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‘Most expensive’ city ranking reveals currency tumult

There are a number of ways to measure the financial turbulence of the past year: the billions of dollars in public funds used to prop up banks; the cliff-drop in exports from any major economy; or the latest unemployment report. Another way to judge the financial volatility of the past year is the ranking of the most expensive cities for expatriate employees to live

Cap-and-Trade Website: Make Money by Going Green

When the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act on June 26, it was a landmark moment for environmental politics. If the bill passes the Senate to become law — no sure thing, given the 60 votes needed in the upper chamber — it would establish the first national caps on carbon emissions. It would also create what would almost certainly be the world’s biggest greenhouse-gas market, since companies would have the option to buy and sell carbon credits and offsets.

Thailand cracks down on elephant begging

A lumbering grey shadow can often catch your eye as you drive along one of Bangkok’s most polluted and congested streets, Sukhumvit. If this were not Bangkok, you would think you’d had one too many beer Singhas, but in this city of contradictions, anything seems, and often is, possible. And so it is that spotting a huge elephant, dodging the tuk-tuk motorcycle rickshaws, the ubiquitous taxis and blizzard of traffic is nothing out of the ordinary.

‘Green’ revolution under way in rural China

In the northwest of China’s mountainous Yunnan province, among the world’s most biodiverse areas, a green revolution is under way among rural residents. In Meiquan Village near Lashi Lake, Zhang Chengui says he has been able to maximize profits by spending more time growing crops since installing a biogas digester-greenhouse, solar water heater, energy-efficient stove and rain-collecting cistern. He installed them with loans from the bank and grants from The Nature Conservancy, becoming in 2003 the first in his village to adopt alternative energy.