In The News

A Tryst with Destiny

Yoichi Funabashi March 23, 2011
On 11 March, a 9.0 earthquake struck the Japanese coast, followed by a tsunami’s powerful wall of water. Natural disaster damaged a nuclear power plant, releasing radiation that taints some crops and Tokyo’s water supply. Tragedy that devastated the world’s third largest economy will transform Japan’s identity and policies, too, explains journalist and author Yoichi Funabashi, writing from Tokyo...

World Water Day Report: African Cities Outgrow Their Water Supplies

March 23, 2011
A limited supply of freshwater could threaten fast economic and population growth for Africa’s cities. Water, so crucial for survival, is taken for granted by many, and March 22 is set aside to mark World Water Day. According to a United Nations assessment, 40 percent of Africa’s 1 billion people live in urban areas with inadequate water supplies and sanitation, reports Environment News Service...

Confluence of Horrors, Global Impact Makes Japan's Tragedy a Transcendent Event in History

Joji Sakurai March 21, 2011
As humans learn from the experience of others and make accommodations, the tsunami and nuclear accident could transform many future endeavors, explains Joji Sakurai in an essay for the Canadian Press. Japan, an advanced economy, has been the second most generous foreign aid donor in the world and now welcomes financial and technological assistance from around the globe. The internet and...

Turning Old Oil Into New Mileage

David L. Chandler March 18, 2011
Interest in hunting garbage piles for any reusables – a common job in the developing world – has spread to wealthier nations, attracting attention and innovation awards from the world’s most elite universities. Students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have taken the notion one step further. Working with catadores cooperatives in Brazil, a MIT biodiesel team started a project called...

Let’s Avoid Food Riots

Nayan Chanda March 15, 2011
Rather than address the root causes, governments tackle emerging food shortages, climbing prices and angry publics like a carnival game of Whac-a-Mole: Like little moles poking their heads from random holes, crises emerge and leaders whack at them in a frenzied race against time. Food insecurity is the new normal, explains YaleGlobal Editor Nayan Chanda in his regular column for Businessworld,...

Japan's Shake-Up Unearths Lessons

David Rothkopf March 14, 2011
The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan shows how disasters can destroy lives, wipe out cities and entire industries in a moment. But the experience also proves the value of governance, writes analyst David Rothkopf. Though hard to believe early in the crisis, preparation and technological investment allowed some warning, however brief, which did reduce the human toll. “No nation is...

UK Consumers Add Solar Panels to Shopping Lists

Nina Chestney March 7, 2011
Low-cost energy is one of life’s conveniences – so convenient with a flick of a switch that most consumers don’t understand how power generation works. Even those aware of the value of alternative energy are in the dark as to where they can purchase their own renewable systems or how to install. But small solar-power systems are about to join cookware and other products on the home-and-garden...