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Thanks largely to vehicle emissions, Mexico City was once the world's most polluted urban centre. But over the past decade, a focus on sustainable alternative transport has persuaded a growing number of citizens to leave their cars at home. A heavily subsidised underground network caters for 22m journeys daily, and conditions on the city's overcrowded roads have improved, with the metro bus system and the introduction of public bicycles contributing significantly to reduced pollution levels

UN warns of looming worldwide food crisis in 2013 * Global grain reserves hit critically low levels * Extreme weather means climate 'is no longer reliable' * Rising food prices threaten disaster and unrest

The map is interactive

Greta graphic on large people

In 2008, around 70bn tonnes of raw materials were extracted worldwide but just 10bn tonnes were physically traded. Over 40% were used to enable the processing and export of these materials.

"Zambia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, with many citizens relying on wood for fuel and timber. A pioneering reforestation scheme aims to increase awareness and halt the trend"

"What is known about the laws and policies that shape children's lives globally? Previously, few global maps showcased children's rights in countries around the world. The Children's Chances website allows you to view maps of key policies for children's healthy development, and answer pressing questions such as: Can children in your country go to school? How many countries protect children from child labor? In which countries is child marriage legal? Does your country prioritize child health? Can parents in your country meet the needs of their children? How do the unemployed or underemployed fare across different countries? In which countries do children of different genders, religions or ethnicities have equal rights? Which countries support the education and inclusion of children with disabilities?"

"In June 2012, "Welcome to the Anthropocene"-a film about the state of the planet-opened the UN's Rio+20 summit on sustainable development. The summit was the largest UN meeting to date. 3mins 38 worth watching A 3-minute journey through the last 250 years of our history, from the start of the Industrial Revolution to the Rio+20 Summit. The film charts the growth of humanity into a global force on an equivalent scale to major geological processes. "

"The west has in recent years undergone a prolonged and painful financial crisis. In contrast, much of Africa has experienced relatively more rapid economic growth. While there are questions about the environmental impact, sustainability and quality of Africa's growth, what accounts for these different economic trajectories? Part of the explanation lies in the growth of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) economies. These are largely responsible for higher African economic growth through increased demand for primary commodities and investment in mining, infrastructure and other sectors. They are also changing the nature of globalisation."

"Drought-prone areas will become drier and wet tropical regions wetter, says Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change"

"Demand for sugar is triggering land conflicts, says Oxfam, as it calls on Coca-Cola and other major firms to have zero tolerance"

This is so COOL . The National Library of Scotland's (NLS) Map Department has recently completed a huge georeferencing exercise, taking a set of Six-Inch-To-Mile (1:10560) maps for the whole of England and Wales, scanning them in to create high-quality images, and lining them up with Google Maps and OpenStreetMap modern maps. The maps were drawn between 1888-1913 and so represent a complete picture of the countries a hundred years ago. They have developed a side-by-side tool to allow for easy comparison between the old and new maps.