Some poor, politically stable countries have made great strides in access to water supply and sanitation. Water experts meeting in Stockholm called for further improvements

Washington, D.C. - Global oil consumption reached an all-time high of 87.4 million barrels per day in 2010, according to a new Vital Signs Online report from the Worldwatch Institute. The 3.1 percent increase more than makes up for the brief decline in consumption caused by the economic crisis.

For two decades, the world’s governments have failed to meet their own commitment to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas. As frustration builds among scientists, some of them have begun to argue for research on a potential last-ditch option in case global warming starts to get out of control. It is called geoengineering — or directly manipulating the Earth’s climate.

The idea sounds like science fiction, but it is not.

Some numbers are fundamental and iconic: think pi in mathematics and the speed of light in physics. They provide a cornerstone upon which a vast edifice of science can be built, leading ultimately to much of our prosperity and wellbeing.