This month wood pellet mills in the southern US that supply the UK's Drax power station were awarded 'sustainability' certificates under a voluntary scheme governed entirely by energy companies. The certificates provide no credible guarantee that the fuel does not come from ecologically valuable natural forests and wetlands, clear-cut and replaced by industrial plantations.
… Are the UK 'biomass sustainability standards' legitimising forest … August 2016 Comment Biofuels Forests Energy Sustainability Corporations UK USA … the UK's Drax power station were awarded 'sustainability' certificates under a voluntary …
Who and what are biofuel sustainability standards designed to benefit? They are meant to safeguard forests and communities, writes Almuth Ernsting - but their real purpose is to protect the biofuel industry ...
… Biofuel and biomass 'sustainability standards' are pure greenwash … Who and what are biofuel sustainability standards designed to benefit? … is to protect the biofuel industry ... Sustainability standards are our Government's …
Hunter Lovins is on a mission, writes Sophie Morlin-Yron: to put the transformational technologies we already have to work for the benefit of people and business - and to re-create the economy so it's no longer a machine for polluting the planet and devouring natural resources, but a mechanism for building and sustaining natural and human capital.
… on a god damn airplane!" Lovins has been in sustainability since 1972. She has won numerous awards, such as the European Sustainability Pioneer award and the Right … went on vacation?" she asks the audience of sustainability professionals from around the …
A salmon fishing cooperative in the Pacific Northwest draws on indigenous practices and state of the art technology to be among the world's most sustainable and selective fisheries, writes Kevin Bailey. With its clean harvesting techniques, minmimal bycatch, 99% survival rates for released fish, renewable energy supply and efficient supply chain, it sets a standard for all to follow.
… News Fishing Oceans Indigenous Peoples USA Sustainability lwi-07-cut.jpg A salmon fishing …
A 'Friend of the Sea' Dutch-owned trawler certified to supply 'sustainably caught' shrimp to the US and EU was arrested in Liberia after operating in an an area reserved for artisanal fishers, writes Peter Hammarstedt. The vessel, which had no licence and lacked the turtle excluders required by law, was discovered by the crew of Sea Shepherd's 'Bob Barker' in a joint mission with the Liberian Coast Guard to clamp down on rampant illegal fishing.
Sea Shepherd helps arrest 'sustainable' shrimp trawler for illegal fishing in Liberian waters Peter Hammarstedt Sea Shepherd | 26th May 2017 Activism Oceans Fishing Regulation Liberia USA EU …
A pilot study of American mothers' milk has found levels of the herbicide glyphosate around 1,000 times higher than allowed in European drinking water. Campaigners are demanding a ban on the use of glyphosate on food crops.
Glyphosate found in breast milk The Ecologist | 28th April 2014 News Food Farming Water Regulation USA EU mothers-milk-cut.jpg A pilot study of American mothers' milk has found levels of the …
An elite group of aid donors and agribusiness corporations met in London this week to plan the takeover of Africa's seeds, writes Ian Fitzpatrick, replacing traditional seed breeding and saving by small farmers with a corporate model of privatized, 'improved', patented, genetically uniform and hybrid seeds in a profit-driven market.
Carving up Africa - aid donors and agribusiness plot the great seed privatization Ian Fitzpatrick Oliver Tickell | 26th March 2015 News Africa Food Farming Corporations Seeds USA UK …
Among Cuba's greatest achievements is its organic farming sector, writes Miguel Altieri. Developed in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, small agroecological farms now employ 300,000 campesinos and provide an abundance of healthy fruit and vegetables. But now US food and agribusiness corporations are eyeing up a multi-billion dollar business opportunity.
Cuba's sustainable agriculture at risk in US diplomatic thaw Miguel Altieri University of California Berkeley | 1st April 2016 News Food Farming CUMA USA Trade Agroecology havana-market-cut.jpg Among …
Greece is Europe's sandbox for the neoliberal free-for-all to follow if the EU and the US sign off on the TTIP trade and investment treaty, writes Pavlos Georgiadis. The termination of public services, the cut-price sell-off of public assets, the dismantling of environmental protection, the democratic closedown, the rule of corporations and finance capital ... all coming your way soon.
Greece is the testing ground for the TTIP era of corporate rule Pavlos Georgiadis Sustainable Food Trust | 5th November 2015 News Trade Finance EU USA Greece Corporations greece-cut.jpg Greece is …
Contrary to arguments advanced in a recent Ecologist article, the biomass industry supplying the Drax power station in North Yorkshire is a model of sustainability, writes Nina Skorupska, and delivers genuine, substantial emissions reductions compared to coal.
… station in North Yorkshire is a model of sustainability, writes Nina Skorupska, and … embraces rigorous external scrutiny of its sustainability practices, and demonstrates … larger than that which is in the UK. Sustainability regulation strictly prohibits …
The image of the rancher in the rugged West is one of self-sufficiency and a tough defiance of government, writes George Wuerthner. But the truth is that ranchers, especially those using federal land, depend on a host of generous subsidies, both economic and ecological.
