On Friday, Haiti marked the one month anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which had left the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere in the dire situation of providing food and shelter to nearly 1 million displaced survivors. Following recent outbreaks of violence by Haitians seeking food aid and supplies, feelings of desperation among […]
I’ve been looking at energy and environmental policy for many years and I’m usually happily surprised when things take a smart turn. Even thoughtful, progressive policymakers like Barack Obama, though, wind up making bone-headed calls. Obama offers nuclear plant loan guarantee, as the FT reports, is one good example. I’m, to put it politely, less-than-sanguine […]
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, has changed his mind. He loves big oil companies after all. The history of Big Oil and Hugo Chavez reads like one of those dysfunctional relationships most of us have at least briefly been involved in: he or she only loves you when they […]
Thursday, New York Times columnist Gail Collins spent significant time mocking New York City councilman Larry Seabrook, who is charged with doctoring a receipt for a bagel sandwich from $7 to $177. Most people around the country aren’t too surprised (but remain disgusted) by such behavior in politicians. Gail Collins should see what I see. […]
There was, of course, a lot of coverage from me, and much of the rest of the world it seems, on the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) in Copenhagen in December – before, during and since. One of the critical agreements to come out of the conference was on finance. Pledges were made by […]
Many food aid organizations are offering unique ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day, while providing contributors with special opportunities to fight against global hunger. Action Against Hunger has a selection of e-cards that you can send to a loved one, while making a donation in their name to fight against child malnourishment. The World Food Programme’s (WFP) website is offering […]
I’ve written about the environmental devastation inherent in the development of Canada’s tar sands a few times, so here’s a quick update: ForestEthics is effecting change in getting some big companies to tell their fuel suppliers they don’t want gasoline that uses tar sands oil. Whole Foods and Bed Bath & Beyond are on board. […]
Sustainable Harvest International invited educators to apply for their Educator Workshops in Central America to help engage in dialogue about community-based service-learning involving concepts of sustainability, organic agriculture and environmental restoration. FPA added this opportunity to the Professional Development Resources for Educators found in the “In the Classroom” section of the FPA.org website. Visit their […]
The Obama Administration has announced the creation of a new national service to study and report on climate change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, already deeply involved in climate science and reporting, will be the parent agency. In this article, CBS News quotes NOAA’s head, Dr. Jane Lubchenco: “More and more people are asking […]
Sorry if I seem to be (relatively) blithely indifferent to the many and varied blows that climate change legislation, international agreement and even climate science appear to have been sustaining over the past several months, but I remain quite hopeful that legislation and diplomacy will continue to advance and, even more so, that clean tech […]
It’s striking is how quiet things are in oil for the moment. The focus in the energy field is more different now both in substance and location than any other time I can remember. Everything used to center on the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia. But now, with the occasional exception of Iraq (and for […]
Feeding America (fromerly known as America’s Second Harvest) is developing a “Child Hunger Corps,” setting up positions for corps members to be responsible for developing the capacity and capability of food banks in selected U.S. cities, to execute program models targeted toward the alleviation of child hunger. Each corps member would serve for two years, […]
According to the BBC, it was announced yesterday that Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua would soon write a letter handing over power to his vice president. Yar’Adua has been hospitalized in Saudi Arabia since November with heart and kidney ailments — there was even speculation he was dead. It was news many had been dreading even […]
In a story yesterday in the “NY Times” about the Europeans upgrading their factories – and saving jobs while doing it – a Siemens operation in Berlin was highlighted. Because of the commitment by this 163-year-old company to sustainability, they have spent $700 million to develop new, low carbon turbines. The kicker for me comes […]
I had a good time the other night talking about climate change policy and politics with Amanda Little on The Hyperbole Hour. We’re on the same wavelength. (You can download the show as an mp3 file and listen in from around 29 minutes.) One of the points we made was that we really need to […]