Famine Fear Returns to Ethiopia

Fallout from changes in weather patterns threatens hard-won gains

(NEWSER) - A quarter-century after the Ethiopian famine crisis, another catastrophe threatens Africa: climate change. But this time, the First World stands to gain from improving the lot of the Third World. "The inefficiencies of the hydrocarbon economy will be replaced by clean, cheap renewables," pop star and activist Bob Geldof writes ahead of the Copenhagen summit. "Rather than deny these inexorable processes, we should embrace the opportunity they present if we are not to be left behind." More»

95% of donations siphoned to rebel weapons, says BBC

(NEWSER) - Live Aid founder Bob Geldof is furious about a BBC report that said 95% of the Live Aid money his organization raised for Ethiopian famine relief in 1985 was diverted to buy weapons for rebel fighters. It's possible that "some money was mislaid, but to suggest it was on this scale is just bollocks," Geldof told the Times of London. More»

China, India helped draft leaked agreement they railed against

(NEWSER) - The “Danish text”—the leaked climate change agreement that infuriated developing nations in Copenhagen and sparked accusations of bullying by rich countries—was actually drafted by a group that included China, India, and Brazil, among other countries. They had “input into the process and product” of the agreement, which seeks to impose stricter limits on developing nations’ emissions, an insider tells the Los Angeles Times . More»

(NEWSER) - Global warming is real, but Al Gore’s crusade to curb carbon emissions is misguided and will squander money that could be applied cheaply and efficiently to those problems now, Danish statistician Bjørn Lomborg writes in Esquire. “Here’s the truth: There are better, more cost-effective ways to fight global warming,” Lomborg writes. And “the solutions have very little to do with cutting CO2 emissions.” More»

Ethiopia, Mexico lead UN agency's climate-change fight

(NEWSER) - A UN-sponsored initiative exceeded its goal of having one billion trees planted in 2007, AFP reports. Developing nations are leading the charge: Ethiopia tops the list with 700 million plantings, and Mexico, Kenya, Rwanda, and Myanmar all made substantial contributions. The UN Environment Program said it had confirmation of 1.56 billion trees planted, out of pledges for 2.24 billion. More»