In The News

Ecologists Fear Disaster as Oil Rush Takes Grip in Quake Zone

Nick Paton Walsh August 25, 2003
The Russian island of Sakhalin will soon be home to the largest energy project in the world, and there is fear, possibly the largest disaster. The oil rich island borders Japan and lies directly on top of an active seismic fault line, a fact that has environmentalists up in arms. They fear that the underground pipelines will not be able to withstand the island's frequent earthquakes and...

Strict CO2 Limits Will Send Work Abroad

David Gow August 20, 2003
Strictly enforcing a new emissions policy could cause a mass exodus of jobs and energy business from Britain. The German-owned energy company Innogy – one of the country's largest energy suppliers – is concerned that the United Kingdom will apply the EU's new carbon emissions trading scheme more stringently than other member states. The new scheme caps the amount of carbon dioxide...

Japan Vows to Proceed with Oil Deal in Iran

David Pilling August 19, 2003
Japan may seek an oil deal with Iran, despite US objections. Earlier this year, many speculated that Tokyo had abandoned a lucrative deal to develop Iran's Azadegan oilfield because of US opposition and accusations that Tehran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Several months later, however, Japanese companies have revived the temporarily stalled deal. Analysts maintain that Japan is...

Cleaner Air, Courtesy of California

August 14, 2003
The US may make headway on increasing automotive efficiency without federal support. Automakers General Motors and DaimlerChrysler dropped a lawsuit against a California rule requiring them to produce millions of cleaner, more efficient "hybrid" cars that operate on a combination of gas and electricity. At a time when Americans are continuing their love affair with the SUV and the...

Why is Russia Dragging its Feet on Kyoto?

Michael Grubb July 14, 2003
Russia is yet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty designed to reduce the threat of climate change through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol, ratified by 110 countries, also includes provisions for market-oriented mechanisms for “trading emission allowances and emission credits granted for clean energy investment.” Michael Grubb and Yuri Safonov, scholars of climate...

Bush Tour: PR Exercise or Boon to Africa?

July 14, 2003
Was US President George W. Bush's trip to Africa primarily self-serving or truly centered on the continent's welfare? Throughout the five-day visit, critics asserted that the only interests the US President holds in Africa are American. Some observers believe that after finding itself short on friends in the UN Security Council prior to the Iraq War, the US is attempting to amass a...

A Helping Hand from Bush to Africans?

Abdallah Abu-Younis July 8, 2003
US President Bush’s agenda for his upcoming trip to Africa is packed with high stakes issues. AIDS, poverty, corruption, and state failure run rampant across the continent, threatening US interests by providing the shroud of chaos for terrorist groups. However, as this editorial in The Arab News points out, Bush must be careful not to generalize about Africa’s problems and solutions. African...