Veille 2.1

Over the past 50 years, humans have extracted the Earth’s groundwater stocks at a steep rate, largely to fuel global agro-economic development. Given society’s growing reliance on groundwater, we explore ‘peak water limits’ to investigate whether, when and where humanity might reach peak groundwater extraction. Using an integrated global model of the coupled human–Earth system, we simulate groundwater withdrawals across 235 water basins under 900 future scenarios of global change over the twenty-first century. Here we find that global non-renewable groundwater withdrawals exhibit a distinct peak-and-decline signature, comparable to historical observations of other depletable resources (for example, minerals), in nearly all (98%) scenarios, peaking on average at 625 km3 yr−1 around mid-century, followed by a decline through 2100. The peak and decline occur in about one-third (82) of basins, including 21 that may have already peaked, exposing about half (44%) of the global population to groundwater stress. Most

Policy-makers seeking to limit the impact of coal electricity-generating units (EGUs, also known as power plants) on air quality and climate justify regulations by quantifying the health burden attributable to exposure from these sources. We defined “coal PM2.5” as fine particulate matter associated with coal EGU sulfur dioxide emissions and estimated annual exposure to coal PM2.5 from 480 EGUs in the US. We estimated the number of deaths attributable to coal PM2.5 from 1999 to 2020 using individual-level Medicare death records representing 650 million person-years. Exposure to coal PM2.5 was associated with 2.1 times greater mortality risk than exposure to PM2.5 from all sources. A total of 460,000 deaths were attributable to coal PM2.5, representing 25% of all PM2.5-related Medicare deaths before 2009 and 7% after 2012. Here, we quantify and visualize the contribution of individual EGUs to mortality.

Finance needs of developing countries now 10-18 times as big as international public finance flows Growing gap results from rising adaptation needs and faltering adaptation finance Failure to enhance adaptation has huge implications for losses and damages

ibrio are bacteria that cause an estimated 80,000 illnesses each year in the United States. About a dozen species of Vibrio are pathogenic to humans. V. parahaemolyticus causes the most infections in the United States, accounting for about 40% of reported cases of vibriosis, followed by V. alginolyticus, which accounts for about 20%. Most people with Vibrio infection have diarrhea. Some people might also have stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills. One species, V. vulnificus, is known to cause life-threatening infections. About 150–200 V. vulnificus infections are reported to CDC each year and about one in five people with this infection die—sometimes within 1–2 days of becoming ill.

La campagne Agissons (ActNow) est un appel des Nations Unies à une action citoyenne contre les changements climatiques et pour la durabilité.

Les combustibles fossiles, à savoir le charbon, le pétrole et le gaz, sont de loin les plus grands contributeurs au changement climatique mondial ; ils sont responsables de plus de 75 % des émissions mondiales de gaz à effet de serre et de près de 90 % de toutes les émissions de dioxyde de carbone. Les émissions de gaz à effet de serre enveloppant la Terre, elles retiennent la chaleur du soleil. Cela entraîne un réchauffement climatique et un changement climatique. Le monde se réchauffe désormais à une vitesse jamais observée dans l’histoire documentée. Au fil du temps, les températures plus élevées entraînent des variations climatiques et déstabilisent l’équilibre habituel de la nature. Cette situation pose de nombreux risques pour les êtres humains et toute autre forme de vie sur Terre.

La production de fibres est la source la plus importante d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre. - Le problème de la pollution plastique par les microfibres synthétiques devient majeur - Protection de la nature : un million d'espèces sont menacées au niveau mondial - Croissance ou décroissance, notre modèle sociétal n’est plus viable -

In Madrid, the organisation showed a great sense of purpose. But beware a divided Europe and a US still tired of paying for the continent’s security

Three former UN climate heads say gap between government promises and actions will change environment irreversibly

On 28 February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body solely dedicated to looking at the science behind climate change, will release a major report on the impacts of the climate crisis and why it is imperative that we act now to address the growing risks. The report, which focuses on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, is expected to detail how climate impacts are already wreaking havoc in every part of the world and how, without much bolder action, more lives will be lost and more livelihoods destroyed. The report will look at challenges and solutions for addressing these risks and minimizing vulnerability unique to the world’s regions, cities and other habitats.

The world must rewild and restore an area the size of China to meet commitments on nature and the climate, says the UN, and the revival of ecosystems must be met with all the ambition of the space race. Existing conservation efforts are insufficient to prevent widespread biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, the global body has warned at the launch of the decade on ecosystem restoration, an urgent call for the large-scale revival of nature in farmlands, forests and other ecosystems.

The Energy Charter Treaty is a little-known investment protection treaty. It allows foreign investors to claim billions in compensation from the signatory states before international arbitration tribunals if the companies feel treated unfairly by the states energy or climate policies. This procedure has numerous problems: The treaty is one-sided, because only companies can sue states. It is extremely vaguely worded and thus a gateway for investors to sue. The arbitration courts meet in secret like shadow courts. In some cases, it is not even made public that there are proceedings at all.

Only 17.4 per cent of 2019’s e-waste was collected and recycled. This means that gold, silver, copper, platinum, and other high-value, recoverable materials conservatively valued at US $57 billion — a sum greater than the Gross Domestic Product of most countries — were mostly dumped or burned rather than being collected for treatment and reuse.