In The News

Multitude of Species Face Climate Threat

Carl Zimmer April 8, 2011
Biologists monitoring Earth’s loss of biodiversity predict a sixth great mass extinction could be underway. Overfishing, overhunting, deforestation, development and climate could be behind some eerie changes: polar bears losing ice; whales, fish and birds adjusting migration patterns; butterflies hatching from pupae earlier, mountainside animals and plants forced to move to new heights....

Mother Nature’s Melting Pot

Hugh Raffles April 4, 2011
Environmental preservationists often raise alarms about invasive species – whether it’s Asian carp in the US or Norway rats or Canada geese in China. The “natural landscape is a shifting mosaic of plant and animal life,” argues anthropologist Hugh Raffles in an opinion essay for the New York Times. Labels “native” or “alien” bestowed by humans on others are misnomers, ignoring how migration is an...

Saudis Focus on Nuclear, Solar Energy

David Hope April 1, 2011
Nations that cling to petroleum as a leading energy source should take notice: The nation with the largest oil reserves is diversifying its energy sector, developing nuclear and solar sources. Within two decades, Saudi Arabia anticipates using most of its oil for domestic purposes, reports David Hope for UPI. A limited supply of water in the country requires desalination for consumption, which...

A Tryst with Destiny

Yoichi Funabashi March 23, 2011
On 11 March, a 9.0 earthquake struck the Japanese coast, followed by a tsunami’s powerful wall of water. Natural disaster damaged a nuclear power plant, releasing radiation that taints some crops and Tokyo’s water supply. Tragedy that devastated the world’s third largest economy will transform Japan’s identity and policies, too, explains journalist and author Yoichi Funabashi, writing from Tokyo...

World Water Day Report: African Cities Outgrow Their Water Supplies

March 23, 2011
A limited supply of freshwater could threaten fast economic and population growth for Africa’s cities. Water, so crucial for survival, is taken for granted by many, and March 22 is set aside to mark World Water Day. According to a United Nations assessment, 40 percent of Africa’s 1 billion people live in urban areas with inadequate water supplies and sanitation, reports Environment News Service...

Confluence of Horrors, Global Impact Makes Japan's Tragedy a Transcendent Event in History

Joji Sakurai March 21, 2011
As humans learn from the experience of others and make accommodations, the tsunami and nuclear accident could transform many future endeavors, explains Joji Sakurai in an essay for the Canadian Press. Japan, an advanced economy, has been the second most generous foreign aid donor in the world and now welcomes financial and technological assistance from around the globe. The internet and...

Turning Old Oil Into New Mileage

David L. Chandler March 18, 2011
Interest in hunting garbage piles for any reusables – a common job in the developing world – has spread to wealthier nations, attracting attention and innovation awards from the world’s most elite universities. Students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have taken the notion one step further. Working with catadores cooperatives in Brazil, a MIT biodiesel team started a project called...