Nautilus Weekly February 2 - 5, 2010

TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Every so often in history a technological innovation emerges that has a transformative effect on human civilization. As the world ponders how to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change, Nautilus Institute Director Peter Hayes looks at some of the possible technological breakthroughs that could pave the way to a sustainable future.

Read the report here.

ENERGY SECURITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES IN CHINA

Yanjia Wang, Professor at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology (INET) at Tsinghua University, writes, “Energy demand is the core element linking energy security and climate change. As energy is the basic input to economic development and people’s daily lives, the Chinese government does its best to meet this demand by using all available resources. Providing enough jobs for 1.3 billion people and maintaining a stable social order by keeping fast GDP growth is the top priority for the Chinese government.”

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This paper was delivered at the Nautilus Institute’s workshop in Paju, Korea on "Interconnections of Global Problems in East Asia: Climate Change Adaptation and its Complexity from the Perspective of Civil Society.” The project website is online here.

APSNET TOP STORY: AMNESTY SLAMS EVICTIONS NEAR PNG MINE

Police burnt down homes and threatened people with guns while illegally evicting them from land next to one of the biggest gold mines in Papua New Guinea, an Amnesty International (AI) report says. It also cited concerns with the ongoing support companies involved in the Porgera gold mine gave to police after they became aware of their activity in the area.

Read the report here.

NAPSNET TOP STORY: PEACE TREATY THE BEST ROUTE TO DENUCLEARIZATION: DPRK STATE MEDIA

Xinhua News reported that the conclusion of a peace treaty would push forward the Korean peninsula's denuclearization process, the DPRK's official KCNA news agency said. In a commentary, KCNA said a peace treaty would help build confidence between the DPRK and the United States to end hostile relations and give strong impetus to the denuclearization process. It was illogical to assert that the establishment of the peacekeeping regime was a matter to be taken up after the nuclear issue was settled. "This was nothing but an artifice to dodge the proposal," KCNA said.

Read the report here.