When leaders of the 20 largest economies gather in Washington this week, a centerpiece of their deliberations should be a Global Green Deal that capitalizes on the current economic crisis to build economically and environmentally sustainable economies.

For decades, researchers and policymakers have raised a worrying question about the world's most populous country: "Who will feed China?" Today, while concern about reaching 1.3 billion mouths remains paramount, the phrasing has changed slightly: "Who will feed China'spigs?"

President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20 will become the most important leader of a species that has exploded in just six generations from a total population of 1 billion (around 1830) to a point today when teenagers alonenumber 1 billion, a species that is on a path toward more or less 9 billion people by mid-century.

Washington, Nov 8 : A scientist has said that while steep cuts in carbon emissions are essential to stabilizing global climate, the world also needs an emergency backup plan. The scientist in question is Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution in the US.

A few UK scientists have done a smart thing; they’ve combined the proposals of G8 policymakers for combating climate change with actual data on the status of play in the carbon cycle. The resulting study (pdf) is interesting not only because of this highly useful approach but also because it focuses on atmospheric carbon dioxide and its impact on the environment in the far future.

Utilizing a never-before-used provision of the Clean Water Act, seven Northeast states have triggered a mandatory process for the U.S. EPA to control the atmospheric deposition of mercury that makes fish throughout the Northeast unsafe to eat.

Back on September 9, John Podesta'sCenter for American Progress released a study called Green Recovery , which promised two million new jobs from a $100 billion investment over two years. That day was also my birthday, so my attention was elsewhere. But nearly two months later in the wake of the financial meltdown, taking a second look at the report seems worthwhile, since now more than ever, a road to recovery for the United States and the world could very well be paved with green bricks.