In The News

Global Insect Decline and More Pests: BBC

Matt McGrath February 13, 2019
Intensive agriculture, pesticides, pollution, deforestation, habitat loss, invasive species and a changing climate are decimating populations of bees, ants and beetles, reports research published in Biological Conservation. Meanwhile the populations of houseflies and cockroaches, insects that reproduce quickly and live among humans, could rise. “Insects make up the majority of creatures that live...

Book Review: The Sustainable State

Susan Froetschel January 8, 2019
Survival of the world’s livable habitat depends on 6 billion people living in developing nations to resist the lifestyles practiced by 1 billion people living in the world’s wealthiest nations. Reckless consumerism has become more threat than comfort, wasting limited resources and poisoning water and air, and government intervention is required. The only solution, author Chandran Nair concludes,...

Project Syndicate: Climate Safety and Engineers

Jeffrey D. Sachs January 1, 2019
Nations have developed a rulebook for implementing the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Ending reliance on fossil fuels will help stem climate change, improving the environment and health, yet more action is required, explains Jeffrey Sachs for Project Syndicate. “The diplomats have read the science and know the truth: without a rapid move to a zero-carbon global energy system by mid-century,...

Salon: 5 Key Trends in Globalization

Edward Goldberg December 30, 2018
Old forms of globalization linked to fear and nationalism – as “angry minority based coalitions determined the fate of the majority” – have reemerged over the past year, explains Edward Goldberg. He offers a list of the top globalization events for 2018 for Salon, and for each the world can repeat history or learn from past events to avoid trouble: After 40 years of opening to the global economy...

Guardian: Tackle Climate or Face Financial Crash

Damian Carrington December 11, 2018
Some of the world’s largest pension funds, insurers, rating agencies and asset managers are heeding warnings from climate researchers to demand phase-out on all coal burning, reduced carbon emissions and introduction of carbon taxes. As ministers arrive for a UN climate summit in Poland, more than 400 investors signed a Global Investor Statement describing refusal to acknowledge climate change as...

Washington Post: Cultural Anxiety Fuels France’s Protests

Ishaan Tharoor December 11, 2018
The “gilets jaunes,” or yellow vest movement, target French cities with violent protests and economic disruptions. The protests are spreading to Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain. One analyst suggests that what began as opposition to a tax designed to slow climate change has exploded into a working-class revolt. Yet surveys suggest that 79 percent of French citizens regard climate change as a...

Sierra: Global Warming Will Be Catastrophic

Jonathan Hahn December 3, 2018
Only foolish or superstitious societies ignore clear evidence of danger and take chances. The science on climate change and a warming world is overwhelming, yet a small, vocal minority insists that there is no need for humans to take precautions by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. US government scientists released the fourth National Climate Assessment, as required by Congress. “The report is...