AN OPPORTUNITY WE CANNOT WASTE

Science 3 July 2009:Vol. 325. no. 5936, p. 11DOI: 10.1126/science.1175089

Editorial
An Opportunity We Cannot WasteThomas R. Pickering
The struggles against world poverty are more challenging than ever, given the global financial crisis. At the London G-20 summit in April, leaders of the world's largest economies acknowledged that financial recovery could be sustained only if progress is made in alleviating world poverty. Thus, the path to stable worldwide recovery requires that the issues of economic growth, development, and poverty be seen as linked with the key drivers of food, water, and health, just as climate change is now linked to the key drivers of energy and environment.
Thomas R. Pickering served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Russia and to countries in Asia, Africa, Central America, and the Middle East, and was U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs from 1997 to 2001.