Report | Common News Update

Jan182022 by adminNo Comments

Plastic crisis needs binding treaty, report says

Science

Getty ImagesPollution from plastics is a global emergency in need of a robust UN treaty, according to a report.The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) says there's a cascade of evidence of harm from plastics.It argues that the plastic pollution threat is almost equivalent to climate change.The air we breathe now contains plastic micro particles, there’s plastic in Arctic snow, plastic in soils and plastic in our food.It's reported, for instance, that about 20 elephants in Thailand have died after eating plastic waste from a rubbish dump.The authors urge nations to agree a UN treaty with binding targets for reducing both plastic production and waste."There is a deadly ticking clock counting swiftly down," said the EIA’s Tom Gammage. "If this tidal wave of pollution continues unchecked,...

Apr12021 by adminNo Comments

‘Horrifying’ violence has killed at least 43 children in Myanmar, report says

World

At least 43 children have died in violence during Myanmar's coup, according to reports described as "horrifying".The death toll of children has more than doubled in the past 12 days and the total number of people killed now stands at 521, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) says. The youngest victim was a girl aged just seven years old.A total of 15 children under the age of 16 are among the casualties, including children aged nine and 11.Among those killed were a 13-year-old boy who was reportedly shot in the head while trying to run away from armed forces, and a 14-year-old Mandalay boy who was reportedly shot dead while he was inside or around his home. ...

Mar292021 by adminNo Comments

AP Exclusive: WHO report says animals likely source of COVID

Technology

BEIJING -- A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press.The findings offer little new insight into how the virus began to spread around the globe and many questions remain unanswered, though that was as expected. But the report did provide more detail on the reasoning behind the researchers' conclusions. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis.The report’s release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent blame for the pandemic falling on China. A World Hea...

Mar162021 by adminNo Comments

The U.S. solar industry posted record growth in 2020 despite Covid-19, new report finds

Finance

Peter Cade | Stone | Getty ImagesU.S. solar installations reached a record high during 2020 as favorable economics, supportive policies and strong demand in the second half of the year offset the impacts from the coronavirus pandemic.Installations grew 43% year over year during 2020, reaching a record 19.2 gigawatts of new capacity, according to a report released Tuesday from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenize.During the fourth quarter alone, the U.S. added slightly more than 8 gigawatts of capacity — a new quarterly record. To put the number in context, during all of 2015, 7.5 gigawatts were added. One gigawatt is enough to power roughly 190,000 homes. The U.S. currently has 97.2 GW of total solar capacity installed, enough to power roughly 17.7 million homes.Calif...

Mar132021 by adminNo Comments

Report: Calls to smoking ‘quit lines’ drop appreciably during pandemic

Health

March 12 (UPI) -- The number of smokers seeking information about quitting has declined by nearly 30% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last March, according to a report released Friday by the North American Quitline Consortium. Just over 525,000 calls were made to state smoking "quit lines" through 1-800-QUIT-NOW in 2020, a 27% decrease from 2019 numbers, when 715,000 calls were logged, and the lowest level seen since 2007, the report showed. Advertisement Call volumes dropped in parallel with the timeline of the pandemic, with a 6% decrease in the first quarter of 2020, followed by declines of 39%, 30% and 21% in quarters two, three and four of last year, respectively, compared with 2019. In 2019, just under one-third of callers were Medicaid enrollees and nearly half reported a ...