In The News

The Coal Monster: Pollution Forces Chinese Leaders to Act

Bernhard Zand March 7, 2013
Under a haze of smog, China’s economic successes seem less amazing. Bernhard Zand describes acid, bleach, smoke, sulfur, soot and pollutants that assault the senses in China’s cities. “Chinese bloggers are on a rampage, and even the most loyal government newspapers are examining every aspect of the crisis and attacking those responsible for conditions in China with unprecedented ferocity,” Zand...

As Sea Ice Melts, Storm Surges Batter Arctic Coasts

Becky Oskin March 7, 2013
As the climate warms and changes, scientists learn more about the planet’s the intricate connections. Rising temperatures not only deliver harsher storms and melt sea ice – the loss of thick sea ice eliminates an obstacle that once slowed Arctic storms, and analysts predict new speed and power behind storm surges and ocean flooding. In turn, rising saltwater is killing off vegetation that...

Bangladesh Tackles Climate Change, Fuses Rice Paddies With Fish Farms

Naimul Haq March 4, 2013
Low-lying countries like Bangladesh understand that they must adapt quickly to climate change – and explore a range of options. Saltwater intrusion is destroying rice paddies. Combining aquaculture with rice farming could increase nutrition levels of food, reduce environmental damage and increase output capacity of land and neighboring waters, suggests a report from a fisheries management...

Sea Urchin Nickel “Trick” Key to Capturing Carbon?

Matt McGrath February 18, 2013
It seems too easy. Newcastle University researchers have discovered that sea urchins use the metal nickel to turn carbon dioxide into shell or chalk, reports Matt McGrath for BBC News, and the process could serve as a model for a carbon capture-and-storage system. The researchers, including physicists and chemists, were studying sea-urchin larvae. McGrath reports, “Working with extremely small...

Is China Choking on Success?

Robert A. Manning February 15, 2013
China’s citizens are paying a steep price for rapid economic growth. The government struggles to mask environmental problems, yet China is home to seven of the world’s 10 most polluted cities. Smog often blankets the nation’s cities. Robert A. Manning, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security and former US State Department official, points out that...

APP to Preserve Indonesia’s Rainforests

Ben Bland February 8, 2013
Pressure from Greenpeace and awareness among Asia Pulp & Paper’s multinational customer base have prompted a promise from the firm to stop cutting natural forests and draining peatlands in Indonesia, reports Ben Bland for the Financial Times. The company is also calling on other logging firms operating in Indonesia to join the effort, as Indonesian people alone would have low carbon...

Let's Not Learn to Love Disaster

Stan Cox February 1, 2013
Countries often focus on disasters within their borders, overlooking floods, fires and storms elsewhere. Scientist Stan Cox suggests that entire economies must be restructured in an opinion essay for Al Jazeera: “Governments and corporations worldwide … have built entire economies that depend on huge energy inputs and ever-expanding consumption, and they can't back out now.” Disasters are...