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UN says dating apps helped foster a teen HIV epidemic
Dating apps certainly have their virtues, but a new UN study suggests that they could sometimes play a big role in spreading sexually transmitted diseases. The report finds that dating apps helped spread an HIV epidemic among teens in the Asia-Pacific region by facilitating more casual sex. Effectively, they created networks where infections could quickly spread -- one HIV-positive person could easily affect numerous lives.
Bill Gates is launching a multibillion-dollar clean energy fund
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is set to reveal a massive clean energy project on Monday, during the first day of the United Nations climate change summit in Paris. According to Reuters, which originally reported the news, the French government has confirmed that the ex-CEO-turned-philanthropist will launch the Clean Tech Initiative, a push to commit countries to double their budgets on clean energy tech research and developments by 2020. But Gates won't be working on this multibillion dollar fund alone: The US, Australia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Norway, Saudi Arabia and South Korea will all be backing the plan, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Facebook will help the UN bring internet access to refugee camps
Refugees already have a hard life, but that's made worse by the typical lack of internet access at refugee camps -- unless you resettle, you may never get online. Facebook isn't content with this state of affairs, however, and is promising to help the United Nations bring internet access to those camps. Company chief Mark Zuckerberg (who revealed the plans at a luncheon) didn't explain how and where this would take place, but it won't be shocking if Facebook relies on its upcoming internet drones to connect these sometimes remote places.
Over 4 billion people will go without internet access this year
The tech industry likes to talk a lot about a connected world, but just how many people are online, really? Most of them aren't, unfortunately. The United Nations' Broadband Commission has released a 2015 report which estimates that 57 percent of the human population (about 4.2 billion people) won't have regular internet access by the end of 2015. Not surprisingly, the likelihood that you'll have access is highly dependent on your economic and social opportunities. Over 80 percent of people in fully developed countries currently have connections, but that number plummets to 6.7 percent in the poorest nations; gender inequality only makes it worse.
Google will match your donations to migrant and refugee relief
As you're no doubt aware, Europe is facing a crisis: it's struggling to accommodate scores of migrants and refugees coming to the continent in search of a better life. If you're wondering how you can help, you'll be glad to hear that Google is making things easier. It just launched a campaign that will see it match donations until it raises a total of €10 million ($11.3 million) toward migrant and refugee relief. Any money you send will be distributed to four nonprofits (Doctors Without Borders, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and the UN) providing food, security and shelter to those in need. Google's effort won't solve everything, but it's worth checking out if you previously felt powerless to help. Update: (9/19): Google announced that it has reached the €10 million goal, and its website has links for those still interested in donating to contact the programs directly. [Image credit: AP Photo/Selcuk Bulent]
Europe doesn't properly recycle most of its electronic waste
You probably know that you should recycle your old tech when you're done with it, but getting other people to do the same? That's quite hard, apparently. The United Nations and INTERPOL have found that only 35 percent of the European Union's electronic waste in 2012, about 3.2 million imperial tons, was recycled properly. The rest (6.1 million tons) was either exported, recycled improperly or trashed. And that's a problem beyond just the expected environmental issues, such as toxins making their way into landfills. Many crooks take advantage of this lapse by scavenging and smuggling e-waste -- that old laptop you chucked out might be a gold mine for a bootlegger hoping to sell its parts or raw metals.
UN reminds the US that member states should respect its privacy
The United Nations is still looking into the report that the NSA snooped on its NYC headquarters for years with help from AT&T. But it wants to remind the US and other countries who may have plans of spying on the organization that it expects member states to respects its right to privacy. "The inviolability of the United Nations is well established under international law and we expect member states to act accordingly and to respect and protect that inviolability," said spokeswoman Vannina Maestracci. She has also revealed that the US didn't only spy on the organization if the reports are true, it also lied and broke its pledge not to snoop on the UN's communication channels.
