In The News

Dangers in Bangladesh: On the Front Lines of Climate Change

Matthias Gebauer May 7, 2007
With low-lying land nestled among a network of rivers, subject to the heavy storms and the floods of monsoon season, Bangladesh is most vulnerable to climate change. A centimeter rise in the sea level, considered inevitable by climate scientists, will wipe out the Char Bangla island of farmer Shahidul Mullah, writes Matthias Gebauer in “Der Spiegel.” Amid emerging reports that the pace of...

How to Prevent the Next Darfur

Alex Perry May 1, 2007
The violence in the Darfur region of Sudan stems less from ethnic difference and more from a deteriorating environment and a battle over resources, most notably water, argues Alex Perry for “Time.” Perry calls Darfur “the world’s worst man-made disaster,” with the UN reporting that fighting in the region has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million more. Scientists have long...

Perverse Incentives

April 26, 2007
Unfortunately, when some companies know that a chemical or product is about to be banned, they push it off onto unsuspecting customers in other countries. Or, if companies anticipate being paid not to produce a certain chemical, they boost production to capture high returns in the short run. Unfortunately, some firms take advantage of international treaties like the Kyoto Treaty, violating the...

Bees Vanish, and Scientists Race for Reasons

Alexei Barrioneuvo April 25, 2007
Researchers are scrambling to determine the reasons behind the disappearance of 25 percent of US honey bees – as well as colony crashes in Europe and South America, which may or may not be linked. Culprits could include viruses, funguses or pesticides. Honeybees are the principal pollinators of hundreds of crops and essential for fruits, vegetables, flowers and nuts – and the insect’s decline...

US Pet Deaths: Wake-Up Call on Global Food Safety?

Susan Froetschel April 24, 2007
Pesticides and fertilizers have long contributed to global food security. But some farmers, tempted by high crop yields and profits, overuse the products, allowing excess agrochemicals to infiltrate water supplies and soil. The US Food and Drug Administration confirmed deaths of 16 pets and received more than 15,000 complaints of ill pets, linked to gluten imported from China. The reports...

Global Effort to Save Endangered Crops Gets $37.5 Million Infusion

Andrew C. Revkin April 20, 2007
The combined pressures of climate change with a growing population could threaten crop diversity and global food supplies. An international effort to save endangered crop seeds, including a global database on plant gene banks, is underway, from Global Crop Diversity Trust and the United Nations Foundation. Weather, neglect and war can eliminate rare strains of barley, coconut, taro, wheat and...

Who's Monitoring Chinese Food Exports?

Nicholas Zamiska April 13, 2007
Food inspectors have traced to China a contaminated ingredient in pet food that has killed an unknown number of animals. Wheat gluten is a common ingredient in pet food, cereal and pasta. The discovery of batches tainted with a pesticide illegal in the US raises questions about China's growing role in the international agricultural market. In 2006, 12 percent of world fruit and vegetable...