In The News

Water Challenges Asia’s Rising Powers – Part II

Rohini Nilekani July 14, 2011
India and China account for one third of the world’s population; each consumes more freshwater than other nations. Per inhabitant per year, though, India uses less than half what’s used in the US, China uses less than one third. This YaleGlobal series examines India and China’s water use, their expectations for rising demand and recognition that shortages will disrupt economic progress. The...

Water Challenges Asia’s Rising Powers – Part I

Keith Schneider July 12, 2011
Scarcity of water increasingly challenges economic growth of India and China. Water’s role in economic development is taken for granted, yet for running the growth engine it’s as precious a commodity as fossil fuels. This YaleGlobal series examines strategies for negotiating demands among competing industries. Conflicts over water could disrupt China’s steady economic progress, argues journalist...

Megafires May Change the Southwest Forever

Brandon Keim July 1, 2011
Fires sweeping through remote areas is a natural occurrence. But the same can’t be said about the record-setting megafires raging in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The megafires, large and intensely hot, more regular in occurrence and more destructive, could permanently alter the ecology of that region of the United States, writes Brandon Keim for Wired. Drought has exacerbated fires, and...

Global Warming and the Science of Extreme Weather

John Carey June 29, 2011
Insurance industry research anticipates extreme weather events will become routine. Scientists who once hesitated to link extreme droughts, storms or other weather events with human activity, including burning fossil fuels, now report evidence of connections, reports John Carey in Scientific American and the second article of a three-part series. Carey points out that basic physics is behind...

Warning: Extreme Weather Ahead

John Vidal June 15, 2011
“Everyone complains about the weather and no one does anything about it” – Mark Twain’s observation also applies to climate change. The entire globe is experiencing a “climate rollercoaster” of extreme weather with record-setting droughts, flooding, winds, temperatures, wildfires and snow, writes John Vidal for the Guardian. He adds, “The impacts of extreme weather are greater in poorer countries...

Activism Gets Rolling in Taiwan

Ralph Jennings June 8, 2011
The deepest respect for a society often comes from those who criticize and take corrective action. Writing for the New York Times, Ralph Jennings tells the story about a US-born lawyer who moved to Taiwan in 1977, becoming a citizen 26 years later to fight for environmental causes. In 2003, Robin Winkler started a foundation to handle pro bono cases on environmental issues. Investment in...

Worst Ever Carbon Emissions Leave Climate on the Brink

Fiona Harvey May 31, 2011
Record levels of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2010, as estimated by the International Energy Agency, could dash hopes of controlling climate change, reports Fiona Harvey for the Guardian. The IEA also notes that global recession did little to dent reliance on fossil fuels. Governments, by allowing emissions to rise, cannot hope to prevent average global temperature rising by more than 2 degrees...