AT&T helped the NSA spy on the UN's internet traffic (updated)
It's no secret that telecoms have cooperated with the US' surveillance efforts, but at least one was unusually eager to help out. Thanks to Edward Snowden leaks, both the New York Times and ProPublica have discovered that AT&T not only agreed to aid the National Security Agency's spying campaigns for decades, but has shown an "extreme willingness" to participate. It was the first to start forwarding internet metadata (like email participants) to the NSA in 2003, and was quick to offer call metadata in 2011. Moreover, AT&T helped the NSA snoop on the all of the internet traffic at the United Nations' New York City headquarters -- Snowden's leaks had previously revealed that the UN monitoring was taking place, but not the carrier involved.
Uber wants 1 million women as drivers by 2020
To put it mildly, Uber's reputation for supporting women is less than stellar -- it's not hard to find women who refuse to be passengers, let alone drivers. However, the ridesharing service just took a significant step toward gender equality: as part of a collaboration with the United Nations, it's vowing to create 1 million jobs for women as Uber drivers by 2020. Just how it'll accomplish this isn't mentioned, but the hope is that the initiative will give women economic power they won't otherwise have. Uber is promising updates on its progress, so you'll likely know how well it's doing well before those five years are up.
Climate change deal has 194 countries cutting emissions
Deals to reduce greenhouse gases (such as 1997's Kyoto Protocol) have been in place for years. However, they've typically limited the reductions to richer nations -- poorer countries have objected to previous attempts to broaden the scope due to requirements they see as burdensome. At last, though, a truly global deal is underway. A total of 194 United Nations member states have agreed to submit plans for emissions cuts, with those who are ready delivering their plans no later than March. The terms have countries setting emissions targets beyond their "current undertaking," and wealthier countries will support less fortunate counterparts that are "vulnerable" to financial losses stemming from climate change. Should everything go according to plan, the UN will have a full-fledged pact within a year.
US creates the most e-waste, cellphones top the heap
We've known for years about the growing volume of electronic waste, but a new UN study suggests that the situation is only getting worse -- and that the US is largely to blame. The organization says that Americans created the most e-waste in 2012, at 9.4 million metric tons. The country produced no more than 2.2 million tons in 2005. China was the runner-up at 7.2 million tons, but it also has a much larger population; researches estimate that the US generated nearly 30 tons of waste per person versus just 5.4 in China. As to why Americans have so much tech junk? Most likely, it stems from an obsession with cellphones. A simultaneous study from MIT and the US National Center for Electronics Recycling shows that handsets represented 120 million of the 258.2 million used electronic devices in the US during 2010, and that ratio likely isn't getting any smaller. Whatever the cause, developing countries have to bear the brunt of our e-waste; MIT notes that most used gadgets leaving the US are going to China and Latin America. And that's only counting trackable shipments -- both the UN and MIT believe that there are many gaps in their data, which hints that the problem is considerably worse. [Image credit: Curtis Palmer, Flickr]
UN hopes to avert asteroid apocalypse, will adopt early warning measures
When a 10,000 ton meteor exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabisnk back in February, it was only a small taste of what Earth's future could look like if we aren't vigilant. Last week, the United Nations General Assembly approved of plans to form a dedicated anti-asteroid unit, a development that the Association of Space Explorers has been fighting for since 2008. The current problem lies in our lack of early warning systems; monitoring for asteroids on a collision course with Earth (there are 1,400 that we know of) could give us the chance to knock them out of their orbits before they reach our planet. Ed Lu, retired astronaut and founder of the B612 Foundation, which aims to address the issue of potential asteroid impacts, helped develop the UN's measures. Lu hopes that B612's Sentinel telescope, designed specifically for keeping an eye on threats from space, will stay on schedule for a 2017 launch. He told Scientific American, "There are about 1 million asteroids large enough to destroy New York City or larger. Our challenge is to find these asteroids first before they find us."
