In The News

In China, Globalization Can Be Green

Saleem H. Ali June 1, 2006
China and Taiwan’s economies have benefited immensely from growth in the manufacturing sector and produce all sorts of goods used both domestically and abroad. But the two countries’ have vastly different ranks in an environmental performance index created by Yale University, with Taiwan ranking two places above the US and China ranking 70 places below Taiwan. Before outsourcing work, foreign...

A Climate of Our Own Making

Scott Barrett May 25, 2006
Climate change grabs international attention, but spurs little action. In this article, environmental economist Scott Barrett urges governments to confront the inevitability of global warming and points to key shortcomings in global climate-control policy. To slow climate change, experts generally argue for stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Such progress, however,...

Drought Insurance for the Third World

Beat Balzli May 15, 2006
After a year of natural disasters, the international community may shrug about the possibility of 6 million Kenyans, Ethiopians and Somalis facing drought and possible starvation. In response, the World Food Program and the World Bank have developed a new plan to replace aid: famine insurance. The new model of relief shifts emphasis from donations to arrangements with international financial...

US Privacy Campaigners Fear Mark of the Beast

James Sturcke May 12, 2006
If a diner in the US falls ill in the near future, the government plans to turn to a computer database to learn the source of any last bite of meat. Privacy advocates complain that the ambitious tagging program is expensive and excessive, and could potentially be used on humans. The US Department of Agriculture insists that the proposal is “technology neutral,” but critics anticipate heavy...

Not Out of the Woods Just Yet

Don Melnick May 5, 2006
Forests are an essential part of the earth’s delicate ecosystem. But corporations and governments promote rapid cutting for profits, and more than a billion acres of forestland have been lost since 1970. Forests not only provide fuel and building products, but also protect water supplies and mitigate the effects of global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide. Biology Professor Don Melnick and...

Climate Change Drives Disease to New Territory

Doug Struck May 5, 2006
Politicians tend to procrastinate when it comes to long-term problems. But rising temperatures are causing immediate problems, as diseases like malaria, cholera, Dengue fever, Lyme disease and West Nile virus make inroads into new territory, including the US, Europe and Canada. Common insects like ticks and mosquitoes live through mild winters and find new habitats, thus transforming from...

East Asia’s Troubled Waters – Part II

Peter Beck April 27, 2006
In 1910, Japan invaded Korea, colonizing the country for 35 years and attempting to obliterate its culture. Nationalism, fed by historic grievances, lingers today. In the second part of this three-part series, Peter Beck of the International Crisis Group analyzes the troubled relationship between Japan and South Korea, who are major trading partners, yet continue to clash over territorial...