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.
By Mary Kane in the Washington Independent A sharp spike in prices for wheat, corn, rice and other staples has sparked riots in Mexico and Egypt, marches by hungry children in Yemen and the spectre of starving people in Haiti turning to mud pies for sustenance. This growing unrest is forcing the global community to Continue Reading →
Consumer expectations on how food is produced have become unrealistic, according to the chief executive of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, and there will need to be a trade off if food prices are to be affordable in the future.
Dick Wells was a rural delegate at the 2020 summit in Canberra on the weekend, and said while consumers rule, there’s been “a disconnect” between them and the people trying to produce food and fibre under safe, clean, profitable conditions.
Mr Wells said experience shows, in other industries as well, that to underestimate the capacity of the community and community outrage, even though it may not be based on sound science and evidence, can make the operating capacity of an industry very difficult.
An expert in science communication says the drought in Australia is one of the reasons world grain prices are increasing. International prices of some grains, including rice, have reached record levels. Professor Julian Cribb from Sydney’s University of Technology says a dramatic rise in demand for food in places like China and India is also Continue Reading →
From Astrobiology MagazineÂ
The debate over climate change and its effects is often headline news. In the near future, scientists are concerned that the Earth will experience a continuing increase in global temperature. New research is showing that even if this increase is only a few degrees, it could have important repercussions for life on our planet.
Scientists from the Open University in the United Kingdom are studying climate change throughout Earth’s history. Their results indicate how dangerous modern global climate change might be for the future of life on Earth. In a new study published in the journal Geology, the researchers examined layers of sedimentary rocks from the ocean floor in order to unravel the story of climate change during the early Jurassic period.
From Associated Press in the New York Times
WASHINGTON (AP) — Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests. The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.
The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age.
”This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species’ history,” Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said in a statement. ”Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA.”
 From the New Statesman The irony is extraordinary. At a time when world leaders are expressing grave concern about diminishing food stocks and a coming global food crisis, our government brings into force measures to increase the use of biofuels – a policy that will further increase food prices, and further worsen the plight of Continue Reading →