The West’s show of strength against Russia was necessary. Now, however, we need an emphatic effort at de-escalation.

Dams are still often seen as a source of 'clean energy', even though they have disastrous environmental and social consequences. Even the promise of climate-friendly energy production is not fulfilled, because in fact dams are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions - 'clean energy' turns out to be a driver of both climate change and social conflict. Nevertheless, mega-dams in particular have continued to advance globally in recent years. An interdisciplinary special issue of the journal Sustainable Development, now fully open access, is dedicated to dams as a social phenomenon. It vividly shows the profound social hopes and conflicts associated with large dams.

Mehr als eine halbe Million Menschen sind in Brasilien bereits mit oder an Covid-19 gestorben. In der weltweiten Statistik absoluter Todeszahlen liegt das Land auf Rang zwei hinter den USA. Bisher sind nur ca. 25% der Bevölkerung vollständig durch eine Impfung geschützt. Auch wenn die Impfkampagnen in Brasilien in den letzten Monaten Fortschritte machten, erreichte das Land Ende August 2021 den traurigen Höhepunkt von 20 Millionen Covid-19-Fällen.