Environment Archives - Page 61 of 126 - Foreign Policy In Focus

Swiss Minarets: Only the Tip of the Iceberg

by Faruk Ekmekci | Dec 16, 2009

On November 29, a majority of the Swiss population decided to ban the construction of new minarets in their country. Many Muslim leaders and laypeople were “surprised” at the Swiss decision, viewing the decision as an aberration from Western ideals and voicing anti-Swiss criticisms in return. Turkish minister for EU Affairs and chief negotiator Egemen Bağış, for example, argued that Switzerland wouldn’t have taken this decision if it were an EU member. Yet the Swiss decision on minarets reflects a far deeper fear shared by thousands of people in Western Europe. Members of the Christian Democratic Union party in Germany, the Freedom Party in the Netherlands, and the Danish People’s Party have already applauded the decision.

The Cairo Detour

by fpifadmin | Dec 15, 2009

Six months ago, President Obama dazzled audiences from Cairo to Jakarta—and everywhere in between and beyond—with his call for a “new beginning” with the Muslim world. It came after the new president made a series of confidence-building statements, speeches, and diplomatic overtures with a consistent, sobering message: It is time for relations based on “mutual respect” and “mutual interest.” Obama declared at Cairo University that there “must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground.”

Climate and Capitalism in Copenhagen

by Walden Bello, John Feffer | Dec 1, 2009

Beginning in the second week of December, representatives to the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen will wrestle with the challenge of climate change. This week, influential actors in the World Trade Organization Seventh Ministerial Conference taking place in Geneva are trying to push for a conclusion to the nine-year-old Doha Round of trade negotiations.

Climate Change and Africa’s Natural Resources

by William Minter, Anita Plummer | Nov 10, 2009

The Struggle Against Free Trade Continues

by Gabriela Campos | Oct 27, 2009

On October 15th, La Mesa Nacional Frente a La Minería Metálica en El Salvador, also known as El Salvador’s National Roundtable on Mining, won the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award awarded by the Institute for Policy Studies for their fight against mining in El Salvador.

Our Choice: Control Carbon or Be Cooked

by John Feffer | Oct 21, 2009

never much liked the idea of arms control. During the Cold War, we managed our nuclear arsenals rather than reduced them. We treated our nukes like huge, dangerous animals. We restricted their movements but gave them ample care and feeding. Until recently, getting rid of the animals altogether wasn’t part of the political agenda. After all, our leaders believed that these beasts were useful. They scared away the covetous neighbors.

Going Beyond Kyoto

by John Feffer, Paul Hockenos | Sep 25, 2009

International negotiators will gather in Copenhagen, Denmark in December to hammer out a new and possibly historic worldwide treaty to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Following up on the expiring Kyoto Protocol, it is widely billed as the last chance to save the planet from a temperature rise of two degrees Celsius or higher. Sascha Müller-Kraenner is the Europe coordinator of The Nature Conservancy, a U.S. environmental group. Paul Hockenos spoke to him in Berlin.

Military vs. Climate Security: Mapping the Shift from the Bush Years to the Obama Era

by Miriam Pemberton | Jul 28, 2009

The U.S. military now views the massive disruptions that will result from global warming, in the absence of concerted international action, as a likely precipitant of increased violent conflict around the world.

El Salvador’s Gold Fight

by Michael Busch, Emily Schwartz Greco | Jul 16, 2009

As El Salvador transitions from decades of conservative rule to the administration of leftist President Mauricio Funes, the country faces an international showdown triggered by a restrictive free-trade agreement between the United States and Central America. Canada’s Pacific Rim Mining Corporation is suing the government for its refusal to allow it to mine gold in El Salvador’s rural north. If Pacific Rim succeeds in securing the $100 million settlement it seeks, that would set a troubling precedent. At stake is a question that affects all nations: Can private interests trump national sovereignty under international law?

Mass Transit Helps Cut Global Warming and War

by Miriam Pemberton | Jul 16, 2009

Two subway cars on Washington, D.C.’s Red Line — which I usually ride to work — recently collided. It was the worst accident in this subway’s history, killing nine D.C. residents and injuring scores of others. The National Transportation Safety Board’s advice to the local transit authority soon came to light: Replace older-model subway cars, including the ones that crashed. The NTSB had said this three years ago, but the transit authority hadn’t had the money to do it.