Article Archives - Page 12 of 14 -

We Need a Forest of Tongues

By vbase / July 3, 2001

Recently, the writer Ken Wiwa argued in this space that we shouldn’t worry too much about the loss of the world’s linguistic diversity. A recent study by the Worldwatch Institute, he reported, reported that half the world’s languages may soon disappear; especially vulnerable are those indigenous tongues spoken by only a few thousand people. This prospect has raised widespread alarm, because it’s generally thought that language and culture are closely related. So, when we lose a language, it’s assumed, we lose the associated culture.

The Ingenuity Gap in a Fragmented World

By vbase / June 11, 2001

This morning I’m going to talk about “The Ingenuity Gap in a Fragmented World.” I’ll ask whether humanity can meet the ever more complex and fast-paced challenges it’s creating for itself.

The Virulence of Violence: Small Arms, Many Wars, Large Threat

By vbase / February 4, 2001

The proliferation of light weapons is seriously impeding political and economic reforms in developing countries from Congo to Colombia, the author argues, and the resulting downward spiral could threaten U.S. national security.

Old Political Machines, Hi-Tech Riders

By vbase / January 17, 2001

It has been a month since we finally learned that George W. Bush will be the next president of the United States. Pundits have issued their solemn assessments of the presidential-selection process and moved on to comment on the next wave of momentous events in our adrenaline-charged political universe. But in their rush, they’ve missed a key lesson behind the fracas in Florida.

A World That Turns Too Fast

By vbase / January 2, 2001

In the last century, our population on this planet has quadrupled, and most of us now live in cities. At the same time, new technologies – from antibiotics to jet planes to the internet – have vastly extended our power as individuals, groups, and societies.

Leadership Captive

By vbase / November 24, 2000

We might not have much respect for them, but we should have some sympathy for the leaders of the new world we’ve created.

How to Deal with a Major League Ice Hole

By vbase / August 29, 2000

When a Russian icebreaker arrived at the North Pole a few weeks ago carrying a load of tourists, it found a mile-wide patch of ice-free water. It seemed like an astonishing development: indeed, reporter John Noble Wilford wrote in a front page story in the New York Times that “the last time scientists can be certain the pole was awash in water was more than 50 million years ago.” Here, it appeared, was bold evidence that global warming is finally upon us.

On the Razor’s Edge: Today’s Graduates Are Entering a Winner-Take-All World, And Most Are Painfully Aware They’ve Already Lost the Game

By vbase / June 17, 2000

My heart sank. “Not again!” I said to myself. The student, sitting across the desk from me in my university office, couldn’t raise her eyes to meet mine.

Resource Scarcity and Innovation: Can Poor Countries Attain Endogenous Growth?

By vbase / March 1, 1999

Edward Barbier and Thomas Homer-Dixon | Endogenous growth models have revived the debate over the role of technological innovation in economic growth and development. The consensus view is that institutional and policy failures prevent poor countries from generating or using new technological ideas to reap greater economic opportunities. However, this view omits the important contribution of natural-resource degradation and depletion to institutional instability

The End of Pop-economics

By vbase / September 2, 1998

with Robin Bienenstock | The current crisis in international markets highlights inadequacies in the way economists and other analysts think about the global economy.