World Watch articles from September 2001

World Watch archives from September 2001

U.S. Contempt for Alternatives.(US energy policy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... After encountering severe criticism of its proposed new energy policy, both from its own citizens and from around the world, the U.S. administration of George W. Bush has backed away from some of its most extreme positions. But whether this...

The Global and the Local.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The anti-globalization protests keep coming, and the mainstream public keeps being puzzled. What's it all about? To an older American news-watcher, these disturbances might vaguely resemble the anti-Vietnam protests of a generation ago, except...

FROM READERS.
September 1, 2001... Table for 6 Billion, Please... As a professional in energy conservation and alternate energy, I think the correlation between energy consumption and infant mortality or education ("Perceiving the Population Bomb, July/August) is a bit...

Study finds modern agriculture could foster, not degrade, biodiversity.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Farmers can play a key role in preserving the world's biodiversity, and in many cases farmland can serve to protect rather than destroy wildlife habitat, according to a new report by the Swiss-based World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the...

U.N. cracks down on "conflict diamonds".(diamond trade in Liberia)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... In an attempt to stem international trade in "conflict diamonds" from West Africa, on May 7, 2001 the United Nations imposed economic sanctions on Liberia, which has smuggled a steady flow of ill-gotten diamonds from rebel forces in neighboring...

Europe may pass electronics take-back law.(recycling of electronic products)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The European Parliament, the legislative branch of the EU, has initially approved two directives that will require electronics manufacturers to reduce the amount of hazardous substances in their equipment and to pay for the recycling of their...

The Killing of U.S. Alternative Energy R&D.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... In U.S. government funding for energy research and development (R&D), serious investment in renewables has been all but abandoned. R&D funding for renewables has declined by 87 percent, from more than $2 billion in 1980 to just a quarter...

How Economists Have Misjudged Global Warming.(United States' attitudes towards the Kyoto Climate Treaty)
September 1, 2001... The Bush administration's rejection of the Kyoto climate treaty is based on a fallacious economic theory. The proof that this theory is wrong lies in the real history of how technological progress drives economic growth. A deep chasm has...

Biotech, African Corn, and the Vampire Weed.(scrophulariaceae weed)
September 1, 2001... A parasitic weed is sucking the life out of East African corn. One way to deal with it would be to engineer corn for herbicide resistance, so that herbicide could be sprayed on the corn to kill the parasite-even though the corn seed and the...

The Caves of Belize.(ecotourism)
September 1, 2001... Explorations on the Edge of Ecotourism Leafy cohune palms blocked out the tropical sun, cooling the air around the thatched roof cabanas that made up Ian Anderson's Caves Branch Adventure Co. and Jungle Lodge. As I walked down the drive, a...

MATTERS OF SCALE.(international travel statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... MATTERS OF SCALE Travels and Tribulations Number of international tourist visits in 1950 25 million Number of visits in 2000 698 million Amount of money U.S. financier Dennis Tito paid ...

CORRECTION.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2001... The percentage of U.S. residents who are bilingual (meaning that they speak both English and another language "very well" or "without difficulty") is 7.8, not 6.3 as reported in the May/June 2001 issue. Also, this figure does not include...

Death and Taxes.(Philip Morris)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Philip Morris, the world's largest tobacco company, is hoping that you'll look on the bright, fiscal side of smoking. According to a new report commissioned by the corporation, deaths caused by smoking-related illnesses--such as cancer,...