While U.S. legislators and journalists focus their attention on the safety and financial implications of Toyota’s recall—now expected to cost more than $5 billion over the next year—broader auto trends indicate that the industry as a whole is in trouble. Global production of cars and light trucks dropped 13 percent in 2009, marking [...]
If the world’s cities focus on using renewable energy and make it easy for their citizens to walk and bike to work instead of driving, it will go a long way towards shifting the planet’s culture towards one of sustainability. But if these urban centers really want to have a lasting impact, this is only [...]
Jan Nijhoff, program coordinator of Michigan State University’s COMESA program. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)
This is the first in a two-part series about my visit with Jan Nijhoff, who works with the Common Market for Eastern and South Africa (COMESA) and Michigan State University in Lusaka, Zambia.
Jan Nijhoff would make a good professor. As I [...]
With the outcome of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 relatively positive with lower than expected jobs created but job losses slowing and GDP no longer shrinking and even growing again, attention is shifting to the federal budget proposed by President Obama which, in response to the activities of the past year, would [...]
Danielle Nierenberg (second from right) meeting with representatives from Care in Zambia. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)
Care International’s work in Zambia has two main goals: increase the production of staple crops and improve farmers’ access to agricultural inputs, such as seeds and fertilizers.
But instead of giving away bags of seed and fertilizers to farmers, Care is [...]
Dragon Fruit (photo credit:Serious Eats)
By Fred Bahnson
When government extension agents first came to Juan Bautista’s Yucatan village of Chun-Yah, a tiny pueblo in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, they told him he should start growing pitaya, also known as dragonfruit. Originating in Meso-America, this cactus is now cultivated in parts of Asia, Australia, and [...]
Sigh. I think this video stands alone. Children in this class (and America in general, if this is any representation) don’t know their vegetables. This bodes poorly not only for the future of our children, but for our species and the planet.
Jamie Oliver has been a leading voice in the UK working to incorporate healthy [...]
“Meet the Nourishing the Planet Advisory Group” is a regular series where we profile advisors of the Nourishing the Planet project. This week, we’re featuring Sue Edwards, who is the Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD).
Sue Edwards (right) with Hailu Araya, Team Leader for the Local Rural Communities Development Program at ISD.
Name: Sue [...]
Ecobuild is a green building trade fair happening in London this week
Surveying the acres of exhibits at the Ecobuild 2010 green building trade fair in London this week, not to mention the tens of thousands of people mobbing them, I surprised myself with the feeling I wanted to go shopping.
I traveled here to deliver a [...]
Multiple Use Water System in Nepal. (Photo: IDE)
In sub-Saharan Africa, improved access to water means more than simply basic survival for families dependent on agriculture for both food and income. It means the difference between barely scraping by and eating balanced meals, affording education, and owning a home.
In Zambia, the majority of children drop out [...]
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