Instead of Trying to Feed the World, Let’s Help It Feed Itself
We know about the ecological problems that follow when farmers are asked to “feed the world.” What would happen if they just tried to feed their neighbors instead?
Environment
Largest Climate Rally in U.S. History Comes to Washington
What does it sound like when 40,000 people raise their voices for climate justice at once?
Edible Insects: Gross-Out or Global Food Solution?
Cultural attitudes toward food tend to change slowly. But as we struggle to feed a growing population, insects present a remarkably plentiful source of nutrition.
Arrests in Washington Signal Increasing Urgency on Keystone Pipeline
Forty-eight leaders of environmentalist groups such as the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and 350.org were arrested today while participating in civil disobedience. They were demanding that President Barack Obama stop construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Oakland Youth Swap Fast Food for Fresh Food
Video: A group of young people in West Oakland are taking control of what they eat and using pedal power to bring local groceries to produce-strapped communities.
Can Carbon-Mopping “Artificial Trees” Slow Climate Crisis?
Two scientists at Columbia University believe that carbon-mopping machines modeled after trees could sequester enough carbon from the atmosphere to slow global warming. But can we produce them quickly (and cheaply) enough for the plan to work?
People We Love
Designing nonviolent ways for humans and animals to live in harmony—in the city.
People We Love: Asa Needle
Leading teenagers in the clean-up of their hometown, Worcester, Mass.
People We Love: Leia Lewis Henderson
Nurturing African-American culture through gardening.
What’s Cheaper than Solar, Slashes Carbon Emissions, and Creates Jobs in Kentucky?
Having an energy-efficient home saves the owners money, but they often procrastinate on improvements. When energy companies in Kansas and Kentucky figured out a way to sweeten the deal, the results brought good news for homeowners, contractors, and for the planet.
12 Steps to Create a Backyard Permaculture
Author Peter Bane grew more than 150 species on less than 2,000 square feet. Here are 12 steps to get you there.
People We Love: Sarah Bergmann
Creating a pollination pathway for urban bees.
Film Review: Ken Burns’ Dust Bowl
The new documentary will bring you inside one of the worst manmade disasters of all time in powerful detail.
Care about Your Food? Then Care about Your Farmworkers Too
It’s organic. It’s local. But did the workers who picked it have health insurance?
You Are Where You Live
How the sky, rain, geography, and cultures of our place shape us.
Students to Colleges: Take Our Money Out of Dirty Energy
A divestment campaign led by students is changing the national conversation about energy, creating a market for sustainable stocks, and linking up students with communities facing off against the fossil fuel industry.
Food or Ethanol? Why Farmers Shouldn’t Give in to Monocrops
It’s a good time to be in farming if you like to grow corn. It’s a tough time if you see yourself as a steward of the land. Shannon Hayes on why growers pressured by corn-heavy markets should hold out for crops that nourish the Earth.
What India Taught Me About How to End Hunger
Back in the ’60s, Frances Moore Lappé realized that hunger is caused by a scarcity of democracy, not food. Then, a collective of courageous women farmers showed her how to change that.
How President Obama Can Turn Climate Speech Into Action
Many were surprised to hear President Barack Obama take up climate change at today’s inaugural address. Here are a few ways the president can seize the moment and transform our approach to climate action.
Book Review: Inside Will Allen’s Good Food Revolution
Like growing vegetables from seed to harvest, overhauling the country's food system takes time.
Welcome to Blockadia!
The corporate push to construct tar-sands pipelines is transforming the environmental movement across North America by increasing the involvement of local residents and normalizing the use of direct action.
Why Post-Sandy America Needs State Banks More than Ever
If we the people want the sort of security in emergencies that is available to the owners of Wall Street banks, we need to own some banks ourselves.
Want Sustainable Fish? Barn-Raised
Aquaponics takes advantage of nature’s processes to fill Americans’ growing appetite for fish—without overfishing or destructive farming.
A Living Sewage Treatment Plant? These People Grew One
Every flush of a standard toilet creates a several-gallon problem. Instead of wasting water, plants and animals can transform human waste into water rated pure enough to drink.
Invasive Species: If You Can’t Beat ’em, Eat ’em
Species like green crabs, feral pigs, snakeheads, and zebra mussels cost $120 billion a year in damage. For a cheaper alternative, try eating them instead.
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