbaum - October 30, 2018

The population of the planet's vertebrates has dropped an average of 60 percent since 1970, according to a report by the WWF conservation organization.

The most striking decline in vertebrate population was in the tropics in South and Central America, with an 89 percent loss compared to 1970. Freshwater species have also significantly fallen — down 83 percent in that period.

The Living Planet Index, provided by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and included in the WWF Living Planet 2018 report, tracked the population of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians around the world between 1970 and 2014, the latest year for which data was available.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about World's Vertebrate Population Dropped by an Average of 60 Percent Since 1970, WWF Says
Log in or register to post comments

Yemen on Brink of 'World's Worst Famine in 100 Years' if War Continues

Fri, 2018-10-19 08:39 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Malnourished boys in a malnutrition treatment centre in Sana’a, Yemen. Photograph: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

UN warns that famine could overwhelm country in next three months, with 13 million people at risk of starvation

theguardian.com - by Hannah Summers - October 15, 2018

Yemen could be facing the worst famine in 100 years if airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition are not halted, the UN has warned.

If war continues, famine could engulf the country in the next three months, with 12 to 13 million civilians at risk of starvation, according to Lise Grande, the agency’s humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.