Latest Articles
-
McCain and perception
Jerry Adler has a rundown on climate change in this year’s presidential campaign. Somewhat miraculously for a mainstream publication like Newsweek, it’s pretty good. This is a good point: So, ironically, McCain — with a voting record that would put him at the bottom of the heap among Democrats — is sometimes perceived as more […]
-
Uranium mine near Grand Canyon blocked
A judge has blocked a British mining company’s plan to build an exploratory uranium mine near the Grand Canyon. U.S. District Judge Mary Murguia agreed with litigious environmental groups that considering the location of the proposed mine and the risks associated with uranium mining, VANE Minerals Group should be required to conduct further environmental reviews […]
-
‘IPCC for agriculture’ has little teeth, but great timbre
Some are calling it a project that will transform global agriculture as we know it. Others are calling it a utopian dream. One thing is for sure, however: When the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAAST) releases the final draft of its report on April 15, sparks will still be flying.
Instigated in 2005 by the United Nations and the World Bank, among others, the IAAST was supposed to be an IPCC for agriculture. (Indeed, the project's leader, Robert Watson, was former chair of the IPCC.) Its goals were impressive:
How can we reduce hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and facilitate equitable, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development through the generation, access to, and use of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology?
With such lofty aims, the participants necessarily included not only farmers and policy makers, but also academics, industry scientists, social justice NGOs, environmental advocacy groups (Greenpeace, to name one), and agribusiness representatives. As you might imagine, this motley crew had plenty to fight about, and in October, Syngenta and Monsanto walked out of the talks.
-
Green TNR, brought to you by BP
The New Republic has a new blog devoted to environment and energy issues. On the bright side, it includes the work of Brad Plumer, one of the most honest, thoughtful, and insightful writers in D.C. For that alone it’s worth bookmarking. On the not so bright side, it’s … "powered by BP." Really. Here’s a […]
-
Digging into the relationships between business and environmentalism
Admittedly, this is more of a link dump than a true blog post, but sometimes the green goodness is too good to pass up ... As Sarah and David have mentioned, the May edition of Vanity Fair is their third annual green issue. Featuring, ironically, the material girl on the cover, it's crammed with features that will enlighten, illuminate, and ... disturb.
-
Manhattan congestion-pricing plan kicks the bucket
Hopes had run high that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ambitious congestion-pricing plan for the Big Apple would move forward, but the measure has died a quiet death. Democratic members of the State Assembly, determining that the measure was overwhelmingly opposed, neglected to even bring it to the Assembly floor, instead shooting it down with […]
-
Umbra on library furniture
Dear Umbra, I work in an academic library that has just received funding to purchase new furniture for the first time in over 20 years. As such, the committee examining this is very interested in purchasing stuff that will last a long time and be attractive and comfortable well into the future. We are purchasing […]
-
Food prices and ‘level playing fields’
In last week’s Victual Reality, I took Alice Waters and Michael Pollan to task for praising recent hikes in industrial food prices as a prod for promoting sustainable agriculture. "Higher food prices level the playing field for sustainable food that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels," Pollan told The New York Times. Not likely so, I […]
-
Getting distracted
There the World Health Organization goes again: Millions of Asians could face poverty, disease, and hunger as a result of rising temperatures and increased rainfall expected to hit hardest poor countries, the World Health Organization warned Monday. Malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition and floods cause an estimated 150,000 deaths annually, with Asia accounting for more than half, […]
