In recent days, climate change has surged back into public consciousness with a disturbing report of rapid melting in the West Antarctic ice sheet. According to the report, the disintegration of the massive block of ice, larger than Mexico, could combine with other ice melts to raise sea levels by as much as six feet by the end of the century. That could eventually threaten … [Read more...] about Preparing for Climate Change Migrants
Sebastián Miller
Lead economist for Chile in the Country Department Southern Cone.
The Hidden Traumas of Natural Disasters
On May 31, 1970, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rifled across the regions of Ancash and La Libertad in northern Peru, collapsing roads, homes and schools and unleashing an avalanche that buried the town of Yungay in a mass of rock and ice. More than 66,000 people were killed, more than 100,000 were injured, and hundreds of thousands more were left homeless. … [Read more...] about The Hidden Traumas of Natural Disasters
Using a Tax to Tackle Traffic
To drive in a major Latin American or Caribbean city is to know what it is like to be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, enveloped in clouds of exhaust, and driven to distraction by the bleating horns of exasperated commuters. The chronic gridlock in the region's megacities not only creates stress. It leads to accidents, pollution-related health problems, and climate-warming … [Read more...] about Using a Tax to Tackle Traffic
Quake’n and Shake’n…Forever!
The aftershocks of earthquakes can go on for months and even years in the ground. But how long do the aftershocks go on in human lives? Disruptions in living conditions and income seem likely to have major impacts on individuals and families over time, particularly in developing countries, but until recently little work has been done to test that intuition against hard data. A … [Read more...] about Quake’n and Shake’n…Forever!