GMOs have been in our diets for about 20 years, writes Rupert Read. Proof that they are safe? No way - it took much, much longer to discover the dangers of cigarettes and transfats, dangers that are far more visible than those of GMOs. On the scale of nature and ecology, 20 years is a pitifully short time. To sustain our human future, we have to think long term.
… Principle. GMOs have unknown ' tail risks ', that is, unknown potential risks of ruin that they harbour as possibilities. No rigorous risk analysis has been done, with regard to …
Humanity has always lived under the threat of extinction, writes Anders Sandberg. Now we have reduced some of the dangers - but created new ones of our own. And right now, it's the anthropogenic threats that look the scariest ...
… now. I use the word 'hope' because we face risks, called existential risks , that threaten to wipe out humanity. These risks are not just for big disasters, but for …
The lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan is just the tip of a vast iceberg of lead contamination afflicting mainly urban black communities, writes Leif Fredrickson. A rigid 'race bar' on postwar suburban housing and mortgages left black families in inner cities, exposed to flaking lead paint in run down housing, leaded gasoline residues and lead pipework. Now is the time to correct this shocking historic injustice.
… poisoning in the United States. What are the risks? Who is most vulnerable? Who is … and emitted from car exhaust. But the risk is not evenly distributed. Some Americans face a 'triple whammy' of increased risk based on poverty, race, and place. …
Politicians are forever citing 'terror' as a reason to expand the security state and restrict civil liberties, writes Paul Mobbs. But when it comes to the real threats that face the world - ecological breakdown, climate disruption, resource crises, and an unjust and rapacious world order ... well, that's all 'green crap'. Isn't it?
… do you think? Bees and hornets pose the same risk as 'terrorism' Until the murder of … the conflict in Ireland, in global terms the risk from terrorism here is low. The relative scale of the public's risk of fatality from terrorism was outlined …
Cancer Research UK's slogan is 'Let's beat cancer sooner'. But Georgina Downs wonders why it ignores the role of pesticides sprayed on crop fields - which is a recognised cause of cancer - and why it has spent over £750 million since 2007 on paying its employees.
… crop fields. Crop sprays - a known cancer risk For example, one US study found high … cranberry growing area resulted in twice the risk for all brain cancers and nearly a 7-fold increased risk for a type of brain cancer known as …
Claims that we need a 'big society' to fix our 'broken' one are just Victorian throwbacks - we have the business tools to survive; we just need a co-operative attitude to go with them
… whose high interest rates were based on riskier and less ethical investments that were … societies remain the viable alternative to risk capitalism, and like the movement as a … analysis of late capitalism he called Risk Society , Ulrich Beck made a convincing …
When Shell decided to quit its Arctic oil exploration it cited 'insufficient quantities' of oil and gas, writes Louise Rouse. But that was not the whole story: what tipped the balance was a combination of investor discontent, reputational damage and public opposition on an unprecedented scale.
… to retreat suggests that the scale marked 'RISK' had simply become too heavy for Shell to … and daring during 2015 further loaded the 'risk' scale. Investor incredulity at Shell's … opposition; peer group isolation ; the risk of a spill; and climate change. The …
When a Victorian tea party took over Heathrow's Terminal 1 earlier this year, it was a clear sign that environmental campaigning had taken a large step away from time-worn methods of protesting.
… Pepper Protest Green Lifestyle Protest Travel Risk Climate Change Society … and alienated, and important cultural change risks being left behind. Much as today’s idea …
Surprise changes to the Finance Bill in its third reading have withdrawn tax benefits for investors in community renewable energy projects, writes Georgina Matthews. While some societies are rushing to complete their fund-raising by the end of the month, others have been forced to close. If these measures are not withdrawn, a small but flourishing sector will be at risk.
… a small but flourishing sector will be at risk. A sudden, unannounced, change to the … important to community energy projects as the risks are often higher than commercial …
The responses that climate change demands of us are collective, writes Mark Maslin, and force us to accept the finite nature of global resources and the need for equitable sharing. So when climate change collides with belief in neoliberalism, free markets, strong property rights and rugged individualism, denial trumps science every time.
