Climate Change & Environment
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Youth Call Time on Decades of 'Empty' Climate Promises

Youth activists on Tuesday called out decades of "empty words and promises" from world leaders as they demanded action -- and money -- to tackle global warming ahead of a pivotal U.N. climate summit.

With just weeks to go before the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, seen as crucial to the viability of the Paris climate agreement, campaigners used the opening of a three-day event in Milan to lambast governments' failure to address the crisis.

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Syria Water Crisis Spurs Spike in Disease

Limited access to clean water in northern Syria is causing a rise in illnesses and undermining the battle against Covid-19, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Tuesday.

The medical aid group blamed the "acute water crisis"  in recent months on a decrease in funding for water, sanitation and hygiene operations as well as the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure during a decade of civil war.

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OPEC: Oil Will Be World's No. 1 Energy Source for Decades

As the world's nations prepare to gather for another climate summit next month in Glasgow, the OPEC oil cartel is reminding that, in their view, crude will continue to be the leading source of energy for decades, especially as the world's less-wealthy countries seek higher growth and standards of living.

OPEC says that more electric vehicles on the road and the push for alternative and renewable energy will indeed usher in an era of declining demand for oil in rich countries.

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Lava from Spanish Island Volcano Quickens Pace toward Sea

Lava flowing from an erupting volcano in Spain's Canary Islands has picked up its pace on its way to the sea and is now within 800 meters (875 yards) of the shore, officials said Tuesday.

While one river of lava has slowed down on the island of La Palma, the other was hotter and more fluid. That second one was bearing down Tuesday on the small town of Todoque, whose people have been evacuated, the Canary Islands emergency volcano response department said.

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Earth-Monitoring Landsat 9 Satellite Launches in California

The latest in a series of U.S. satellites that has recorded human and natural impacts on Earth's surface for decades was launched into orbit from California on Monday to ensure continued observations in the era of climate change.

Landsat 9 was carried into space aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that lifted off from foggy Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:12 a.m. The satellite successfully separated from the rocket's upper stage more than an hour later.

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Australian PM Says May Not Join Global Climate Summit

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, under pressure to adopt a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target, said in an interview published Monday that he may not join this year's landmark U.N. climate summit in Glasgow.

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Cyclone Floods Parts of India's East Coast, Knocks out Power

A cyclone flooded parts of India's eastern coast with heavy rains and uprooted thousands of trees and power poles, knocking out electricity, before weakening to a deep depression Monday.

Heavy rains lashed the town of Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state on Sunday, swamping roads and marooning hundreds of villages, local official Shrikesh Lathkar said.

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Spanish Volcano Has Entered 'Low Activity' Phase

A Spanish island volcano that has buried more than 500 buildings and displaced over 6,000 people since it erupted last week stopped releasing large clouds of ashes and molten rock on Monday, although scientists said it was too early to declare the eruption phase finished.

Live footage from the public Canary Islands Television showed the Cumbre Vieja range in the La Palma island without the plume of ash that had been emerging from the main vent that opened on Sept. 19.

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South Korea's President Moon Raises Dog Meat Ban

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in raised banning the eating of dogs in the country on Monday, his office said, a traditional practice that is becoming an international embarrassment.

The meat has long been a part of South Korean cuisine with about one million dogs believed to be eaten annually, but consumption has declined as more people embrace dogs as companions rather than livestock.  

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Strong Quake Rattles Greek Island of Crete; 1 Dead

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck the southern Greek island of Crete Monday morning, killing one person and injuring several more, authorities said.

The quake sent people fleeing into the streets, while schools were evacuated. Repeated aftershocks were rattling the area, and local media reported damage in villages near the epicenter.

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