The World Rainforest Movement has reported on the government of Belgian symbolically planting a genetically modified tree to commemorate world biodiversity day. What a pity that the tree has low lignin, a natural protectant, and is useful ONLY as cellulosic biofuel. I guess the world is intent on collecting every last scrap of forest and burning it up into the sky. Also read WRM's page on all of the GMO tree activity in Belgium.
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Links and Blogroll
- Beyond Pesticides
- Biofuel Watch UK
- Bioneers
- Center for Food Safety
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- Dogwood Alliance
- Environmental Nutrition newsletter (subscription required)
- Environmental Working Group
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These books are of interest...
Michael Pollan: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Excellent primer on the tribulations of being an omnivore in this day and age. Beginner foodies should definitely start with this book! So should beginner "slow foodies".Carlo Petrini: Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, And Fair
Carlo masterfully connects the foods we taste to our surroundings and lifestyle, and has clued into the fact that our recent neoliberal approach to food trade is destroying our communities, our health, and our Earth. (*****)Sachs Jeffrey D.: The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
With typical IMF and World Bank hubris, Mr. Sachs believes he has all the answers to saving the world from the scourge of poverty. Two stars for coherent English. (**)Raj Patel: Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System
Find out about the struggle for the world food system in this ingenious book. (*****)Naomi Klein: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
While Naomi does get a little shrill at times, this book is an excellent example of how "free market" ideology steps in opportunistically at the onset of natural and manmade disasters to start unbridled business exploitation while the poorest victims are still reeling and unconscious. It makes me think about all the schemes that are going on in Myanmar and China after their recent natural disasters. Excellent book. I could not put it down. It also ties in the McCarthy era secret programs to "deprogram" people by first shocking them and then indoctrinating them, to the higher goal of doing that to entire societies. (****)
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May 17, 2009
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BioFuels Not!
Publications about biofuels
- FAO: The Right to Food and Impact on Liquid Biofuels
Though a little TOO generous on the second generation (cellulosic) biofuels, this publication tells about the disastrous damage of ALL biofuels to date upon world hunger. - Environmental Working Group: America needs a truly renewable energy policy
"...New scientific evidence indicates that biofuel production and use results in a net increase of greenhouse gas emissions when compared to petroleum-based fuels..." - February 2009 - What's wrong with biodiesel?
Find out from the Center for Science in the Public Interest how palm oil, the primary grain in biodiesel, and the primary substitute for trans fats, razes rainforests and kills endangered species. - Science Magazine February 2008: Actually saving energy from biofuels production is complicated!
Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt Joseph Fargione, Jason Hill, David Tilman, Stephen Polasky, and Peter Hawthorne Science 29 February 2008 319: 1235-1238; published online 5 February 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1152747] (in Reports) - Science Magazine: You save more emissions by reforestation than by creating and using biofuels!
SCIENCE MAGAZINE: "The carbon sequestered by restoring forests is greater than the emissions avoided by the use of the liquid biofuels..." Carbon Mitigation by Biofuels or by Saving and Restoring Forests? Renton Righelato1* and Dominick V. Spracklen2 1R. Righelato, World Land Trust, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8AB 2D. V. Spracklen, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. *Author for correspondence. E-mail: renton@worldlandtrust.org
Articles about the food/fuel crisis
- Washington Post May 2008 5-part Series on Global Food Crisis
- U.N. FAO's Right to Food portal
- Monthly Review: The World Food Crisis - Sources and Solutions
- Food Price Crisis Imperils 100 Million in Poor Countries, Zoellick Says
- The World Bank is "cluing in" to the disastrous results of biofuels policy implementation:
- UN right to food special rapporteur: "Biofuels a Crime Against Humanity"
- Prof. Robert Boyd: Biofuels are not the answer to oil dependency
- DISTILLERY DEMAND FOR GRAIN TO FUEL CARS VASTLY UNDERSTATED
- Economist: Agonies of Agflation
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