New York Times (December 2)
While there have been some signs of a housing recovery in the U.S., action is still required. “In all, nearly 12 million borrowers collectively owe $600 billion more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, a loss of wealth and a load of debt that make a strong and steady economic recovery all but impossible.” President Obama should “use his second term to get mortgage relief right and, in the process, put the economy on a firm footing.”While there have been some signs of a housing recovery in the U.S., action is still required. “In all, nearly 12 million borrowers collectively owe $600 billion more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, a loss of wealth and a load of debt that make a strong and steady economic recovery all but impossible.” President Obama should “use his second term to get mortgage relief right and, in the process, put the economy on a firm footing.”
Washington Post (December 2)
“The world’s oceans are rising 60 percent faster than the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change anticipated five years ago…. A five-foot rise would produce Sandy-like floods in New York every 15 years, on average.” The entire east coast “will have to wrestle with the question of which coastal areas are worth protecting — by raising land, lengthening beaches, heightening homes or building sea walls to keep the water out — and which aren’t.”
Tags: East coast, IPCC, Oceans, Sandy, Seal walls, U.N.
The Economist (December 1)
Since October, officials at the highest level have been tumbling due to corruption. These include former defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov who was dismissed, Vlladimir Putin’s chief of staff Sergei Ivanov whose job is in question, and former agriculture minister Yelena Skrynnik. Putin has embraced the anti-corruption campaign to shore up public support and eliminate his enemies’ ammunition. “Vladimir Putin has initiated some high-profile battles against corruption. But to many he seems increasingly isolated and out of touch.”
