More Aging U.S. Coal Plants Hit the Chopping Block

ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan 10 2013 (IPS) – Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the largest utilities in the U.S. south, plans to retire 15 coal and oil-fired energy generating units at four different plants, in the latest sign that a national campaign against coal is gaining traction.

The latest announcement by Georgia Power brings to 129 the total of plant retirements announced for closure either in whole or in part since Sierra Club launched the Beyond Coal Campaign in 2002. Credit: public domain

The 15 units comprise a total of 2,061 megawatts, one quarter of Georgia Power’s coal fleet.

Georgia Power will seek permissi…

Four Fast Facts to Debunk Myths About Rural Women

Jacqui Ashby is a senior gender adviser at CGIAR. Jennifer Twyman is a gender specialist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.

With adequate extension support, women farmers can increase productivity and food security in Africa. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

With adequate extension support, women farmers can increase productivity and food security in Africa. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

PARIS, Mar 23 2015 (IPS) – We are lucky to live in a country that has long since abandoned the image of the damsel in distress. Even Disney princesses now save themselves and send unsuitable “saviours” packing. But despite the great strides being made in gender equality, we are st…

UN Response Teams Underfunded as Costs Hit Staggering $23.5 Billion

A wide view of a briefing on the humanitarian affairs segment (scheduled to take place in Geneva, 21 to 23 June) of the 2017 session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 23 2017 (IPS) – UN response teams that help the most vulnerable people in the world are still largely underfunded, a new has revealed.

The funding available to the teams is no match for the record number of people—141 million—who need assistance today.

Newer and protracted conflicts have raised the bar of funding requirements to a staggering 23.5 billion dollars. International donors, since the launch of Humanitarian Appeal in 2016 by the UN …

To Improve Global Health Security, We Must Not Abandon Tackling Existing Epidemics

NTDs is the collective name for a group of 20 infectious diseases and conditions. Diseases like blinding trachoma, leprosy, intestinal worms, Guinea worm disease and elephantiasis. They blind, disable, and can even be fatal. These diseases are preventable and treatable, yet they still affect 1.7 billion people around the world

Over 600 million people in Africa require treatment for an NTD, making up 35% of the global burden. Credit: Uniting to Combat NTDs

HOVE, United Kingdom, Jun 11 2021 (IPS) – As world leaders come together in the UK for the G7, the global response to COVID-19 and how we can build a better defence system against infection is at the forefront of discu…