Michael A. Levi

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del autor incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2006. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

Forest fires have been burning out of control across Indonesia for months, blanketing Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan province and other parts of South-East Asia in smog. Credit Hugo Hudoyoko/European Pressphoto Agency

When President Obama welcomes President Joko Widodo of Indonesia on his first White House visit next week, he will have a valuable opportunity to help curb one of the world’s largest sources of carbon emissions.

Indonesia’s widespread conversion of peatlands and forests for logging and agricultural use has made the country one of the world’s biggest carbon polluters. Halting deforestation and preserving these natural areas, even partially, could decrease carbon dioxide emissions half a gigaton annually by 2030 — roughly the same reduction levels Mr. Obama has sought in the United States in updated fuel efficiency standards and power-plant regulations.

Washington has already incorporated climate issues into its dealings with Indonesia.…  Seguir leyendo »

The China National Overseas Oil Corporation (CNOOC) began drilling in Vietnamese-claimed waters last week, accompanied by more than 70 vessels, including armed Chinese warships. At first glance, this might look like merely another front in China’s quest for natural resources, which has taken Chinese companies to seemingly every corner of the earth.

Yet what is happening in the South China Sea is actually far more dangerous than what has come before — and the forces driving it go well beyond pursuit of energy riches. The United States needs to face up to the full magnitude of the Chinese challenge to have any hope of successfully confronting it.…  Seguir leyendo »

A report last month that China’s economy will soon become the world’s largest has sparked worries. Normally calm observers are taking the news as a sign that China is overtaking America as an economic power.

But much as counting warships or troops often provides a misleading measure of military might, tallying up gross domestic product — the figure behind the latest headlines — yields a warped picture of China’s economic rise.

By most meaningful yardsticks, China is still less economically powerful than the United States. The problem with the new numbers starts with how they compare economies’ sizes. The World Bank tables that show China passing the United States compare the two countries using “purchasing power parity,” which measures national incomes in terms of what they can buy at home.…  Seguir leyendo »