Dec 11, 2008

When Is A Cow Not A Cow?

Jul 24, 2008

Fertilizer No Substitute for Good Management

Providing fertilizers in parts of the world with poor soil quality will not only do little to improve agricultural productivity, and may do harm. A strategy more likely to be successful is to lay the groundwork for farmers to gain secure land rights.

Jun 27, 2008

Use of Child Soldiers Still Common Despite Decrease in Conflicts

A recent report released by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers quantified a significant decrease between 2004 and 2007 in the number of conflicts worldwide involving child soldiers. But where conflict remains the practice continues unabated.

Jun 23, 2008

Putting a Price on Water

The huge underwater aquifiers that have sustained agriculture in water scare regions in India and the Southwest United States have run dangerously low due to decades of uncontrolled pumping and wasteful irrigation. Without intervention, this scarcity will become only more acute, as farmers and other landowners preemptively pump even more in an effort to get as much as they can for themselves before it is gone. Making water a trade-able commodity that costs something based on availability and price is one solution to the problem.

May 26, 2008

When Do We Start Calling It Genocide?

When will we start calling the willful and purposeful actions of the Burmese government to kill hundreds of thousands of Burmese through starvation, exposure and disease genocide?

May 05, 2008

Human Rights and Philanthropy

The tendency in philanthropy to overstate impact plays a key role in undermining the confidence of the public in philanthropy and non-profits. Several studies have shown that such confidence is at an all-time low. When philanthropy makes assertions and promises it cannot meet, it encourages public cynicism. In the case of human rights, isn’t it enough to say that all human beings deserve to live lives of dignity without appealing to grander claims?

Apr 30, 2008

No Punishment for Traffickers

Nearly every country on the globe is either a source or a destination location for trafficked people (or both). Most trafficking cases begin with the promise of a good job in another location (a separate country, or a different region). The trafficked person goes willingly at first, and only realizes later that he or she has been sold into slavery or debt bondage. While sex trafficking gets most of the headlines, labor trafficking is far more prevalent. The United States estimates that 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders every year, while many NGOs in the sector estimate that the total number, including those trafficked within their home country, exceeds 20 million.

Apr 07, 2008

Grim News From Afghanistan

Poppy cultivation and wasted foreign aid are like twin sisters perpetuating the cycle of poverty within Afghanistan.

Mar 14, 2008

Legalization and Criminalization of Illicit Trade

Experts in a variety of fields passionately debate how to combat illicit trade in everything from drugs to endangered species to, worst of all, people. There are rational, credible arguments for both criminalizing and aggressively prosecuting those engaged in illicit trade and for legalizing and regulating the trade.

Jun 25, 2007

Tolerance a Boon to Slavery

While poverty is certainly one of the main factors driving the persistence of slavery it is by no means the only one. In fact, while India and China have succeeded spectacularly at reducing poverty, slavery persists and is quite possibly growing. At root is a tolerance for slavery, whether from corrupt government officials, cultural apologists or passive business partners.