A long, but thought-provoking post from Alex Evans on the state of the response to climate change
And some good climate news (for a change)? New Scientist reports that low lying Pacific islands seem to be responding to rising sea levels by growing
Dani Rodrik finds some new data showing just how bad the Washington Consensus years have been for Latin America
A big, new and probably silly idea: Ranil Dissanayake at Aid Watch lambasts Paul Romer’s proposals for charter cities (here’s my take on them). Laura Freschi at Aid Watch is more polite, but just as damning.
‘Almost all English words for money come from the world of pastoral nomads. Cattle, chattel and capital come from the same root. Pecuniary comes from the Latin word for cattle, pecus.’ IIED turns stereotypes upside down in a refreshingly positive take on Africa’s 50 million livestock producers in ‘Modern and Mobile’.
Chris Blattman looks at research that losing leaders can trigger civil wars (so drone warfare may not be such a good idea)
And a delightful spoof on the Western celebs adopting African kids theme [h/t Africa is another country]