The situation in Ukraine is reaching a crisis stage as Russia accused Ukraine of issuing “criminal orders” against the separatists who are demanding closer ties with Russia. A convoy of Ukrainian troops was attacked near the town of Slaviansk leading the Ukrainian government to issue a strong statement condemning the attacks and promising to put down the separatists. In turn, Russia accused the Kyiv government of fomenting “civil war.” The situation in eastern Ukraine is following the previous script in Crimea, but, this time, the stakes are much higher for Ukraine.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued another report on climate change. The panel is comprised of 1650 scientists and the report has been approved by every member of the United Nations. The report points about that greenhouse gas emissions have reached historic levels and that there was a dramatic increase in the decade, 2000-2010. In short, despite incredible progress in developing alternative fuels, the world has not yet weaned itself from the consumption of fossil fuels, notably coal. The prognosis without change is a 9 degree (F) increase in average global temperature by the end of this century.
I recommend a fascinating article in The Atlantic on how the Enlightenment ideals of self-interest was transformed into the 20th century as a defense of the emotion of greed. The distinction is critically important because self-interest invariably involves an appreciation of the public good; greed ignores the public good. The defense of greed has morphed into the defense of obscene compensation packages for CEOS, something that Enlightenment thinkers like Adam Smith would never have countenanced. I will not ask any questions on these two articles in the quiz since they are dense and theoretical. Nonetheless, everyone should read the articles.
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