In The News

Water Scarcity Challenges to Business

Arjen Y. Hoekstra May 2, 2014
Water – so essential for living and business, from agriculture to mining and high-tech manufacturing – is under-priced. Scarcity is on the horizon due to growing populations and economic growth as well as climate change. Greater efficiency and improved storage encourage demand. Businesses recognize the risks and anticipate greater competition over allocation. “Countries such as the USA, Brazil,...

Agreement Reached on Deep Sea Mining

David Shukman April 28, 2014
A Canadian mining firm has finalized a deal for deep-sea mining with Papua New Guinea, despite environmentalists’ warnings of long-term damage. Environmentalists note that much of the sea floor has yet to be explored. “The mine will target an area of hydrothermal vents where superheated, highly acidic water emerges from the seabed, where it encounters far colder and more alkaline seawater,...

Coal Politics in an Unequal World

Sunita Narain April 22, 2014
Energy is big business, and coal is behind about 40 percent of the global electricity production and 65 percent of Indian power. Developed nations like the United States and Australia are among major coal producers and exporters. Yet political leaders and NGOs in those nations harangue emerging economies like India to reduce emissions. Efforts to stigmatize coal have been successful, argues...

China's Air Pollution Leading to More Erratic Climate for US, Say Scientists

Jonathan Kaiman April 17, 2014
The United States and Canada rank highest in energy consumption per capita, though China has now surpassed the United States in overall greenhouse gas emissions. A team of US researchers suggest that air pollution from China “is leading to more intense cyclones, increased precipitation and more warm air in the mid-Pacific moving towards the north pole,” reports Jonathan Kaiman for the Guardian....

Sovereign Debts in a Fossil-Fueled World

Will Hickey April 8, 2014
Transition away from fossil fuels toward new alternatives is not going smoothly. Proponents of alternatives confront a powerful industry with longstanding incentives and favorable tax policies, suggests analyst Will Hickey. Around the globe, economic struggles and immediate profits take priority over development of alternative energies. Emerging economies are in a race to catch up with the living...

World Population Trends Signal Dangers Ahead

Barry Mirkin April 3, 2014
Demographers are often called upon to predict the future by extrapolating from population statistics and trends. The United Nations has revised population projections upward, and demographer Barry Mirkin suggests the warning signs are clear: The globe can anticipate a billion more people in a decade and another 2 billion by the end of the century for a total of 10.9 billion. People live longer,...

Of Climate and Political Change

Nayan Chanda April 3, 2014
The threat of climate change – which poses an array of economic consequences – is missing from the political debate as Indians prepare for April-May general elections. “The impact of climate change has become more urgent and definitely more evident than it was five years earlier,” suggests Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his column for Businessworld. The “monstrous cyclone Phailin that took...