An ambitious new Food Security Bill is being drafted in India by the National Advisory Council (NAC). According to NDTV and The Hindu, about 79,000 crore rupees (just under $17 billion) per year would be spent under the bill to guarantee 75 percent of the Indian population with foodgrains at subsidized prices. This is up […]
Six million Pakistanis relying on international food aid after being displaced by summer monsoons are facing the additional danger of running out of food aid. According to a report by the BBC, the United Nations coordinator for humanitarian aid in Pakistan, Martin Mogwanja, recently warned of malnutrition already setting in, and only growing by December, […]
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) predicts that by 2050, as many as one-third of Americans may suffer from Type-2 diabetes. Businessweek recently reported that, “An aging population, an increase in minority groups at higher risk for diabetes, and the fact that diabetes patients are living longer are among the reasons for the steep projected […]
There is a very nice essay on climate change in the NYT this morning in a somewhat unlikely spot: the “Our Towns” column about what’s going on in various locations around the region outside the big city. Peter Applebome’s excellent stories are usually focused on local political, social and cultural highlights. Ignoring the Planet Won’t […]
There is yet more headline news on the renewable energy front. On offshore wind, I’ve been noting some of the positive developments in several of the last posts. Go-ahead for wind to generate 70,000 jobs in Britain is the word from the FT. General Electric, Gamesa and Siemens all announced plans to build big new […]
World Food Day was marked on October 16th with prominent leaders meeting at the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome to discuss increased investment in agriculture, good governance by nations and the importance of unity in the global fight against hunger – which chronically affects over 1 billion people. The Committee on […]
I noted in the last post below how the UK is ramping up its offshore wind industry and providing the port infrastructure to do this efficiently and in a timely fashion. I also noted recently the major boost that Google’s Eastern Seaboard offshore cable initiative is giving the industry and that the Cape Wind project […]
Offshore Wind and Ports – What’s the big logistical bottleneck that concerns the British as they try to build a formidable offshore wind industry? Port capacity. The good news: The UK’s Crown Estate leased nine sites offshore early this year that, if fully developed, will provide 32 GW of electricity – 25% of the UK’s […]
According to last Monday’s New York Times, Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote about concern over a controlling bid for ownership of Potash Corporation, a Canadian fertilizer company, placed by a consortium of Chinese companies and financiers. Sorkin indicates that the writing on the wall from such scrutiny is, “‘Do we really want the Chinese to control […]
It was shocking and sad to learn that the great Hermann Scheer died last night. He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy. That he had such vision, energy and commitment is one of the reasons why renewable energy is taking its rightful place in the world economy. It will be, before much longer, the dominant form […]
Following up on my post of the other day, there’s a poll just out from the Financial Times and Harris: in the US and the five largest EU countries, “Big majorities of the public … favor the building of more wind farms in their countries, varying from 90% in Spain and 87% in the U.S. […]
The good folks at Change.org have organized this year’s Blog Action Day around water. (Last year was climate change.) Click here to find out why water matters, and to link up with groups that are very deeply involved. Then dive in and get involved yourself.
The venerable Matt Wald has been covering nuclear power and renewable energy technology at the NY Times since Hector was a pup. He has the lead story today: Offshore Wind Power Line Wins Backing. A high-voltage cable, costing $5 billion and with a 6 GW capacity, would run offshore connecting wind farms from Virginia to […]
We were in Cambridge this past weekend having a fine time, very much including getting out for Honkfest. The best band we saw was the Seed & Feed Marching Abominable, “Atlanta’s wildest community band,” but they were all pretty anarchically blessed. Meanwhile, 350.org was staging it’s 10/10/10 Global Work Party. We saw some evidence of […]
The New York Times published an article titled “Raisins Give Hope to Afghan Farmers,” describing how “…an unusual alliance among Afghan farmers; Mercy Corps, an international aid organization based in Portland, Oregon; and Fullwell Mill, a British food producer…” is bringing Afghan raisins to British store shelves and providing a secure agricultural product for Afghan […]