POOR countries have long been a popular destination for the rich world’s toxic trash. In 1987 an Italian importer sparked international outrage by dumping 8,000 leaky barrels in the Nigerian village of Koko. On January 9th Nigeria fined importers $1m for trying to bring in two 12-metre containers full of defunct televisions, computers, microwaves and […]
WHEN Superstorm Sandy roared ashore in late October and the lights of lower Manhattan went out, New Yorkers were given a stark vision of a possible future. Climate-change science is still a realm of great uncertainty but there is consensus that the planet is warming dangerously and that people are to blame. A recent report […]
Yes, yes, it’s unsophisticated to blame any given storm on climate change. Men and women in white lab coats tell us—and they’re right—that many factors contribute to each severe weather episode. Climate deniers exploit scientific complexity to avoid any discussion at all. Clarity, however, is not beyond reach. Hurricane Sandy demands it: At least 40 […]
We are a coast-hugging species. About 44 percent of the world’s population live beside the seaside, and that number is set to rise. Why? Maritime commerce and easy access to all that lovely seafood spring to mind. But maybe there’s a more fundamental reason, a human instinct touched upon by the sailor Ishmael, explaining his aquatic affection on […]
Hurricane Sandy’s pummeling of the eastern United States has already thrown the presidential campaign off course and disrupted early voting in several states, but could she be the deciding factor in this election? Political scientists have found that bad weather on Election Day typically benefits Republicans, but how much Sandy will affect voter turnout on November 6 remains a mystery. […]
How serious is the threat of global warming? One way to figure out is to take your cues from some leading climate scientists: They have moved on. That doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned the issue, but they are looking beyond what all agree is the most obvious solution — decreasing the amount of carbon we spew […]
Vint Cerf is known as one of the “fathers of the internet.” He sat down with Alexander Görlach to talk about innovation, social networks, and the future of human society. Read Here – The European
Not long after a tsunami washed over Japan‘s Fukushima nuclear power plants in March 2011, causing a partial meltdown, it appeared to many that humankind’s half-century experiment with nuclear power might be in permanent jeopardy. Although nuclear energy provides 15 percent of the world’s electricity, all without spewing greenhouse gas emissions, many countries seemed ready […]
To see the ice disappear this quickly is unprecedented. The 2012 melt has comprehensively broken all previous records. We are now heading into uncharted territory because the Arctic helps to cool the climate and regulate our weather patterns. Read Here – The Independent
looking beyond borders 