Gujarat government has launched an e-governance pilot initiative called ‘Gujarat Swarnim Gram E-Broadcast Project’ in the villages of Amreli.  Under this project dubbed as “the first experiment of mass communication on village…

A new media boot camp will be held later this month a day before the Mekong Tourism Forum in Pakse, Champasak, Laos. The event will gather travel bloggers who are expected to learn more about the tourism potential of the Mekong region. Written by Mong Palatino · comments (0) Share:...

The House of Opium in Thailand features the history of opium and its trade in The Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia. It also has a collection of materials which celebrate the culture of north Thailand. Written by Mong Palatino · comments (0) Share: facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon...

The website of Singapore's National Art Gallery features interactive games and other educational resources to teach children and the general public about art. Written by Mong Palatino · comments (0) Share: facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Mexican citizens are on alert over a reform to the National Security Law. After much pressure, the project is now on hold. According to human right groups, political annalists, lawyers and even some politicians, the reform would legalize the abuses of the army against civilians in the name of national security.

Anilnetto links to an article published by Aliran about the amount needed to wipe out poverty in Sarawak, Malaysia. Written by Mong Palatino · comments (0) Share: facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Independent media network The Democratic Voice of Burma reports that 17 of its video journalists are under detention in Myanmar. Some are serving sentences of 27 years for reporting about the real situation inside Myanmar. Written by Mong Palatino · comments (0) Share: facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon...

Created By WellHome Energy Audits and Insulation Take a looksy at this cute little chart, if only to see how little progress there's been in fuel efficiency over the last 100 years. As you can see, we figured out how to produce cars that get 40 or so mpg some 60 years ago. And only in the last few years have we really started improving on that....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Carl Pope, the chairman of the Sierra Club, has a column over at Common Dreams taking aim at the myriad climate skeptic politicians who fail to see the link between extreme weather events like the Texas wildfires and more severe storms and global warming.Pope points out that these climate-related disasters are already hugely costly, and will only get more expensive -- yet leaders continue to deny global warming exists, then ask for federal assistance when the extreme weather events it makes more likely to occur rock their states. It's a good example of Read the full story on TreeHugger

It was early in the morning, when the Imams had just finished their morning calls to prayer. Our driver, Raffa — wearing a smile on his face — waited in front of the apartment building where I was staying in Cairo, Egypt to start the 900-mile-long road trip to Benghazi, Libya.

Struggling with turning the few words I knew of Arabic into sentences, we managed to exchange greetings. It was then when I realized that the Arabic that I knew — limited to reading the Quran and reciting the prayers that my mother had taught me — was not quite helpful in the conversation!

"How is it getting across the border, Raffa?" I asked.

"Americans are welcomed here, they are great, no problem at all," he answered. "You give me your passport, and I will take care of everything."

He was used to traveling with a dozen of my American colleagues over the last few weeks and — with my Banana Republic t-shirt and Columbia brand vest with Mercy Corps’ logo — he had concluded that I was also an American. I held my breath for a while and said, "Well, I live in the U.S., but I don’t have an American passport — in fact, I am an Afghan."

"Oh, Afghani, ok, ok, ok," Raffa muttered. There was silence for a while and then, as we rumbled over rough patches in the road, he said, "It will be fine, Inshallah."

"Yes, I hope so too," I said. "But I have a U.S Government-issued travel document as well. It looks like a passport."

Raffa flipped through the pages — yes, while driving — and said, "Well, this is good. Let’s use this one." I agreed that it might make things easier than using my hand-written Afghan passport.

The border looked much more organized than I had expected — certainly so much better than the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Chaman that I used to cross every two weeks when I started working for Mercy Corps in 2002. Having experienced the worst proved to be of help here: this border would feel like no hassle.

We drove into the immigration area on the Egyptian side of the border — a place packed with tents and plastic-sheet structures that were being used as shelters by migrant workers who had been sitting for months, waiting to cross the border into Egypt. It took us about an hour to get an exit stamp on my Afghan passport.

"This passport now goes into your backpack — please take out the American document for Libya," Raffa suggested. I immediately followed his orders.