ITU treaty negotiations collapse as US, Canada and UK refuse to sign
As anticipated, several countries pushed to expand the UN's authority to regulate the internet and the US, along with many of its allies, have said they will not sign the updated treaty. Interestingly, the collapse of negotiations began when language was added to the new rules about "human rights obligations," which predictably met with stiff resistance from nations with spotty records on that front, including China and Iran. But the complete failure of the delegates to reach a consensus on updating international telecommunication laws seems to hinge primarily on the push by countries like Russia open the internet to additional UN regulation, that could cover everything from security to the assignment of addresses (something currently handled by ICANN). The US, along with Canada, the UK, Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, and the Czech Republic have refused to sign the treaty over to the proposed expansion of powers. The proposed change would, in effect, give the UN and other nations regulatory control over content. The concern is that it would open up the web to broader censorship and abuse from oppressive regimes seeking to control information and squash dissent. For now it seems as if the status quo will continue, though, any internet treaty coming out of the UN would likely face stiff opposition from the US, even without the content-related language.
International Telecommunication Union: worldwide mobile subscriptions hit six billion in 2011
Last year, the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) told us there were five billion mobile subscriptions worldwide at the close of 2010, and now it's reporting that at the end of 2011, that figure hit a staggering six billion. China and India account for one billion a piece, and it brings us ever closer to having the equivalent of one subscription for every person on the planet. (According to the CTIA, there are already more cellular plans in the US -- around 322 million -- than there are inhabitants.) In a stat-heavy release from the ITU, it also ranked the most advanced telecoms countries, with South Korea placing first, Japan eighth and countries in Europe filling the remaining spots. Interestingly, the number of global mobile broadband subscriptions now outnumbers fixed ones by two to one, and mobile internet services showed the biggest growth rates in 2011: 40% worldwide and 78% in developing markets. The ITU attributes the latter figure to the relatively high price of fixed access in these countries, and the increasing availability of mobile alternatives. The CTIA also commented on mobile broadband use, reporting that from July 2011 to June this year, Americans consumed 104 percent more data -- no doubt due, in part, to people taking advantage of expanding 4G coverage. As usual, we've given you the cheat sheet, so if you'd like the full reports and have got a thing for statistics, there's plenty more in the source links below. [Image credit: Chris Jordan]
ITU roundtable narrows scope of debate around standard-essential patents, doesn't create world peace
The ITU's roundtable discussing the controversy over standard-essential patents has wrapped up its first day, and surprise -- there wasn't immediate harmony. While strict press rules prevent discussing exactly which companies said what in the Geneva meeting, the UN's telecom agency mentioned that the initial, partly publicized discussions saw a "heated debate" that mostly followed party lines. Certain companies kept to their view that bans over standard-essential patents hurt innovation, while others were adamant that bans were harmless and potentially necessary -- you can probably guess who's on each side. The meeting mostly helped whittle down the subjects for the closed meetings, which should focus on how much of a curb there should be on injunctions as well as the definition of just what the "reasonable" in Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (RAND) patent licensing terms should mean. ITU officials remain ever the budding optimists, however. They felt that it was tough to leave injunctions "completely unchecked" and that their institution could shape policies, even if it wouldn't get involved with ongoing talks. Legal Officer Antoine Dore also explained to Engadget that his organization wasn't surprised at the uncompromising stances early on and expected the companies involved to open up "a lot more" once they weren't under the watchful eyes of cameras and reporters. If they don't, we suspect other international organizations could exert their own pressure.
