In The News

A New Rice Revolution on the Way?

John Berthelsen January 19, 2011
New research from Asia has produced strains of rice that can withstand a range of disease, soil and weather conditions. Developed over 12 years, the process “holds out the hope of a scientific method of increasing yields of other crops, making them hardier and more resistant to disease and insects and cutting the use of fertilizers and pesticides without resorting to genetic modification,”...

UK Snow

David Millward December 22, 2010
Fast, low-cost travel fuels modern globalization. During the busy winter holiday season, schedules are tight and seats few. So a few inches of snow, unusual for Europe, have paralyzed travel in the United Kingdom and some neighboring nations. Reports suggest that Heathrow Airport – managed by BAA, controlled by Ferrovial, a Spanish firm – has a need for additional snow plows and de-icing...

Nations That Debate Coal Use Export It to Feed China’s Need

Elisabeth Rosenthal December 3, 2010
Pollution from burning coal has no borders. Yet wealthy developed nations that limit construction of coal-fired plants within their borders do not hesitate to ship loads of coal to China and other nations in Asia, reports Elisabeth Rosenthal for the New York Times. The article lists numerous trade deals, and China now uses about half of the coal burned globally, or 3 billion tons. The rush to...

Merkel Leads on Climate Change

Hakan Altinay December 2, 2010
The vast majority of climate researchers contend that failing to take immediate steps to control emissions could ruin the world as we know it. They urge today’s generations to sacrifice, sharing the cost burden with future generations. But preventive steps taken today won’t take effect for 30 years or more. Politicians whose power depends on comforting citizens deny that change is underway or...

Leaking Siberian Ice Raises a Tricky Climate Issue

Arthur Max November 24, 2010
Climate change could be unfolding at a faster pace than predicted by most scientists. New research suggests that rapidly thawing permafrost in remote regions like Siberia and Alaska is expected to release methane and tons of carbon into the atmosphere, reports Arthur Max for the Associated Press. “As the Earth warms, the summer thaw bites a bit deeper, awakening ice-age microbes that attack...

Beijing's Threat to India's Water Security

Amit Ranjan November 15, 2010
Several of India's major rivers originate in Tibet and China's ongoing dam construction, diverting water away from other nations, raises alarm. “Population pressures and increased economic activity mean demand for water is growing inexorably while the supply is finite,” writes Amit Ranjan. China and India, the word's most populous nations, lack a water treaty, and analysts in India...

A Quick Fix for Climate Change?

Michael Richardson November 8, 2010
Spewing particles into the skies to block sunlight, releasing chemicals into the oceans to encourage plankton growth and carbon absorption, are just two examples of how geoengineering technologies might ease impacts of climate change. The interventions, still being tested, would be temporary and costly, warns Michael Richardson, senior research fellow with the Institute of South East Asian...