Climate Change Carnival
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Part of Bali is about the negotiations between countries on how to move forward on climate change. But Bali is also a big carnival of ideas and there are all sorts of organizations with booths lining the halls of the Bali Conference Center dispensing advice and information on what should be done.

There is, for example, a booth explaining Pyrolysis Technology, a system, they say, that takes agricultural waste and turns part of it into energy and part into a form of carbon, which can be used to enrich the soil while keeping the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

And then there is the Swiss private sector-led initiative, "Ecodriving," that advises that simply by driving smarter, companies can realize major savings in fuel and greenhouse gas emissions. Ecodriving could save a company, they say between U.S.$1,900-3,800 a month depending on size.

October 10, 2008


A U.S.-UN History Lesson in Georgia
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(The following was originally written in August 2008.)

Commentators looking to explain the recent Russo-Georgian conflict by analyzing American foreign policy have found no dearth of candidate provocations. America's support for Georgian membership in NATO, its recognition of Kosovo's independence, and its open planning to install missile defense programs in Eastern Europe all likely contributed to Russia's willingness to exert its influence in the region by force. By and large, however, these speculations have focused on the proximate causes of the past few months. The most significant American contribution to instability in Georgia, however, may actually have occurred some 15 years ago--and its story provides more resounding lessons for U.S.-UN policy than it does for U.S.-Russia relations.

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