Category Archives: environment

Dr. Whatsforlunch or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Chemicals

Some rationally optimistic thoughts from Matt Ridley are in this video. Consider this: when we compare the farm yields of the 1960s to the yields at the end of the 1990s, we find that conventional (aka intensive) farming has, in effect, saved 44% of earth’s land from going under the plow.  

New Forests Company announces suspension of tree planting in Uganda

British New Forests Company (NFC) has announced that it has suspended tree planting in Uganda for 2012. The company says that will “result in 560 job losses in the Mubende, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi and Bugiri districts.” The decision to suspend planting and lay off workers follows the outcry caused by an Oxfam report released September 2011Continue reading “New Forests Company announces suspension of tree planting in Uganda”

Scientists Refute Greenpeace Claims About GM Corn

Lanham, MD; January 6, 2012 — An article in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Integrated Pest Management (JIPM) refutes claims by Greenpeace Germany that the western bean cutworm (WBC), Striacosta albicosta (Smith), is “a new plant pest” that was “caused by genetically engineered corn.” The Greenpeace Germany report, which was written by authorContinue reading “Scientists Refute Greenpeace Claims About GM Corn”

Resolved to go organic in 2012? Consider these 10 points.

Over at Eco Women: Protectors of the Planet! you can find eight resolutions for 2012. A few of them make sense: turn off any unnecessary appliance; choose tap water over bottled water; cut down on meat. These are, if not necessarily environmentally sensible, at least economically sensible. I have quibbles with their list but itContinue reading “Resolved to go organic in 2012? Consider these 10 points.”

Comparing organic farming to conventional. Is one better for the environment?

Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, estimated we could feed four billion people if we used organic farming. The earth now is home to seven billion people and will probably go to nine billion before leveling off and declining, according to the United Nations. Organic farming means 50% of our world population would dieContinue reading “Comparing organic farming to conventional. Is one better for the environment?”

Unintended Consequences – risks and rewards of needing energy

In this video, Matt Palmer, filmmaker and photographer, raises good points about how we produce our energy and its consequences–intended and otherwise. Energy is important to everyone and every process on earth. We want energy to power our lives. So, as Robert Bryce, author of Power Hungry, reminds us, “We put energy in a conversionContinue reading “Unintended Consequences – risks and rewards of needing energy”

Preserving California’s old growth

On Wednesday you read that private landowners conduct the majority of timber harvesting in California. This is due to the de facto moratorium placed on timber harvesting within national forests (state and national parks do not allow harvesting except for reasons of public safety). And, perhaps you wondered if old-growth timber could be removed. Well,Continue reading “Preserving California’s old growth”

Working landscapes, environmental correctness

According to a 2001 agricultural economic report, “urban expansion claimed more than 1 million acres per year between 1960 and 1990″ in the United States, and that expansion follows one of two two routes: 1. expansion of urban areas or 2. large-lot development (greater than 1 acre per house). (Heimlich 2001)   Land trusts throughoutContinue reading “Working landscapes, environmental correctness”

If California’s timber industry falls, will anyone hear it?

Lands owned by state and federal government now contribute little to California’s wood supply (see the graphic below). Private landowners (the green area) now carry nearly all the burden for California’s timber harvesting and its wood demand. (Source: California Forestry Association CA Timber Harvest Statistics 1978-2009.) As previously noted on this site: Our California forestsContinue reading “If California’s timber industry falls, will anyone hear it?”