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.
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The campaign in support of NSW rail and to stop the government’s so called
rail trail bill is hotting up.
If the Transport Administration Amendment (Rail Trails) Bill 2009 is passed
rail lines and train stations could be sold off at the Minister’s whim. The
public consultation set out in the bill is meaningless. It is a smoke screen
to try and justify a bad law.
Defra’s chief scientist says safeguarding soil is ‘critical’ if food production is to increase in the UK in the next 20-30 years
More than 2m tonnes of topsoil from farms and forests is being eroded by wind and rain each year, jeopardising efforts to increase food production, the UK government said today.
The soil erosion is reducing the amount of food grown, increasing the risk of flooding and undermining efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
UK land has been steadily degraded by 200 years of intensive farming and industrial pollution, warned the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in a major study of soils. But it said the situation is not nearly as bad as in many Asian and African countries, where soil erosion due to overgrazing and poor farming practices is now seriously threatening food production.
Consumption exceeds Earth’s annual ‘biocapacity’ today amid warnings of dependence on overseas food and energy
Rich nations are still gobbling up the world’s resources despite the recession. Photograph: Corbis
Rich consumers are still voraciously gobbling up the world’s resources, despite the worst recession in a generation, with their appetite pushing the planet into “ecological debt” from today , according to a report by think-tank the new economics foundation.
This “ecological debt day” marks the point in the year when consumption around the world exceeds the Earth’s annual “biocapacity” — so for the remainder of the year, we will be eating into environmental resources that will not be replaced, according to nef’s calculations.
A report from the International Institute for Environment and Development released last week indicates that city dwellers emit an average of two thirds of the emissions of those who live in cities. Larger cities and their transport networks tend to be more efficient but the details depend on a large number of factors. Residents of Continue Reading →
A PUSH to make Australian agriculture part of the environmental solution, rather than being considered the problem, emerged from what may prove to be a historic meeting at the weekend.
About 80 people, including farmers, scientists and consultants, met at the invitation of former Governor-General Major-General Michael Jeffery at Batemans Bay, NSW, for a discussion on the future of food, farming and agriculture’s role in land restoration.
The dicussion will progress toward action via Outcomes Australia, a group chaired by Maj-Gen Jeffery that “takes the business of problem-solving outside the square”.
Despite our romantic ideas about nature, it will be well-run, energy-efficient cities that ultimately save us from ourselves
New York City. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a $25m, energy-efficient office building on the Brooklyn waterfront a few months back. The Perry Avenue Building features solar panels, rainwater-fed toilets and six rooftop windmills, which will produce 10% of its energy supply. “Wind power in this city,” said the mayor, “is one of the solutions to our problem.”
That problem – devising more sustainable cities – has rightfully drawn a great deal of attention of late. In February, Barack Obama created the White House office of urban affairs and quickly set about staffing it with experienced urban planners, to complement what many have called his “green dream team” on environmental policy.