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The Buckminster Fuller Challenge: Design to Serve Humanity

Joseph Robertson — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 16:55:58 +0000

Buckminster Fuller was one of the 20th century's most visionary architects, whose philosophy of socially responsible planning and design has influenced cutting-edge technology research and public policy the world over, through the UN's development programs and pioneering entrepreneurship aimed at lifting billions out of poverty. His vision was, in his own words, "To make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone."

Clean Water Scarce for 3 Billion People Worldwide

staff — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:36:37 +0000

Clean, safe drinking water is scarce for over 3 billion people across the world. At least 1 billion literally never have access to clean, safe drinking water, putting them at constant risk of severe thirst-related ill health effects, infectious diseases or toxic contamination. Over 100 countries face either sporadic or chronic crisis-level problems [...]

Water Resource Depletion Threatens Global Food Supply

Joseph Robertson — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:32:31 +0000

Water resource depletion leads not only to chronic scarcity of clean, safe drinking water for increasing numbers of people, but means arable land is harder to cultivate and to maintain. Persistent drought and accelerated desertification (the expansion of deserts into the farmed and/or built environment) are results of water resource depletion.

But the most [...]

53 Million in ‘Emerging Markets’ Plunged into Poverty by Great Recession

Joseph Robertson — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:20:57 +0000

A World Bank study has projected that the global financial crisis and resulting recession will plunge some 53 million people across "emerging markets" —like China and India— into absolute poverty, in 2009 alone. In China, tens of millions of people have lost jobs related to the export-dependent manufacturing sector.

India Impacted by Rise in Food Insecurity Worldwide, Deteriorating Economic Conditions

Joseph Robertson — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:27:05 +0000

There are over 230 million people suffering from hunger or undernourishment in India. No other nation has so many people suffering chronic malnutrition, and the undernourished in India represent 27% of the worldwide hunger-stricken population. While India's economy develops and the potential for an expanded middle class takes root, the total number of Indians going hungry has risen, despite the overall percentage of undernourished, as part of the whole population, having been reduced in recent years.

Flawed International Farm Seed Rules Establish Permanent Spread of Patented GM Brands

Joseph Robertson — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:32:31 +0000

A long-running bellwether legal case in Canada's farming industry, which has left at least one farmer unable to farm any crop variety of rapeseed (canola) —for fear of having to pay accidental royalties to bio-chemical giant Monsanto—, highlights the need for comprehensive reform of international seed regulation standards. The Canadian courts ruled that the individual farmer had to shoulder the burden of ferreting out any instance of "contamination" of his crop by pollen from nearby genetically-modified (GM) planting, as Monsanto held a patent on the seeds. The farmer, and those who support his claims, argue that there is no means by which anyone can prevent cross-pollination from GM plants.

Sustainable Development Update: Resilience Thinking

staff — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:10:27 +0000

Earlier this year UNEP, UNDP and the World Bank teamed up with World Resources Institute to publish a report focusing on the concept of resilience “for cushioning the impacts of climate change and delivering continuing benefits to the poor”. Recently, the Volvo Environment Prize was given to the “father of resilience theory”, C.S. Holling. But what is this resilience-thing really all about? We thought it was about time to try to sort this concept out once and for all.

5 Million May Be at Risk of Starvation in Zimbabwe, Says WFP

Denver Lessing — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:09:54 +0000

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that shortfalls in food aid to Zimbabwe could leave as many as 5.1 million people at risk of starvation by early next year. The southern African nation, beset by incomprehensible rates of inflation and an agricultural crisis, is now facing what may be the single most severe food security crisis in the world. WFP has made the announcement in conjunction with a cut in aid to Zimbabwe, due to lack of funding and a failed drive to raise funds to increase aid to the troubled state.

Food price crisis: more complex than first thought & putting food beyond the reach of the planet’s poor

Joseph Robertson — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:25:18 +0000

Food prices are skyrocketing. Initially, many put the blame on the rising demand of biofuels in the transport sector, but bio-ethanol is far from the only thing driving up food prices. New diets, soaring oil prices and climate change are all in the complex soup of explanations behind the recent development putting food beyond the reach of the planet’s poor.

A Generational Challenge to Repower America: Text of Gore Energy Speech, as Prepared

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:59:45 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen: There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment.

