The 50 Best Inventions of 2009

Negotiations over carbon emissions resemble the end of a Quentin Tarantino film, when everyone has a gun pointed at everyone else and no one can make a move. Rich nations (like the U.S.) need to make the first cuts, but they won't until developing nations (like China) do — and vice versa. Researchers from Princeton University suggest working on the individual level instead. It's the well-off people of the world — in Indiana or India — who are responsible for most carbon emissions. A strategy focused on rich individuals instead of rich countries might just get us out of this.