A new World Bank study, Economic Impact of Inadequate Sanitation in India says it costs the country $54 billion a year not to have toilets and better hygiene. The cost entails not only premature deaths, especially of children, extra treatment for those who fall ill, wasted time and productivity but also lost tourism. In quantifying…

Everyday I read about miseries, old and new in all parts of the globe. It’s Haiti and the Sudan, human trafficking and money laundering, the ravages of malaria and HIV/AIDS, the impact of budget crises. It’s therefore easy for me to loose sight of the way things really are, that there are signs of hope…

For whatever reason I’ve taken to reading the online comments after certain key articles, and I’m so dismayed. I realize people are knee jerking, reacting without taking time to think. Is that the reason for superficial, biased, thoughtless, sometimes inane comments? It’s not a right or left thing. And since most of these writers do…