Opinion
Bitcoin’s huge energy waste
It’s thanks to “blockchains” that cryptocurrencies can be created without a central supervisory authority. The bitcoin is one of these currencies, but it works based on “miners” who compete in computations. The result is energy consumption that’s both huge and unnecessary, according to Jean-Paul Delahaye, professor emeritus at University de Lille and CRISTAL researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). It’s what he calls “Nakamoto’s blunder.”
Planet
Obstetric Violence in West Africa, women's health blind spot
Despite a century of effort by health workers to improve medical care for childbirth in West Africa, mortality rates remain very high in many countries in the region. Obstetric violence still constitutes a structural barrier to maternal health.
Health
Access to clean water: a crucial health concern in the Congo-DRC
To break the seemingly endless cycle of violence, poor public health and underdevelopment, equitable access to water is essential. To achieve this, all political and technical actors must be brought together in new public-private partnerships.
Our latest series
Analysis
How to protect forests without threatening indigenous peoples
Forest areas host an incredible wealth of biodiversity but they are also home to indigenous peoples. These inhabitants want their voices to be heard in the ongoing negotiations to create protected areas.
Interview
Francis Hallé: “Forests are a common good to be protected”
Francis Hallé, a tree and tropical rainforest expert, has designed a canopy raft to better study the canopies of tropical forests. In 2019, he began a project to restore a primary forest in Europe. In this first episode in our “Forests in Danger” series, he revisits their definition and natural...
Cities
Opinion
Population dynamics in the South: how will cities change?
If population growth and urban growth are related, the sustainability of tomorrow’s cities will above all depend on urban planning and how cities are linked with the rural world. In this fourth episode of our series “Tomorrow, 9 Billion People,” we explore population dynamics in the South.
Shared Innovation
“Decontamination through the living world takes time”
Development news
Plastic: an environmental challenge made worse by COVID-19
Gender
Analysis
In El Alto, water as a source of life… and of persistent gender inequalities
In this town near La Paz, Bolivia, the management of water in households reveals persistent gender inequalities. As Eva’s story shows, this is the case even when water is finally available from the faucet.