In The News

A Rampaging Market, but a Long Way from Global Power

Isabel Hilton November 13, 2004
Many observers in the West have in recent years greeted China's steamrolling economic growth with unabashed optimism and glee. Yet amidst predictions of imminent superpower-dom, China faces stark internal inequalities that threaten to derail its lofty aspirations. While much of its urban population enjoys the material advantages and growing freedoms of recent reforms, 900 million people...

Galileo, Fusion Energy Propel India, EU "Strategic Partnership"

Siddharth Varadarajan November 9, 2004
In talks that were finalized on Monday, India and the European Union (EU) agreed to work together on the Galileo satellite global positioning system and on long-term fusion energy research. India has been careful to state that it will invest capital in proportion to the benefits that it receives from these projects, but the decision to collaborate is not simply a good money investment. By...

Report: GM Corn No Big Danger

Will Weissert November 9, 2004
Genetically modified (GM) corn is not a threat to Mexican ecosystems, according to a report by a NAFTA environmental watchdog group. Most American GM corn has been engineered to repel pests, and critics warned that original Mexican corn species would be rapidly eliminated by natural selection. However, the new report points out that the American corn has not been modified to survive Mexican pests...

Report Sounds Alarm on Pace of Arctic Climate Change

Juliet Eilperin October 31, 2004
One of the key issues separating the candidates in the upcoming US election is environmental policy. John Kerry has pledged to bring the United States back in sync with international initiatives to protect the environment; an arena he claims has been neglected by his opponent. This position may win greater legitimacy, considering the findings of a recent report on Arctic climate change. Compiled...

Trading in Pieties

October 22, 2004
A new European Commission proposal will give poor countries special access to EU markets if they agree to sign the Kyoto global warming protocol and other international environment and labor treaties. But manipulation of trade privileges is often thinly veiled protectionism, argues the Financial Times in this editorial. If trade negotiations do not focus on opening markets, the adoption of these...

US Presidential Campaigns and the World – Part II

Alan Bisbort October 20, 2004
Environmentalists all over the world may be aghast at the US lack of concern about global warming, but the American electorate has been left blissfully undisturbed. This year's presidential candidates have been almost entirely silent when it comes to the environment, a politically divisive issue that – contrary to public belief in the United States – remains globally relevant. According to...

Greenpeace Releases GM Corn Study

Michael O. Boyle October 19, 2004
A recent study on genetically modified (GM) corn was originally a project commissioned by the US, Mexican, and Canadian governments. On Monday, however, environmental activist group Greenpeace leaked the results, which included a recommendation for Mexico to enact strict controls over GM corn. Environmentalists say that an unchecked use of GM agriculture could be detrimental to local ecosystems...