Al Gore Calls on U.S. to Produce All Energy from Renewables within 10 Years

Joseph Robertson — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:53:40 +0000

Former US vice-president Al Gore is calling on the nation to marshal its resources and divorce itself from the combustible fuels economy. Gore says the US can produce all its energy requirements from renewable resources within 10 years, if concerted action is taken. The bold initiative is designed to drive debate on the topic and move discussions about how to deal with high fuel prices toward the new opportunity they provide for funding renewable infrastructure development.

Food Insecurity & Failing States

jr3o — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:36:53 +0000

During the concluding half of the last century, the world was making steady progress in reducing hunger, but during the transition into the new century, the tide began to turn. In February 2007, James Morris, head of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), announced that 18,000 children are now dying each day from hunger and related causes. For perspective, this loss of young lives in one day is almost five times U.S. combat deaths in Iraq through four years of fighting. Although these huge numbers of dying children may be an abstraction, each represents a young life ended far too soon.

Oilman T. Boone Pickens Wants to Create National Wind-energy Network in the US

Joseph Robertson — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:36:50 +0000

T. Boone Pickens has started what USA Today reports will be "the biggest public policy ad campaign ever" to promote a national economic shift from oil to renewable fuels, primarily wind. The campaign is centered on the PickensPlan website, which shows the oil tycoon explaining how and why the US can and must break its dependence on foreign oil —for which American consumers pay $700 billion per year— by transitioning to an energy economy founded on exploiting the massive wind resources of the Great Plains.

Wind Power Set to Become World’s Leading Energy Source

jr3o — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:09:14 +0000

In 1991, a national wind resource inventory taken by the U.S. Department of Energy startled the world when it reported that the three most wind-rich states —North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas— had enough harnessable wind energy to satisfy national electricity needs. Now a new study by a team of engineers at Stanford reports that the wind energy potential is actually substantially greater than that estimated in 1991.

Wind Energy Demand Booming

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:03:17 +0000

When Austin Energy, the publicly owned utility in Austin, Texas, launched its GreenChoice program in 2000, customers opting for green electricity paid a premium. During the fall of 2005, climbing natural gas prices pulled conventional electricity costs above those of wind-generated electricity, the source of most green power. This crossing of the cost lines in Austin and several other communities is a milestone in the U.S. shift to a renewable energy economy.

New Generation of Cellulosic Ethanol Could Avert Food-Price Fallout

Joseph Robertson — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:57:08 +0000

The New Scientist magazine this week heralds a 'plan B for biofuel', making the case that starch-based ethanol fuels, like corn ethanol in the US, may drive up food prices, but a new generation of biofuels will sidestep the problem and help ethanol live up to its promise. "The corn required to fill an SUV tank with bioethanol just once could feed someone in Africa for a year" reports the UK-based magazine, but most biomass is not the starch currently being used to create bioethanol.

Corn Ethanol is a Destructive Economic Force, Not the Basis of Our Energy Future

Joseph Robertson — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:45:51 +0000

Corn-ethanol, long a fascination for US politicians and for the farm lobby that courts their support for ethanol subsidies, may play some role in remediating the economic fallout of soaring gasoline prices, though it seems unlikely, for a number of reasons. First and foremost is the fact that the numbers work against us: in order to produce more corn-ethanol, we must divert cropland destined for food production to fuel production, and that has a severely negative impact on the availability and affordability of corn for human consumption.

Reforestation, Ecosystem Resilience & Paper Technologies

Joseph Robertson — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:24:15 +0000

Reforestation is a necessary part of the process of any ecologically responsible development strategy. Forest cover is not only a potent natural resource feeding the overall resilience of an ecosystem, but the hydrological and soil-quality stability, along with the biodensity it can generate, mean it is now more clear than ever that natural levels of forest cover have a very high economic value over the long term.

Food Riots Spread Across the World as Soaring Prices Impact Poor Areas

admin — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:33:47 +0000

Food riots from Haiti to west Africa, Egypt and the Philippines, in recent weeks, have sparked concern among policy-makers, diplomats and economists, that the current state of the global food supply is so precarious that such violence will spread and political and economic instability could follow. Concerns about the American economy, home to most productive grain-producing region in the world, and a shift to biofuels there, could mean added difficulty in bringing food prices down.

Food Riots in Haiti, Protests in El Salvador, as Corn Prices Skyrocket

admin — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:50:21 +0000

In a period of roughly 18 months, the price of corn across central American markets has doubled, making staple foodstuffs too expensive for many in the region. Today, what is described as an "angry mob" of protesters suffering food scarcity attacked the government palace in Port-au-Prince; UN peacekeepers responded by firing teargas, while food markets remained closed throughout.