The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet

• By Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff  
• August 17, 2010  |  
• 9:00 am  |  
• Wired September 2010

VIDEO: Nuclear Weapons - Creating and Enforcing Global Rules (August 5, 2010) 
John Burroughs, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy in New York joined Global Policy Forum to discuss current debates over nuclear weapons, disarmament, and non-proliferation, and the laws global leaders have developed to address these pressing matters. Enforceable global rules will likely be necessary to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons - political will can only go so far. However, what is perhaps more important than the rules themselves is their legitimacy. International law must be applied to all equally if complete nonproliferation and disarmament are to become a reality. (Global Policy Forum)

From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment (February, 2009) 
Recent research suggests that 40% of all intrastate conflicts in the last sixty years have some connection to natural resources. This report from the United Nations Environment Programme looks at the linkages between the environment, conflict, and peacebuilding. It considers the ways in which environmental factors can contribute to the outbreak of violence, perpetuate existing conflicts and undermine prospects for peace. In turn, it notes that environmental damage can result from conflict. The report also suggests that the environment and natural resources can be used to contribute to peacebuilding and cooperation. (UNEP)

America Can't Afford its Empire

Although Americans are only 4% of the world's population, they consume 25% of its resources and produce 25% of its unsustainable pollution. The US has 865 foreign bases and a military and CIA presence in every corner of the globe. The country enjoys such a privileged position, this author writes, because it has made itself an imperial power. But the United States' ability to afford the cost of maintaining its empire is waning. Sooner or later, the deficit will force Washington to limit its imperial overstretch and bring its troops home.