Getting entry into Libya was not a problem; the volunteers taking care of the immigration process flipped through my travel document and offered me a “welcome to Libya” with the few English words that I heard spoken. We crossed through about four checkpoints in a couple of miles after the border area. Each time, I heard Raffa repeating “American, journalist!” and getting a “welcome, welcome” in response every time.

Being an Afghan, I probably have a different perspective of the conflict — but nothing I saw in Libya along the way from the Egyptian border indicated any absence of the law enforcement. I give the credit to the passionate youth who are volunteering to pick up the slack in civil services, making sure things keep functioning as best they can. They are doing their jobs — mostly unpaid — with great pride, open arms and respect for the international community’s support.

After our overnight layover in the coastal town of Tobruk — and a four-hour drive through very scenic parts of Libya —we arrived in Benghazi, the country's second-largest city. There were large number of vehicles on the crowded streets and traffic intersections manned by volunteers to help direct the traffic.

Two young boys in one intersection had given up trying to facilitate traffic and were sitting on the side of the road. Raffa shouted some words through the window, presumably asking them what was going on. They seemed to be complaining that the people wouldn’t listen and follow their traffic instructions. In retrospect, they probably looked too young and innocent for the job, especially compared to their mustached predecessors.

When we finally arrived, it felt nice and relieving to be welcomed by my Mercy Corps colleagues at the front gate of the hotel where we are staying — but my hotel room would offer more than just a place to sleep. Its mirror is being used as a whiteboard, the closet as a filling cabinet and the luggage rack as a desk.

This room will be the operations office for our Emergency Response Program here in Libya for the foreseeable future — and I am glad to be here.

The death of Osama bin Laden continues to dominate the news in the U.S., yet here in Amman, Jordan — where I've spent the last few days at a regional meeting for Mercy Corps' Middle East and North Africa programs — I've seen that the Arab Spring, not bin Laden, is still strikingly at the forefront of our team members' minds. The energy of this gathering, particularly from our younger team members, has led me to hope that the death of bin Laden is just part of the end of an era in the Middle East, and that the Arab Spring will replace that old story of terrorism and intolerance for a new one of fresh and courageous aspirations for democracy and peace.

Libya remains at the center of our attention, as the conflict continues and humanitarian needs escalate. Our team has made multiple trips from Benghazi to Misrata to help facilitate with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) the evacuation of thousands of foreign nationals, deliver food assistance, survey civilian conditions, and lead coordination efforts among other groups. We've just wrapped up our fourth visit to Misrata after conducting several rounds of humanitarian assessments.

Our team reports that critical supplies including food, medical and basic hygiene items are dwindling and limited amounts of aid are arriving in the midst of continued fighting, with no clear or protected humanitarian corridor. There is an urgent need for increased medical staff and supplies to treat extensive civilian casualties. Most foreign nationals have been evacuated and the city’s remaining residents are in dire need of assistance. The Mercy Corps team will return to Misrata shortly to continue its humanitarian efforts and determine what more we can do there.

Mercy Corps doesn't have a political agenda in the Middle East, North Africa or any of the other regions we work in around the world. But we do have strong values. We believe — to borrow from Martin Luther King, Jr. — that the arc of history is long, but that it bends toward justice. We also believe that courageous, inspired individuals and local actions can accelerate the timing of this arc. Our work is to help equip and empower the people taking those actions.

Our team members, who have been working alongside communities in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank and Gaza, and are now starting up activities in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, recognize that we need to create jobs in order to meet the aspirations of the Arab Spring. The priority agenda item, next to civil liberties, is getting unemployed youth the economic opportunities they need. This will be a key focus of Mercy Corps' programs — particularly in the West Bank and Gaza, Egypt, Syria and Yemen — in the months to come.

Following the recent elections, now more than ever, it is Tea Time for Change.

AMD is on track or ahead of targets for greenhouse gas reduction, non-hazardous waste and non-manufacturing water use, but off-track of its manufacturing water target, according to the firm’s corporate responsibility report for 2010. From 2009 to 2010 the superconductor company cut GHGs tied to manufacturing, normalized by a production index, by 15.8 percent. This [...]

