Bjørn Lomborg tænkte, »det var satans«, mens han læste artiklen »The Doomslayer« - dommedagsudrydderen - i magasinet Wired i 1997. Han var grebet af historien om en økonom, der siden barndommen afskyede vedtagne sandheder og altid søgte fakta

V vseh kulturah velja vzgoja otroka za najbolj osrečujoče dejanje. Toda zbor aktivistov, znanstvenikov in novinarjev opozarja, da bi morali pred spočetjem otroka dobro razmisliti. Javna radijska postaja NPR iz ZDA se sprašuje, ali naj bi v času podnebnih sprememb sploh še imeli otroke? V časopisu The Nation želijo vedeti, kako se odločiš za otroka, ko podnebne spremembe spreminjajo življenje na Zemlji? The Guardian bralcem svetuje, naj se proti podnebnim spremembam bojujejo tako, da imajo manj otrok. New York Times pa opozarja, da je rojevanje otrok najslabše možno dejanje za okolje.

Die diesjährigen 1.-August-Feiern verliefen ungewöhnlich still. Fast alle Kantone hatten ein Feuerwerkverbot verhängt. Grund war die ausserordentliche Trockenheit und die damit verbundene Gefahr, dass Raketen, Vulkane und Böllerschüsse Brände auslösen. Die Schweiz ist dieses Jahr bisher von Waldbränden verschont geblieben. Nicht so andere Länder: Besonders hart getroffen wurde Griechenland. Dort rollte im Juli eine Feuerwalze über ein Dorf und zerstörte es völlig. 

n 2014, GoI set out to improve housing conditions for the urban poor, and launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), a housing for all (HFA) by 2022 scheme. There are three possible paths to achieve this goal, some approaches stronger than others. Analysis by Amitabh Kundu of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, and Arjun Kumar of the Institute of Human Development (IHD), New Delhi (goo.gl/hBHskT and goo.gl/pGp8F6) also prompt the broader question as to whether non-housing policies may better help the urban poor.

Air pollution kills more than 16 lakh people in India every year — more than smoking, malnutrition or even a lack of water and sanitation. And while the toxic soup of outdoor air pollution over Delhi and many other cities rightly gets a lot of attention, indoor air pollution from household cooking and heating with biomass fuels kills almost as many, or about eight lakh people, every year. A majority of rural households continue to use biomass (such as wood and cow dung) as their primary cooking fuel.

On the eve of the Karnataka election, waivers of farm loans were one of the major election promises. Now, chief minister HD Kumaraswamy wants to fulfill his pre-poll promise and even threatened to resign if he cannot fulfill his promise. As has been seen time and time again, “farmers first” provides political mileage. With more than 55% of Indians earning their livelihood from the agricultural sector, it comes as no surprise that political parties like to place their bets on the farmers’ cause. However, the real benefit to the farmers won’t come from loan waivers.

Sometimes in life, it is clear that the direct approach isn’t the best one. This is true in many areas, even when it comes to policymaking. Take, as an example, the area of extreme poverty. It seems logical, at first, that the most effective response should be head-on: giving money and assets to protect people from income shocks.

Ensuring clear property titles can go a long way in making the land market more transparent and efficient. Completion of survey and resurvey activities, and digitisation of cadastral maps will cost about Rs 213 crore. However, this will have multiple benefits.

Evidence shows that strengthening property rights reduces the risk of expropriation and corruption. It also improves the mechanisms for peaceful resolution of disputes and contract enforcement.

Los tiroteos masivos en los Estados Unidos han impulsado a las fuerzas de seguridad y a los medios de comunicación a buscar patrones comunes, y uno de ellos ha sido que un número inquietante de perpetradores han sido previamente acusados de abuso doméstico. 

Across all cultures, raising a child is considered one of the most rewarding things a person can do. Yet a chorus of campaigners, scientists, and journalists suggest that everyone should think twice before procreating.