In The News

20 Years Left: Mammals Plunge Into Extinction

Ben Cubby September 9, 2010
Animals like the bettong, small marsupials known as rat kangaroos, survived ice ages and hunters for million years. But increasing fires, predation and invasive species are now threatening extinction for bettongs and other species, reports Ben Cubby for the Sydney Morning Herald. Wildlife surveys across the region, commissioned by the Nature Conservancy, show an average 75 percent drop in mammal...

Germany Leads With Its Goal of 100 Percent Renewable Energy

Daniel Boese September 7, 2010
Germany is demonstrating steady progress in unshackling itself from fossil fuel dependence by converting to renewable energy sources. Polls show that more than 80 percent of the nation favors development of homegrown wind, sun and geothermal energy alternatives and escape from importing the bulk of oil, gas or uranium from foreign sources. In economic terms, Germany is an early adopter. The large...

New Killer: Climate Change

Sasha Chavkin July 22, 2010
Changes in weather patterns and the landscape, once gradual, have become more abrupt and noticeable with this century. Deserts expand, seas rise, rains pound – etching away land, jobs and homes. Hardest hit are the poorest nations, and families forced to move are left to their own devices by their governments as well as the wealthier nations that continue to emit carbon that fuel extreme weather...

Lack of Bees Could Cause “Wonky Strawberries”

Louise Gray June 25, 2010
England’s bees are vanishing faster than anywhere else in Europe, reports Louis Gray for the Telegraph. With bees responsible for up to one third of the food supply, the British government is funding research to track down reasons behind the disappearance and find ways to boost populations. Insect pollinators contribute £440 million to the British economy, researchers estimate. Climate change,...

Globalization of Energy Demand

June 18, 2010
In an interview with Nayan Chanda, Editor of YaleGlobal Online, Daniel Yergin, one of the world’s leading experts on energy, discusses the future of dependence on oil and a push towards efficiency. He also talks about the “globalization of demand”, in which he states that the success of globalization, notably demonstrated by rapidly rising incomes in, for example, China and India, is reflected in...

Britain Should Back Down Over BP

Clive Crook June 15, 2010
Oil continues to gush unchecked into the Gulf of Mexico, after an April 20 explosion of a rig leased to BP. Neither the British multinational nor the US government have come up with a way to stop the oil, and growing numbers of Americans demand action – a quick fix, cleanup, more government regulation and environmental protections, punishment for BP, criminal charges and more. The damages include...

Emerging Green Technology Poses Threat of Trade Wars

Bruce Stokes May 14, 2010
Smart investors recognize that cheap oil won’t last forever and emerging green technologies could revolutionize everyday business as much as computers did. As with any new technology, nations compete to perfect and produce new products for the world, making lots of money along the way, explains international economics columnist Bruce Stokes. But Stokes warns that the global trading system lacks...