e2 - Eye on Earth, a service of
World Watch Magazine in partnership with the
Blue Moon Fund, provides our community with a unique perspective on current events, newly released studies, and important global trends. This update service offers context to critical world events that are seemingly disparate yet often closely related, highlighting the connections between human consumption and the natural world, while telling the stories of individuals and organizations that are supporting new approaches to resource use, energy use and urban development. Eye on Earth presents the news of today with an eye towards tomorrow, illustrating how current events will shape our own future and that of generations to come.
The poorest 4 billion people in the world represent a $5 trillion market, according to a new report from the International Finance Corporation and the World Resources Institute.
A new interdisciplinary study carried out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists and engineers finds that the U.S. Department of Energy program to develop “carbon capture and sequestration” (CCS) is not advancing this technology as quickly as it is needed.
Over the past year, unprecedented numbers of African elephants have been slaughtered for their ivory tusks, the
Washington Post reported recently. Between August 2005 and August 2006, authorities worldwide seized more than 24 tons of smuggled elephant ivory being shipped to the Far East alone, though actual poaching levels were probably much higher...
Last week, the government of San Francisco launched a new public resource that will help the city and its residents keep better track of local vegetation.
The Costa Rican government is developing plans to begin offsetting all of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, the news service
La Nación reported on February 21. Environment and Energy Minister Roberto Dobles said Costa Rica aims to reach this goal using budgeting, laws, and incentives, including measures to promote biofuels, hybrid vehicles, and clean energy.
Rice engineered to contain human genes will be grown for the first time outdoors instead of in a laboratory, bringing it one step closer to commercial production.
The use of genetic manipulation to create healthier, stronger, and smarter humans was once largely dismissed as fanciful. But today “the technology is galloping ahead,” with human-animal hybrids, the patenting of human embryos, and other potentially undesirable outcomes not too far in the future, according to Francis Fukuyama, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University and a former member of the President’s Council on Bioethics.
From Australia to Russia, energy-efficient light bulbs are gaining political traction around the globe. Introduced decades ago, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are now being promoted and even mandated by governments concerned about rising energy costs and climate change.
Dental care, often overlooked as a component of basic health care, does more than maintain a bright smile: it can alleviate a patient’s excruciating pain, aid in nutrition, and, at times, prevent death.
Speaking at the American University in Washington, D.C. on Monday, renowned U.S. climate scientist James Hansen offered a series of recommendations to stave off the most dangerous effects of climate change.
