Countries are constantly being compared to one another in environmental measures--carbon emissions, energy intensity, environmental footprints. These international comparisons have generally focused on the activities of governments or businesses, making them a useful measure for policymakers but less helpful for average citizens. However, last week the National Geographic Society and polling firm GlobeScan released results from the first-ever international survey of the "greenness" of consumer behavior. (And if you want to test your own consumer greenness, you can take a shortened version of the survey here.)

In 1999, researchers developed a new variety of genetically modified (GM) rice boasting the potential to save "a million kids a year" in developing countries from life-threatening vitamin A deficiency. Nearly a decade later, however, the new variety--nicknamed "golden rice" for the yellow hue imparted by vitamin A compounds--has hardly moved beyond the lab. Hampered by the controversy and strict regulations surrounding GM technology, golden rice is a testament to the obstacles facing GM crops developed for humanitarian purposes.

Cuba's agricultural system was turned on its head by the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. It was one of the most dramatic agricultural collapses of recent history--suddenly Cuba's heavily-subsidized exports to Russia and East Germany disappeared, the large state farming operations had no fuel or spare parts to keep their thousands of tractors running, and the heavy chemical inputs Cuba had become accustomed to were no longer available. Almost overnight, Cuba's agriculture radically transformed.

EarthTrends April 2008 Monthly Update

Before climate change dominated the environmental agenda, deforestation was a central concern for many reasons besides carbon. Forests contain 70 percent of the world's biodiversity, provide vital ecosystem services such as flood control and soil protection, and support the subsistence livelihoods of up to 300 million people, most of whom are poor. To date, efforts to combat deforestation have failed to stop rapid global forest loss, despite some localized successes. Between 2000 and 2005, roughly 13 million hectares of forest disappeared each year, with the largest losses occurring in the biologically rich tropical forests of the developing world (FAO, 2005).

The threat of climate change has created a new imperative--and renewed hope--to protect the values and services rendered by tropical forests. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007) estimates that deforestation contributes 15-20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (see Figure 1), yet the forestry sector was largely excluded from the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period. With negotiations underway for a post-Kyoto agreement set to start after 2012, reduced emissions from deforestation in developing countries, popularly known as REDD, has emerged as a key issue.