Protestors, experts and delegations from 192 countries have descended on Copenhagen to try to come up with a strategies for combating climate change resolution. Developing countries are claiming that emission regulations will create an unfair burden on their development, prompting protests in the streets. And some experts think that the best outcome from Copenhagen would be if nothing gets passed at all. We speak with Tom Burke, founding director of E3G, a non profit consulting firm working on sustainable devlelopment; and Bjørn Lomborg, author of "Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming
The problem that I have with this deal is that it's essentially following the same failed strategies of the last 18 years. It's essentially a lot of promises...coming together in Copenhagen and simply making even grander promises is not going to actually do anything for climate. It's just simply spinning the wheels in the road to nowhere.
-- Bjørn Lomborg on the possible futility of finding agreement among 192 countries about climate change
It's not been the failure Bjørn says it's been. There have been significant reductions around the world from what would've otherwise happened. And they've happened precisely because there's been an international agreement in place. So it's a bit cavalier to dismiss all of that out of hand and all the things that lots of people in lots of countries have done to reduce emissions.
-- Tom Burke
We've uncovered our crystal ball and are peeking into the week ahead with our Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, and Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent. They'll discuss what's next for health care reform in the Senate as Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) throws a wrench into the works ... again; President Obama's meeting with some of the heads of the largest American banks; the continuing climate talks in Copenhagen; and continuing nuclear troubles with Iran. All that and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi getting socked in the face with a statuette.
In the second week of climate talks in Copenhagen, attention will be on whether big developing countries like India will agree to cuts in their carbon emissions. But western demands for carbon cuts are stoking a surprising amount of anger and resentment in India, even among green campaigners. They see the requirements as imperialist and want to prioritize India's economic growth, as one third of Indians still live below the poverty line. So what can we expect from India in Copenhagen this week? The BBC’s India correspondent, Sanjoy Majumder, joins us from Delhi to bring us views and voices from India.
Recent studies have shown that parents with young kids can put a solid marriage on the rocks. So what happens when you add a national economic crisis to the mix? Yale psychology professor Susan Nolen-Hoeksema and Lamar Tyler, blogger at the parenting website BlackandMarriedwithKids.com, say that it's particularly hard for loving married couples to connect when times are tough.
On Saturday, Houston, Texas became the largest American city to elect an openly gay mayor. Mayor-elect Annise Parker joins us to discuss her campaign, her opposition and the country's political and cultural landscape.
The economy received some positive news on Sunday from President Obama's top economic adviser, Larry Summers, who said that the recession is over on 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos.' But even if you agree with Summers, it's still hard for many to forgive and forget the role Wall Street played in creating the current economic mess. Even President Obama recently said, "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of ... fat cat bankers on Wall Street." On the heels of those harsh words, Obama will be hosting the heads of those same banks at the White House Monday. Peter Morici, an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, says this is just another publicity stunt. We're also joined by Eric Dash, a banking reporter for The New York Times, who has also been covering this story.
The leaders of several Latin American nations converged on Havana for a two day summit of the Bolivian Alliance for the Peoples of America (in Spanish, 'ALBA'). BBC's Cuba correspondent Michael Voss joins us with a report on how this Latin American union is dealing with a global economic crisis.
All this week we'll be taking a look at how fine print in the lives of consumers affects our ability to get out of debt. We kick off the series with Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel of the TARP. Warren discusses her role with TARP, a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency and how the American middle class has been slowly buried under more and more fine print.
Defining Normal After a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia, The Mayor of Oklahoma City, A New Kind of Commencement Speech
The DSM and Mental Health in America
Lessons From a Female Union Electrician
Diplomatic Damage Caused by Drone Strikes, In Defense of the DSM-5, Bob Woodruff's Advice for New Grads
Defining Normal After a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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