ITU wants to bring smartphone makers to peace talks, hash out patent wars
The United Nations defines the stereotype of a peace broker, so it's not that far-fetched to hear that its International Telecommunication Union (ITU) wing is hoping to step in and cool down the rapidly escalating patent world war. The organization plans to convene a Patent Roundtable on October 10th -- in neutral Geneva, Switzerland, of course -- to have smartphone makers, governments and standards groups try and resolve some of their differences. Those mostly concerned about Apple's actions won't be happy with the focus of the sit-down, however. Most of the attention will surround allegations that companies are abusing standards-based patents, which will put the heat largely on a Google-owned Motorola as well as Samsung. Still, there's hope when the ITU's Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré talks of desiring a "balancing act" between what patent holders want and what customers need. Our real hope is that we don't have to hear talk of customs delays and product bans for a long while afterwards. [Image credit: Patrick Gruban, Flickr]
'Facebook tax' could make web companies pay for usage outside the US
Leaked documents purportedly from the ITU reveal that the body is considering a levy on content-heavy services like Facebook and Netflix to pay for the bandwidth they use outside of the US. Tabled by lobbyists representing Europe's biggest cellphone networks, the proposal suggests that Google and others should shoulder some of the cost of bringing their services to customers in the rest of the world. In response, Cisco VP Robert Pepper has argued that any such charge could cause web services to block queries from developing nations, "effectively cutting them off from the internet." The motion will be discussed at a December meeting of the ITU council, where all 193 member countries will be allowed to vote. [Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]
UN: worldwide internet users hit two billion, cellphone subscriptions top five billion
The UN's International Telecommunication Union predicted last fall that the number of internet users worldwide would hit two billion by the end of 2010, and it's now issued its full report that confirms just that -- 2.08 billion, to be specific. As the ITU's Hamadoun Toure notes, that number represents a huge leap from the mere 250 million internet users that existed a decade ago, and it means that roughly one third of the world's population now has internet access of some sort -- of those, 555 million have a fixed broadband subscription, and 950 million have mobile broadband. Just as impressive as that (if not moreso), are the number of cellphone subscriptions worldwide, which has now crossed the five billion mark. That's up from 500 million at the beginning of the year 2000, although the agency notes that it's only accounted for "subscriptions," and not individual users. Any way you slice it, however, that's quite a record of growth for the first decade of the 21st century.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: of mirror cubes and urban icebergs
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. With summer in full swing, this week Inhabitat watched the mercury rise as the world's largest thermostat burst forth with an array of 72,000 building-mounted LEDs. We also kept things cool with a remarkable plan to transform frozen construction sites into event-hosting urban icebergs. And if you haven't made plans for a summer vacation yet, might we recommend this stunning Swedish "Treehotel" housed within a silvery mirror cube in the sky? Heartening news rang forth from the renewable energy sector this week as a UN-backed study reported that the building of new renewable energy plants has officially overtaken fossil fuel plants in Europe and the US. We also took a look at two brand new types of power plants -- the world's first hydrogen-driven power plant in Italy and the first hybrid coal-solar power plant in Colorado. The past week also saw several remarkable advances in clean tech, starting with MIT's latest innovation, a new type of high-tech fiber that can transmit sound, light, and generate electricity. We also paid homage to one of our all-time favorite sources of (surprisingly green) home entertainment - the Roku Box.
United Nations identifies e-waste as an urgent and growing problem, wants change
E-waste might be one of the biggest misnomers in the history of nomery -- the image it creates in the mind is of a bunch of email and document files clogging up your local internet pipes. The reality of it is that electronic waste is rapidly populating ever-growing landfill areas in so-called developing countries (they're poor, just call a spade a spade) and the issue has now garnered the attention of the United Nations. The UN Environment Programme has issued a wideranging report warning that e-waste in China and South Africa could double or even quadruple within the next decade, whereas India could experience a five-fold rise. Major hazards exist in the unregulated and informal recycling of circuit boards and techno gadgets, as processes like backyard incineration for the retrieval of gold generate toxic gases while also being wildly inefficient. The whole point of the report is to encourage some global cooperation in setting up modern and safe recycling facilities in the affected countries to ameliorate the problem, though being generally more careful in our consumption and disposal of electronics wouldn't do the environment's chances any harm either.
