Recently in Environmental Issues Category

Attention Whole Foods Shoppers ~ Robert Paarlberg - Foreign Policy

In this article, published in June 2010, Robert Paarlberg, Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College, argues against the assumption that organic foods are better for the planet and for the world's population. He writes, "In Europe and the United States, a new line of thinking has emerged in elite circles that opposes bringing improved seeds and fertilizers to traditional farmers and opposes linking those farmers more closely to international markets. Influential food writers, advocates, and celebrity restaurant owners are repeating the mantra that "sustainable food" in the future must be organic, local, and slow. But guess what: Rural Africa already has such a system, and it doesn't work." Does Paalberg raise some good points? How convincing is Paalberg's argument, in your opinion?  

This Time Is Different ~ Thomas Friedman - The New York Times

Who is really to blame for the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?  Columnist and well known author, Thomas Friedman, turns to his friend, Mark Mykleby, for the answer. Mykleby writes, "This isn't BP's or Transocean's fault. It's not the government's fault. It's my fault. I'm the one to blame and I'm sorry. It's my fault because I haven't digested the world's in-your-face hints that maybe I ought to think about the future and change the unsustainable way I live my life." Does Mykleby make a good point, in your opinion? Read more in Friedman's June 11^th, 2010 op-  ed piece.  

Water-Related Conflicts Set to Escalate

ScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 2010) -- Population growth, urbanisation, increasing pollution, soil erosion and climate variations are all reflected in the management and adequacy of the world's waters. The situation is particularly difficult in many developing countries, where there are growing concerns over escalating water crises and even outright water conflicts between countries and regions.

Can Wind Power Get Up to Speed?

But for all the green talk and growth in wind power -- it accounted for 42% of all new electricity generation added to the U.S. grid last year -- wind still makes up less than 3% of America's total electricity generation. Even at current rates of growth, that figure is unlikely to change soon. The question is, Will wind ever produce enough power to satisfy America's energy needs?

 
Watch Video: The Truth About Wind Power (1:37 min)

An Animal's Place ~ Michael Pollan - The New York Times Magazine

Author, activist, and professor of journalism at the University of California, Michael Pollan, has written a voluminous collection of articles and books on agricultural sustainability and the dangers of modern day food production. In his 2002 essay, titled, "An Animal's Place," Pollan argues that meat eating has become an ethical issue in the face of what are now very common, but undeniably brutal, farming practices. He writes, "The industrialization-and dehumanization-of American animal farming is a relatively new, evitable and local phenomenon: no other country raises and slaughters its food animals quite as intensively or as brutally as we do." In this article, Pollan struggles to find an ethical solution in which his love of meat can coexist with his conscience.