Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
In the rush to develop renewable fuels from plants, converting crop residues into cellulosic ethanol would seem to be a slam dunk. However, the stems and leaves left over after crops are harvested may have more value if they’re left on the ground, according to a USDA-Washington State University soil scientist.
The people who most need a food reserve are the people who struggle the most to get it. As food and energy costs inflate, and the safety net for the poor begins to break apart, the lower your income, the more urgent it is for you to take advantage of economies of scale, to buy food at lower prices, the more necessary it is that you have some reserve to tide you over in hard times. But that’s incredibly tough if hard times are already here.
Australia faces food crisis as rivers reach new low
A gas supply disruption case study – the Varanus Island explosion
Australia considers first new coal port in 25 years
True to form, Bush administration still refuses to regulate greenhouse gases
White House buries climate change deaths report
Diary: Colorado River drought
The bicycling horticulturalist
Gardens Save the Day in ‘WALL-E’ and America’s Cities
The happy minimalist
Alex Steffen: The outquisition
Wendell Berry on Small Farms, Local Wisdom and the Folly of Greed Digging In (excerpts)
Hunger brings anguish for millions of Pakistanis
Catastrophe looms in Zimbabwe
Food shortages grow in rural Nepal
Community gardens: growing food brings people together
The only diet for a peacemaker is a vegetarian diet
Good crop, bad crop (biofuels)
A truly cool city would feature a short stroll to the local worm bin
How to curb food waste
Trash collectors (students in poor barrios find their own solution)
The bicycling horticulturalist
Gardens save the day in ‘WALL-E’ and America’s cities
Financial independence with The Happy Minimalist
The Outquisition
The last great push for Victory Gardens came from the federal government during World War II. Today, Hayden-Smith said, there isn’t as strong a connection between American military involvement and the home front, but the American way of life is imperiled by more than foreign wars. The country is facing ever rising fuel and food prices, the threat of global warming, and a high rate of obesity.
UK food report goes to the heart of the flaws in the production model
USDA rule change may lead to crops on conserved land
Gardening has the power to transform lives and landscapes
