HORIZON SOLUTIONS SITE | Working to find and advance solutions to environment, health, poverty, and development problems


NASA’s OCO-2 Brings Sharp New Focus on Global Carbon	. In July 2014, NASA will launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) to study the fate of carbon dioxide worldwide. Natural processes are working hard to keep the carbon cycle in balance by absorbing about half of our carbon emissions, limiting the extent of climate change. There's a lot we don't know about these processes, including where they are occurring and how they might change as the climate warms. To understand and prepare for the carbon cycle of the future, we have an urgent need to find out.
IPCC Reports A Changing Climate Creates Pervasive Risks But Opportunities Exist For Effective Responses	The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, titled Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, from Working Group II of the IPCC, details the impacts of climate change to date, the future risks from a changing climate, and the opportunities for effective action to reduce risks.
Eliciting Brain Plasticity To Keep The Body Moving	Outcomes of this research are contributing to the system-level understanding of human-machine interactions, and motor learning and control in real world environments for humans, and are leading to the development of a new generation of wireless brain and body activity sensors and adaptive prosthetics devices.
WSSCC Progresses in Meeting Sanitation and Hygiene Needs	This is the third article of a series on “Realizing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All.” It features the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council's (WSSCC) progress in meeting sanitation and hygiene needs with the help of the communities themselves and assistance from the WSSCC managed Global Sanitation Fund.
Singapore's NEWater Wins UN-Water Award On World Water Day	NEWater’s comprehensive public communications and education program was recognized by UN-Water for building public confidence and acceptance in NEWater, Singapore’s own brand of recycled water which comes from collected and cleaned wastewater.
Jaguar Given New Protection: Belize and Panthera Sign Critical Conservation Agreement	A trilateral agreement pledges collaborative implementation of science-based conservation initiatives that secure and connect jaguars and their habitats in Belize and beyond its borders, facilitate land development that is both ecologically sustainable and economically profitable, and mitigate human-jaguar conflict throughout the country.
CVS Caremark to Stop Selling Tobacco at all CVS/pharmacy Locations	CVS Caremark announced today that it will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores across the U.S. by October 1, 2014, making CVS/pharmacy the first national pharmacy chain to take this step in support of the health and well-being of its patients and customers.
Realizing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All	This article focuses on the background of the problem, what it means for nearly half the people of the developing world who lack adequate sanitation and hygiene. Today, an estimated 2.4 to 2.6 billion individuals lack access to any type of improved sanitation facility according to the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) half of the developing world, more than 35 % of the world’s population lack access to adequate sanitation. And, poor sanitation and hygiene are inextricably linked to water quality.
Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve In Mexico Hailed a Model for Sustainable Development	Martha Isabel Ruiz Corzo, credited with securing the future of one of Mexico's most critical ecosystems, Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, and supporting the livelihoods of disadvantaged rural communities, received a UN 2013 Champions of the Earth award. The Reserve is home to more than 110 species of mammals 334 bird species, and 2,308 plant species.
Scientists To Study Pacific Ocean's "Global Chimney"	Remote waters affect billions of people, shape climate and air chemistry worldwide The remote waters of the Western tropical Pacific Ocean region affect billions of people by shaping climate and air chemistry worldwide. Beginning the week of January 13, 2014, scientists will head to the region to better understand its influence on the atmosphere, including how that influence may change in coming decades if storms over the Pacific become more powerful with rising global temperatures.