Two decades ago, when NASA scientist James Hansen presciently announced his virtual certainty that people were heating up the planet, critics understandably emerged in force. After all, we knew relatively little about climate change in those days. But now, with information in abundance, there is no excuse for the naysayers’ stubborn opposition.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — If America’s key asymmetric advantage is its people, as U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asserted during a national conference last week, then why are we waiting to engage everyone in a serious, public debate on how best to maximize the application of this nation’s strengths against the weaknesses of its [...]

When a country has a complicated, problematic and history-burdened relationship with another nation – as China has with Japan – one would anticipate strained ties at best. Why, then, has Chinese President Hu Jintao undertaken a state visit to Tokyo?

MONTREAL – In the tropical section of this city’s Biodome, essentially a museum of the environment, I felt very much at home. Outside, snow stretched in all directions, but the interior climate was warm and humid – just like Florida’s. And it reminded me of how clever people can be.
In this case, they creatively replicated [...]

When I wrote about presidential dream tickets nearly a year ago, with U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona leading Republicans and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois as the No. 2 for Democrats, criticism rained from many directions.
“There is no way McCain will be the Republican nominee,” hundreds of people said. “Obama does not have [...]

The campaign for the U.S. presidency finally has veered in a more interesting direction. On a daily basis since Super Tuesday, dozens of people have contacted me to express similar thoughts. Especially on the Democratic side, the contest has turned into a real competition.
To generate even more appeal, the candidates in both parities – and [...]

There was a time not long ago when the United States was known for showing leadership on and shaping collective strategies to confront global challenges. Sadly, Washington today often shies from that role, including its foot-dragging response to one of the most pressing concerns: climate change. And it is embarrassing to witness the ramifications, such [...]

Top scientists, in their most authoritative report yet, have sounded the alarm about certain unstoppable ramifications of climate gone wild, such as rising seas with potentially catastrophic consequences.
That stern warning from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change coincides with the final weeks of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, when those who live in [...]

Even before winning the Nobel Peace Prize, former Vice President Al Gore was better positioned than most for a bid to head the Democratic ticket in next year’s presidential election. Ironically, given the historically domestic thrust of U.S. campaigns, he has done it with a global concern — climate change — arguably the most compelling [...]

Natural acts of mass destruction – from Hurricane Dean’s rampage across the Caribbean to the surprisingly powerful earthquake that struck Peru’s southern coast last week – clearly have taken their places as inevitabilities of our time.
Although some would argue that the world has always experienced bouts of extreme weather and other devastating phenomena, the frequency [...]