Growing Demand for Soybeans Threatens Amazon Rainforest
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation — by Earth Policy Institute January 10, 2010
by Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute
Some 3,000 years ago, farmers in eastern China domesticated the soybean. In 1765, the first soybeans were planted in North America. Today the soybean occupies more U.S. cropland than wheat. And in Brazil, where it spread even more rapidly, the soybean is invading the Amazon rainforest.
For close to two centuries after its introduction into the United States the soybean languished as a curiosity crop. Then during the 1950s, as Europe and Japan recovered from the war and as economic growth gathered momentum in the United States, the demand for meat, milk, and eggs climbed. But with little new grassland to support the expanding beef and dairy herds, farmers turned to grain to produce not only more beef and milk but also more pork, poultry, and eggs. World consumption of meat at 44 million tons in 1950 had already started the climb that would take it to 280 million tons in 2009, a sixfold rise.
Comments (1)The Buffalo Commons
Biodiversity, General, Livestock, Rehabilitation, Soil Conservation — by Rhamis Kent January 3, 2010
Here’s an idea that should be embraced and championed by all earth repair advocates: The Buffalo Commons.
The Buffalo Commons is a conceptual proposal to create a vast nature preserve by returning 139,000 square miles (360,000 km2) of the drier portion of the Great Plains to native prairie, and by reintroducing the buffalo, or American Bison, that once grazed the short grass prairie.
Comments (8)The Biology of Global Warming
Biodiversity, Deforestation, Food Forests, Global Warming/Climate Change, Plant Systems, Population, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Structure, Trees — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor December 14, 2009
 What Manhattan may have looked like… |
Often, as I’ve travelled and lived in different parts of the globe, I’ve stood on mountains and beaches and looked around, somewhat wistfully, trying to visualise how those landscapes would have looked a few centuries ago. I’m sure you’ve done it too.
Many, if not most, of these places were once vast tracts of old growth forest, with rich diversity in flora and fauna. Natural biological water cleaning systems were in place, as the hydrological cycle was efficient and largely unmolested by man. Most places still had rich, dark soils and no chemicals had yet been employed to stamp out soil life.
These were the days of 280ppm. We lived then with respect, if not even fear, for a nature wide and wonderful – never for a moment thinking we could one day be the cause of these vast and mysterious systems collapsing wholesale.
Comments (9)Are You Paying to Burn the Rainforest?
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, Livestock — by George Monbiot October 14, 2009
If you’re buying Brazilian beef, the answer is yes
by George Monbiot: journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist, United Kingdom
For the past five years I have been at war with Farmers for Action. These are the neanderthals who have held up the traffic and blockaded the refineries in the hope of persuading the government to reduce the price of fuel. It doesn’t matter how often you explain that cheap fuel, which allows the supermarkets to buy from wherever the price of meat or grain is lowest, has destroyed British farming. They will stand in front of the cameras and make us watch as they cut their own throats.
But through gritted teeth I must admit that they have got something right. In January the caveman-in-chief, David Handley, warned that foot and mouth disease had not been eliminated from Brazil, and that imports of meat from that country risked bringing it back to Britain(1). The buyers brushed his warning aside. In the first half of this year, beef imports from Brazil to the UK rose by 70%, to 34,000 tonnes(2). Last week an outbreak was confirmed in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
You would, of course, expect British producers to throw as much mud as they can at cheap imports. You would expect them to question their competitors’ hygiene standards and social and environmental impacts, and Mr Handley has done all of these things. But, to my intense annoyance, he is on every count correct.
Comments OffA Man of a Thousand Trees
Biodiversity, Deforestation, Demonstration Sites, Food Forests, Global Warming/Climate Change, Nurseries & Propogation, Trees — by Ecofilms October 2, 2009
by Frank Gapinski
Recently whilst filming at Mulloon Creek Natural Farms near Canberra we spotted a lone figure in the barren landscape quietly digging a series of holes on a 2 kilometer stretch of swales that were designed by Geoff Lawton. Matt Kilby has been on the farm now for 12 months and in that time has developed a system of giving the trees he plants a successful start to life. Planting trees in heavily compacted soil is not easy as Matt will tell you, but it can be done if you follow some basic tips. In this video Matt explains the right way to plant a tree on a swale, especially if it’s located in a fairly inhospitable landscape and how to make sure that the trees you plant have a high success rate. The pink tree guards that Matt created are not cosmetic. They have a particular part to play in speeding plant growth as Matt explains.
Life at Zaytuna – Why Work When You Can Fish?
Biodiversity, Fish, Society — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor July 24, 2009
Note for American readers: Exchange the word ‘dam’ in this post for ‘pond-that’s-formed-by-a-dam-wall’, and you’ll get what we antipodeans mean :)
Photographs copyright © Craig Mackintosh
A few days ago I spotted Geoff wearing a t-shirt with the message "Born to Fish, Forced to Work" emblazoned across the chest. After the swimming pool conversion story I ran a few days ago, I wanted to capture Geoff pulling in one of his own fish, from the dam that is literally just a few metres from the kitchen here at Zaytuna. But, like the t-shirt says, work keeps getting in the way. Trying to save the planet seems to keep one occupied, for some reason.
Anyway, as luck would have it, today I discovered someone who isn’t forced to work – a lad named Thomas, son of Greg Knibbs, who many of you will know (Greg co-taught a PDC in Melbourne with Bill Mollison and our Geoff last September/October). Young Thomas caught four fish today, the largest of which you can see below – a nice plump bass.
Comments (3)Home
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Population, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor June 21, 2009
The following documentary, ‘Home‘, is almost perfect.
