In The News

In the Amazon, Giving Blood but Getting Nothing

Larry Rohter June 26, 2007
Blood samples from Amazon tribes are ideal for certain types of research because their isolation from the outside world allows scientists to track illnesses through generations. Researchers promised future medicine to Amazon tribes in Brazil in exchange for donating blood. The first research teams arrived in the 1970s. Using the internet, the Karitiana tribe has since discovered that their blood...

Both Sides Say Project Is Pivotal Issue for Brazil

Larry Rohter June 23, 2007
A proposal to build two dams on Brazil’s Madeira River has sparked debate about the value of economic growth versus environmental protection. An environmental agency denied the construction license, but the government ordered more studies. Environmentalists cite many concerns about building the dams. The river that winds through rainforest is said to have more distinct types of fish than any...

Massacres and Paramilitary Land Seizures Behind the Biofuel Revolution

Oliver Balch June 13, 2007
As oil prices increase and the world’s demand for alternative fuel sources grow, Colombian farmers struggle to control their own land. Collaborating with some palm-oil corporate interests, right-wing paramilitary groups drive farmers from their homes at gunpoint and take over the land for plantations. Palm oil, used for biofuel production, is a lucrative business, and unlike another source of...

Worker Visas Intensify Debate on Immigration

Pamela Constable May 29, 2007
The US Congress hears two different tales when it comes to the need for high-tech workers: Older workers, once highly paid, complain that they cannot obtain work and must seek jobs in other industries; the high-tech industry complains of a dire shortage of workers with computer and math skills. A proposed US immigration reform bill gives priority to skilled labor and would almost double the...

Univision Gives Citizenship Drive an Unusual Lift

Miriam Jordan May 15, 2007
More than 8 million legal permanent residents are eligible for citizenship in the US. Univision Communications is working with activists to encourage such green-card holders to collect their citizenship papers and participate in the 2008 presidential election. Such a large voting bloc could help Latino candidates and also influence the ongoing debate on immigration reform. The largest Spanish-...

End of the Melting Pot?

Ashley Pettus May 14, 2007
Seeking jobs and opportunity in a new country, immigrants often head for communities where family members, friends or acquaintances have already settled. The practice creates pockets of ethnic groups, changing demographics and culture in many US towns, often raising questions about the ability for immigrants to assimilate. This article in “Harvard Magazine” compares immigration throughout the...

Calling India

Scott Kraft May 10, 2007
The word “outsourcing” may carry plenty of negative connotations in the US – but not when consumers are hunting for a good deal. Parents in the US, desperate to help their children achieve in an increasingly competitive global environment, seek tutoring services but don’t want to spend a lot of money. Using a voice-over-internet phone and an interactive computer “whiteboard,” a pupil in Beverly...