In The News

From Micro-Algae to Blue Oil

December 30, 2011
Microalgae, among the Earth’s earliest life forms, come in tremendous diversity, and scientists are making groundbreaking discoveries with what ParisTech Review calls the “tiny biochemical factories.” Some microalgae are rich in fats and fast to grow – these are the targets for new biofuels and expensive health products like beta-carotene and fatty acids like omega 3. “The vast majority of the...

Riots, Language and Britain’s Globalized Underclass

Garry Robson December 22, 2011
Violent riots broke out in Britain in August, and researchers, searching for reasons, examined the messages relayed by rioters over social media. Many of the calls to don disguises and join the mayhem were in a dialect labeled Multicultural London English by sociolinguists and Jafaican by the media – a post-racial blend that emerged from the more than 300 languages and dialects spoken by youth...

Turks Enjoy a Little Schadenfreude at EU's Expense

Peter Kenyon December 14, 2011
Many Turks are now thanking their lucky stars that Europe delayed Turkey’s accession into the European Union. Turkey, associate member of the European Economic Community since 1959, applied for full membership to the EEC in 1987 and was recognized as an EU candidate in 1999, undergoing many reforms along the way. The insult felt by Turkey over delay was keen after rival Greece’s accession in 2000...

From Brussels to Durban: Debt and Climate Crises Spotlight Free Riders

Scott Barrett December 9, 2011
Europe’s rapid response to the debt crisis may have overshadowed the long-planned negotiations on climate change in Durban, but the contrast throws light on the problem of global governance, explains economist Scott Barrett. Both crises demonstrate the limits of collective action in the face of known dangers. In Europe, poor fiscal discipline by any euro member threatened other countries, he...

Chanting “Russia Without Putin,” Flash Mobs Roil Moscow

Fred Weir December 9, 2011
Russians are using social media to report vote rigging by authorities and organize flash protests in the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. “For more than a decade, Russians appear to have quietly accepted Vladimir Putin's system of ‘managed democracy,’” writes Fred Weir for the Christian Science Monitor, explaining that measures “ensure that only Kremlin-approved parties...

Why Can't Europeans Get Along?

Pankaj Ghemawat December 9, 2011
Forging strong trade connections enriched the European economy, but administrative measures alone did not ensure economic or political integration, cautions management professor Pankaj Ghemawat in an essay for Fortune. While short-term intervention is needed, he argues, Europe must also strive for cultural and political cohesion and build greater trust among 27 nations. He contrasts the EU with...

Why a New York Cheese Buyer Hangs On the Euro's Fate

David Kestenbaum December 7, 2011
Steady currency exchange rates smooth the way for global trade. But the threat of default by Greece, Italy and other European nations has reduced the value of the euro and upset predictability in pricing. Reporting for National Public Radio, David Kestenbaum explains the effect of the euro crisis on a small cheese shop in New York City: “Through his cheese deals, Foster essentially trades in...