The fracking boom has caused massive vegetation loss over North America's rangelands, writes Tim Radford, as 3 million hectares have been occupied by oil and gas infrastructure and 34 billion cubic metres of water have been pumped from semi-arid ecosystems.
Future dustbowl? Fracking ravages Great Plains land and water Tim Radford | 4th May 2015 News Fossil Fuels Fracking Oil USA Water Ecology bakken-oil-cut.jpg The fracking boom has caused massive …
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.
… , where the vast majority of the nation's vegetables and fruits are grown, irrigated … feed ourselves is surprisingly small. All the vegetables grown in this country are produced … - any increase in acres devoted to grains and vegetables would easily be counter balanced by …
Thanks to cheap water and plentiful sunshine, California grows most of the US's fruit, vegetables and nuts, writes Joshua Frank. But with the drought looking ever more permanent, the $40 billion industry is facing a terminal crisis. It's only a matter of time before we have to rely on local produce - so let's make a start now!
… California grows most of the US's fruit, vegetables and nuts, writes Joshua Frank. But … If you've purchased any fresh fruit, nuts or vegetables recently there's nearly a 50% … is grown locally because purchasing fruit and vegetables from California will slowly …
Cuba is a global exemplar of organic, agroecological farming, taking place on broad swathes of land in and around its cities, write Julia Wright & Emily Morris. These farms cover 14% of the country's agricultural land, employ 350,000 people, and produce half the country's fruit and vegetables. But can they survive exposure to US agribusiness?
… and produce half the country's fruit and vegetables. But can they survive exposure to … is limited by space and mainly provides salad vegetables, some fruits, small animals and … a five-fold rise in consumption of fresh vegetables between 1997 and 2013. The aim is …
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.
… and provide an abundance of healthy fruit and vegetables. But now US food and agribusiness … and producing more than 1.5 million tons of vegetables. The most productive urban farms … supply 50% to 70% or more of all the fresh vegetables consumed in cities such as Havana …
The ancestors of America's Indians lived in Beringia - the land exposed during the last ice age that is now the Bering Strait - for millennia, genetic studies have determined. Scott Armstrong Elias reports.
First Americans lived on Beringia for thousands of years Scott Armstrong Elias | 7th March 2014 Comment Indigenous Peoples Climate Change USA Canada Siberia qamutik.png The ancestors of America's …
Why is the dairy industry joining in the legal action against Vermont's GMO labeling law? Could it be because a fifth of US 'cheese' can be vegetable oil and starch from GMO crops, asks Alexis Baden-Mayer - and even more of a 'frozen dairy snack' or 'processed cheese food'?
Why does the dairy industry oppose GMO labels? Alexis Baden-Mayer Organic Consumers Association | 12th February 2015 Comment Food Farming USA GMOs Health triple-cheese-pizza.jpg Why is the dairy …
The US EPA has approved new GMO corn and soybean varieties resistant to both glyphosate and 2,4-D, writes Jim Goodman - and the highly toxic herbicide mix itself. In this latest escalation of the chemical war against nature there is one clear winner - Dow AgroSciences. But everyone else loses - farmers, consumers and our increasingly endangered wildlife.
… percent reduction of the marketable fruit and vegetables " on farms close to those where it … melons, sweet potatoes, beans, and other vegetables - are highly susceptible to 2,4-D … strip between their crops and the neighbors' vegetables. But the guy with the chemicals can …
Bee 'colony collapse disorder' cannot be ended by easy technofixes, writes Allan Stromfeldt Christensen. The real problem is the systematic abuse of bees in vast industrial monocultures, as they are trucked or flown thousands of miles from one farm to the next, treated with insecticides and antibiotics, and fed on 'junk food'.
… food we eat, be it directly by pollinating vegetables, fruit, and nut trees, or by …
Jeju, South Korea's 'island of peace' is the site of an extraordinary people's struggle against the construction of a new billion-dollar naval base destined to support the US's military posturing towards China and North Korea, writes Medea Benjamin. And even now, after eight years of peaceful resistance, the campaigning spirit is burning strong and bright.
… fantastic, healthy meals with heaps of fresh vegetables and homemade kimchi. Love at first …
Only four countries opposed a UN Resolution on 'depleted uranium' munitions: the USA, UK, France and Israel, all nuclear WMD states whose use of DU leaves battle fields contaminated with toxic, radioactive residues for millennia into the future. The overwhelming support for the Resolution puts the WMD states on notice - DU munitions are no longer acceptable.
UN Resolution warns nuclear WMD states: end is nigh for DU munitions John LaForge | 10th November 2014 Comment War WMD Nuclear Health Toxics USA UK Un highway-of-death-cut.jpg Only four countries …
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.
