Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

Guest blog by Nils Simon  Senior Project Manager adelphi research and political scientist  @nsim_berlin Last December, when the UN Environment Assembly met for the third time, it gathered under the slogan “Towards a Pollution-free Planet”. Those were strong words, yet the outcomes fell short of what’s needed to actually get there. Just a few weeks before UNEA3 met in Nairobi, the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health concluded that pollution “is the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death in the world today.” Though apparently not the most deadly, chemical pollution is a particularly troubling kind. We know that many chemicals are hazardous and take a heavy toll on human health and the environment. Yet we are lacking data about the presence  and impacts of many hazardous substances throughout their life-cycle. That’s why we barely know how many people are seriously injured or even die because they are exposed to chemicals. Th...

WRITER Nils Simon  Senior Project Manager adelphi research   @nsim_berlin Political scientist originally published in ensia Plastics have boosted our economy because they are versatile, cheap and durable. Yet, thanks to these same traits, in the course of  establishing a US$750 billion global industry , we have also created a  massive problem . Rivers are filled with plastic garbage . Plastic bottles  soil beaches . Masses of plastic are floating  in the ocean . Birds become  entangled in plastic pieces , and whales’  stomachs fill with plastic debris . Plastics  can harm humans, too , by releasing toxic additives. And the problem is getting worse: The production of plastics reached 311 million metric tons  (343 million tons) in 2014 and is continuing to increase worldwide. Scientists estimate that in 2010 alone between 5 and 13 million metric tons (6 and 14 million tons) of plastics streamed into the sea. Many hopes...