In The News

Japan's Nuclear Accident Should Prompt Review

July 21, 2007
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear power plant, and reports of leaks could slow the rush to develop nuclear-power sources around the world. Many governments plan some nuclear capability as a substitute for declining oil supplies. “Accidents of the kind that occurred in Japan are all too likely to take place in Iran, which has seen seven major earthquakes in as many years and is...

Canada Heats Up Rhetoric Over Claims to North Pole

Ed Pilkington July 11, 2007
Canada means business when it comes to claiming, protecting and using the Arctic. With climate change gradually melting arctic ice, potentially exposing oil and minerals, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has warned other nations to stay away from the region. Canada is investing in a deepwater port to support eight military ships that will patrol Arctic waters. Canada, Denmark, Russia, the US,...

Russia Puts Energy Importers Over a Barrel

Michael Richardson July 10, 2007
Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter and leading exporter of natural gas, has traditionally targeted most of its sales to Europe. But demand for energy products is rising fast in India and China. Hoping to gain both economically and politically, Russia is poised to sell more energy products to Asia. China is the largest potential market, but Russia also targets Japan, South Korea and...

The Arctic, the Tropics and Ottawa

James Allen July 9, 2007
Despite their distance, the circumpolar North and the countries in the Pacific, Caribbean and Indian Oceans, known collectively as the Small Developing States, have much in common. Both regions feel threatened by increasing evidence of global warming – melting ice and changing species in the north, hurricanes and rising sea levels in regions closer to the equator. Both express concern about...

Tajikistan: Abundant Water, Scarce Money

Konstantin Parshin July 6, 2007
Lake Sarez in Tajikistan began with an earthquake and a landslide that created a natural dam. Geologists express concern about stability of the dam and explore ways to relieve the water pressure, especially considering that water is in short supply in other parts of Central Asia. One idea is to build a massive pipeline to distribute water to regions in need, and another is constructing a...

Immigration, Populations, Climate Change, Ideologies

J. Russell Tyldesley July 6, 2007
Conflict over immigration, economic growth, climate change, territorial claims, limited energy or water supplies all increase as the world grows more crowded. Such conflicts would be easier to resolve if population growth slowed, argues J. Russell Tyldesley. The world’s population now stands at more than 6.5 billion, as compared with 1.5 billion in 1900, 2.5 billion in 1950, with more than 9...

Creating “Escape Routes” for Wildlife

Moises Velasquez-Manoff July 4, 2007
As global warming continues, natural habitats will change. In theory, animals would move as their habitats became too warm, but due to the pace of global warming, experts worry that some animals won’t have time to adjust and could go extinct. Conservationists therefore propose building biological corridors, natural spaces connecting habitats, that would allow wildlife to relocate. But people and...