Society

Care, Not Need–Now

2013-05-18T09:56:01-07:00

Sustainability, a word found increasingly in public conversations but poorly understood and stated, denotes the ability of a system to attain and maintain some desirable condition, but connotes a sense that the world is doing anything but that.

Genetic Engineering: The Dark Side of Climate Ready Crops

2013-05-18T09:42:47-07:00

Climate change is already affecting food supplies around the world as heat waves and drought reduce grain harvests and food prices soar. For every 1˚ C rise above optimum growing season temperatures, farmers will likely experience a 10 percent decline in their yields.

Insects are a Sustainable Food Choice

2013-05-18T07:42:01-07:00

A new book stresses not just the nutritional value of insects, but also the benefits that insect farming could potentially have on the environment and on addressing the rapidly increasing demand for food worldwide.

Investing in the Green Economy: Leveraging Significant Private Investment through Modest Public Finance

2013-05-18T06:10:02-07:00

Wide spectrum public investment is the key to growing the green economy. This augers three important questions: How can we attract adequate amounts of private investment to unleash the full potential of the green economy?

How Spa Treatments Can Improve Your Health

2013-05-16T15:12:47-07:00

Did you know that the stress you experience on a daily basis may be making you sick? Studies show that psychological stress can cause your body to be more susceptible to physical ailments, such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and even poor immune function.

Green Friendly Ways to Save Money and the Environment at Home

2013-05-16T01:25:02-07:00

People want to live a green friendly life but the extra cost can be a barrier to entry for many. Take environmentally friendly food for instance. Organic fruits and vegetables are often more expensive than those that may have been grown with harmful chemicals.

Aquaponics and the Rise of Food Urban Food Production

2013-05-15T12:58:01-07:00

At the turn of the century, urban areas were teeming with food production facilities. Mind you, this was the 19th century. As food production joined the global supply chain, vast tracts of industrial spaces that had once housed abattoirs emptied and stood vacant.

Moronic Oxymorons in the Age of Climate Change

2013-05-15T12:42:48-07:00

At 400 parts per million, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a menacing milestone. We’ve failed to get a handle on our addiction to fossil fuel, and now we’re in desperate need of solutions for preventing runaway climate change.

Prodigious Growth Predicted for the Global Green Economy

2013-05-15T11:56:32-07:00

Over the next seven years the global green market will grow by almost one and a half trillion dollars. According to a new UN report the green market will be worth 2.2 trillion by 2020. This represents a threefold increase from where we are today.

Can Spices Make You Skinny?

2013-05-13T11:49:00-07:00

Spices add flavor and complexity to food as well as an impressive dose of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and medicinal qualities. Better yet, they can boost your energy levels while helping you shed unwanted pounds.

From Paradox to Paradigm: Korea’s Green Growth Approach

2013-05-09T10:52:03-07:00

Consider the implications of each of the world’s major economies consciously shifting their growth paradigms towards a model of sustainable development, one in which addressing climate change and environmental challenges while pursuing economic growth is not paradoxical or mutually exclusive. This is a daunting task.

Buying an Older Home and Greening It

2013-05-09T10:41:01-07:00

My wife and I recently ended a 5-month long home search. Our parameters were a bit tight. Between budget and location, we automatically discounted a number of homes. Unfortunately, the house needed a bit of work.

Inside the World Trade System: Personal

2013-05-09T09:07:48-07:00

The idea of travelling on a cargo ship seems so far-fetched that the only way to deal with it was to make the plan work on paper and then go through with it without thinking too much about the personal implications. I had to leave myself entirely open to what might happen.

Declutter Your Home and Give Back to Your Community

2013-05-07T16:27:02-07:00

If you’re like many Americans, you have a lot of stuff. Most of it is good and useful stuff, but too much all the same. But while we’d like to simplify and declutter our homes, we worry about wasting usable items by throwing them away.

Alternative Energy Stocks and Risk Mitigation

2013-05-07T08:08:01-07:00

Good investing strategies are dependent on proper risk assessment and the failure to respond to the risks associated with climate change constitutes a significant economic risk.

Inside the World Trade System: Technical

2013-05-05T07:50:48-07:00

The lengthy hiatus in posts is the result of my spending two weeks aboard a cargo ship without an Internet connection. The lack of connection was an interesting experience in itself, but seeing the global trading system from the inside was even more remarkable.

Antibiotics in our Food

2013-05-05T07:50:48-07:00

One thing that scares me about our food system is the use of antibiotics. It scares me because it seems to be causing problems that weren’t originally foreseen, such as superbugs and resistance to antibiotics.

Can Disaster Risk Reduction Lessons Be Learned from China?

2013-05-01T10:09:02-07:00

China, which annually faces almost every disaster possible - including earthquakes, floods, cyclones and landslides - is doing something right in the field of disaster risk reduction, experts say.

Environmental Ignorance Is Economic Bliss

2013-05-01T09:59:01-07:00

Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that economic activity is exceeding environmental limits and destabilizing both global and local ecosystems, demonstrably flawed pro-growth economic theory continues to be touted as the cure to our ailments.

Resource Consumption at Every Turn

2013-04-29T05:49:51-07:00

I feel like everywhere I look these days, all I see is excessive consumption, even when it’s not necessarily the case.

Tales From the Organ Trade

2013-04-29T05:49:51-07:00

Imagine that you live in poverty. A chance arises for you to earn a year's salary in one day. All being well, no one will get hurt. In fact, what you're going to do will save someone's life. Sounds like quite a deal. Or at least it does until until you realize that what we're talking about here is selling one of your kidneys.

Solidarity Economy in Brazil

2013-04-28T10:25:35-07:00

Brazil recently worked to have a solidarity economy law passed through congress, and the level of support in terms of funding, fiscal advantages, and funded co-operative development work is also impressive.

It’s the Thought that Counts

2013-04-26T10:08:50-07:00

I was thinking the other day how people try to make sustainability and environmental thinking an easy task. People like to come up with easy tasks to do your part. This is done to make it seem easy to be “green” and encourage people to change their ways.

Europe’s Undocumented Migrants Struggle to Access Healthcare

2013-04-26T06:48:34-07:00

Europe's financial crisis and rising xenophobia are complicating access to medical treatment for undocumented migrants, according to a new report.

Maybe It’s Time to Offend a Few Folks

2013-04-23T09:08:59-07:00

Speaking out about human overpopulation is not an easy thing, as I have been told that people get offended. I have not personally experienced offending anyone, but perhaps those folks have been too polite to tell me.