… more perishable foods, particularly fruit and vegetables. He added that the overweight and …
The same pattern of severe droughts that extinguished the Ancient Pueblo culture of the southwest US in the 13th century will come back with a vengeance later this century as climate warms and dries, writes Tim Radford. And it could have precisely the same effect on the region's modern-day residents.
Southwest USA faces long term 'megadroughts' this century Tim Radford Oliver Tickell | 17th February 2015 News Climate Change Water USA mesaverde_cliffpalace-cut.jpg The same pattern of severe …
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 Almuth Ernsting | 10th March 2014 Comment Biofuel USA UK EU Climate Change Energy da-logsloadingforenviva.png Who and what are …
When the US's biggest ever coal ash spill buried 300 acres of waterfront property in a white, middle class suburb, the waste was treated as a toxic hazard. But by the time it reached Uniontown, a black community in Alabama, that was all forgotten. Now they are fighting back.
Alabama - a community fights toxic waste, discrimination Oliver Tickell | 20th August 2014 News Waste Toxics USA Fossil Fuels Coal coal-ash-stinks-cut.jpg When the US's biggest ever coal ash spill …
Cornell student Robert Schooler was shocked at the pro-GMO propaganda emanating from Cornell University and it's Gates-funded 'Alliance for Science'. But rather than just complain about it, he decided to fight back - with his popular 'GMOWTF' website and an important lecture series this fall by GMO experts on the Cornell campus - the ones that Cornell has been ignoring for years.
Pro-GMO propaganda at Cornell University - a student fights back Robert Schooler | 4th August 2016 Activism GMOs Education Academia USA Science gates-hall-cut.jpg Cornell student Robert Schooler was …
In California, water no longer runs to the sea - it runs towards money, writes Will Parrish. Most of the state's water is already controlled by agribusiness elites. Now, backed by politicians, they are planning to grab the little that's left, leaving nature and indigenous communities high and dry.
… to irrigate half the nation's fruits and vegetables. It's really that simple." A …
The mighty Grocery Manufacturers Association is to sue Vermont for making food companies label GMOs in their products. Ronnie Cummins calls on all concerned consumers to boycott GMA companies and products - starting with their 'traitor brands' ...
… around whole foods, especially raw fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, (coconut oil, …
After 20 years of oil spills, deforestation, waste dumping and ill health, farmers and indigenous people in the the Ecuadorian Amazon have been fighting the Chevron-Texaco corporation. But despite its three times conviction and a $9.5 billion damages award to the victims, the oil giant looks no closer to making good its damage.
Ecocide in the Amazon - Chevron evades $9.5bn restitution order Orlan Cazorla Miriam Gartor | 17th July 2015 News Oil Waste Pollution Ecuador Indigenous Peoples Corporations Law USA Health …
California has responded to the drought by rationing water, with $500 fines for domestic 'water wasters', writes Evan Blake. But agribusiness and water-intensive industries like fracking remain untouched by the restrictions, even though they consume over 90% of the state's water.
California drought: agribusiness, fracking untouched by water rationing Evan Blake | 5th April 2015 News Water USA Corporations Farming Oil Gas Regulation ca-salad-bowl-cut.jpg California has …
Those opposed to the mass release of GM crops and foods inadequately tested for health and ecological safety are routinely accused of being anti-science, writes Elizabeth Henderson. But it's the GM corporations and their academic allies that are suppressing scientific research, and organic farmers that are building alliances with independent scientists for a future of safe, healthy food.
… (400,000 lbs. each); and a variety of fruits, vegetables and nuts." Since 1974, farmers have …
Forest fires are invariably portrayed as fiercely destructive environmental calamities. But for the native forests of the American West, large fires are essential to ecological renewal. Contrary to the mantras of logging companies and forest service officials, we suppress them at our peril.
Let the forests burn - the ecology depends on it! Monica L. Bond Chad T. Hansen Dominick A. Dellasala | 12th May 2014 Activism Forests USA Ecology forest-fire-2-cut.jpg Forest fires are invariably …
A orchard garden has taken root on a long-vacant lot in an economically and racially divided neighborhood of Boston, writes Orion Kriegman. In the making it has united a community, helped to heal deep scars of violence, and inspired a wider reclamation of the urban commons.
Making it happen - a community orchard in downtown Boston Orion Kriegman | 7th November 2014 Ethical Living Commons Cities USA Farming sunflower-cut.jpg A orchard garden has taken root on a …
Moms Across America founder Zen Honeycutt took on Monsanto chief Hugh Grant at the company's Annual General Meeting - and won, winning 53% of the vote on a call for Monsanto to reform its practices and safeguard the health of millions of children exposed to its toxic products - and Roundup in particular. In her own words, this is what took place ...
… (fish and veggies) both a protein and vegetables. Without toxic chemicals and …