"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom. The steps that are needed are clear."
"For more than two centuries, the idea that the world's ills are caused by poor people having too many babies has been remarkably successful at diverting attention from the complex social causes of poverty and injustice."
"Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. It is essential for sustaining the natural living systems or ecosystems that provide us with food, fuel, health, wealth, and other vital services." International Year of Bio-diversity
Icelandic spirit 3.33min sound clip\nSigrun Davidsdottir looks at how Icelanders are coping with their recession and knitting their way out of the downturn!
"Now there is no denying that the right trees, growing in the right place, are a truly wondrous thing, with myriad benefits for local people and wildlife, and for the global climate."
The population crash. Across Europe, we are having fewer babies. In many places, such as the deserted town of Hoyerswerda in east Germany, the falling birth rate is already taking its toll. Not a cheerful piece.
"How long would certain resources last if current patterns of consumption persist (outer number) or if the world consumed at half the US pace (inner number). Click on the image for a much larger view:"
"The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study is a major international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions moving forward."
"China or the U.S.: which will be the last nation standing? by Richard Heinberg Silly me. Here I had thought that world leaders would want to keep their nations from collapsing."
"Most economists, as well as financial pundits in the mainstream media, focus on the money cost of energy. But the energy costs of energy can provide useful insights into environmental impacts and the underlying reasons for the money cost. "
"... an important difference between a gift economy and an exchange economy is that in a gift economy, a bond develops between the gift giver and the recipient, while in an exchange economy, the parties often don't care if they ever see each other again."
Book Review "Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet by Tim Jackson. We must repudiate traditional economics if we're to save the planet, says Jeremy Leggett"
"Ten years after the publication of No Logo, Naomi Klein switches her attention from the mall to Barack Obama and discovers that corporate culture has taken over the US government"
"After 3 years of living at between 1/5 and 1/10th of the energy the average family uses, there are some generalities I can offer to people. But they aren't the ones you'll see in most of the "10 tips to go green" articles." Sharon Astyk's 10 tips!