Showing posts from category meta.
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End of the Year Edition: Top 10 Posts for 2010
›The New Security Beat’s 2010 top ten (measured by unique pageviews) included guest contributions from Marc Levy, Todd Walters, and the UK’s Royal Society, a post by West Point Cadet Marie Hokenson, a video feature with Peter Gleick, and posts on global enviro-security hot spots Afghanistan, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Yemen:
1. Watch: Peter Gleick on Peak Water
“The concept of ‘peak water’ is very analogous to peak oil…we’re using fossil groundwater. That is, we’re pumping groundwater faster than nature naturally recharges it,” says Peter Gleick in this short expert analysis from the Environmental Change and Security Program. Gleick, president and co-founder of the Pacific Institute and author of the newest edition of The World’s Water, explains the new concept of peak water.
2. Copper in Afghanistan: Chinese Investment at Aynak
Will new investments by the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) in the Aynak copper mine break Afghanistan out of its poverty trap? Will future revenues from the subsoil assets in Logar Province bring peace and stability to the ongoing conflict?
3. DRC’s Conflict Minerals: Can U.S. Law Impact the Violence?
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in a personal email posted by Wired, recently tried to explain to a concerned iPhone customer the complexity of ensuring Apple’s devices do not use conflict minerals like those helping to fund the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However much one might be tempted to pile on Apple at the moment, Mr. Jobs is on to something with regard to the conflict minerals trade – expressing outrage and raising awareness of the problem is one thing but actually implementing an effective solution is quite another.
4. India’s Maoists: South Asia’s “Other” Insurgency
The Indian government’s battle with Maoist and tribal rebels – which affects 22 of India’s 35 states and territories, according to Foreign Policy and in 2009 killed more people than any year since 1971 – has been largely ignored in the West. That should change, as South Asia’s “other” insurgency, fomenting in the world’s largest democracy and a key U.S. partner, offers valuable lessons about the role of resource management and stable development in preventing conflict.
5. On the Beat: Climate-Security Linkages Lost in Translation
A recent news story summarizing some interesting research by Halvard Buhaug carried the headline “Civil war in Africa has no link to climate change.” This is unfortunate because there’s nothing in Buhaug’s results, which were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, to support that conclusion.
6. Guest Contributor Todd Walters: Imagine There’s No Countries: Conservation Beyond Borders in the Balkans
International peace parks have captured the imagination of visionaries like Nelson Mandela, who called them a “concept that can be embraced by all.” Such parks—also known as transboundary protected areas—span national boundaries, testifying to the peaceful collaborative relationship between neighboring countries and to the co-existence of humans and nature.
7. Restrepo: Inside Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley
Restrepo, the riveting new documentary film from Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, follows a platoon of U.S. soldiers deployed in the dangerous Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. As a cadet at West Point majoring in human geography, I was fascinated to watch the ways the soldiers confronted and adapted to the challenges posed by the local culture of the remote Afghan community surrounding their outpost.
8. UK Royal Society: Call for Submissions: “People and the Planet” Study To Examine Population, Environment, Development Links
In the years that followed the Iranian revolution, when Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran and the country went to war against Iraq, the women of Iran were called upon to provide the next generation of soldiers. Following the war the country’s fertility rate fell from an average of over seven children per woman to around 1.7 children per woman – one of the fastest falls in fertility rates recorded over the last 25 years.
9. Demographics, Depleted Resources, and Al Qaeda Inflame Tensions in Yemen
A second spectacular Al Qaeda attack on Yemeni government security buildings in less than a month is a worrisome sign that the terrorist group may be trying to take advantage of a country splitting at the seams. U.S. officials are concerned that Yemen, like neighboring Somalia, may become a failed state due to a myriad of challenges, including a separatist movement in the south, tensions over government corruption charges, competition for dwindling natural resources, and one of the fastest growing populations in the world.
10. Eye on Environmental Security: Visualizing Natural Resources, Population, and Conflict
Environmental problems that amplify regional security issues are often multifaceted, especially across national boundaries. Obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the natural resource, energy, and security issues facing a region is not fast or easy.
