In The News

James Gustave Speth December 27, 2002
We live in a world where air and oceans know no national boundaries, and where political choices made in one area have direct repercussions for others. Carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles and electricity plants in the US must be reduced today to avoid heating up our globe even more in coming decades. But American leaders in Congress, and President Bush in the White House, seem determined...
December 4, 2002
The globalization of media and the information technology revolution have made American actions visible to the entire world. In a wide-sweeping survey of 38,000 people in 44 countries – a feat accomplished in large part thanks to globalization – the Pew Foundation finds a gloomy image of the US overseas. From the state of American democracy to America's unilateralist stance in the...
Andrew C. Revkin December 3, 2002
Globalization has resulted in a world in which actions in one area may have far-reaching consequences across the globe, and in no field of study is that fact more relevant than the current debate over global warming. The Bush administration has convened a three-day meeting to discuss the agenda for researching climate change. All agree that pollution, especially from fossil fuels, plays some...
Peter Del Tredici November 26, 2002
According to many scientists, the Industrial Revolution and the explosion in the use of fossil fuels have led to a worldwide rise in air and sea temperatures. Although some skeptical politicians and scientists argue against the evidence for global warming, the personal experience of Harvard's arboretum director indicates otherwise. This seasoned horticulturalist finds a degree of joy in...
Daniel Dombey November 20, 2002
After the oil tanker, the Prestige, broke in half off the Spanish coast and began gushing forth its slick contents, thousands of fishing families and businesses who depend on the ocean and pristine beaches began asking who should be held liable. As this Financial Times article notes, "the Prestige, registered in the Bahamas, owned by a Liberian company, managed by a Greek company and...
Michael Richardson November 17, 2002
World fisheries are suffering. With huge fishing fleets subsidized by governments, ineffective or non-existent multi-lateral agreements to control overfishing, and rampant piracy, the world’s oceans are not merely overfished, they are being laid bare. Add new technology that allows fishers to trawl in waters previously unsafe, and supermarkets that offer big payouts for uncommon fish, and the...
November 14, 2002
The advent of globalization has increased international trade and the volume of shipping which supports that trade. More than 40 percent of the world’s commerce passes through the Florida Straights, damaging its fragile coral reef ecosystem. This area has already been weakened through pollution, over fishing, and coastal development. To combat these negative effects, the Bush administration has...