UN – United Nations

Older generations often complain that young people have lost the art of letter-writing, but at just 10 years old, Abner of Portland, Oregon, has written more letters than most people have written in their lifetimes. Abner has written over 100 letters to elected officials about the biggest threat facing his generation: the climate crisis. Since starting his letter writing campaign in December 2018, Abner has written every single governor in the United States about joining […]

Achieving the ambitious agenda set by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires a global effort across nations. Recently, the United Nations Foundation and the Brookings Institution hosted an event to explore the question, “What does SDG action look like in the United States?” At the national level, the U.S. is falling behind its peers. It is the only OECD and G-20 country that has not volunteered to report on its SDG progress at the UN,

We find ourselves in challenging times. Many countries are looking inward and turning away from global cooperation. But we know a lot of the health challenges facing the world – including the world’s three deadliest diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria – don’t respect borders. The only way we can solve these complex global challenges is through collective action. Global cooperation to fight AIDS, TB, and malaria  On October 10, 2019, during the Sixth Replenishment

If you feel like it’s too late to solve the climate crisis or you’re tired of hearing about it, you are not alone. Let’s face it: Most climate stories are depressing, alarming, or both. A recent study by Public Citizen found that U.S. news media mentioned climate solutions or mitigation just 13% of the time when discussing climate change.  Is there a cure for this spiraling narrative of climate doom and gloom? Without a doubt,

Coral reefs are some of our most iconic and important ecosystems, housing a quarter of all the ocean’s marine life. But their survival is under threat. According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report, climate change is making oceans warmer and more acidic — and these changes are having a big impact on coral reefs. Nearly all coral reefs are projected to be lost with 2°C warming by the end of

A team of women — cocooned in thick, powder-blue Kevlar vests and clear protective face shields — fan out across the rugged, tawny mountains of Afghanistan’s Bamyan province. They sweep heavy metal detectors over the rocky soil. Kneeling, they painstakingly scrape sharp tools through the loose dirt. These brave women are defying their culture’s rigid gender norms, part of Afghanistan’s first all-female demining team. As they rid their communities of deadly, undetonated explosives — the

Communities everywhere continue to experience record-breaking climate impacts — from deadly wildfires to devastating storms. These effects will only worsen without greater climate action. Luckily, the world has a plan to act on the science: the Paris Agreement. Nearly four years ago, 195 countries adopted the Paris Agreement, a historic, global action plan to tackle climate change. The agreement gives the world a framework for avoiding dangerous impacts of climate change by “limiting global warming

  Cover cropping is a vital step towards building soil organic matter and reducing emissions. On our farm last year, we grew a shorter season of soybean and harvested earlier. Then, we drilled in oats as a cover crop. With sun and a little bit of rain, the oats sprouted up and they started breathing in carbon and taking it back down into the ground, which pulls additional carbon into the ground than what is

How much can change in a generation? Nearly ten thousand advocates for health and rights asked this question when they gathered recently in Nairobi, Kenya. They were reflecting on a landmark moment in Cairo 25 years ago, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). What we learned was that people remain as committed as ever – maybe more so, because of the political challenges we face in this area around the world. Co-convened