In The News

Dams in China Turn the Mekong Into a River of Discord

Michael Richardson July 16, 2009
The Mekong, one of the world’s major rivers, starting in Tibet and flowing through south China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, provides sustenance through irrigation and fishing to those living in its basin. But it also provides hydroelectric power through dams, three of which were built in China and with more planned. And it is precisely these dams that are now threatening the...

Europe Looks To Africa For Solar Power

Tom Zeller Jr. July 6, 2009
With the demand for renewable energy rising, a European project is applying innovative means to harvest energy in Africa. The project known as Desertec will seek to produce power through large fields of solar collection mirrors in North African deserts and then deliver that power back to Europe as electricity. Critics have called the plan inefficient and exploitative given that solar energy can...

India Should Combine Tough Climate Stand With Green Policy

Nandan Nilekani July 2, 2009
The upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen in December poses some challenging, but not insurmountable problems for the Indian government. Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, Nandan Nilekani explains that India needs to engage actively in the climate debate, not only because India is likely to be one of the countries most affected by climate change, but also because it will enable India to...

The Congress Party’s Win

May 22, 2009
Indonesia should take comfort and guidance from the Congress Party’s recent success in India’s elections, according to this editorial from The Jakarta Post. As one of the world’s largest democracies, Indonesia has much in common with India not only historically, but also structurally. The similarities in ethnic and political diversity are striking. But Indonesia can learn a number of lessons from...

India’s Election Shows Equitable Globalization Can Succeed

Sadanand Dhume May 21, 2009
India’s Congress Party’s big win in the recent election has as much significance for citizens of that country as it does for citizens of the world. It shows that democracy and development can go hand in hand, according author Sadanand Dhume. A country that is slated to grow above 5 percent amid the financial crisis is a model for developing nations. That India can do this while sporting the world...

The Koreas: A Tale of Two Triangles

Han Sung-Joo April 10, 2009
Underneath friendly competition between the US and China lurks the potential for instability and conflict. Yet, this scenario presents countries like South Korea not only with the chance to mediate between the two powers and play a larger role on the world stage, but also with the challenge of maintaining neutrality. According to South Korea’s former Foreign Minister Han Sung-Joo, such...

China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Cars

Keith Bradsher April 3, 2009
China’s plan to become the world leader in electric cars may not reduce pollution as much as reallocate it. While greenhouse gas emissions would decline by roughly 19 percent, according to a McKinsey study, if electric cars replaced gas-powered ones in China, such emissions would shift from car exhausts to power plants – in other words from the city to the country. But pollution reduction is only...