In The News

Nature: Ocean Circulation Is Changing

April 12, 2018
Rising temperatures and melting polar ice influence the system of ocean currents that shift cold water from Greenland. “Since the 1950s, geologists and oceanographers have been gathering convincing evidence that alterations in ocean circulation are a key determinant of climate change,” notes an editorial from Nature, warning that abrupt shifts in the past have resulted in dramatic temperature...

Politico: How Trump Could Lose a Trade War With China

Doug Palmer April 10, 2018
After demanding concessions from allies by imposing steel and aluminum tariffs in March, US President Donald Trump has instigated a trade war with China without a strong global coalition for support. Analysts suggest that China, an authoritarian regime lacking in democratic or free market oversight, can move more nimbly and undergo less political backlash on the home front if a full-blown trade...

ScienceDaily: Agricultural Production vs. Biodiversity

April 9, 2018
Increased land use by the agriculture industry reduces wildlife and biodiversity. A team of German researchers based at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research relied on global datasets quantifying the needs of major crops with geographical distribution of animals and their other requirements, and “found that 88 percent of the biodiversity that is expected to be lost under future agricultural...

The Guardian: Demise of the Nation State

Rana Dasgupta April 6, 2018
Nation states are losing influence, contends Rana Dasgupta for the Guardian, and the political systems are obsolete for confronting modern challenges that are either focused and local or global in nature. Systems based on borders struggle to deal with complex companies, technologies, immense wealth and social movements that no longer respect borders. “Exhaustion, hopelessness, the dwindling...

New York Times: Can the US Stop Trump Before It’s Too Late?

Madeleine Albright April 6, 2018
Terrorism, populism, sectarian conflicts and greed test democracy, writes Madeleine Albright for the New York Times, and disorder and volatility contribute to support for fascism and authoritarianism. Embracing nationalism, the Trump administration applies a wrecking ball to international agreements and political norms. “Instead of mobilizing international coalitions to take on world problems, he...

The Balance: Economic Impact of Rising Sea Levels

Kimberly Amadeo April 5, 2018
Sea levels are rising, and 25 percent of the rise since 1880 has occurred during the last two decades. An increase of a few inches may not seem dramatic, but the economic impacts are expected to be immense. “Higher levels will affect the eight of the world's largest cities that are near a coast,” reports Kimberly Amadeo for the Balance. Millions in coastal communities, especially in emerging...

Financial Times: China and US in Trade Battle

Shawn Donnan and Yuan Yang April 4, 2018
Trade adds jobs and profits, and tariffs increase prices, reducing jobs and profits. Hours after the Trump administration announced a 25 percent tariff on 1,333 Chinese products including robots and locomotives, China responded with tariffs on 106 products imported from the United States. The United States claims decades of intellectual property theft from China, and China points to US violations...