We must rid the American West of 'welfare ranching' George Wuerthner | 22nd June 2014 Activism USA Farming Commons Natural World Water grand-view-ranch-cut.jpg The image of the rancher in the rugged …
The cowboys and Indians are still there but there’s more to America’s 48th state than reliving the glory days of the Wild West. Home to seven different ecosystems, it is leading the way in conservation and green tourism. Ruth Styles went to find out more
… Canyon,’ enthuses the railway’s director of sustainability, Morgan O’Connor. ‘There was a … farm with a distinctly modern approach to sustainability. Reached via a long dusty track …
Japan is living under the shadow of US militarism, write Taisuke Komatsu & Semanur Karaman - and most of all in Okinawa, the nation's southernmost archipelago. Against overwhelming local opposition but backed by Japan's government, the US is building a new military base that is seizing land and threatens the unique ecology of Oura Bay with its seagrass beds, dugongs and coral reefs.
70 years after Hiroshima, Okinawa's long resistance to US military occupation Taisuke Komatsu Semanur Karaman | 6th August 2015 News War Military Japan Land Grabs USA oura-bay-exercise-cut.jpg Japan …
A small fishing community in Mexico's Baja California is playing involuntary host to a gigantic tourism and real estate development, writes Viviane Mahieux. And while the branding of the Tres Santos resort is all about mindfulness, ecology and sustainability, the reality is one of big money, high level politics, and the unaccountable deployment of state violence against those who dare oppose it.
… resort is all about mindfulness, ecology and sustainability, the reality is one of big …
Fed up with being gouged by profit-driven corporations, let down by state neglect and under-investment, urban communities across the US are taking control of local services like public transport, energy, water, internet and telecoms, writes Max Holleran - bringing better service, lower prices and clean energy.
… or to control levels of environmental sustainability. This disempowerment of US … of municipal services and their ecological sustainability, cities have started to fight …
The over-enrichment of waters and ecosystems with waste nutrients from industrial corn farming is one of America's greatest environmental problems, writes Donald Scavia. And it's a problem that can be solved - by eating less meat and sugar, by adopting rational energy policies, and by demanding sustainably-grown food.
… Donald Scavia is Graham Professor of Sustainability at the University of Michigan. …
Agroecology is key to retaking control over food, farming and land from the 'monstrous machine' of agribusiness, biotech, big finance and 'free trade', writes Colin Todhunter, as it represents a truly viable alternative to agriculture for corporate profit. But such are the powers ranged against the world's small farmers that it must be supported by a broad-based, global people's movement.
… Green revolution - deconstructing farm sustainability In an open letter written in …
The Southern Resident Orcas of Puget Sound have plenty of problems, writes Kathleen Haase. But as the film 'Fragile Waters' makes clear, there's a common thread: us. Whether it's over-fishing Chinook salmon or polluting the ocean with toxic chemicals, we are driving them to extinction - and if we don't soon mend our ways, it will be too late.
'Fragile Waters': we must stop starving Southern Resident Orcas to extinction Kathleen Haase | 24th November 2015 Reviews Cetaceans Films Extinction Fishing Oceans USA Toxics orca-cut.jpg The …
There's quite a fashion now for creating enormous ocean nature reserves, write Peter J S Jones & Elizabeth De Santo. The UK kicked off the trend last year at Pitcairn Island, and now the US has followed up with a 1.5m sq.km reserve around Hawaii. But while these look like big conservation gains, the more serious task is to manage sustainably the intensely exploited seas close to home.
Vast remote ‘marine protected areas’ - a diversion from the real job? Peter J S Jones Elizabeth De Santo | 8th September 2016 News Oceans Conservation Fishing USA UK …
According to Trish Riley, it’s absurd to think that individuals can save the planet - only big business has the clout to make a real difference. Utter nonsense or perfectly sensible? Jeff Holman caught up with her to find out
… the model forever. We’ve got to move toward sustainability or forget it.’ JH: What effect … is one big topic; to me, it’s the circle of sustainability. That is water, energy, air, …
Today UK campaigners against burning biomass for power will deliver a 110,000 signature petition to DECC to protest at government subsidies for the practice. But in this 'Right of Reply' article Matthew Rivers, chairman of Drax Biomass, argues that biomass combustion is sustainable, benign, and helps to conserve forests worldwide.
Biomass for energy is the common sense option Matthew Rivers | 5th June 2015 Comment Forests USA Canada UK Biofuels Energy Renewables trees-cut.jpg Today UK campaigners against burning biomass for …
Precious World Heritage Sites that protect vital biodiversity and human cultures are at risk from oil decelopment and other industries. Under threat are not just nature, wildlife, land and water but the 11 million people who depend on the 114 sites' environmental quality for their livelihoods.
Industrial expansion threatens half of natural World Heritage Sites The Ecologist | 6th April 2016 News Conservation Energy Oil Mining Development Indigenous Peoples Oceans China USA Belize Malawi …
Ample peer-reviewed science says that the number one threat to condor survival is lead poisoning from eating bullets and pellets in carcasses, reports Dawn Starin. But the powerful NRA is fighting hard against bans on lead ammunition.
Eat lead! Condor survival versus National Rifle Association Dawn Starin | 7th July 2014 News Natural World Birds Toxics Hunting USA Mexico condors-grand-canyon-derek-bruff-cut.jpg Ample peer-reviewed …
Trump's nationalist, populist and anti-science rhetoric on fracking has shifted the debate to the right, endangering the environment and public health.
… citing “scientific uncertainty” regarding its sustainability. However, these bans and … by redefining “scientific uncertainties” and “sustainability”. World leaders and Trump's …