In The News

Skills Gap Hurts Technology Boom in India

Somini Sengupta October 23, 2006
India’s universities produce many engineers, but only one in four is ready for the global market, reports a study commissioned from the National Association of Software and Service Companies, based in India. Many engineering graduates lack technical skills or English – and the labor shortage comes at a time when countries around the globe increasingly demand India’s low-cost software and...

The Planet in Peril – Part I

Jim Hansen October 19, 2006
The evidence on global warming is overwhelming. Ongoing scientific research reveals that human-induced climate change will contribute to dangerous new weather patterns and rising sea levels that will gradually swamp many coastal cities, displacing millions of people over the next century. Jim Hansen, director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, explores the implications of global...

Bush Sets Defense as Space Priority

Marc Kaufman October 18, 2006
The US might be the most powerful nation on the face of the earth, but much of that power depends on a vast array of satellites orbiting high above the planet. Now, President Bush has signed a new National Space Policy declaring that control of the interplanetary void is “as important to the United States as air power and sea power.” Supporters hail the policy as a necessary step toward...

Man and His Endangered Home

Bo Ekman September 28, 2006
In their single-minded pursuit of economic growth and wealth, human beings could be collectively working themselves out of a home. Human activities systematically degrade the water, air and other surroundings that sustain life. The problem is not with pending shortages of resources, argues systems analyst and philanthropist Bo Ekman, but a rapidly growing population and new generations that...

Economic Forum Warns US of Budget Deficit's Ill Effects

Marcus Walker September 27, 2006
Mired in debt, the US has lost its competitive edge, dropping from first to sixth place in one year, according to the World Economic Forum. While debt decreases the nation’s flexibility and ability to sustain economic growth, the US still leads in innovation, as demonstrated by patents and quality of university of research, notes a chief economist for the forum. However, an $8.49 trillion debt...

US-Russia Effort to Contain Nuclear Experts Fades

Fred Weir September 22, 2006
Terrorists in search of weapons of mass destruction could turn to nuclear scientists for advice. The US and Russia established a joint program in 1998 providing opportunities for former Soviet scientists with nuclear secrets, and the program is set to expire. Ten Russian cities – once major Soviet sites for nuclear research and still home for 35,000 underemployed scientists – remain closed and...

The Great Squanderer: China’s Scramble for Energy

Wieland Wagner September 18, 2006
Known as the “great factory of the world,” China is on a global hunt for energy, minerals and other natural resources. China accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s energy consumption, and with the world’s larges population, per-capita consumption is expected to increase steadily. Despite the fast growth of its economy, more than 9 percent annually, China does not use energy efficiently,...