The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) plans to encourage climate-smart farming in Malawi, Vietnam, and Zambia, providing these countries with “strategic plans tailored to each country’s own reality.” According to the FAO, “Agriculture policies are the cornerstones for achieving food security and improving livelihoods.” However, current agricultural practices are a problem because they are responsible […]
The International Energy Agency has reduced its forecast for growth in oil demand in 2012 to 1.1 million barrels per day from 1.3 million bpd. The lower demand will stem from the weak economic conditions in the OECD nations, off-set in part by continued heavy demand from Asian consumers. As a result, global demand for […]
I went to an interesting event last week, the first of a four-part series: Discourses on Nature and Society. The discussion by a star panel of energy and environment experts was titled Energy for the Next 20 Years: Protecting the Environment and Meeting Our Demands. The series is being cosponsored by the venerable NY Academy […]
I’ve written a good number of times here about how I admire what the Obama Administration has achieved in the teeth of vigorous – some might say fanatical – opposition from Republicans on the Hill and elsewhere, as well as from Democrats too, mostly those beholden to the fossil fuel special interests. (Here are some […]
Hoping to aid in Haiti’s recovery from the January 2010 earthquake, some political leaders and development officials looked at one problem deemed to be a persistent obstacle – overcrowded urban areas. The solution? Redevelopment of Haiti’s agricultural sector as a way of encouraging people to move out of cities, create a market for local food […]
Having done the Year End Review, I’ve been looking a bit at some of the end of year/beginning of year lists lately and thought I’d share some of these. (Sorry to have been off the air for so long, but I had final papers to evaluate, had shopping to do, letters to write, helped out […]
Any suspicions that the US went into Afghanistan to secure access to resources went out the window last week. On Wednesday, Tom A. Peter over at the Christian Science Monitor reported, “China’s National Petroleum Corporation became the first foreign company to tap into Afghanistan’s oil and gas reserves. Chinese officials have estimated that the deal could […]
Summary of Global Food Security 2011 The Global Food Security blog’s coverage for 2011 started where 2010 left off, with posts about controversial land grabs in Africa. The recovery of Haiti was strained when even the production of rice, a staple crop, was slowed by fears that it might contribute to a growing cholera outbreak. […]
Aid agencies are sounding the alarm about an impending drought in the countries of the Sahel region of Western Africa, threatening 12 million people with severe malnutrition, including 1 million children. Production of cereals has been hampered by poor rainfall throughout 2011, raising prices of food across the region. The coming crisis is expected to […]
The final paper assignment for my class on energy and the environment at NYU’s MS in Global Affairs program this semester was to “…provide for all the energy needs of the world in the year 2050.” I said “In the next 40 years, we will need to transition to safe, secure, affordable, clean and abundant […]
An agreed outcome with legal force – That’s the major aim of the conferees from the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that wrapped up its work this past weekend in Durban. What that headline phrase signifies, according to a decision of the parties, is that work will […]
With the arrival of December, it’s time to check the rear-view mirror to see where we have been in order to have some clue as to where we are going. In the energy realm, 2011 was the Year of the Three Fs: Fukushima, Fracking and Finance. Japan is used to earthquakes, and the odd tsunami […]
The year is certainly not over yet – the annual international UN climate conference is ongoing in South Africa for the next ten days. Nevertheless, here’s a quick look at what we’ve seen – and what we might expect in 2012. Casting back to my look at 2010 and beyond, I predicted witch hunts from […]
Iraq has agreed to a $17 billion deal covering the next 25 years with Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi to capture the natural gas that is currently being flared off in its southern oil fields. The BBC reports “The new venture will be called Basra Gas Company, with Iraq holding a 51% stake, Royal Dutch […]
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) came into being at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the convention got underway yesterday in Durban, South Africa. There are 194 countries that are party to the convention, plus the European Union. There are also […]