A joint Indian-Chinese team of scientists have announced their plans to survey Himalayan glaciers that are feared to be rapidly melting. Glaciers are the second largest supply of freshwater in the world. In recent decades, international glaciologists have raised concern about glacial melting, also known as glacier retreat, as a result of global warming. The massive Himalayan glaciers appear to be melting at an alarming rate, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people living in China and the Indian subcontinent.

Electronic waste, also known as e-waste, is the fastest growing component of municipal waste worldwide with 20-50 million tonnes generated annually. In the United States alone, 14-20 million PCs are thrown out each year. Finding new methods and locations to dispose of this waste is becoming problematic. E-waste is laden with toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium that can leach into water, soils and the atmosphere, posing significant environmental and human health risks.

The Baiji, a rare white dolphin regarded in China as the "goddess of the Yangtze," has been declared extinct by a team of international scientists. This represents the first extinction of a large aquatic mammal since hunting and overfishing killed off the Caribbean monk seal in the 1950s. The recent fate of the Baiji reflects a global trend--large river fish and mammals are declining worldwide, and particularly in the rapidly industrializing countries of Asia. Concrete actions to protect these threatened species will be necessary to prevent future extinctions.

Over one billion children suffer from a lack of proper nutrition, safe drinking water, decent sanitation, basic health-care services, and adequate education. A new report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) finds that eliminating gender discrimination and empowering women is essential to improving children's welfare worldwide. Despite a general increase in women's status in recent decades, significant gender gaps remain. Women account for 70 percent of those living in poverty, two-thirds of the illiterate, and two-thirds of those denied primary education. They are also disproportionately vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence.

Meat production from the global livestock sector is projected to more than double over the next fifty years. This growth reflects an ongoing trend in developing countries--as incomes rise, people increase consumption of previously unaffordable foods such as meat and milk. As a result of income and population growth, meat supply has tripled in developing countries since 1980. A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) states that the environmental consequences of this "livestock revolution" are significant and require urgent action.

Severe flooding in the Horn of Africa has put 1.5 to 1.8 million people at risk of infectious disease and malnutrition. This crisis follows a prolonged drought that exposed over 8 million people in the region to extreme food insecurity. The heavy rains began in October and will continue to inundate large areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia through December. Flood waters have caused hundreds of deaths, massive displacement of people, and significant damage to livelihoods and infrastructure.

The eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the Basel Convention, an international treaty controlling hazardous waste trade and disposal, was held last week in Nairobi, Kenya. A serious tone was set for negotiations by a toxic waste dumping in Côte d'Ivoire last August that left many dead and thousands requiring medical attention. Although over 30 decisions were made on various hazardous waste issues, the primary focus of COP8 was the creation of innovative solutions for the environmentally sound management of electronic waste, also known as e-waste.

As many as 300-500 million people are infected with malaria each year, resulting in over one million deaths worldwide. The economic costs of the disease, including health care expenses and lost productivity, are a significant burden on the world's poor, particularly in Africa and south Asia. Yet there has been relatively little investment in malaria research compared to other diseases of international importance such as HIV/AIDS and, more recently, bird flu. As a result, the world's leading health organizations have recently launched a global strategy, the Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap, to develop an effective vaccine by 2025.

Over 65 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, a number that continues to grow every day. It has been 25 years since the first AIDS patient was identified and already 25 million people have died and another 117 million are anticipated to die by 2030. Today, in celebration of World AIDS Day, leaders from around the world have focused their attention on what United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan calls "the greatest challenge of our generation."

Africa faces the world's most severe public health crisis. Africans account for 60% of the global population living with HIV/AIDS and over 90% of annual malaria cases. Millions of African mothers and children die every year from preventable and treatable diseases because they lack access to basic health care services. Yet a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) breaks from the typical pessimism surrounding African health issues and offers real success stories and practical solutions to some of Africa's greatest health challenges.