In The News

How "Scientific" Are the Millennium Development Goals?

David Dickson September 22, 2005
In the years following the announcement of the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), much ink was spilled in debating the feasibility of the lofty aims. Recently, Amir Attaran, an analyst of development policy, incited much debate when he issued a scathing critique of the MDGs on the grounds that many of the development targets rested on hazy data. The strongest proponents, including...

The Railway Across the Roof of the World

Jonathan Watts September 21, 2005
They said it couldn't be done. The miles-high terrain of the Kunlun Range seemed no place for a railroad, yet the Chinese government forged ahead with plans for a route to the furthest reaches of Tibet. The 48-hour journey from Golmud to Lhasa, along the soon-to-be completed rail line, represents an opportunity for growth as well as a potentially dangerous expansion of China's...

Global Warming: Adapting to a New Reality

Elisabeth Rosenthal September 15, 2005
Something is amiss in Europe. Sickness-inducing algae in Genoa, severe flooding in central Europe, Portuguese wildfires, ticks carrying Lyme disease northward into Sweden – all are recent occurrences that scientists have attributed to global warming. Countries and politicians, faced with mounting evidence of the trend, are starting to consider the changes they will have to make in order to adapt...

American Character Gets Mixed Reviews

June 23, 2005
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, America's worldwide reputation continues to suffer. The Pew Global Attitudes Project, co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Senator John C. Danforth, surveyed nearly 17,000 countries to assess their opinions about their own nations and the rest of the world. The 2005 survey revealed that, although US...

Protecting Biodiversity 'May Clash with Pursuit of MDGs'

Ehsan Masood May 19, 2005
According to a new report, UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce global poverty will interfere with efforts to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss. Infrastructural development such as road building can have a negative environmental impact, disrupting habitats and leading to species loss in many places. This has sparked much debate over which is the more important goal to meet,...

The Black Gold's Curse

R.K. Pachauri April 28, 2005
The recent record surge in oil prices has led many OPEC countries to re-evaluate their energy demand. This Outlook India commentary suggests that these newfound concerns are only the beginning of a worldwide reckoning of oil security. Rising prices are a symptom not of an impending global supply crisis, but of a concentration of reserves and an enormous projected leap in production in primarily...

All That Gas

Alam Srinivas April 25, 2005
Across the world – in countries like China, the United States, and the European Union – reliance on foreign oil imports is increasing. At the same time, most experts expect the world's oil supply to decrease sometime in the near future, with supply peaking anywhere from 2007 to 2037. Brazil is the largest and lowest cost producer of ethanol, a more environmentally friendly substitute to...