Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Gates' 'truth' about climate change
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 14/11/2025
» Ahead of this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), now underway in Belém, Brazil, Bill Gates, who chairs and funds the foundation that bears his name, released an essay entitled "Three tough truths about climate". The first of these truths is: "Climate change is a serious problem, but it will not be the end of civilisation."
Does religious freedom trump animal welfare?
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 16/03/2024
» Last month, the European Court of Human Rights decided a case, The Executive Committee of Muslims of Belgium and Others v. Belgium, that required balancing religious freedom and animal welfare.
The killing of innocents in Israel and Gaza
News, Peter Singer, Published on 09/01/2024
» Last month, I was invited to join other Princeton University academics in viewing a compilation of raw footage from GoPro cameras carried by Hamas gunmen killing civilians in Israel on Oct 7. Additional video and audio material came from dashboard cameras, traffic cameras, phone intercepts, and victims' phones. The invitation carried a warning that the footage would show horrific violence and murder.
A bargain in saving lives from malaria
News, Peter Singer, Published on 21/12/2023
» In 2021, malaria caused 619,000 deaths, 77% of which were children under five, and 96% of them in Africa. But now, after decades of research -- and several false dawns -- a malaria vaccine known as R21/Matrix-M (henceforth just R21) has been shown to be effective in 70-78% of cases. Although three doses are required before that level of protection is reached, and a booster is needed one year later, the vaccine, developed at the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, is cheap. It can be produced for US$2-$4 (70-140 baht) per dose -- comparable to the cost of other childhood vaccines.
The spiral of violence that led to Hamas
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 13/10/2023
» Hamas' brazen and vicious attacks within Israel have rightly drawn condemnation around the world. If this is a war, as both sides agree it is, then Hamas' deliberate targeting of civilians counts as a major war crime.
Should we study geoengineering a lot more?
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 20/04/2023
» As our planet's climate heats up, so, too, does the debate about the boldest response to it: geoengineering, or the deliberate modification of the atmosphere to combat global warming.
Will the Church finally rethink contraception?
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 09/03/2023
» Could the Roman Catholic Church be ready to reconsider its prohibition of the use of contraception? The fact that prominent Catholic conservatives have felt the need to speak out against such a possibility gives some grounds for thinking that, within the Church itself, and under the protection of Pope Francis, a movement for change is underway.
FTX saga shows not all ends justify means
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 30/11/2022
» In the wake of the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and amid reports that FTX's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, diverted billions of dollars of clients' funds, some observers have linked the alleged financial malpractice to ideas widely held within the "effective altruism" movement, which Mr Bankman-Fried says inspired him. More specifically, they point to the ethical view that the end justifies the means.
Don't be a bystander to mass famine
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 16/08/2022
» In March 1964, The New York Times reported that 38 witnesses saw or heard a brutal, drawn-out, and ultimately fatal attack on a woman called Kitty Genovese, but none did anything to help her or even summoned the police. The report was later shown to be erroneous, but the "bystander effect" is real. As many psychology experiments have shown, an individual is less likely to come to the aid of another if they can see that other people who could help are not doing so.
When vaccination is a 'crime'
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 10/03/2021
» On Dec 29 last year, Hasan Gokal, the medical director of the Covid-19 response team in Harris County, Texas (which includes Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States by population), was supervising the administration of the Moderna vaccine, mostly to emergency workers. The vaccine comes in vials containing 11 doses. A vial, once opened, expires in six hours and unused vaccine must then be thrown away.