In The News

China Being Poisoned by Its Food Industry, Says Author

Jochen Schönmann December 19, 2007
Risking his life, Chinese journalist Zhou Qing investigated China’s food industry over the course of two years and wrote “What Kind of God?” – a book that analyzes the value placed on food by the Chinese people and the outrageous measures companies take to reduce production costs. “His book is a dark account of a ruthless food mafia that stops at nothing to maximize its profits, for example by...

It’s Too Late for Later

Thomas L. Friedman December 18, 2007
People worldwide, even those in the least developed nations, are fully aware of the causes and dangers associated with global warming. “‘Later’ was a luxury for previous generations and civilizations,” writes New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The planet’s transforming before our eyes – polar ice melting at faster rates, tides moving higher along coastlines and the population of some...

Britain's Carbon Strategy “Up in Smoke”

Steve Connor December 17, 2007
Nations closed the climate conference in Bali with vows to tackle climate change. Scientists are taking the government leaders at their word. Jim Hansen – director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in the US, who has long warned that global warming poses real dangers to the planet, including species extinction, raised sea levels and ruined coastlines – urges governments to back away...

For China and Vietnam, a Highway Link Means Speedy Growth

Donald Greenlees December 14, 2007
Investments in infrastructure contribute to economic growth, which in turn can reduce poverty. A new highway between China and Vietnam will encourage trade and many other connections, reports Donald Greenlees for the New York Times. The highway, when completed in 2012, is expected to reduce travel time between the two huge developing markets, ranked first and 13th in terms of population, both...

World Bank Fund Will Pay to Leave Forests Standing

December 14, 2007
The World Bank will establish a fund to compensate developing nations to protect forests, with the hope that preserving forests will slow climate change. "The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility signals that the world cares about the global value of forests and is ready to pay for it,” said Robert Zoellick, World Bank president. Deforestation is responsible for about one fifth of total carbon...

US Told to "Wake Up" Over Climate Change

David Adam December 13, 2007
In global talks about climate-change policy, the European Union would prefer some binding targets to reduce carbon emissions, while the United States argues that setting big goals, possibly unsustainable or unrealistic, is mere talk and a waste of time. The US would have more leverage in the global discussions if it weren't the world's largest energy consumer and carbon emitter....

The Price of Gold

Jane Danowitz December 11, 2007
An 1872 US law – designed to encourage settlement of the American West – allows mining companies to extract gold from the ground without environmental clean-up. The American West has long been settled, and most mining firms taking advantage of the law are foreign-owned, explains Jane Danowitz in a Los Angeles Times opinion essay. Most of the gold goes toward making jewelry, yet Danowitz writes...