Tim Wise disagrees with Paul Krugman (a speculation sceptic – specscep?) Meanwhile, at the snarky end of things, Tim Worstall really doesn’t think much of the Guardian’s John Vidal and his ‘banks are killing people’ line. ‘Instability will be most felt by those in urban areas – in the form of a disaffected middle and upper class, and a large cohort of the urban poor who, lacking alternative food sources, might be pushed over the brink by price increases’ Edward Carr reckons it may be richer consumers that have the most to lose from price volatility. [h/t Rob Bailey] The Guardian development podcast + accompanying articles explore land grabbing in Africa Alex Evans updates us on the new (and worsening) food price spike – this time with China’s worst drought in 200 years thrown in (see video clip) Meanwhile, back in the rest of the development debate: Andy Sumner summarizes the spate of recent discussions on inequality and development What does the behaviour of second generation US immigrants tell us about the stickiness of their culture? Who emits how much CO2? According to new figures “established economies have large – but declining – carbon emissions, while the new economic giants are growing rapidly… China emits more CO2 than the US and Canada put together – up by 171% since the year 2000 [but] the US is still number one in terms of per capita emissions among the big economies – with 18 tonnes emitted per person. China, by contrast, emits under six tonnes per person, India only 1.38.” Oh dear, if memory serves, we need to get down to between 1 and 2 tonnes per person if the planet is not to fry.]]>