Categories
Philanthropy & Non-Profit Organizations

A New Era of Aid

Complain about how someone is doing something long enough and you’re likely to get a version of this classic response: “If you’re so unhappy with it, then do it yourself!” The rising importance of emerging donors proves that developing countries have decided to do just that in an effort to correct the ills of development […]

Categories
Health & Social Policy

Reducing Poverty One Plot at a Time

Urban agriculture is somewhat of a fad in Austin. Drive around in Hyde Park or on the Eastside, and you’ll see small plots behind houses, in empty lots, or near a restaurant, often with a sign advertising an organization that can help a neighborhood or household get their own garden started. This isn’t unique to […]

2011: A Year in Reflection

As the semester comes to a close, we take a worthwhile look back at some of the major events that have shaped the last 12 months. This year has been an eventful one for the world – major shifts in power and influence took place on every continent. Almost a year ago, Mohamed Bouazizi set […]

Categories
Politics and Governance

Who Can Top This Crackdown?

Move over, Arizona – Alabama now holds the dubious honor of having the toughest immigration law on the books in the United States today. Alabama isn’t the only state passing legislation similar to Arizona’s notorious Senate Bill 1070. Georgia, Indiana and Utah have all passed similar laws, but none of their laws stand up to […]

Categories
Energy & Environmental Policy

The Intersection of Climate Change and Recovery

  On Friday, April 8, the U.S. Congress dodged a government shutdown by striking a budget compromise, undoubtedly crushing the dreams of the news outlets gleefully throwing countdown clocks and “what if?!” statements around. What the media have largely failed to cover, however, are the follow-up discussions that continue to adjust the budget. One of […]

Categories
Energy & Environmental Policy

Targeting the Truly Vulnerable

  When we think of the places that are threatened by climate change, we think of tiny islands on the edge of pulling an Atlantis, coastlines where homes fall into the ocean when the shore erodes or the water levels rise, or the Sahara encroaching on land never meant to be part of a desert. […]

Categories
Energy & Environmental Policy

Climate Change … or Not?

  In recent articles, I’ve been arguing that America has a teenager’s worst attitude about climate change: We need to stop slouching to our rooms and slamming doors shut, and start engaging developing countries on the issues that matter to them, like adapting to climate change within those countries’ borders and mitigating it within our […]

Categories
Energy & Environmental Policy

Attitudes at the Knife’s Edge

  For the last week and a half, I have been in Ethiopia, conducting research on climate change and adaptation. Rambling around Addis Ababa and the Central Rift Valley has been an exercise in patience and flexibility, but also enormously informative and enjoyable. Ethiopia is a country that has been particularly hard-hit by climate-related disasters, […]

Categories
Energy & Environmental Policy

Repackaging the Climate Change Debate

  If Americans are confused about anything lately, it seems that climate change and global warming are probably somewhere at the top of that list. While Republicans are set up as the enemies of climate regulation and Democrats as the defenders of the environment, survey data shows that many Americans are skeptical about climate change, especially the […]

Categories
Energy & Environmental Policy

Oh, Those Onerous Environmental Programs

  In this, the age of budget deficits, no political party wants to be caught being the one without any budget cuts to advocate. President Obama handed down a budget that promised to cut troubled programs or programs that had not been able to deliver results, to achieve what one administration official told the Associated […]