In The News

A Small Stove With Big Ambitions

Margot Cohen April 7, 2008
The invention of a tiny stove in India demonstrates the link between reduced carbon emissions and improved health – and how technology can contribute to slowing climate change. Global energy giant BP is producing and marketing Oorja, which means energy in Hindi, a small pellet stove that produces substantially fewer emissions than the traditional wood-burning stoves so common throughout India. In...

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear

Donald L. Barlett April 7, 2008
Relying on genetics and biotechnology, the Monsanto Company creates and patents specialized seeds with built-in protections against insects, fungus and disease as well as tolerance for heat, drought and other stresses – all of which can increase crop yields. The catch with Monsanto patents is that farmers can no longer collect seeds from their own crops at the end of the season. Donald L. Barlett...

Our Free-Trade Consensus

Kenneth Duberstein April 4, 2008
Two former White House chiefs of staffs join forces to urge bipartisan support of free trade. Republican Kenneth Duberstein and Democrat Thomas McLarty focus specifically on the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, still at a standstill, as some in US Congress fuel and thrive on protectionist sentiments. The two men, writing an opinion essay for the Wall Street Journal, argue that the agreement...

The Fungus That Conquered Europe

John Reader March 27, 2008
Globalization delivers both problems and solutions, and parallels can be found in the Great Potato Famine of 1845-46 and the current subprime mortgage crisis. The fungus, after originating in Mexico and spreading throughout the US, attacked Europe’s potato fields in the mid-1840s and led to widespread famine. The crisis prompted Britain to dismantle bureaucratic and protectionist Corn Laws that...

Pyrrhic Victories

Ernesto Zedillo March 10, 2008
Fear of trade has emerged to be as potent a weapon in the hands of the Democratic candidates as fear of terrorism proved to be for the Republicans in the last two US elections. The unilateralist policies of the current administration have produced not only enormous negative political returns for those now in the White House, but also mean that the Republican candidate shoulders a heavy burden....

China Comes to Town

Dena Rashed March 4, 2008
Chinese-made goods turn up all over the globe, including Egyptian fairs and markets, and some rival the local products both on quality and price. Consumers can now choose from a range of goods, including clothes, electronics, vehicles and even Egyptian flags. Chinese exports to Egypt grew by 50 percent last year, yet still lag behind US imports, the value of which were more than double China’s....

Patriotism Is Bad Business

Nayan Chanda March 3, 2008
Politicians strive for policies that boost exports. Setting any limits on imports, though, invites other countries to retaliate. “History is replete with examples of economic nationalism’s failure to roll back the quest for profit and good life that drives global trade,” writes Nayan Chanda in his column for Businessworld in India. Democratic candidates for US president, hoping to win approval...