For those interested in conducting research about topics in food security, the New America Foundation is now taking applications for its Schmidt Family Foundation Fellowship. “The ideal candidate is a policy-minded writer with an interest in exploring how agroecology informs, or should influence, policy debates on the right to food, resilience/adaptation to climate change, agricultural […]
After several weeks of wrangling, the Kenyan government has finally allowed the opening of a new refugee camp near the Somali border on July 25th. Called Ifo II or the Ifo Extension, the camp has a designed capacity of 40,000 people, has brick houses, clean running water and even school buildings. Just up the road […]
The high price of food has been attributed as one of the underlying causes of unrest that launched the reform movements of the Arab Spring. As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins and unrest continues in much of the Middle East and North Africa, the price of food may figure into the campaigns for […]
CAFE – That stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy. What President Obama announced today was a much higher federal requirement, negotiated with the car companies, for more miles per gallon on average for cars sold in the United States. As we know, Lower Gasoline Consumption = Lower GHG Output. How much? Billions of tons of […]
While the world community finally mobilizes to secure funding to provide aid to the people of the Horn of Africa, I wanted to provide the readers with five more recommendations (in addition to the five from an earlier post) for how you can donate directly to relief efforts. I also encourage you to send me […]
Last month, the Senate voted 73-27 to end a $6 billion per year tax credit to the ethanol industry as part of an amendment to Bill S. 782, also known as the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011. This vote was largely symbolic however, as the bill itself has yet and is not expected […]
On Monday, the UN’s Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) convened over 200 delegates, representing the 191 countries who are members of FAO, as well as NGO representatives, to discuss a a two-track plan for immediate relief to over 12 million people in the Horn of Africa region. Part of the action plan was also mapped […]
Good on ya, Mike! $50 million bucks really means something when it’s being put to good use to phase out coal-fired power plants. As an old Sierra Club activist, I was very gratified to learn that you had written a stupendous check to support one of the most effective Sierra Club campaigns ever: Beyond Coal. […]
The World Food Program (WFP) is calling the situation in the Horn of Africa the “highest global humanitarian priority,” with famine in southern Somalia and refugee camps in Kenya overflowing with those fleeing hunger brought by severe drought conditions. One of the consistent threads throughout the reports of devastation has been the drought’s effect on […]
Inflation continues to rise in China, with pork the latest culprit in increasing already high food prices. Over half of the meat consumption in China is pork, and China produces and consumes more than half of the world’s pigs. This means that when pork prices go up, inflation goes up. According to the UPI, “pork […]
The news continues to worsen in the Horn of Africa, as the United Nations has declared famine in two regions in southern Somalia. What was regarded just recently as a severe humanitarian crisis has now crossed the threshold to famine, defined by the BBC as: More than 30% of children must be suffering from acute […]
The UN Security Council met this week to consider whether or not climate change constituted a threat to international peace and security and, if so, what to do about it. As Deutsche Welle puts it here, “What might appear self-evident to many took days of complicated discussions and negotiations…” If droughts, heat waves, fires, ever-intensifying […]
Hilary Clinton is in India right now. Not coincidentally, after a four-year survey of a site in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the government of India has announced that the Tumalapalli mine there could hold up to 150,000 tons of recoverable uranium. Srikumar Banerjee, secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy, told the […]
Global food prices have been reaching new highs as fluctuations in global food markets have continued since late 2007. To help make sense of these trends, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) offers a Food Price Volatility Portal, providing links to websites that monitor food markets, as well as reports and resources that […]
A humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa region is threatening over 10 million people, with women and children being the most vulnerable. A startling amalgam of factors have converged to create a deadly situation, particularly drought, malnutrition, region-wide conflicts, poor governance and limited access by aid organizations. While we keep an eye on how […]