Photo Credit: Collage from individual posts (left to right, top to bottom): Peter Gleick courtesy of ECSP’s Youtube channel; “Yemen pol 2002,” via Wikimedia Commons courtesy of the U.S. Federal Government; “Mutual support,” courtesy of flickr user The U.S. Army; “KE139S11 World Bank,” courtesy of flickr user World Bank Photo Collection; “Mineral and Forests of the DRC” from ECSP Report 12, courtesy of Philippe Rekacewicz, Le Monde diplomatique, Paris, and Environment and Security Institute, The Hague, January 2003; IPPE/Cory Wilson; “Environmental Issues in the Northern Caspian Sea,” courtesy of the Environment & Security Initiative; “Wandering Aesthetic” courtesy of flickr user Wen-Yan King; and “River and Mountains of Logar,” courtesy of flickr user AfghanistanMatters. -
Top 10 Posts for December 2010
›Pop Audios from Roger-Mark De Souza and John Bongaarts, water conflict on the Mekong river, a take on Restrepo from one of this summer’s West Pointers, and demographic security on the Hill topped the list last month:
1. Pop Audio: From Cancun: Roger-Mark De Souza on Women and Integrated Climate Adaptation Strategies
2. Managing the Mekong: Conflict or Compromise?
3. Pop Audio: John Bongaarts on the Impacts of Demographic Change in the Developing World
4. Restrepo: Inside Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley
5. Demographic Security Comes to the Hill
6. The Future of Sub-Saharan Africa’s Tentative Fertility Decline
7. On the Beat: Where Have all the Malthusians Gone?
8. Bringing Cambodia Back from the Brink: Audio Interview with Suwanna Gauntlett
9. COP-16 Cancun Coverage Wrap-up: An Integrated Climate Dialogue
10. India’s Maoists: South Asia’s “Other” Insurgency -
Top 10 Posts for November 2010
›Matthew Erdman’s report on PHE programing in Madagascar, Jennifer Sciubba’s response to the “aging” media blitz, a series on Nigeria’s cloudy future, and John Bongaart’s Pop Audio topped the list last month:
1. The Beat on the Ground: Toliara, Madagascar
Matthew Erdman Reports on Blue Ventures’ Integrated PHE Initiative
2. On the Beat: Where Have all the Malthusians Gone?
3. Nigeria’s Future Clouded by Oil, Climate Change, and Scarcity: Part One, The Delta
4. Pop Audio: John Bongaarts on the Impacts of Demographic Change in the Developing World
5. India’s Maoists: South Asia’s “Other” Insurgency
6. Guest Contributor Kavita Ramdas: What’s Good for Women Is Good for the Planet
7. Restrepo: Inside Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley
8. DRC’s Conflict Minerals: Can U.S. Law Impact the Violence?
9. Nigeria’s Future Clouded by Oil, Climate Change, and Scarcity: Part Two, The Sahel
10. The Ultimate Weapon Is No Weapon: Human Security and the New Rules of War and Peace -
ECSP Seeking Interns for Spring 2011
›November 23, 2010 // By Wilson Center StaffApply today by sending cover letter, resume, and writing sample to ecsp@wilsoncenter.org.
The Environmental Change and Security Program is seeking interns to:- Write for our award-winning blog
- Network with leading experts in the environment, population, and security fields
- Work closely with the friendly, dynamic “Green Team” to explore new media while seeking a sustainable future
Assignments may include:- Drafting posts for The New Security Beat and ECSP’s website
- Assisting with events and conferences
- Researching environment, population, and security information
- Assisting the preparation of publications and/or outreach materials
- Updating contact databases
- Performing administrative assignments in support of ECSP activities
Potential interns should be students and/or recent graduates with an interest in, coursework related to, and/or experience working on environmental and human security.
In addition, applicants should:- Possess strong research, writing, and/or administrative skills
- Be detail-oriented
- Be able to work both independently and as part of a group
- Be enrolled in a degree program, recently graduated (within the last year), and/or have been accepted to enter an advanced degree program within the next year
How to Apply
To apply, please submit a resume, cover letter, and short writing sample (between two and five pages in length). Please indicate in your cover letter whether you are applying for a paid or unpaid internship.
