In The News

Andrew C. Revkin June 19, 2003
Global warming has long been a hot political topic. In the US, the interests of environmentalists and big industry converge around this nexus, pitting the two against each other for political support and public attention – or the lack thereof. In the final draft of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s report on the state of the environment, the section on global warming has been...
Nigel Purvis June 5, 2003
Last year, US President George W. Bush proposed the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) as part of his National Security Strategy report. With its goals to provide development assistance to certain developing countries, the MCA calls for an unprecedented increase in U.S. foreign aid. If the MCA is passed by congress, it will undoubtedly play a major role in fighting global poverty. However, says...
Rama Lakshmi May 4, 2003
For decades, scientists, farmers and policymakers alike have debated the role biotechnology should play in farming. Many countries in the Western Hemisphere have long been proponents of genetic engineering as a means of injecting more, healthier crops into the world food market. And while Europe and much of the developing world remains skeptical, fearing environmental disasters or health...
Chiu Yu-Tzu March 25, 2003
24,000 people from almost all the world's countries met last week in Japan for the 2003 World Water Forum. The over 100 new commitments signed by attendees addressed broad issues of water management, including education and access to information, as well as cultural diversity and traditional knowledge. Local activists in Taiwan, however, criticized their government's water regulation...
Andrew Revkin March 7, 2003
Glaciers on the coast of Antarctica are breaking up, presumably in response to global warming, although temperatures in rest of Antarctica have remained stable. This break up is occurring after centuries of stability in the glacial structure. If this trend continues, it could have disastrous results for coastlines as water levels rise and for cities as salt water flows into fresh water sources...
Harry Rijnen February 18, 2003
Frequent flyers can now do their part to save the world while still jetting around it. Each passenger who takes the popular transatlantic New York – London route is guilty of polluting the air with 2,776 pounds of carbon dioxide. But environmental companies like London-based Future Forests can help you ease the guilt – if you cough up a few extra dollars, they will plant a tree in Serbia or...
Michael Richardson January 14, 2003
Flora and fauna have long moved around the globe along with wandering human beings. As the native Indians in North America learned after the arrival of diseases from the Old World, not all these exchanges have been beneficial. In recent years this problem has become even more acute, as increased travel and commerce have enabled invasive organisms to spread with alarming speed. In the United...