Private research funders court controversy with billions in secretive investments

Science Magazine

Cruise ships often burn bunker fuel, the very kind warned about in this story.
A Wikimedia image.

A few years ago, scientists funded by the Wellcome Trust, one of the world's wealthiest private philanthropies, published sobering findings about the deadly effects of air pollution. In a long-term study of elderly residents of Hong Kong, China, those exposed to higher levels of smog—especially tiny particles of soot produced by burning fossil fuels—were more likely to die of cancer than people who breathed cleaner air. Details here.

RELATED: Please read my blog-story, 

"How Ethical Are Ethical Funds?

Conscientious investments and the tar sands connection" 
l.p.

by Larry Powell

US and Russia ally with Saudi Arabia to water down climate pledge

The

Guardian
Move shocks delegates at UN conference as ministers fly in for final week of climate talks. More here

DDT in Alaska meltwater poses cancer risk for people who eat lots of fish

Science Today -  University of Maine

Mt. Jarvis, Alaska. Photo by R. McGimsey, U.S. Geological Survey

Children in Alaska whose diet includes a lot of fish from rivers fed by the Eastern Alaska Mountain Range may have a long-term elevated risk for cancer because of insecticides -- including DDT -- in the meltwater. Story here.

RELATED: "Research Suggests Our Past, Prolific Use Of The Insecticide DDT May Still Be Contributing To A Scourge Of Modern-Day Diseases Related To Obesity. - Is a world-wide ban now the only ethical thing to do?"

Greenland ice sheet melt 'off the charts' compared with past four centuries

PHY ORG

An aerial shot of mountains in Greenland. 2006.
Photo by Túrelio.

Surface melting across Greenland's mile-thick ice sheet began increasing in the mid-19th century and then ramped up dramatically during the 20th and early 21st centuries, showing no signs of abating, according to…
More here.

Modern slavery promotes overfishing

More details here.

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Adaptation, speciation and extinction in the Anthropocene

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B

An Oxfam photo.

Humans have dramatically altered the planet over the course of a century, from the acidity of our oceans to the fragmentation of our landscapes and the temperature of our climate. More here.