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Hazardous chemicals are a vital part of many industries, but lax and inconsistent safety standards put workers' health and lives at risk all over the world, writes Christian Friis Bach. 

Christian Friis Bach is Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Millions of workers are exposed every day to hazardous chemicals around the globe, in developing and developed countries. These chemicals are purchased and shipped from all over the world and differences in language and labelling could make them even more dangerous. However, thanks to a true success story of international cooperation, the danger is abating every day. This is worth celebrating on the World Day for Safety and Health at Work

A new high-performance 'aluminum-ion' battery could be the technical breakthrough needed to boost the renewable energy takeover. It's safe, uses abundant low-cost materials, recharges in one minute and withstands many thousands of recharge cycles.

If this new battery lives up to expectations, it could propel a whole new chapter in the renewable takeover of the world's energy supply.

Stanford University scientists have invented the first high-performance aluminum battery that's fast-charging, long-lasting, inexpensive - and safe.

Pesticides such as as neonicotinoids are already under close scrutiny because research appears to show that, certainly for honey bees at least, they may interrupt the insect’s normal behaviors and they are suspected to play a part in colony collapse disorder.

El carbono que permaneció en los suelos de permafrost congelado para decenas de miles de años, está siendo liberado conforme las regiones árticas de la Tierra se calientan y está alimentando aún más el cambio climático global, según un investigador de la Universidad Estatal de Florida.

Robert Spencer, profesor adjunto de oceanografía, escribe en la revista Geophysical Research Letters que los organismos unicelulares llamados microbios, están devorando rápidamente el antiguo carbono que se libera de la descongelación del permafrost del suelo para finalmente liberarlo a la atmósfera en forma de dióxido de carbono. El aumento en los niveles de dióxido de carbono, por supuesto, hace que la Tierra se caliente y acelera la descongelación.

Four years of devastating droughts in California have pushed cities and counties in the Golden State to seriously consider turning to the one drinking source that is not depleting anytime soon – seawater. With the Pacific Ocean abutting their shores, water desalination may be the much-needed solution for Californians. But desalination has its disadvantages, the chief ones being the high costs and the potential environmental damage.