An Epic Moment of National Shame: The Debate Was an Embarrassment for the Ages
At frequent intervals on Tuesday night, the natural human reaction—lower the sound, wince and look away—took over, and the first presidential debate of the 2020 general election became nearly unwatchable. Those who did persist in watching were rewarded, in a perverse way: They witnessed history in t…
Food loss and waste ‘an ethical outrage’, UN chief says on International Day
Last year, the UN General Assembly designated 29 September as the International Day, recognizing the fundamental role that sustainable food production plays in promoting food security and nutrition and highlighting the essential need to reduce food loss and waste. In addition, with the COVID-1…
World leaders pledge to halt Earth’s destruction ahead of UN summit
World leaders have pledged to clamp down on pollution, embrace sustainable economic systems and eliminate the dumping of plastic waste in oceans by the middle of the century as part of “meaningful action” to halt the destruction of nature on Earth. Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau, Jac…
Explainer: Despite Trump claims, voter fraud is extremely rare. Here is how U.S. states keep it that way
President Donald Trump and some Republican allies have repeatedly asserted, without evidence, that a surge in mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic will lead to massive fraud in November’s election. Experts say election fraud is vanishingly rare in the United States, however, where nearly one…
EU’s farm animals ‘produce more emissions than cars and vans combined’
Cows, pigs and other farm livestock in Europe are producing more greenhouse gases every year than all of the bloc’s cars and vans put together, when the impact of their feed is taken into account, according to a new analysis by Greenpeace. The increase in meat and dairy production in Europe over the…
Biden blasts Trump’s plan for US Supreme Court vacancy
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has urged Senate Republicans not to vote on any candidate nominated to the Supreme Court as the November election approaches, calling the plan by his rival, incumbent President Donald Trump, an “exercise in raw political power”. Biden was speaking on Su…
Geoengineering Is the Only Solution to Our Climate Calamities
IF GLOBAL WARMING were an extraterrestrial adversary, it would not have to fear a diplomatically unified Earth. The past decade of climate summits in Copenhagen, Bali, Cancun, and Paris have only nudged us towards the limp goal of business as usual until 2050. One wonders how much ice will be left i…
International Day of Peace 21 September 2020 Theme: Shaping Peace Together
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. This year, it has been clearer than ever that we are not …
Prof Jeff Sachs: ‘Our politicians didn’t listen to pandemic warnings – then a devilish virus hit’
How would you characterise the pandemic and what do you hope the Lancet Covid-19 Commission will achieve? “We haven’t seen anything like this in 100 years; the drama of this pandemic is unmatched since the 1918 flu epidemic and the disruptions are profound. We’re still very much in the crisis; I wou…
The Greatest Generation’s Squandered Legacy
As profound as the COVID-19 crisis seems to us now, it pales in comparison to what previous generations faced. Unlike in the past, however, today’s biggest threats must be addressed at both the national and global levels, implying the need for political leadership of a kind that is utterly lacking i…