Catastrophe, Breakdown Offer Hope for Rebirth, Says Homer-Dixon (VIDEO)
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 left the city in shambles. But the city was rebuilt better, stronger, and smarter than before. According to Thomas Homer-Dixon of the University of Toronto, San Francisco shows that "moments of contingency" exist within collapse. These moments, while fleeting, offer the opportunity to reform institutions, social relations, and entrenched habits and behaviors. Summary, video, and presentation online. [more]

Water Expert Peter Gleick Addresses Future of World's Water (VIDEO)
Ten years ago, natural ecosystems were in decline, about a billion people lacked access to clean water and 2 billion lacked access to adequate sanitation, and the United States did not have coherent national and international water policies. According to Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute, not much has changed, but there are signs of progress: "There is growing public interest and awareness in water...in part because of the understanding of the connections between water and all the things we care about." Summary, presentation, and video online. [more]

Looking Back to Move Forward: Nepal Grapples With Environmental, Demographic Stress (VIDEO)
Nepal's recently signed peace accord offers an opportunity for the country to heal the wounds inflicted by a decade of civil war. Yet addressing the country's problems requires a closer look at the factors that initially drove the unrest--particularly environmental stress and demographic change, said Bishnu Raj Upreti of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research. Summary, paper, presentation, and video online. [more]

Afghan Health Strategy Sets Example for Other Fragile States
Afghanistan has some of the worst health statistics in the world. But targeted interventions--including the training and deployment of more than 6,000 health workers--have positively impacted the health and mindset of the Afghan people, who believe "government is working for them and that they have hope for their future and their children's future," said Sallie Craig Huber of Management Sciences for Health. Summary and presentations online. [more]

Chronic Food Shortages Impede Development, Increase Risk of Disease
Malnutrition, which can handicap the immune system and increase the risk of HIV infection, is a preventable problem, yet more than 852 million people worldwide are undernourished. "Hunger is the greatest public health problem in the world and it underpins--or undermines--a nation's development," said Jordan Dey of the World Food Programme. Summary and presentations online. [more]

Global Environmental Change Editorial Board Welcomes ECSP Director Dabelko
ECSP Director Geoff Dabelko has joined the editorial board of Global Environmental Change: Human and Policy Dimensions, a highly respected international journal publishing research and reviews across the field of global environmental change. During his two-year term, which begins in 2007, Dabelko will help promote the journal by seeking out new research and refereeing new papers. [more]

Post-Conflict Reconstruction Shaped by Approach to Natural Resoruces
Post-conflict frameworks often address economic and human factors, ignoring the natural resources that can engender conflict or provide a pathway to peace. Given their vital role in many war-torn societies, natural resource management should be an integral component of reconstruction, said experts at a recent conference at Duke University. [more]

Dire Strait of Malacca: Assessing the Waterway's Energy Security (VIDEO)
A narrow waterway dividing Sumatra and western Malaysia, the Strait of Malacca is a hub of global trade and one of the world's busiest sea lanes. But piracy and terrorism may jeopardize the safe transport of freighters, potentially threatening the region's energy security and increasing the risk of pollution from security measures like controlled burns for land clearing. Summary, presentations, and video online. [more]

African Cotton Sector Threatened By Global Prices, Non-Competitiveness (VIDEO)
Low cotton prices are bankrupting African cotton farmers. Despite the stalled Doha trade talks, which threaten to push cotton sector concerns to the sidelines, agriculture and trade experts agree that the sector can be revitalized by reforms to promote competitiveness, as well as assistance from African governments and the private sector. Video online. [more]

Scientists Set Five Challenges for Nanotechnology Risk Research (VIDEO)
Fourteen top international scientists in the field of nanotechnology have identified five obstacles to nanotechnology risk research--including the lack of instruments to assess exposure to nanomaterials and methods to evaluate their toxicity--that must be overcome if the technology is to reach its full potential. Video online. [more]

Russian Energy Acquisition Tests Relationship With Northern Europe
Nord Stream--the Russian-German company controlled by Gazprom--plans to build a natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, directly through Sweden's economic zone in the Baltic Sea. Sweden, which supports Russia's integration into the European Union (EU) but stands to gain little from the pipeline, has yet to grant its permission. If Sweden refuses, the EU's cohesion will be tested. Summary online. [more]

Climate Change: Historical Perspectives and the Current Debate (LIVE WEBCAST)
Monday, December 11, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Speaker: James Fleming, Professor, Colby College; Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar; author of The Callendar Effect; and editor of Intimate Universality
RSVP online. [more]

China From the Inside: Screening and Discussion of PBS Documentary
Friday, January 5, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Speakers: Jonathan Lewis, filmmaker; Jeff Hogan, World Resources Institute
RSVP to CEF.

Forest Conflict in Asia: Working Together to Protect People and Reduce Violent Conflict
Tuesday, January 30, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Speakers: Mary Melnyk, U.S. Agency for International Development; Jim Schweithelm, ARD, Inc.; additional speakers TBD.
RSVP to ECSP.

Third Navigating Peace Policy Brief Addresses New Dynamics of Water Conflict
"As the development of water resources and the transformation of freshwater ecosystems have intensified, so have the conflicts," writes University of Maryland Professor Ken Conca in the third policy brief from ECSP's Navigating Peace Initiative. In "The New Face of Water Conflict," Conca addresses the rise of local-turned-international water protests and their ability to affect the debate surrounding water management. [more]

America Should Move Toward Energy Independence, Says Wilson Center President
In his latest commentary, Wilson Center President Lee H. Hamilton addressed America's unsustainable oil use, acknowledging that the United States needs to seek alternatives to foreign oil, work to slow the growth in consumption, and promote innovation and competition in energy markets. [more]

Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty, and the Global Water Crisis
The United Nations Development Programme's 2006 Human Development Report assesses the economic and human costs of not providing basic water services to the world's poor, and examines the connection between water and livelihoods. Individual chapters address water scarcity; the sanitation deficit; water for human consumption; and transboundary water management. [more]

Sexual Abstinence, Contraception, and Condom Use by Young African Women: A Secondary Analysis of Survey Data
The Lancet reviews reported contraceptive and condom use by young single African women, and finds that condom promotion campaigns in sub-Saharan Africa have contributed to a near 10 percent increase in condom use in 13 countries between 1993 and 2001.
Requires free registration. [more]

Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change
Economist Nicholas Stern's report for the United Kingdom analyzes the impact of climate change and global warming on the global economy, and argues that the benefits of early action outweigh the economic costs of inaction. [more]

The Deborah Gerner Grant for Professional Development
Awarded by the Women's Caucus of International Studies, the grant helps finance the professional development of current or recent graduates or Ph.D. students. Deadline: December 15. [more]

Call for Papers on HIV/AIDS, Environment
The guest editors of Population and Environment are calling for papers on HIV/AIDS and the environment. Send a note of interest by December 31 to Lori.Hunter@colorado.edu.

UC Berkeley Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program
The three-week certificate course, running from June 22 to July 14, aims to enhance sustainable development knowledge, policy analysis, and management and leadership skills for mid-career professionals. Deadline: February 1, 2007. [more]

United Nations Launches "Peacemaker" Database
UN Peacemaker provides an online database of modern peace agreements, operational guidance, and lessons-learned from previous peacemaking efforts. [more]

Summer 2007 Internship Opportunities With ECSP
ECSP has stopped accepting internship applications for spring 2007. Students interested in environmental security, population, and water should apply for the summer 2007 internship. Applicants are also encouraged to be enrolled in or entering a master's program. Submission information online. [more]