In The News

Logging Boreal Forest Could Detonate Massive “Carbon Bomb,” Says Report

April 14, 2008
The boreral forests of Canada store more than 25 times carbon dioxide that is currently released in world’s annual fossil-fuel emissions, reports an article from the Canadian Press. “About 80 percent of the carbon is stored in the soil as dead organic matter. The rest is stored in the forest's evergreen trees, moss and peat.” Older trees tend to store more carbon than younger trees,...

Food Prices Stir Poverty Concern

April 11, 2008
Development and trade have lifted many from poverty, but have also widened inequality around the globe. Diverting grain crops from food products to biofuels depleted global food stocks causing spikes in prices. Climate change and a declining dollar also add to prices. Reports of food riots and families stretching meals by adding dirt as an ingredient reveal growing desperation in the world’s...

How to Win in Iraq Without Losing to Iran

Dilip Hiro April 11, 2008
The US approach on stabilizing Iraq has often been criticized as being too cavalier for failing to take into consideration the region’s history or political and religious make-up. US foreign policy contributed to the current catch-22, contends author Dilip Hiro. As a result, the US confronts two basic choices: ongoing costly intervention, which could trigger increasing discontent among US voters...

IT Workers on the Move With Globalization

Anthony P. D’Costa April 9, 2008
Talented professionals, including information-technology workers, chose to migrate for jobs and high wages. Such workers have often moved from developing countries in Asia and Eastern Europe to the wealthy developed nations, where graying populations and a lack of youth interest in mathematics and other technical subjects, created a need for skilled workers. But a new shift is also on, reports...

The Age of Scarcity?

Chris Farrell April 9, 2008
The world is facing a surfeit of scarcity. The emergence of new economic heavyweights like China and India has increased global demand, even as many observers warn that past development has left the world’s resources dangerously depleted. These arguments, combined with alarming increases in food and energy prices, have led some to believe that Malthus was right after all: Economic growth is...

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear

Donald L. Barlett April 7, 2008
Relying on genetics and biotechnology, the Monsanto Company creates and patents specialized seeds with built-in protections against insects, fungus and disease as well as tolerance for heat, drought and other stresses – all of which can increase crop yields. The catch with Monsanto patents is that farmers can no longer collect seeds from their own crops at the end of the season. Donald L. Barlett...

The Three Revolutions

Henry A. Kissinger April 7, 2008
US policymakers must grapple with radical changes in the structure of international politics, suggests Henry A. Kissinger, US former secretary of the state. The upcoming presidential election has sparked lively debate over US foreign policy, yet this debate focuses on narrow, tactical concerns rather than the broad, strategic challenges. The European state system – the fundamental feature of...