Recent attempts to protect vast areas of Antarctica have failed. Although no state can make a legal claim to sovereignty over the continent, some sort of agreement is necessary to protect the environment and the species that populate the area. The failure is not only an environmental setback, it is also a failure of the international mechanisms designed to protect areas that cannot be protected by state sovereignty.
China has advanced a peace proposal for Syria–a very important step. Both Russia and China have impeded efforts to broker a UN cease fire, and the Chinese proposal is a welcome change from simple obstruction. The Chinese are slowly beginning to take on global responsibilities commensurate with their power. The US and the European states should support this new initiative.
Climate Change has finally become an issue in the US presidential campaign, albeit in a weird way. New York City Mayor Bloomberg has endorsed President Obama and has cited climate change as the decisive issue. Curiously, the media, for all its coverage of the tragedies associated with Hurricane Sandy, has yet to talk about climate change as a possible determinant of the unusual characteristics of the storm.
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