U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 2% in 2019
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.1% last year because of a sharp drop in coal consumption, which fell by a record 18 percent to the lowest level since 1975.
Nations
China bans fishing in depleted Yangtze River for 10 years to protect aquatic life
The ban will be applied at 332 conservation sites along the river. It will be extended to cover the main river course and key tributaries by January 1 next year.
Every county in Pennsylvania will have new voting machines with paper trails in 2020
“The shift from paperless [electronic] machines to having individual paper ballots is a sea change,” said the policy director of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security. “It’s great, it’s huge, it was necessary.”
Denmark sources world record 47% of power from wind in 2019
European countries are global leaders in wind power but Denmark is far in front of nearest rival Ireland, which sourced 28% of its power from wind in 2018.
Germany cuts fares for long-distance rail travel in response to climate crisis
Fares for long-distance rail travel in Germany have dropped for the first time in 17 years, as climate protection measures came into effect with the new year.
U.S. FDA approves pancreatic cancer treatment shown to double patient lifespans
The drug Lynparza was developed by AstraZeneca and Merck as a maintenance treatment for patients with a specific gene mutation whose cancer spread beyond the pancreas.
Indian Railways records zero deaths in 2019 for the first year ever
While between 1990-1995 an average of more than 500 accidents took place every year, a decade later between 2013-2018 only an average of around 110 accidents took place every year.
Pakistan saw 31% reduction in terrorism in 2019
In its annual report, the Center for Research and Security Studies said that a 30.71 per cent drop in fatalities was observed in 2019, down from 980 last year to 679 this year.
Israel green lights hundreds of wind turbines in north
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz vowed that Israel will move into a coal-free era of power production by the end of 2025, five years earlier than originally targeted.
Palau becomes first country to ban ‘reef toxic’ sunscreen
The International Coral Reef Foundation said the banned chemicals were “known environmental pollutants – most of them are… incredibly toxic to juvenile stages of many wildlife species”.