The Generator is founded on the simple premise that we should leave the world in better condition than we found it. The news items in this category outline the attempts people have made to do this. They are mainly concerned with our food supply and settlement patterns. The impact that the human race has on the planet.
April 21, 2009, 12:27 pm Atmospheric CO2 and Methane Still Building Neville Gillmore By Andrew C. Revkin NOAA The graph shows recent monthly mean carbon dioxide measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (recent months are preliminary data). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is reporting that the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane, Continue Reading →
Plight of the penguins Neville Gillmore Already threatened by global warming, harvesting krill to supply omega-3 oil means danger for Antarctica’s penguins. Gerry Leape guardian.co.uk, Thursday 16 April 2009 19.30 BST Article history Fifty years ago, delegates from 12 nations – including the United States, Norway and Japan – gathered in Washington Continue Reading →
Hundreds of millions will be hurt by climate change, Oxfam warns. April 21, 2009 Neville Gillmore Article from: Agence France-Presse HUNDREDS of millions of people will become victims of climate change-related disasters over the next six years, Oxfam said today, urging governments to change the way they respond to such events. The British-based Continue Reading →
From France 24
The gospel of high-tech genetically modified (GM) crops is not sounding quite so sweet in the land of the converted. A new pest, the evil pigweed, is hitting headlines and chomping its way across Sun Belt states, threatening to transform cotton and soybean plots into weed battlefields.
In late 2004, “superweeds” that resisted Monsanto’s iconic “Roundup” herbicide, popped up in GM crops in the county of Macon, Georgia. Monsanto, the US multinational biotech corporation, is the world’s leading producer of Roundup, as well as genetically engineered seeds. Company figures show that nine out of 10 US farmers produce Roundup Ready seeds for their soybean crops.
Superweeds have since alarmingly appeared in other parts of Georgia, as well as South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri, according to media reports. Roundup contains the active ingredient glyphosate, which is the most used herbicide in the USA.
Another 1500 Indian farmers commited suicide last year as a result of crop failure and mounting debt. Debts have risen as water tables have fallen in the region of Chattisgar, once famous for rice and traditional pulses.
Bharatendu Prakash, from the Organic Farming Association of India, said: “Farmers’ suicides are increasing due to a vicious circle created by money lenders. They lure farmers to take money but when the crops fail, they are left with no option other than death.”
In 1998 the World Bank forced the government to open its agribusiness sector to international seed companies. Since then suicide rates have skyrocketed. Vandana Shiva has been leading a Ghandi style revolution to encourage farmers to save seed and build an independent seed supply that can maintain food security and freedom from international finance.
The Union of Concerned Scientists said that there has been almost no improvement in agricultural productivity after a decade and a half of planting genetically modified crops. A report released by the scientists last week showed that the yields on US corn farms have increased by 28 percent over the last five years, but this is almost all as a result of traditional breeding and other farm practices. “A hard-nosed assessment of this expensive technology’s achievements to date gives little confidence that it will play a major role in helping the world feed itself in the forseeable future,” said the report.