Michael Dudley

<p>With dramatically increasing fuel costs, European consumers formerly amenable to "green" taxes are turning against them, leading to fears that ambitious emission-control policies may not be achievable.</p>

<p>Mark Kingwell observes the sharp -- and deadly -- contrast between shining Shanghai skyscrapers and the poorly-built prefab concrete structures in China's rural areas that proved to be deathtraps in the recent earthquake.</p>

The areas hardest-hit by the subprime mortgage crisis are not just low-income and minority communities, but also outer-ring suburbs.

<p>The epidemic of vacant housing is leading not just to squatting, but to people illegally 'renting' out homes they don't own.</p>

<p>While Americans have not turned to the bicycle as a mode of transportation in the same numbers seen elsewhere in the world, some predict that soaring gas prices and increased infrastructure investments could change that.</p>