Recommended Reading: May 15, 2008

Why high oil prices are not squeezing us more: The “energy intensity” of growth – the amount of oil, coal and gas needed to produce an increase in gross domestic product – has halved since the 1970s, reflecting greater energy efficiency and the shift away from heavy manufacturing.

If you have four and a half minutes to spare, watch this: Alisa Miller, head of Public Radio International, talks about why — though we want to know more about the world than ever — the US media is actually showing less. Eye-opening stats and graphs.

10 ways the Chinese Internet is different from yours.

A new poll shows that 85% of U.S. adults agree that the presidential candidates should participate in a debate on how science can be used to tackle America’s major challenges. The poll found no difference between Democrats and Republicans on this question.

That China has yet to grasp the downside of its imminent superpower status is evident from a plaintive e-mail doing the rounds of internet forums.