… about the science but all about the politics. Risky business Back in the late 1980s and … was it benign or malevolent? In 1995 leading risk expert John Adams suggested there were … to believe at the time. However, this work on risk perception was ignored by mainstream …
As worldwide Governments blindly attempt to support unlimited growth using limited resources, Tim Jackson believes the answer to true sustainability may lie on the economy's fringes
… dilemma. To refrain from growth is to risk economic and social collapse. To pursue … means that if our economies don’t grow, we risk putting people out of work, even without …
'If you liked sub-prime, you'll love carbon trading!' Join the Camp for Climate Action on the 1st of April as they set up in the Square Mile to greet global leaders and remind them that climate change must remain on the agenda
… Financial markets are supposed to evaluate risk and allocate capital efficiently and … carbon trading is supposed to evaluate risk and allocate carbon reductions …
The issues surrounding powerful new technologies from GMOs to nuclear power appear disparate, writes David King - but look harder and most are linked by common threads. Key among them are issues of profit, control and socialisation of cost ...
… in order to cancel out global warming. The risks of such an enterprise, which will most … to radically change our societies, creating risks that even normally techno-optimistic … are beginning to describe as existential risks for human society. Creating a new …
The current testing protocol for new medicines is proven to be inadaquate. It's time for a radical new approach, argues Kathy Archibald, director of the Safer Medicines Campaign
… DNA or volunteers, though in ways much less risky than current clinical trials. Initial … trial volunteers should be protected from risks by making sure before clinical trials … Radiation: are we putting our health at risk with increased CT scans? Tesco provoked …
The effect of new labour saving technologies has been ... to keep us working as long as ever, or longer. But why? Certainly not for our benefit, writes David Spencer. It's to keep civil society suppressed, docile, in thrall to the power of capital. All the more reason to rebel - demand a 30-hour working week now!
… health. Working long hours can add to the risk of having a stroke , coronary heart … length of the working day; it also puts at risk the potential rewards of working four …
Migration is an essential component of strategies to adapt to changing climates, writes Alex Randall. Greens should welcome migrants and support their efforts to build climate resilience in their home communities.
… Linda Uan, Kiribati Migrating comes with risks: exploitation, trafficking, violence. … The option to migrate legally reduces these risks. Crossings borders illegally forces …
With childhood obesity becoming epidemic in the UK, should food advertising to children be allowed to continue?
FOR: Jeremy Preston vs. Neville Rigby AGAINST
… children can be exposed to serious health risks other than passive smoking. Shouldn’t we protect them from those risks too? Dear Neville, I don’t think that … than 10 years ago. These children’s health risks are huge. Preventing the rise of obesity …
Under new planning rules, Travellers and Gypsies must be able to prove they are actually traveling to qualify for limited planning benefits to create new sites. But for many, it's impossible to do that. Not only to remain in employment, or education - but precisely because there are so few sites, that they are unable to travel.
… Travellers themselves contend daily with the risk of criminalisation and eviction, as well … Travellers contend daily with the risk of criminalisation and eviction, as well …
Remarks by Bernie Sanders that climate change is a major driver of global instability and terror, he was mocked by Republican Presidential contenders. But the argument is a familiar one to the CIA and the Department of Defense, which has itself released strong warnings on the issue. Is it time the GOP got with the beat?
… humanitarian crises and instability risks.' The Department of Defense says that climate change 'poses immediate risks to US national security' and has the …
When a group calling itself Sense About Science launched its 'Science for celebrities' pamphlet in the national media last month, it was supposed to look like the long-overdue backlash of a normally passive science community to years of misinformation from ill-informed celebrities.
… of any kind of positive reform that might risk prolonging the system they hate. They … of its ‘narrow’ membership. ‘It runs the risk,’ it said, ‘of being seen to be fuelled …
Campaigns officer for WWF UK, Ian Duff, reflects on his participation in this year's Climate Camp and the relevance of civil disobedience in today's climate change campaign
… where they hung their banner ‘Climate Risk’. So whilst neither boat exactly achieved … issue is so urgent that we are willing to risk arrest to expose hypocrisy in government …
Rewilding is now firmly on the agenda, writes Paul Jepson, and that brings a huge opportunity to re-invigorate conservation. But we must look to creating new functional ecosystems for the future, rather than trying to recreate a lost and perhaps imagined past.
… new habitats. However the movement around it risks becoming trapped by its own reverence of …