In The News

Our Vanishing Night

Verlyn Klinkenborg October 20, 2008
The growth of cities across the globe has obscured the line between night and day. Artificial lights that regularly brighten the night sky for human activity in metropolises and their suburbs has repercussions on humans and other living organisms that are only now beginning to be understood. Increased light disrupts the migratory patterns of birds, confuses newborn sea turtles, upsets amphibious...

Thirsty Giant

Somini Sengupta October 7, 2008
In India's capital city, explains journalist Somini Sengupta, increasing demand and weak public water and sanitation systems have left even middle-class people "foraging" daily for water, testifying to "the government's astonishing inability to deliver the most basic services to its citizens at a time when India asserts itself as a global power." When water rushes...

Green View: Testing Metal

October 3, 2008
Consumers take products like aluminum for granted but resent the smelly, unsightly smelters that produce the product. As a source of cheap clean geo- and hydropower, Iceland has attracted aluminum smelters. Yet increasingly, Icelanders question whether they should sacrifice their landscape for the good of the planet – with some suggesting that global consumers could do more to conserve products...

Biologists Hope to Kill All of Rat Island's Rats

Mike Campbell September 25, 2008
Species have long migrated about the globe, settling into new territories, often with the help of humans. But humans label some species as “invasive” and “unwanted.” In Alaska, a crew of biologists has set out to destroy all Norway rats on Rat Island, because the rodents eat seabirds like puffins and auklets and their eggs. Biologists have successfully eliminated rats from about 300 islands...

Keeping Up With China's Olympic Shine – Part I

David Dollar September 22, 2008
Awarded the right to stage the 2008 Olympics, China set to work polishing cities and parks, designing grand architecture, and coaching citizens to be warm and welcoming hosts. No sacrifice was deemed too great for achieving a successful Olympics and sending a message worldwide about China’s can-do spirit. Perhaps more than anyone else, China’s people appreciated the end results, with the emphasis...

Globalization Draws Green Activist Attention

Joe Leahy September 9, 2008
As companies or individuals expand and accrue more power, they attract scrutiny from activists. Members of Greenpeace purchased shares in Indian companies like Tata Steel or Vedanta Resources to speak out at annual meetings about environmental problems, including port development that could interfere with breeding habits of turtles or mining projects that desecrate sacred sites. Greenpeace “still...

Massive Canada Arctic Ice Shelf Breaks Away

David Ljunggren September 8, 2008
A huge Arctic ice shelf breaking away in Canada signals rapid ice melt in the region. Arctic temperatures have risen faster than the global average in recent decades, report researchers. Researchers express alarm about the speed and irreversibility of melting ice. “The rapid melting of ice in the Canadian Arctic archipelago worries Ottawa, which fears foreign ships might try to sail through the...