In The News

Megacities, Mega Dreams for a Connected World

Suketu Mehta June 14, 2007
Throughout the history of the world, cities have lured people for both cooperation and competition. Megacities of the modern era such as Bombay not only symbolize dreams and dashed hopes, they also pose an array of consequences for the interconnected world. The paradoxes are many, with disaster making way for renewal and today’s sacrifices and long-term planning delivering future promise, writes...

World Bank Targets Forest Preservation – Climate Link

Tom Wright June 14, 2007
It takes decades for a tree to mature – and only a few moments to chop that tree down. The World Bank reports that deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of global carbon emissions, mainly from setting fires to clear land. As plants, trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and thus help clear the air of pollutants. Indonesia, a nation with a relatively small economy, is the third...

Massacres and Paramilitary Land Seizures Behind the Biofuel Revolution

Oliver Balch June 13, 2007
As oil prices increase and the world’s demand for alternative fuel sources grow, Colombian farmers struggle to control their own land. Collaborating with some palm-oil corporate interests, right-wing paramilitary groups drive farmers from their homes at gunpoint and take over the land for plantations. Palm oil, used for biofuel production, is a lucrative business, and unlike another source of...

Worlds Collide in India Over Global Warming

Jo Johnson June 8, 2007
Leaders of industrial nations meeting at the G8 summit have announced plans to open negotiations for global action to slow climate change and involve emerging economies India and China. China and India, with the world’s largest populations, contribute increasing proportions of carbon emissions, which spur global warming. The world has many inequities, both among nations and within, reminds Jo...

Betting on Biofuels

William K. Caesar June 7, 2007
Potential in the biofuel industry depends on three factors: feedstock costs and availability, government regulations, and conversion technology. With feedstock responsible for at least 50 percent of biofuel production costs, the price has a huge impact on the profits a company can make. However, growing demand for feedstock poses consequences: Rising demand for ethanol increases US corn prices;...

G-8 Vows Greenhouse Gas Curbs; US Escapes Targets

James G. Neuger June 7, 2007
The G-8 summit vows a renewed global push to combat climate change – but declines to set any firm limits for now. The European Union, Japan and Canada promise to halve carbon emissions by 2050, while the US and Russia still balk at setting targets. The Bush administration wants any goals to cover developing nations like China and India. Otherwise “nothing is going to happen in terms of...

China’s Plan for Global Warming: Wait for the US

Michael Richardson June 5, 2007
China is poised to become the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, surpassing the US. Yet, at this point, while rhetoric from both governments shows growing recognition that climate change could wreak havoc with the global economy, both nations decline to set a mandatory cap on carbon emissions. Instead they claim to rely on improving industrial efficiency to reduce greenhouse emissions....