Ecology and Environment

The World Bank has launched a new partnership with global corporations including Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Veolia. Housed at the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), the new venture aspires to “transform the water sector” by inserting the corporate sector into what has historically been a public service.

In news from Japan, the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant revealed today it had found radioactive particles in a reactor which could be a result of recent nuclear fission. Utility officials said gas from inside the Fukushima plant’s No. 2 reactor indicated the presence of radioactive xenon.

The United Nations urged the international community to take action against mounting threats posed by climate change on the world’s urban areas, warning that climate-related events could force up to 200 million people worldwide to flee their homes by 2050.

Mayraj Fahim’s field is local governance and he commented on 60 Minutes highlighting the apparent success of the Indian Institute of Technology whereas in reality it was the nation’s failure to do research that is glaringly obvious to him! This contradicts what was shown on that popular programme. He points out a higher reality.

To begin with, Somalia is situated in the so-called Horn of Africa, bordering with Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Indian Ocean. Its territory covers over 637,000 kilometres, hosting around 10 million inhabitants who speak Somali, Arabic, Italian and English, and are mostly Muslim Sunnis.

Population growth and water stress are driving Earth to a food and environmental crunch that only better farming techniques and smarter use of the ecosystem will avert, a UN report issued on Monday said.

Ecuador’s first wind farm to generate electricity will begin to be built in September in the southern province of Loja, according to the Electricity Corporation of Ecuador (Celec). The project, worth 34 million US$, will provide a total of 15 megawatts to the national power system, and should be operational in 2012.

Thousands of protesters faced off with riot police in northeast China to demand a chemical plant be relocated after a toxic pollution scare sparked urgent evacuations, state media said. Residents in the port city of Dalian gathered in front of the municipal government’s office, shouting demands as hundreds of police looked on, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

In moments when public opinion is turning against nuclear energy due its inherent dangers to the environment and nuclear proliferation, Algeria takes a different path

Families in Nisisioken Ogale, near a Nigerian National Petroleum Company pipeline, are drinking water from wells contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen, at levels over 900 times above UN World Health Organization guidelines.