Coal The end is nigh
Oil production may soon 'peak,' but what about coal? Recent figures suggest global reserves may not be nearly as plentiful as the industry and governments have led us to believe
By David Strahan
For weeks, South Africa has suffered rolling blackouts caused in part by a shortage of coal. Gripped by unusually bitter snowstorms, China recently banned coal exports for the next two months. And at Newcastle, Australia, the world's largest coal export terminal in the world's largest coal exporting country, the queue of carriers waiting to load has been known to stretch almost to Sydney, 150km to the south.
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What kind of Chinese?
Singaporean historian Wang Gungwu, who studies Chinese migration as an academic field, discusses Taiwan's history, identity, politics and cross-strait relations
By Noah Buchan
Wang Gungwu (王赓武), a prolific historian and scholar, has written extensively on China and Chinese migration. He was recently in Taipei, where he gave a lecture at the Lung Ying-tai Cultural Foundation (龍應台文化基金會) called What Kind of Chinese? Southeast Variations. Before the lecture, he sat down with the Taipei Times to discuss Taiwan's recent history and identity, local politics and his impressions of China's leadership and their concerns over Taiwan.
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[ SCIENCE ]Genetic blueprint or Bentley?
A detailed map of the genome is the newest luxury item, but some scientists worry about 'genomic elitism' and unbalanced access to knowledge that could help provide better healthcare for all
By Nicholas Bakalar
On a cold day in January, Dan Stoicescu, a millionaire living in Switzerland, became the second person in the world to buy the full sequence of his own genetic code.
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[NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS] Hardcover
FICTION
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[BOOK REVIEW] (Battery) power to the people
'Gusher of Lies' dismantles some commonly held beliefs about alternative energy sources - albeit not always objectively - but ends with a visionary solution
By WILLIAM GRIMES
After motherhood and apple pie, energy independence probably qualifies as the most popular political slogan in the US. It is, as they say, a no-brainer. Robert Bryce agrees: You have to have no brain to think it is possible or even desirable.
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[BOOK REVIEW] Teens grow up as war looms in 'The Blue Star'
Tony Earley's second book, a sequel to his first, 'Jim the Boy,' is written in the same endearing way, but deals with the weightier issue of adolescence
By Janet Maslin
"Beware the Moores of England," Jim Glass writes in his notebook, bored stiff while listening to his history teacher describe the English landscape and weather. At the start of The Blue Star Jim is a 17-year-old high school senior. He has things other than schoolwork on his mind. He sits in class transfixed by the long hair of Chrissie Steppe as that hair cascades onto his history textbook. In the beguilingly crisp and unfettered language of Tony Earley, that hair conjures thoughts of "a small, glossy animal curled and napping in the sun."
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