Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Report: “Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops” (Union of Concerned Scientists)
Biochar good news, bad news
Brazil slave labor complaints rise (sugarcane ethanol)
Egypt orders slaughter of all pigs over swine flu
The ethics of environmentally responsible health care
The Oil Drum ponders H1N1 CLZ5 NGZ2 (swine flu)
Global health expert Laurie Garrett discusses swine flu
Why can’t we concentrate?
I have an good idea that has been bugging me since I was about 5. I used to look at the inside of city blocks in San Francisco and wonder, why the heck were the yards all fenced off, in the middle and mostly unused. Why not, I thought way back then, tear those fences down and build a garden full of fruit trees, nut trees and veggie patches? Why don’t people grow food there?
WHO raises pandemic alert to second-highest level
Mexican toddler in U.S. dies from swine flu
Reporting the Story
Boss Hog: The power of pork
Understanding swine flu
Symptom: swine flu. Diagnosis: industrial agriculture?
We’re all in this together
Crisis lays bare the meat industry’s monstrous power
The monster at our door
Emilia Hazelip video: Synergistic Garden
MoJo Forum: Is Organic and Local So 2008?
The great wealthy nation land-grab
The only raised bed I’ve ever found useful in sixty years of gardening is the one in my bedroom. And after I quit double-digging, I didn’t have to spend as much time there either. Or if I did, it was for reasons other than resting.
Contagion on a small planet (swine flu)
Australian food bowl on brink of $5bn catastrophe
Living off a dollar menu – you’ll pay for it in the long run
Our food system is woefully dependent on petroleum.Yet in the developed world, the food system may be one of the last to fail during energy descent. This isn’t to say that industrial, oil-based agriculture is invulnerable, let alone sustainable. But there are many reasons why our fears of a food collapse—particularly when they lead us to a go-it-alone, grow-your-own response—may be distracting us from focusing on more immediate and likely risks.
A weekly roundup of Peak Oil news, including:
-Production and prices
-Natural gas
-Carbon
-Briefs
Rod Dreher’s big idea: raise chickens
Corporate couple become permaculture activists
Will recession spark global food crisis?
Don’t throw out the biochar baby with the bathwater
It is gratifying to know there are still Americans who, instead of wringing their hands at a possible problem headed their way, start figuring what to do about it. Self-reliant people are taking a look at what is happening in our financial world and wondering if it is time to plow up the backyard or that old horse lot and plant some food.
