Ecological resources have factored into many national conflicts--either through competition for scarce resources or greed to exploit plentiful ones. But some scholars see another role for the environment: fostering peace. Resources managed jointly can quell regional hostilities, or better, keep lines of communication open so that a conflict never starts, these scholars say, and it seems the idea is gaining traction.

One of the last untapped fisheries for human consumption may not remain that way much longer. Krill, shrimp-like crustaceans that grow about two inches long, are some of the most abundant marine life. They're regularly eaten by whales, seals, penguins, and sea birds, but so far not extensively fished for human consumption. However, fishery regulators say, that could change quickly, with high food prices and depleted fish stocks driving a new industry in krill oils.

But krill might yet be saved from the fate of its marine neighbors. Regulators are proactively aiming to prevent overfishing of krill, to stem off destroying a species fundamental to ocean food chains worldwide.

Environmental ministers from around the world are wrapping up two weeks of meetings in Bonn, Germany, as part of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Today, delegates made some of the best progress of the meeting, establishing plans to create an independent scientific panel to do what the IPCC did for climate change--bring it scientific credibility and urgency. However, some of the conference's biggest challenges remain unresolved, including financial commitments to follow through on this plan.

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.

Eighty percent of the 150 top selling drugs in the United States--including essential medicines such as Asprin, penicillin, and the chemotherapy drug Taxol--come from substances derived from plants, animals or microorganisms. However, as humans continue to drive species towards extinction and degrade critical habitats, we are losing the life-giving services they provide and the potential for countless new medical discoveries. A new book, "Sustaining Life," examines what humans stand to lose when biodiversity is irreversibly destroyed, providing a compelling new case to conserve nature.

Of the World Health Organization's data on alcohol use, at the other end of the spectrum from Uganda is India. The country has been among the bottom 15 percent of nations in terms of per capita alcohol consumption for most of the past 40 years. As of 2003, the average Indian citizen consumed 0.3 liters of alcohol, roughly the amount in a drinking glass.

The World Health Organization records alcohol consumption around the globe, and the leading consumers on a per capita basis are almost exclusively European. This makes Uganda, the global leader in consumption, a surprising outlier.

As of 2003, Uganda was the world's highest per-capita consumer of alcohol. At 17.6 liters per person per year, the average Ugandan consumes twice as much alcohol as the average American, and more than twice the amount of a resident of any of Uganda's neighboring countries. And this number probably doesn't tell the whole story, since Uganda also has one of the highest estimated levels of unrecorded consumption--that is, smuggled, imported, or home-brewed alcohol--in the world.

While the cost of food has been rising steadily since 2000, few took notice until recently, when the problem finally reached crisis proportions. Skyrocketing world food prices--up almost 50% since last year--have triggered riots across the developing world and forced the world's largest food aid agency to announce a $500 million deficit for 2008.