Poverty / Development45
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The Current May Be Shifting
As I write this a little after midnight on Thursday, less than 24 hours remain before the close of the Copenhagen talks. Local television is playing continuous loops of an English-language TV movie (with Danish subtitles) about an evil oil company that is trying to sabotage the “Kyoto 2 talks at Calgary” by pressuring the…
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Urban Action: The Ultimate Reality Show
As the giant climate classroom in Copenhagen moves toward its closure, some will come away frustrated and even angry, while others may be satisfied or at the very least relieved. Whatever documents may be signed at the end of the meeting, these two weeks of December will have a lasting impact. The stresses on our…
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The Poor Need Climate Solutions Now
Two broad pieces must be part of any world climate agreement. The one you hear the most about so far is mitigation: cutting emissions of greenhouse gases. The other–perhaps more pressing–is adaptation: measures we must take to adjust agriculture, infrastructure and economies to changes already happening. We do not have to look to the distant…
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WFP and Millennium Villages Unite to Cut Hunger, Malnutrition
UNITED NATIONS – Highlighting the growing challenge of hunger and malnutrition and the urgent need for solutions and partnerships, the World Food Programme and the Millennium Villages project today announced plans to expand joint action to cut hunger and malnutrition across Africa. At a time when one in six people worldwide do not have enough…
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Sachs at Haverford College on Global Economic Crisis
A slot machine turning up three lemons is how Jeffrey Sachs described the global economic crisis at Haverford College last week. “Three ‘uns’: It is unstable, unfair, and unsustainable,” he said. “It’s the life-and-death struggle of the poor, and the plight of the planet.” “You are the answers,” he told the audience. “This crisis is…
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Arsenic in Bangladesh Water, Then and Now
Back in the summer of 1997 while working for a small newspaper focusing on UN development issues, I traveled to Bangladesh to see how far this often overlooked country tucked away in a corner between India and China had fared since its independence 25 years ago. At the time the only stories which came out…
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Everywhere a Hammer on a Nail
When holding a hammer in your hand, every problem can look like a nail. Dambisa Moyo’s book Dead Aid gives fresh meaning to this old adage, applying the perspective of a top-tier investment banker to the plight of the poorest people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Economist recently panned the book by likening it to caricature.…
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Next G-20 Meeting is a Chance to Help Three Billion Living in Poverty
The G-20 meeting in London, England, on April 2 will be watched by the entire world with urgency and with a yearning for hope, vision and programmatic clarity. The preparatory work is not adequate. The G-20 discussions do not move sufficiently beyond financial regulation. I would like to suggest the following main points for G-20…
By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings“