Also available in English and Spanish
E então você começa a pensar que aquelas cenas do filme 2012 não são tão exageradas, não é?
Em um filme de um campeão de bilheteria de Hollywood, as imagens apocalípticas que mostram oceanos em crescimento, vulcões em erupção e cidades se desmoronando são um prelúdio do fim do mundo como nós o conhecemos.
After months of preparation, the Sanitation Hackathon weekend is upon us.
In dozens of countries around the world, IT and sanitation experts will join forces for an intensive brainstorming and programming marathon to develop innovative applications for some of the world’s sanitation challenges.
También disponible en español y portugués
So you may be wondering if those scenes from the movie 2012 are not too much of a stretch after all, huh?
In the Hollywood blockbuster, apocalyptic images of rising oceans, erupting volcanoes and crumbling cities prelude the end of the world as we know it. Well, let me tell you that even though I’m not a great fan of end-of-days films –I think they oversimplify issues and de-sensitize the public-- I do believe that the world as we know it is on a path to dangerous climate change
All climate negotiations have been based on staying below 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures. Yet it looks increasingly unlikely that that will be possible. A new report, Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided, suggests that there is a 40 percent chance that we will reach 4°C by 2100 even if we stick to the agreed emission reduction commitments.
What does water look like in a 4°C world?
Put simply: it's complex. Water is a complicated system and one of the major impacts of climate change is the effect on the hydrological (water) cycle. These impacts will coincide with an unprecedented increase in demand for water because of population and economic growth.
They both hold the potential to help meet the needs of the poor and end poverty. New ideas and innovative solutions are critical to address the 2.5 billion people who lack access to proper sanitation. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills more than 4,000 children a day and a lack of sanitation results in billions of dollars in economic losses to developing countries. Now that more people have access to a mobile phone than to a toilet or latrine, it’s time to leverage technology to help reach development goals.
Photo: A teacher and school class stand at a cyclone shelter in rural Bangladesh. Stephan Bachenheimer/World Bank
Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project launches its “24 hours of Reality: Dirty Weather Report” today. It’s a global online multimedia event that seeks to demonstrate how climate change is manifesting itself around the world, showcasing countries, communities and individuals leading through innovative solutions.
También disponible en español
Since the Great Recession of 2008, there has been a widespread sense of malaise among the American middle class. Their incomes are close to stagnant, employment has not recovered, and the gap between them and the famously rich top 1% continues to grow. Look south of the Rio Grande, though, and it is quite a different picture. In the last decade, moderate poverty (under U$ 4 a day) in Latin America and the Caribbean fell from over 40% to 28%.
Financial Markets…Global stock markets fluctuated between gains and losses, following three consecutive days of losses last week, as strong Chinese exports data in October offset worries over a prospect of the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff and Greek woes. The benchmark MSCI global equity index just slipped 0.04% in afternoon trading.
| Private capital flows to developing countries eased in October, but remain close to their highest level in more than a year, led by robust bond issuance by emerging market sovereigns and firms. Business sentiment has strengthened in some countries, including the US and several emerging markets, but remains weak in general amid US “fiscal cliff” and Euro Area risks. |
Financial Markets…Year-to-date global corporate bond sales rose to $3.43 trillion, already surpassing 2011’s full year total of $3.29 trillion, as further stimulus from global central banks pushed yields to record lows. Funding costs for the riskiest to the most creditworthy corporates are plunging as the persistent low-yield environment spurred unprecedented investor demand.
También disponible en español
With its long trail of death and destruction spanning the Caribbean and the US East Coast, hurricane Sandy will surely be remembered as one of the most damaging storms in recent history. As I write this blog, Sandy has claimed over 100 lives and caused more than US$50 billion in damages.
After ravaging Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, Sandy took a turn to the Northeast, instead of pursuing a westerly trajectory, sparing the Gulf of Mexico coastline from its deadly punch.
También disponible en español y francés
Alphonsine and her three children walk over 10 hours a week just to meet their basic need for drinking water. The journey is best done in the early hours of the morning before the heat becomes unbearable.
Rural water coverage in Haiti continues to be the lowest in the Western hemisphere, with only 55% of the population having access to an improved drinking water source compared to an average of 80% for rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the latest available figures from WHO and UNICEF.
También disponible en español
Vocês se lembram de Thomas Edison, o inventor da lâmpada incandescente, cuja fama também se deve à transpiração? Não me levem a mal. Refiro-me à célebre frase segundo a qual os feitos geniais dependem de 1% de inspiração e 99% de transpiração.
Se aplicarmos a frase de Edison ao mundo da gestão de riscos de desastres, chegaremos à conclusão de que muitos de nós temos boas ideias, mas, na maior parte do tempo, falhamos ao implementá-las. Parafraseando o grande inventor, geralmente ficamos no 1% e, por algum motivo, não evoluímos nos 99% que restam.
Deep inside the ICRISAT campus just outside Hyderabad, there are two sub-zero rooms that house the seeds of 120,000 plants from over 100 countries and 120,000 chances to change poor farmers' lives. The rows of plastic containers and freeze-dried metallic packages resemble a huge and very cold medicine cabinet.
These seed banks, or genebanks, hold the keys to growing more productive, hardier, healthier food crops that could help feed the 9 billion people who will be living on Earth by 2050. Scientists use the collection to map characteristics that enable individual plants to withstand water shortages, pests, and disease, or increase yields and nutrient levels. Over 800 improved crop varieties have been developed from this seed bank and now grow in 79 countries.
ICRISAT is the international crop research institute for the semi-arid tropics and one of 15 CGIAR research centers. Scientist here work on sorghum, millet, chickpeas, pigeon peas, and ground nuts - the food crops that smallholder farmers from the driest parts of the world depend on for their survival.
A walk through the campus reveals the power and potential of international research.
También disponible en español
Water is vital, not only for people but also for green policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. Managing it not only includes preventing fatalities due to natural disasters or climate change adaptation but also providing the most vulnerable people with access to drinking water.
This is why one of the most important “green¨challenges the region faces is to create an efficient, practical and accessible water supply for all. In this video blog, Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, World Bank Sector Director for Sustainable Development for Latin America and the Caribbean, explains Mexico´s achievements and successes in this area.