Please submit application via e-mail to ecsp@wilsoncenter.org with “Spring 2011 Internship” in the subject line.
The deadline is rolling. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Due to the high volume of resumes ECSP receives, only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. -
Top 10 Posts for October 2010
›Nathan Yaffe and Laura Dismore’s post on a Ethiopian land-grab case study, Marc Levy’s response to Halvard Buhaug, and India and China’s thirst for resources topped the list last month:
1. The Beat on the Ground: Ethiopian Case Study Illustrates Shortcomings of “Land Grab” Debate
2. On the Beat: Climate-Security Linkages Lost in Translation
3. India’s Maoists: South Asia’s “Other” Insurgency
4. U.S. v. China: The Global Battle for Hearts, Minds, and Resources
5. VIDEO: Peter Gleick on Peak Water
6. Brian O’Neill: Population Is Neither a Silver Bullet Nor a Red Herring in Climate Problem
7. DRC’s Conflict Minerals: Can U.S. Law Impact the Violence?
8. On the Beat: New Study Finds Lower Population Growth Could Cut Carbon Emissions, Lead Author Presents at SEJ 2010
9. Latin America’s Future: Emerging Trends in Economic Growth and Environmental Protection
10. Welcome Back, Roger-Mark: A Powerful Voice Returns to PHE -
Top 10 Posts for September 2010
›Marc Levy’s response to Halvard Buhaug’s paper on climate-security linkages, a critique of the World Bank’s latest report on land grabs, and resource conflicts top the list this month:
1. On the Beat: Climate-Security Linkages Lost in Translation
2. New World Bank Report on Land Grabs Is a Dud
3. India’s Maoists: South Asia’s “Other” Insurgency
4. U.S. v. China: The Global Battle for Hearts, Minds, and Resources
5. DRC’s Conflict Minerals: Can U.S. Law Impact the Violence?
6. Historic Floods Plague Pakistan
7. Iraq at the Crossroads: Water, Power, Trash, and Security: Interview with Iraq’s First Minister of the Environment Mishkat Al Moumin
8. UK Royal Society: Call for Submissions “People and the Planet” Study To Examine Population, Environment, Development Links
9. Demographics, Depleted Resources, and Al Qaeda Inflame Tensions in Yemen
10. Guest Contributor Serge Dedina: Environmental Security Along the U.S.-Mexico Border -
Apply Today: Deadline Approaching for Wilson Center Fellowship Applications
›September 27, 2010 // By Wilson Center StaffThe Woodrow Wilson Center awards approximately 20-25 residential fellowships annually to individuals with outstanding project proposals in a broad range of the social sciences and humanities on national and/or international issues. Topics and scholarship should relate to key public policy challenges or provide the historical and/or cultural framework to illuminate policy issues of contemporary importance.
Fellowship applications must be postmarked or submitted online by October 1. Applicants are notified of the results of the selection process in March of the following year.
For more information, please see the full application announcement here. -
Top 10 Posts for August 2010
›The Royal Society’s call for submissions, USAID’s summer seminar series, and coverage of Pakistan’s historic floods top the list this month:
1. UK Royal Society: Call for Submissions “People and the Planet” Study To Examine Population, Environment, Development Links
2. “There is no choice”: Climate, Health, Water, Food Security Must Be Integrated, Say Experts
3. Historic Floods Plague Pakistan
4. Restrepo: Inside Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley
5. Seven Billion and Counting: Population Reference Bureau Releases New Projections
6. India’s Maoists: South Asia’s “Other” Insurgency
7. Interview with Maria Ivanova, Wilson Center Scholar: Engaging Civil Society in Global Environmental Governance
8. Eye on Environmental Security: Floods, Fire, Landslides, and Drought: The Guardian’s “Weather Crisis 2010”
9. Guest Contributor Jennifer Sciubba, Mellon Environmental Fellow at Rhodes College: Misguided Projections for Africa’s Fertility
10. DRC’s Conflict Minerals: Can U.S. Law Impact the Violence?
