In part 1 of the series “Whose English Are We Talking About, Anyway?” we dug beneath this week’s story from Nature Climate Change about the readability of the UN’s Summaries for Policymakers of the scientific/economic findings of the international panel (IPCC). Part 2 went into the world’s myriad varieties of … [continued]
In case you missed the Democratic presidential candidates debating in the US last night, here’s a quick rundown on what they said about climate change. Note that four of the five brought up the subject before any climate questions were asked! (Jim Webb, former Virginia Senator, was the exception.) Suzanne … [continued]
This article examines why readers — including journalists — find it hard to understand the UN’s summaries of climate change issues. The organization aims these documents toward policymakers in the international community. The second installment continues the discussion started here. Colonial expansion transported the English language worldwide over the past … [continued]
A report published today casts some doubt on the efficacy of current United Nations efforts toward worldwide climate change mitigation and adaptation. The reputed journal Nature Climate Change published the investigation. In it, an international team of researchers at KEDGE Business School (a French school of management), the University of … [continued]
Over the weekend, thousands of the world’s finance ministers and central bankers from 188 countries of the world gathered in Lima, Peru, for the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The two United Nations groups focus on long-term economic development and macroeconomic issues, respectively. While … [continued]
End poverty, protect the planet, ensure prosperity for all. Oh, sure. Wonderful goals — but do they really have a chance in this greedy materialistic upside-down world we all inhabit? “Yes,” said representatives of 193 nations — almost all the people on earth. They unanimously relayed this to the folks back home … [continued]
Last time we visited the topic of the draft treaty for December’s international talks on cutting post-2020 carbon emissions, the co-chairs of the United Nations ADP (Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action), Ahmed Djoghlaf of Algeria and Daniel Reifsnyder of the United States, promised delegates that … [continued]
In Bonn on Friday, the numbers came out for the nations making public their plans to cut back on carbon emissions and slow the rate of climate change. Representing three-quarters of the total membership of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (which comprises almost all nations of the world, at … [continued]
A FOUR-PART SERIES ON THE POPE’S VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES The Catholic leader moved to a wider venue than Washington for his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Friday morning— wider because this time he spoke to the people of the entire world … [continued]
A FOUR-PART SERIES ON THE POPE’S VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES During the past week, Pope Francis has brought a consistent message about climate change to every one of the historic cities he has visited in the United States. However, he has varied his presentations about our common home thoughtfully … [continued]
