For the first time in many decades, there is a sense of hope and optimism for economic growth and development in South Sudan. I want to tell you why. The landlocked country in East-Central Africa is one of the poorest in the world. Around 4 out of 5 of its people live in poverty, and 70 percent of children have no access to schooling. As with many other Sub-Saharan countries, South Sudan’s energy consumption (per capita) is low—indeed, the country is ranked … [Read more...]
Did Manmade Climate Change Cause Syria’s Civil War and the Rise of ISIS?
This article was originally published in The Christian Post. A new paper, Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought, PNAS, March 2, 2015, summarized its findings by saying, "the 2007-2010 drought contributed to the conflict in Syria. It was the worst drought in the instrumental record, causing widespread crop failure and a mass migration of farming families to urban centers." It went on to say, "Century-long observed trends in precipitation, … [Read more...]