In The News

Plants May Run Out of Time to Grow Under Ongoing Climate Change

June 16, 2015
Researchers challenge theories that suggest plants in northern latitudes could thrive in a warming climate. “The prevailing assumption ignores the fact that plants in the north will remain limited by solar radiation, curbing positive effects of warming and additional CO2 availability,” notes University of Hawaiʻi News, reporting on research led by Professor Camilo Mora. “In addition, that same...

The TTIP Gap: How a Trans-Atlantic Trade Deal Can Be Fixed

Christoph Pauly, Michael Sauga, Michaela Schiessl and Gerald Traufetter June 11, 2015
The US exported $344 billion to the EU, and the EU exported $450 billion to the US in 2013, reports Spiegel Online. Policymakers expect the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership to counter competition from Asia by streamlining regulations. German manufacturers anticipate meeting one US standard rather than 50 imposed by states. “In virtually every industrial sector today, a large number...

Over the Barrel: Must Be Greener

Vikram S. Mehta June 4, 2015
Countries must end the many contradictions between energy policies and goals to reduce emissions and destruction of the environment and industries that rely on clean water and air. Vikram S. Mehta, chairman of Brookings India, writes specifically about India for the Indian Express, but his recommendations apply to all nations: reduce reliance on coal, shift from subsidizing carbon-based fuels to...

The Age of Disruption

Nayan Chanda May 13, 2015
Awareness of new patterns, discoveries and inventions can revolutionize entire industries or economies. Others quickly adapt or struggle. Richard Dobbs, James Manyika and Jonathan Woetzel are authors of “No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends,” and “By combining data from disparate fields, they make a compelling argument about the disruptive forces that are re-...

World's Oceans Value at $24T a Gross Underestimation?

Roman Kilisek May 11, 2015
The world’s oceans, as “lifelines of the global economy with about 70 percent of global trade being seaborne,” are priceless, but also taken for granted. The WWF report estimates the raw economic value of the oceans at US$24 trillion – about equal to the seventh largest economy in the world. The oceans could be undervalued, notes Roman Kilisek for Breaking Energy. That assigned value does not...

High Costs of Cheap Oil

Deepak Gopinath May 7, 2015
Consumers are delighted by low oil prices and economists anticipate increased global growth. But the low prices are locking many industries into infrastructure that relies on fossil fuels. “High-carbon infrastructure – power plants, pipelines, factories, inefficient buildings, roads and transport vehicles – built now will last and pollute for decades to come,” writes Deepak Gopinath, a writer and...

Megacities Might Not Save the Planet After All

Lizzie Wade April 29, 2015
Large cities are described as the “economic and cultural beating heart” for countries, attracting those seeking jobs, economic markets and entertainment. “In 2010, 6.7 percent of the human beings on Earth lived in a megacity,” reports Lizzie Wade for Wired, writing about research from engineer Christopher Kennedy with the University of Toronto, assisted by 28 researchers in 19 countries. “That...