News stories by Mark Sommer

At a time when most conventional fuels cast ever longer shadows of unintended consequences, algae ­that lowly pond scum-- offers a pleasant surprise: a near-term, low-tech alternative with apparently few of the hidden costs of more elaborate, expensive and exploitive energy sources, writes Mark Sommer, host of the internationally syndicated radio program, A World of Possibilities.

We Americans like our meat. In the course of a year, on average we eat more than 220 pounds of chicken, beef, and pork. But some are starting to pause at the meat counter as they hear about incidents of contamination and compromised food safety, the breeding of drug-resistant super-bugs and the inhumane conditions endured by animals raised in extreme confinement, writes Mark Sommer, host of the award-winning, internationally syndicated radio program, A World of Possibilities.

The California dream has turned to nightmare. On July 1, facing a USD 24 billion budget shortfall, the state began issuing thousands of contractors IOUs that major banks warned they wouldn't honour, writes Mark Sommer, host of the award-winning, internationally- syndicated radio programme, A World of Possibilities.

The specter of a swine flu pandemic has driven home the urgent need for more rapid and effective responses to a wide range of public health threats. But in order to respond more effectively, we need to create a more open system for the exchange of vital health information and research across sectors, disciplines, geographic, economic and cultural boundaries. In a world of increasingly global emergencies, we need all hands on deck, including the patients and publics most affected, writes Mark Sommer, host of the award-winning, internationally syndicated radio program, A World of Possibilities

In an economic downturn long on loss and short on solutions, few buzzwords have travelled more rapidly from the margins to the mainstream than the term "green jobs", writes Mark Sommer, host of the award-winning, internationally-syndicated radio programme, A World of Possibilities.

The good news in the cascade of terrifying statistics is that we are about to enter an era of unprecedented experimentation, writes Mark Sommer, host of the award-winning, internationally-syndicated radio programme, A World of Possibilities.