As a photographer, I was totally engrossed in the imagery – mostly shot from above, and almost entirely in the magic hours of morning and evening light – as this production gives us a vision of this world we call home that is hard to forget. It also leaves one feeling like part of the human fabric – part of the larger human family that, when you come right down to it, all depends on our planet and its immense (albeit dwindling) diversity to supply our universal, basic needs.
As a writer, that has covered the many converging issues we’re now facing – water, soil, biodiversity, deforestation, peak oil, climate change, etc. – the facts shared are also on target and up-to-date. And, again, beautifully and graphically presented.
Why I say ‘almost perfect’ is because it is only the last ten or fifteen minutes where the documentary turns about in a bid to leave the viewer feeling optimistic before it’s all over. Here it truly fails. Ultimately, it graphically and beautifully tells the tale of humankind’s misguided and unsustainable attempts at finding satisfaction – but delivers only a warm, fuzzy, nebulous feeling of how we’re to retreat from the cliff edge we’re teetering over. Despite its shortcomings, however, I give kudos to all who put it together and for their willingness to freely distribute it to as many people as possible. It’s definitely a must-watch.
‘Home’ trailer
Watch the full documentary here
Also available in Arabic, French, German, Russian and Spanish.
Comments (1)What You Need to Know
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor June 9, 2009
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5131083477166920067
Duration: 1:27:31
Blue Desert
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Economics, Fish, Food Shortages — by George Monbiot June 2, 2009
Why is no one brave enough to stand up to the fishing industry?
by George Monbiot: journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist, United Kingdom
I live a few miles from Cardigan Bay. Whenever I can get away, I take my kayak down to the beach and launch it through the waves. Often I take a handline with me, in the hope of catching some mackeral or pollock. On the water, sometimes five kilometres from the coast, surrounded by gannets and shearwaters, I feel closer to nature than at any other time.
Cardigan Bay, Wales
Feeding Frenzy
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Fish — by George Monbiot May 13, 2009
Editor’s Note: Before reading George’s excellent piece below, check out this totally engrossing footage of the sea’s most maligned creature. The video features bull and tiger sharks (notice one bull shark has a deformed jaw, from being hooked at some point). The clip may give you an even greater appreciation of the tragedy found in the facts George shares with us. May we hasten to the safe haven of sustainability before there’s nothing left…
Why is it still acceptable to eat the endangered large predators of the sea?
by George Monbiot: journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist, United Kingdom
To Ransom A. Myers, who died on March 27th, 2008.
If these animals lived on land there would be a global outcry. But the great beasts roaming the savannahs of the open seas summon no such support. Big sharks, giant tuna, marlin and swordfish should have the conservation status of the giant panda or the snow leopard. Yet still we believe it is acceptable for fishmongers to sell them and celebrity chefs to teach us how to cook them.
The 11th Hour
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Population, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor April 24, 2009
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2174195060267517042
Comments (3)Obama’s Organic Example Sets Cat Amongst Corporate Pigeons
Biodiversity, Demonstration Sites, Developments, GMOs, News, Soil Erosion & Contamination — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor April 17, 2009
Recently I shared how Michelle Obama was planning to plant a garden on the White House lawn – thrilling the many people that lobbied for them to do exactly that. Later we learned that, as we dearly hoped, the garden would be organic.
On top of this, the First Lady also named chef Sam Kass to head the White House Food Initiative. Mr Kass happens to have a good understanding of what we and our children should be ingesting. This is all great press for chemical-free agriculture and food.
But…
Comments (1)The Food Crisis Spurs Gene Patenting Race
Biodiversity, Economics, Food Shortages, GMOs, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 31, 2009
Big Biotech is gearing up to substantially increase their market share in the face of a global food and climate crisis — in hopes of cashing in on desperation. The patenting office has never been so busy.
Do you remember the pulitzer prize-winning photo that shocked the world back in 1994? You know, that macabre shot of an emaciated child struggling hopelessly towards a feeding station a kilometre away, with a vulture waiting patiently, and wistfully, behind. With that single image, the photographer, Kevin Carter, brought the Sudan famine into stark relief for an astonished public.
Well-framed images can evoke sympathy and outrage, so I am thus left almost desperately wondering how to frame what I see happening with the current international food crisis — as sympathy and outrage are needed now like never before.
Comments OffIndia Suicides: I Want My Father Back
Biodiversity, Economics, Food Shortages, GMOs, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor
We’ve made mention of the social and environmental costs of monocultures and genetically modified crops often. Amongst these has been many mentions of a humanitarian disaster occuring on a daily basis in India, where thousands of farmers have been committing suicide as a result of failed harvests — the failed harvests being the result of failed promises from the likes of Monsanto. The following documentary, produced in India, by Indians, paints the clearest picture of this situation that I’ve yet seen. In addition, the documentary compares the failure of those sucked into input-intensive industrialised agriculture with the success of those who have reverted to organic methods.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6063387598655207801
Part I: Duration 00:38:00 (drag slider to the 30 second mark to skip an awful beep!)
Comments OffCommunity-Based Rainforest Restoration Work is Huge Success in Borneo
Aid Projects, Biodiversity, Community Projects, Deforestation, Demonstration Sites, Food Forests, Global Warming/Climate Change, Plant Systems, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Trees, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 30, 2009
In his twenty minute talk, Willie Smits (a Dutch forestry scientist who emigrated to Indonesia 20 years ago to help the country grow trees) explains how a chance encounter with a dying baby Orangutan changed the direction of his work – culminating not only in his creating the biggest orangutan rehabilitation center in the world, but also in restoring large tracts of rainforest in a community-based endeavour that is bringing work and prosperity to the people too.
The word ‘Permaculture’ is never mentioned in the following TED presentation, but the project that is the subject of this talk certainly contains many elements of Permaculture design. Among the spectacular results of the project is a documented cooling in local climate, increased cloud cover and rainfall, and a rapid increase in biodiversity of flora and fauna.
