In The News

Why the Rest of the World Should Get a Vote in the Greatest Reality TV Show on Earth – The US Election

Laurie Penny February 22, 2016
So far, three of 50 states have cast votes in party primaries to determine the top candidates for the US presidential election. Laurie Penny, writing for New Statesman, laments that she cannot have a say on leadership that has so much global influence. “The world is obsessed with the US elections because the outcome of those elections will have an impact on every person on Earth. So, let the...

Barack Obama’s Climate Plan Makes for Canny Politics

Nick Butler August 5, 2015
President Barack Obama announced a Clean Power Plan for the United States – reducing carbon emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and increasing reliance on renewable energy; solar power is expected to expand by 700 percent with reduced costs. “Coal-fired power plants will be closed and, with export potential limited, dozens of US coal mines will close as well,” writes Nick Butler for...

The Limits of Growth – Part II

Chandran Nair November 24, 2008
Governments pursue rapid growth as a path to prosperity, and policymakers generally depend on markets to reveal and control problems. In the second of this two-part YaleGlobal series on the limits to growth, Chandran Nair, founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow, points to parallels between the global economic crisis and climate change. Both challenges are rooted in the pursuit of excessive...

The Limits of Growth – Part I

Bo Ekman November 21, 2008
The double whammy of two global crises – recession and climate change – emerged after too many of the world’s citizens pursued lifestyles that the planet simply cannot sustain. This YaleGlobal series explores the limits of growth and calls for global governance that will encourage sustainable lifestyles that could ensure the planet’s survival. Fractured regional or national governance only...

The Last Days of Paradise

Jon Henley November 11, 2008
Rising seas threaten to overwhelm the Maldives, and the first democratically elected president plans to put together a sovereign wealth fund directed at finding a new, environmentally secure home for a population of more than 350,000. President Mohamed Nasheed is looking at Sri Lanka, India, Australia and other nations with climates similar to that of the Maldives, known for its beautiful...

The World Looks to Obama – Part III

Shada Islam November 10, 2008
Enthusiastic and relieved, Europe joins the impromptu global celebration of Barack Obama’s election as US president, but problems lurk. This YaleGlobal series examines reactions from around the world, and in the third and final article of the series, journalist Shada Islam reports on how Europe anticipates a stronger transatlantic alliance with greater openness, multilateralism and respect. But...

The World Looks to Obama – Part I

Bruce Stokes November 5, 2008
Tackling global challenges is nearly impossible when the world’s sole superpower – the largest economy, the largest user of energy, the most powerful nation technologically – does not pitch in. A YaleGlobal series analyzes foreign reaction to the US election and explores how President-elect Barack Hussein Obama is likely to respond to the global expectations from his presidency. In the first...