In The News

The World Is Flatter

Nayan Chanda September 27, 2011
The United States seems to have a knack for ushering in changes, then failing to adapt to the challenges they bring. The failure of the US to adapt to the technology and finance-driven globalization it introduced to the world has prompted an alarming decline. In his regular column for Businessworld, YaleGlobal editor Nayan Chanda reviews “That Used to Be Us: How America fell behind in the world...

Apple Attacked Over Pollution in China

Leslie Hook, Kathrin Hille September 13, 2011
Large multinational corporations are often accused of taking advantage of lax environmental laws in developing countries to reduce costs. But China is signaling a new willingness to reject environmental degradation in exchange for jobs and economic growth. A report published by five Chinese non-governmental organizations alleges that technological behemoth Apple has used suppliers with public...

An Amazonian Battle

Joe Leahy August 31, 2011
After slowing of deforestation in recent years, conflict has returned to the Amazon rainforest with increasing fights between conservations and farmers. Farmers are pushing for a law granting amnesty for illegal logging before 2008 and claim that the host of environmental laws that reduced deforestation created uncertainty for investors. Environmentalists are worried about undermining...

Saving the Environment for 9 Billion – II

Chandran Nair August 30, 2011
Those who care about the life of future generations recognize that today’s unbridled economic growth is unsustainable, and the world must prepare for 9 billion inhabitants by 2050, contends Chandran Nair in the second article of a two-part YaleGlobal series. Asia cannot afford to mimic the American lifestyle and would be wise to ignore western encouragement for greater consumption in pursuit of...

The Challenging Billions

David Bloom August 26, 2011
It took the world centuries to reach 1 billion people in 1800, and 6 billion more have been added since. Technological changes that provided jobs for billions and supported families are not so fast paced, notes David Bloom, a Harvard professor, in an essay for Project Syndicate: “A failure to absorb large numbers of people into productive employment could lead to mass suffering and myriad...

In the US, Clean Water Is No Guarantee

Susan Froetschel August 11, 2011
Americans use twice as much water as Europeans do and pay half as much for it. Low fees lead many Americans to take their abundant supplies for granted. Globally, most water is used for irrigation purposes, but in the US, thermoelectric generation requires more water. “During an economic recession, protecting water supplies takes a back seat to industries that promise jobs,” notes journalist...

Huge Arctic Fire Hints at New Climate Cue

Richard Black August 2, 2011
Dry conditions stemming from climate change could lead to more wildfires even in the cool Arctic; in turn, the fires could hasten the pace of global warming. A 2007 fire in Alaska put as much carbon into the air as the entire Arctic tundra can absorb in one year, suggests ecology research released by Nature magazine and reported by the BBC News. “Fires in the tundra are uncommon because the...