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GREEN Foundation is Reversing Negative Effects of the Green Revolution
GREEN Foundation is Reversing Negative Effects of the Green Revolution The GREEN Foundation is working to slow the rate of farmer suicides in India and improve conditions for farmers—especially women—whose traditional agricultural methods were stripped away by the Green Revolution. A 20th-century push by Western agronomists to decrease hunger in developing nations, the Green Revolution […]
Cutting a Farm into a Forest
Cutting a Farm into a Forest A conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke of the axe he is writing his signature on the face of the land. –Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac Many modern back to the land stories unfold on neglected farmland that is ready to be brought back […]
1.5°C of warming is closer than we imagine, just a decade away
1.5°C of warming is closer than we imagine, just a decade away Global warming of 1.5°C is imminent, likely in just a decade from now. That’s the stunning conclusion to be drawn from a number of recent studies, surveyed below. Paris Commitments now put the world on a path of 3.4°C of warming by 2100 […]
Where’s the “eco” in ecomodernism?
Where’s the “eco” in ecomodernism? Image: Richard Walker If you hadn’t heard, despair is old hat. Rather than retreat into the woods, now is the time to think big, to propose visionary policies and platforms. So enter grand proposals like basic income, universal healthcare, and the end of work. Slap big polluters with carbon tax, […]
In praise of stupid: for a self-systemic farming
In praise of stupid: for a self-systemic farming I’ve been blogging for over six years under this ‘Small Farm Future’ moniker, without devoting much effort to defining what a ‘small farm’ actually is. So I thought I’d try to make at least some minor amends on that score in this post. Strangely, I think the […]
The Magical Thinking of Ecomodernism
THE MAGICAL THINKING OF ECOMODERNISM I recently wrote an article for Fast Company explaining why “green growth” is not a thing. I looked at three high-profile studies showing that even aggressive taxes and rapid improvements in technological efficiency will not be enough to cut global resource use as long as we keep growing the world […]
Climate Truth: a Plan for Sustainability
Climate Truth: a Plan for Sustainability Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture | CC BY 2.0 There is a practical path for tackling climate change, for organizing from your house to your neighborhood, city, state and beyond. It’s clear. It’s simple. It’s 3 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per person per year as a goal […]
Climate science’s official text is outdated. Here’s what it’s missing.
Climate science’s official text is outdated. Here’s what it’s missing. The first-ever courtroom tutorial of climate science this week went about as you’d expect. The scientists representing Oakland and San Francisco had Powerpoint problems, and the oil industry’s lawyer cherry-picked his facts. For all their differences, both sides drew from a common source: The Intergovernmental Panel […]
Is Britain sleepwalking into a food crisis?
Is Britain sleepwalking into a food crisis? Image: Andrew Stawarz, CC BY-ND 2.0 On May 8th the government will end its consultation period on a new agricultural policy for England. Revealingly, its policy document – called ‘Health and Harmony: The future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’– has more to say […]
9 Mindful Ways to Start Breaking Up With Plastic – For Good!
9 Mindful Ways to Start Breaking Up With Plastic – For Good! One of the big problems with our prepackaged, modern, consumer spending-based economies is that everything is mass-produced in plastic with little or no regard for the future problems it creates. To date, 14 billion pounds of garbage are dumped into the ocean every year – […]
The Benefits of a Natural Pool
THE BENEFITS OF A NATURAL POOL Nothing is better than having a pool in the backyard, they’re great during the summer, make your backyard look better, and raise the value of your property. On the other hand, they require quite a bit of maintenance to care for. The pH levels have to be carefully monitored, […]
How the Cult of the Colossal Imperils American Agriculture
How the Cult of the Colossal Imperils American Agriculture Stressed-out farmers today only grow food for global consumption, and that is leading to a crisis at home. Jurga Jot/Shutterstock The 2018 farm bill is currently at a standstill as congressmen debate proposed changes to the bill’s SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) provisions. SNAP is a […]
Foresters vs. Ecologists
Foresters vs. Ecologists Photo by Andrew Malone | CC BY 2.0 There is a huge difference between the Industrial Forestry worldview and an ecological perspective. Many people assume that foresters understand forest ecosystems, but what you learn in forestry school is how to produce wood fiber to sell to the wood products industry. I know […]
Wheat & the Drought Cycle
Wheat & the Drought Cycle QUESTION: Interesting that $1.3T US spending bill was enacted on March 23, 2018, exactly 31.459 years after passage of US Tax Reform Act of 1986: Also, the 86 year cycle in drought conditions in the midwest US seems to approach – is this why Marty thinks wheat will bottom this […]
Europe’s Biggest Gas Field To Close Over Quake Risk
Europe’s Biggest Gas Field To Close Over Quake Risk Europe’s biggest gas field–Groningen in the north of the Netherlands–has been pumping gas for more than half a century and supplies gas to 98 percent of the Dutch population. But the field has been causing earthquakes that have become a growing concern for residents and authorities. […]
