Climate Change is Not a Spectator Sport.
As recently as a half century ago, people in the Western world seldom thought about water; how fragile a resource it was, and how quickly it might become a major stumbling block not merely to development but even to preserving human life. People in Africa have always had a sense ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in March 2011, about Industry & Business, Poverty & Development, Water
Fishermen in Bangladesh are having an exceptional season. The native fish, Hilsa, which normally stays out in the Indian Ocean or the Bay of Bengal in the winter, is swarming along the coastal rivers and estuaries of this small country, and it’s only February. Trouble is, February is the ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in February 2011, about Children and Families, Climate Change, Environment & Wildlife, Environmental Disasters, Food, Lifestyle & Behavior, Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans, Water
Every time the conversation about “green” energy comes up, the inevitable cohort of natural-gas enthusiasts shows up, ready to tout the benefits of this abundant (at least in the United States) source of energy. Some of the arguments in favor include: it burns more cleanly than coal or oil; it ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in February 2011, about Climate Change, Coal & Oil, Consumerism, Earth, Soil, & Landscape, Finance & Money, Green energy, Industry & Business, Lifestyle & Behavior (5 comments)
For many decades, the cutting edge of food production has lain with finding ever better and more effective pesticides to prevent crops being decimated before they can be sold or bartered. This has been particularly true in the industrialized world (the United States, Europe, and Australia, for instance), where mega ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in February 2011, about Agriculture & Food, Children and Families, Consumerism, Earth, Soil, & Landscape, Food, Lifestyle & Behavior, Poverty & Development
Imagine, for a moment, that you are the daughter of a nomadic Somali herder who travels from place to place, season to season, finding fresh grassland and sweet water for his flock. He is one of five to seven males representing equally as many families that travel together, forming a ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in February 2011, about Children and Families, Climate Change, Education, Environmental Disasters, Lifestyle & Behavior, Poverty & Development, Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans, Water, Weather
On Tuesday, January 11, The Economist opened a public debate on restricting the growth of cities. As one of the more reputable online resources, Economist attempted to establish whether restricting growth would improve the quality of life, and why. It is a valid inquiry, defended by Paul James and opposed ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in January 2011, about Children and Families, Climate Change, Consumerism, Design, Earth, Soil, & Landscape, Economics, Finance & Money, Industry & Business, Lifestyle & Behavior, Politics & Government, Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans, Smart Growth
Surprising and disturbing news coming out of China indicates that the nation is having difficulty feeding its growing population. The news is surprising for several reasons. First, China has a one-child rule in place, so the population shouldn’t be rising that fast (or so one would think). Second, China ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in January 2011, about Action, Protest, & Activism, Agriculture & Food, Children and Families, Climate Change, Finance & Money, Food, Industry & Business, Lifestyle & Behavior, Politics & Government, Population (2 comments)
In Australia, flash floods have left 30 people dead, more than 43 missing, more than £3.1 billion ($4.9 billion U.S.) in damage, and an estimated 14,000 homeless. This is not to mention the literally thousands of miles of road literally washed away, the downed power and ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in January 2011, about Children and Families, Climate Change, Earth, Soil, & Landscape, Environment & Wildlife, Environmental Disasters, Lifestyle & Behavior, Politics & Government, Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans, Water, Weather
Your new “McMansion” is 10,000 square feet of triple-pane, low-e, argon gas-filled windows, R-35 walls, R-60 ceilings, a solar thermal hot water system, a solar photovoltaic 10 kilowatt energy system, and a water reclamation system that reuses “greywater” for ornamental plantings around the exterior. But is it “green”? Experts ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in January 2011, about Architecture, Children and Families, Climate Change, Consumerism, Design, Industry & Business, Lifestyle & Behavior (2 comments)
On Thursday, December 16, 2010, the United Nations launched its Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification (UNDDD). The initiative is retroactive, running from January of 2010 to December of 2020, and aims at increasing global awareness of the nearly one billion humans in 100 countries who are either ... keep reading
Written by Jeanne Roberts in January 2011, about Agriculture & Food, Children and Families, Climate Change, Earth, Soil, & Landscape, Environmental Disasters, Industry & Business, Lifestyle & Behavior, Poverty & Development, Water, Weather (2 comments)
