By Sahar Maranlou, University of Essex | – Iran’s execution of protester Mohsen Shekari is the first after a huge wave of unrest swept around the country in the autumn of 2022. Shekari was found guilty by a Iranian Revolutionary Court of “moharebeh” (enmity against God), news sources reported. Human rights groups say Shekari and […]
First US Leases to Build Wind Farms off California’s Coast are Let: The Amazing Technology
By Matthew Lackner, UMass Amherst | – (The Conversation) – Northern California has some of the strongest offshore winds in the U.S., with immense potential to produce clean energy. But it also has a problem. Its continental shelf drops off quickly, making building traditional wind turbines directly on the seafloor costly if not impossible. Once […]
The Forgotten War: what Russia could win from the reignited Conflict in Syria
Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham | – (The Conversation) – Largely overshadowed by the war in Ukraine, Syria remains a deeply divided and violent country, where military conflict has recently reignited. This new period of conflict in Syria, with Russia, Turkey and Israel all launching attacks, also reflects some of the battle lines of the […]
Key Summit: Avoiding Climate Breakdown depends on protecting Earth’s Biodiversity
By Nathan Cooper, University of Waikato | – (The Conversation) – Thousands of delegates have gathered in Montreal, Canada, for a once-in-a-decade chance to address the accelerating pace of species loss and the dangers of ecosystem breakdown. COP15 brings together parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) with a goal of negotiating this […]
Half a million Ethiopian Migrants have been Deported from Saudi Arabia in 5 years – what they go through
By Girmachew Adugna, Addis Ababa University | – (The Conversation) – Tens of thousands of migrant Ethiopian workers have been forcibly repatriated from Saudi Arabia each year since the early 2010s. Although this is carried out as part of a crackdown on illegal migrant workers, legally documented workers have frequently been caught in the dragnet. […]
If we Want to Limit Global Heating, the World Can’t go on Spending $10 Trillion a year on Energy
By Stephen Peake, The Open University | – The world’s energy bill for 2022 is set to be the highest ever, topping US$10 trillion (£8.3 trillion). This is the total price paid for all forms of energy across all sectors by all people. Something like 80% of this bill is for coal, oil or gas, […]
Historical Reasons that Turkey is the pivot point between Russia and the US on Ukraine War
By Georgios Giannakopoulos, City, University of London | – (The Conversation) – The war in Ukraine has put Turkey into the geopolitical spotlight. One of Nato’s earliest member states, with a special relationship with Russia, Turkey is attempting to balance its competing interests, as well as increasing its own influence. Meanwhile, Turkey is in the […]
Given their Enormous Windfall Profits, Oil Companies are not paying Enough for their Environmental Damage
By Robert (Bob) L. Ascah, University of Alberta | – At the end of the third quarter reporting season in October, the Big Four oilsands producers continued to report record profit levels. Collectively, Cenovus, CNRL, Imperial Oil and Suncor earned $5.8 billion in the third quarter and $23.1 billion in the first nine months of […]
Climate Change is increasing the Intensity of Tropical Storms, and even Weak ones are now Fiercer
Wei Mei, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Shang-Ping Xie, University of California, San Diego Tropical cyclones have been growing stronger worldwide over the past 30 years, and not just the big ones that you hear about. Our new research finds that weak tropical cyclones have gotten at least 15% more intense in […]