The world has a once-in-a-generation chance to profoundly change humanity’s relationship with plastic. That is the message from officials ahead of “pivotal” talks next week on a legally binding global instrument to end plastic pollution.
Humanity generates between 2.1 billion and 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste a year.
Spanish officials declare a state of emergency due to drought. Unprecedented water shortages hammer Mexico City. Severely parched Zambia warns of a national disaster.
These are just some of the water-related headlines from the past few weeks.
Ever since the first lump of coal was burned thousands of years ago, fossil fuels have played a central part in the story of humanity. But as the world transitions away from these planet-warming energy sources, demand is shifting towards a subset of minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt.
When Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite in 1907, it was hailed as “the material of a thousand uses”. The production of synthetic plastics took off over the coming decades but now that the environmental cost of these miracle materials is becoming ever clearer, the hunt is on for more sustainable alternatives.
When Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite in 1907, it was hailed as “the material of a thousand uses”. The production of synthetic plastics took off over the coming decades but now that the environmental cost of these miracle materials is becoming ever clearer, the hunt is on for more sustainable alternatives.
In her native Somalia, designer Nimco Adam was known as the Queen of Tie Dye, spending hours plunging fabrics into vats of chemical dyes to use in her collections. Then, one day, she lost her sense of smell.
It’s 9 am and the rural district of Mount Airy in central Jamaica is already sweltering. As cars trundle along the region’s unpaved roads, chocolate-brown dust clouds burst from behind their back wheels.
This story was originally published on 1 June 2022 and has been updated.
The creation this month of a new marine reserve in Ecuador will secure a biological corridor for endangered species, including sea turtles, manta rays, whales and sharks.
Amir Beg Khusrawi still has vivid memories of a flash flood that swept through his village in Afghanistan’s rugged northeast a decade ago.
“[It] destroyed around 20 houses, claimed livestock, and damaged our agricultural lands so that even now we are not able to use them,” says Khusrawi, 61.
