In The News

Climate-Change Challenge for the Poor – Part II

Mira Kamdar September 28, 2007
Increased consumption by rich and newly rich nations combined with effects of climate change set the stage for a global food crisis. Decreased supplies of world dietary staples like wheat, corn and rice have already increased prices significantly this year, and a few nervous governments brace for possible social unrest by hungry citizens. In this second article of a two-part series that explores...

Biofuelling the Food Crisis

John Vidal September 10, 2007
The notion of an automobile powered by fuel produced from plants appeals to any nation worried about dependence on foreign oil or declining oil reserves. A biofuel boom presents ostensibly environmentally-friendly implications, yet leads some analysts to predict a food crisis for the world’s most vulnerable populations. Plants for fuel will inevitably compete with food-plants, prompting rising...

In Post-9/11 World, US President Has the Loneliest Job

Bruce Stokes September 10, 2007
That fateful day in September six years ago brought about a changed world for the US and a new world view of the US. The world is weary of the Iraq war, missed opportunities in diplomacy, unilateralism and a general belligerence associated with the Bush administration. The Pew Global Attitudes Survey suggests that anti-Americanism stands at an all-time high, even within nations that count among...

Other Cities Sign Up to Turn Off

John Huxley August 9, 2007
Earth Hour is a global-warming awareness initiative that originated in Sydney, but is spreading through Australia and New Zealand and beyond. Polls show that 2 million people, including entire schools and businesses, participated on March 31, 2007, turning off all their lights for an hour. The small gesture demonstrates widespread public support for tackling global warming. Organizers admit that...

How to Deal With a Falling Population

August 9, 2007
Between 1900 and 2000, the world’s population quadrupled, today standing at 6.5 billion people. But in some parts of the world – including the US, Europe, Japan, China – the fertility rate is lower then the replacement rate, causing experts to worry about a declining population. Institutions in developed nations, designed for growth, will be affected: For example, worker-retiree rations will be...

Education the Best Counter for Radicalism

Muhammad Wildan July 30, 2007
Radical Islam is on the rise in Southeast Asia. Muhammad Wildan, a fellow with the Asian Research Institute, argues that the radicalism is a result of local peculiarities rather than incorrect interpretations of Islam. Because globalization has marginalized religion throughout the world, Islam and other religions have lost social authority. Many Muslims embrace salafism, which prohibits modern...

Globalization Study Moves Past Rhetoric

David Wessel July 27, 2007
Corporations have long insisted that globalization delivers prosperity. But a report commissioned by the Financial Services Forum, an association of CEOs of 20 major financial firms, admits that most benefits have gone to a select few. International operations increasingly account for most sales and business conducted by multinational firms, writes David Wessel for the Wall Street Journal. But...