Voting Closes on Sunday May 18,2008 08:00:00 (GMT)
Current number of votes:
11
GlobalVote 012: Should the European Union abandon its plan to increase the production of biofuels?
In the past few months, rising food prices have sparked violent protests in countries all along the equator, in Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritania, and the Philippines, among other countries. Last year, wheat prices rose 77 percent. World rice prices have set new records, rising 141 percent since January. The World Bank recently stated that food inflation could push at least 100 million people into poverty, wiping out the gains the poorest billion have made during the last decade.
Much of the blame has been placed on recent European initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and slow global warming through the implementation of biofuel programs. Biofuels are any kind of fuel made from biological material or the waste products they produce. This includes wood, ethanol, and any other processed plant material. Much of the criticism is directed at the production of ethanol, which comes from corn and sugar, and is widely considered to be the main driver of staggering inflation in worldwide food costs during the past year. Critics of ethanol production argue that as American and European farmers grow more corn in place of wheat for the production of ethanol, wheat prices are subsequently driven up. People in developing countries have come to rely increasingly on rice in their diets in place of wheat, and without a large increase in rice supply, rice prices also skyrocket.
Last month, the UK's new biofuel regulations went into effect, mandating that 2.5 percent of fuel sold at pumps be made from grains and grass. Amid rising food prices, the European Union is facing pressure to abandon its similar goal for the fuel sold at pumps throughout Europe to be 10 percent biofuel by the year 2020. Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently has promised to reevaluate the UK’s plans for the increased production of biofuel.
The Vote:
Should the European Union abandon its plan to increase the production of biofuels?
Agree (Yes, it should abandon its plan to increase the production of biofuels)
Disagree (No, it should not abandon its plan to increase the production of biofuels)
GlobalVote 011: Should the international community get involved in Zimbabwe's presidential elections?
Robert Mugabe, current president of Zimbabwe, has delayed releasing the results of March 29 voting by two weeks, raising the questions of legitimacy and trustfulness of democratic elections in Zimbabwe among the international community. Talks and pressure were unable to persuade Mugabe to announce the results, which, according to the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, were the confirmation of the long expected end to Mugabe's rule. Thus, the meeting of African leaders in Zambia that addressed "a crisis in Zimbabwe" on March 12th validated the international concern about the state of a democratic system in the country. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has ordered the partial recount of votes cast in 23 constituencies during presidential and parliamentary polls.
Recent arrests of opposition supporters and international journalists by police have continued to encourage suspicions that Mugabe is resorting to violent tactics he has famously used in the past to maintain his hold on power.The South African ambassador to the UN, Dumisani Khumalo has maintained that the issue is a regional one and is being handled descretly by the neighbors of Zimbabwe.US, UK and France are expected to discuss the ongoing impasse in upcoming public and private meetings. The election issue and resulting backlash is likely to be considered by the UN Security Council during a session to be attended by some African leaders that was intended to discuss UN and African Union cooperation on the unrest in Southern Sudan and Somalia.
The Vote: Should the international community get involved with Zimbabwe's presidential elections?
Approve (Yes, international pressure must be put on Mugabe.)
Reject (No, this is an internal matter and is for Zimbabweans to resolve.)
