One dictionary I consulted gave several definitions for reaction: 1. a. A response to a stimulus. b. The state resulting from such a response. 2. A reverse or opposing action. 3. a. A tendency to revert to a former state. b. Opposition to progress or liberalism; extreme conservatism. What I gather from this is that […]
A week after a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, international aid efforts are the subject of global appeals from governments, relief organizations, journalists, entertainers and more. Experienced relief organizations like the American Red Cross have benefited the most from campaigns to raise funds, and are starting to mobilize more effectively to help Haitians survive. Relief for […]
A disastrous harvest in 2009 rendered the North Korean government and officials to make a recent response regarding the South Korean offer of 10,000 tons of food aid to feed the burgeoning hungry. A resounding “yes” in acceptance to this amount in aid, seen as somewhat historical, as the last several years had brought a […]
1) Although Nigeria reached a tentative peace agreement with the militants in the Niger delta region in October, the fledgling peace was threatened by attacks of a Chevron Nigeria pipeline last week. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), according to the Associated Press, claims they sanctioned the attack but did not […]
Parade of hybrids zips through Detroit is the headline from SmartPlanet. They give you a nice rundown of the hybrid and electric vehicles that took over the (very) big Detroit auto show. I’m not much of a car person, but even I can tell you that just about every automaker seems to be fully on […]
The problems that affected Haiti before Tuesday’s earthquake are expected to make aid efforts even more difficult, reports Reuters. Prior to Tuesday, the World Food Program (WFP) had been feed 2 million of Haiti’s 9 million population, or over 22%. “The country has a long history of insecurity and violence. One of the major drug […]
The damage wrought on Haiti’s infrastructure by Tuesday’s 7.0 earthquake has made it extremely difficult for aid agencies to deliver much needed food and medicine. The Los Angeles Times reports how Haitians have taken matters into their own hands, looting a warehouse in Port-au-Prince where the World Food Programme (WFP) stored 15,000 tons of food […]
But that sure doesn’t have anything to do with “global cooling.” In fact, according to the British Met Office, 2010 may well be the warmest year on record. (2009 was the fifth warmest.) Further, as the Met Office, among others, have pointed out, it’s not cold everywhere in the world. Joe Romm had this item […]
I was talking with an old friend last week about how much renewable energy and energy efficiency can do for us. Pretty much everything is my argument. We are making progress along these lines that is sometimes breathtaking. There was a breakthrough announcement on renewable energy last week from the British: They will be deploying […]
Nature has been designing things better and for a lot longer than people have. We seem to have a tendency to waste energy and resources in our design. We also tend to create byproducts in our production processes that can – and usually do – have all sorts of negative impacts, not only for ourselves […]
I went to this event several weeks ago and came away with a great feeling about where urban agriculture and the global movement for “cooler” approaches to farming and eating are heading. I’ve written any number of times here about food and agriculture, including this view into the work of one particularly amazing urban farmer. […]
A Dutch district court in the Hague has decided that it does in fact have jurisdiction to hear a case brought against Shell Nigeria (a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell) by four Nigerian farmers from the oil region and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, an environmental group. According to the Nigerian newspaper, The Daily Independent, […]
In 2009, the World Food Programme (WFP) shipped approximately enough food aid to feed 5.9 million people in Sudan. As food aid is shipped into the country, thousands of tons of wheat and rice are almost simultaneously exported to other nations. The paradox is that Sudan is unable to feed its domestic population, yet exports […]
Late December brought the killing of Ali Farah Amey, the chief of security of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the Hiiraan region of Somalia. Hezbal Islam militants had just one day prior issued an edict demanding the registration of all relief workers. In a direct signal to Western aid agencies, militants of the Islamic […]
Last month, the Iraqi government held its second round of auctions for its oil fields. Mid-month, seven fields were awarded to international oil companies. American companies did not win any new leases in this round, but Petronas, a state-owned Malaysian company; Sonangol, of Angola; and Lukoil of Russia and Statoil of Norway did. Petronas and […]