From TAP, Global Safeguards for a Global Economy The FDA's failure to keep us safe from tainted goods produced abroad is a reminder that it's time to better regulate the global economy. James K. Galbraith on how liberal thinkers Benjamin Barber and Bill McKibben offer impassioned critiques of modern capitalism—and solutions that are the policy equivalents of bake sales. The grousers, the ignorant, the selfish: Peter Wilby argues that fairness must rule over choice. The Long-Term Value Moment: Corporate America is realizing that there is more to life than quarterly earnings. Now is the time for progressives to help businesses figure out what taking the long view actually means. From Business Week, many savvy companies are starting to realize that a good name can be their most important asset—and actually boost the stock price.
From National Journal, Hot Opportunities: American industries are bracing themselves for global warming's effects and anticipated federal controls that could pressure companies to draft "greener" business plans. Cooler Elites: Can the ruling classes save the world from global warming? Doug Henwood wants to know. A review of Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinction of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future by Peter D. Ward. A map shows a nation with equivalent greenhouse-gas emissions from energy for each state in the US, while another shows a nation with equivalent GDP for each state in the US.
With global warming leading the news, environmental activists have become bold and demanding. John Dingell's own caucus is shifting to their view. And a former adversary—a nerd from green-conscious West Hollywood—is threatening to undermine his empire. Democratic primary voters want a clean break with the Bush administration's focus on subsidizing dirty energy. The party's two front-runners for president might want to listen up. Drivers grumble about high gasoline prices all over the world. But with oil prices at record highs, many countries are saying goodbye to gas subsidies, making a trip to the filling station more expensive than ever.
From Financial Times, the world is facing an oil supply "crunch" within five years that will force up prices to record levels and increase the west's dependence on oil cartel OPEC, the International Energy Agency warns and Gideon Rachman on how the world has two energy crises but no real answers. Medicine After Oil: The good news about peak oil: it may be the key to fixing our health care system.
From Dissent, an article on Universal Health Insurance 2007: Can we learn from the past? Over Stated: Why the "laboratories of democracy" can't achieve universal health care. Health Research and the Remaking of Common Sense: An excerpt from Inclusion: The Politics of Difference in Medical Research by Steven Epstein. A side-by-side comparison of the presidential candidates' prescriptions for a healthier future.
