In The News

Economic Fixes Should Not Worsen Environmental Crisis

Dodo J. Thampapillai October 19, 2011
During economic crises, political leaders often urge suspension of environmental protections to save jobs. That is a mistake, argues economist Dodo J. Thampapillai, with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, because the economy ultimately depends on a healthy environment and sustainable use of resources. The current financial crisis presents an opportunity...

New Zealand Oil Spill Ship Captain Charged

October 13, 2011
The cargo ship Rena ran aground off the port of Tauranga in New Zealand, and its captain has been charged with taking unnecessary risks. The accident is New Zealand’s worse environmental disaster in decades, with leaking oil hitting popular beaches and marine wildlife areas over the course of a week. The ship ran aground 5 October. Heavy swells continue to batter the grounded vessel, hampering...

Illegal Logging: From the Rainforest to Your Dining Room

Patrick Winn October 12, 2011
The non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency reports far-reaching corruption in Vietnam’s logging industry: Much of the lumber is illegally smuggled into Vietnam from protected jungles in Laos and later exported as furniture to the United States. Though illegal imports to Vietnam amount to about 15 to 20 percent of total Vietnamese timber imports, the United Nations estimates that within...

The Four Horsemen of Economics

Stewart Wallis September 28, 2011
Humans are not necessarily stuck with the unsustainable, unstable economic constructs they have created. Political systems can shape local and global economies, either deliberately or by default. Stewart Wallis, executive director of the New Economics Foundation, urges nations to work in concert to address crises that promise to arise with greater frequency and severity – whether extreme weather...

Apple Attacked Over Pollution in China

Leslie Hook, Kathrin Hille September 13, 2011
Large multinational corporations are often accused of taking advantage of lax environmental laws in developing countries to reduce costs. But China is signaling a new willingness to reject environmental degradation in exchange for jobs and economic growth. A report published by five Chinese non-governmental organizations alleges that technological behemoth Apple has used suppliers with public...

An Amazonian Battle

Joe Leahy August 31, 2011
After slowing of deforestation in recent years, conflict has returned to the Amazon rainforest with increasing fights between conservations and farmers. Farmers are pushing for a law granting amnesty for illegal logging before 2008 and claim that the host of environmental laws that reduced deforestation created uncertainty for investors. Environmentalists are worried about undermining...

Saving the Environment for 9 Billion – II

Chandran Nair August 30, 2011
Those who care about the life of future generations recognize that today’s unbridled economic growth is unsustainable, and the world must prepare for 9 billion inhabitants by 2050, contends Chandran Nair in the second article of a two-part YaleGlobal series. Asia cannot afford to mimic the American lifestyle and would be wise to ignore western encouragement for greater consumption in pursuit of...