In The News

Deforestation: The Hidden Cause of Global Warming

Daniel Howden May 15, 2007
Trees absorb carbon dioxide, and governments should take steps to protect forests in the battle against global warming. The practice of cutting and burning tropical forests to clear land accounts for about 25 percent of carbon emissions, second only to the energy sector, according to a report from the Global Canopy Programme, an alliance of rainforest researchers. Governments could put a dent in...

If They're Alive, You'll Read About Them Here

Jeremy Manier May 11, 2007
“Constantly reconfiguring, morphing, decaying, the natural world is at once confounding, sublime, brutal and unspeakably elegant.” These words welcome viewers to a new online “Encyclopedia of Life” that will list and describe all species of life – 1.8 million known and some of the millions more yet unknown. Museums, universities, philanthropists and researchers from around the world are teaming...

Bush and Democrats in Accord on Trade Deals

Steven R. Weisman May 11, 2007
After weeks of negotiation, the Bush administration and congressional leaders have worked out an agreement on how to include environmental and worker protections in trade deals. “The unusual agreement, which came after weeks of negotiations, would guarantee workers the right to organize, ban child labor and prohibit forced labor in trading-partner countries,” writes journalist Steven Weisman. “...

Dangers in Bangladesh: On the Front Lines of Climate Change

Matthias Gebauer May 7, 2007
With low-lying land nestled among a network of rivers, subject to the heavy storms and the floods of monsoon season, Bangladesh is most vulnerable to climate change. A centimeter rise in the sea level, considered inevitable by climate scientists, will wipe out the Char Bangla island of farmer Shahidul Mullah, writes Matthias Gebauer in “Der Spiegel.” Amid emerging reports that the pace of...

How to Prevent the Next Darfur

Alex Perry May 1, 2007
The violence in the Darfur region of Sudan stems less from ethnic difference and more from a deteriorating environment and a battle over resources, most notably water, argues Alex Perry for “Time.” Perry calls Darfur “the world’s worst man-made disaster,” with the UN reporting that fighting in the region has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million more. Scientists have long...

Perverse Incentives

April 26, 2007
Unfortunately, when some companies know that a chemical or product is about to be banned, they push it off onto unsuspecting customers in other countries. Or, if companies anticipate being paid not to produce a certain chemical, they boost production to capture high returns in the short run. Unfortunately, some firms take advantage of international treaties like the Kyoto Treaty, violating the...

From Old World to Real World

Steven Pearlstein April 26, 2007
Advocates of globalization, free trade and outsourcing admit that jobs shift to low-wage developing nations, but promise eventual benefits for the developed world. Producing goods at a lower cost abroad reduces prices, translating into more money for Western consumers to purchase more products. A common strategy for keeping jobs in the developed world is to provide high levels of education and...