Tunisians are back on the streets calling for the overthrow of the government, after former Interior Minister Farhat Rajhi announced on Facebook that Tunisia continues to be run by a shadow government, headed by a friend of Ben Ali, Kamel Ltaief, among other things. And once again, protesters were faced with police brutality and repression.

Debtocracy, a documentary by Katerina Kitidi and Aris Hatzistefanou about the causes and possible solutions of the Greek debt crisis, can be viewed with the English subtitles beginning today. It's distributed under Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license and allegedly has had over 1 million views so far. This “documentary produced...

In the last several years, West Bank Palestinian villages have seen their land claimed both by Jewish settlements in the West Bank and by the security wall erected by Israel. In villages such as Nabi Saleh, Bi'lin and Ni'lin, village residents have responded by holding weekly nonviolent protests. The week after Hamas and Fatah inked their unity agreement was no exception.

UPS (NYSE:UPS) has activated its newly-created Logistics Action Teams (LAT) to support the American Red Cross's relief efforts for victims of the recent tornadoes in the southeastern United States. Additionally, the company pledged an additional $100,000 to its original $500,000 commitment to the American Red Cross and made a $50,000 contribution to the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of the Red Cross, also earmarked for emergency relief for tornado victims. LATs were established in January to leverage UPS's transportation network, logistics expertise and far-reaching employee volunteer base for the benefit of the Red Cross during natural disasters and emergencies. The LAT approach was modeled after the World Food Programme's Logistics Emergency Teams, which utilize logistics experts from private companies like UPS in times of crisis. This is the first deployment of a UPS LAT team, one of four created so far and assigned to the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter. In addition to Atlanta, UPS has trained LAT teams to work with the Red Cross in San Francisco, Houston and Louisiana. In addition to the Atlanta team's efforts, UPS also is managing emergency supply shipments to Alabama and Mississippi for the Red Cross's national office. "The UPS Logistics Action Team has been invaluable to our tornado relief operation," said Nancy Brockway, Chief Emergency Services Officer for Metro Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross. "Their expertise has helped us be more efficient in transporting meals and supplies to the families who so desperately need them." Mark Krause, a UPS operations division manager, is working directly with the Red Cross's Logistics Command Center in Atlanta. His current assignment is working with the local Red Cross Bulk Distribution Manager to help coordinate relief efforts in Georgia. Projects underway include:

• Bulk distribution of clean-up supplies to the hardest hit areas.
• Pick-up and delivery of hot meals to fixed feeding sites.
• Transportation of documents, equipment and supplies from warehouses to service delivery sites.
• Operation of daily pick-up and delivery routes between Red Cross warehouses and affected areas.

This week, UPS volunteers saw the benefits of recent donations of time and labor. On April 15 in Atlanta, the employees on their day off cut huge donated linoleum sheeting for use to protect school gymnasium floors used for shelters. That sheeting has been delivered to schools around the region. UPSers also got a "thank you" from the mayor of Geiger, Ala., who asked UPS to lend the town two 53-foot trailers to protect personal items that were retrieved after the storms. The Red Cross partnership and recent activation in the Southeast are extensions of The UPS Foundation's innovative use of logistics experts for humanitarian relief around the globe. Yuki Muramatsu, UPS Japan, has been assigned to the World Food Programme Logistics Emergency Team (LET) in Tokyo to support relief efforts for earthquake victims there. She began on March 23 and continues to serve as the LET lead coordinator, responsible for handling all incoming relief shipments for the WFP including warehouse management, customs clearance and transportation to the impacted areas. Other recent UPS humanitarian relief activities include grants to the Red Cross of Columbia (Cruz Roja Colombiana) after extensive floods and mudslides; shipments of relief supplies to refugees in Tunisia and Liberia for CARE and the UNHCR, respectively, and continued shipping of goods for Japan relief efforts. Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2011, is responsible for facilitating employee involvement in the local, national and global communities. In 2010, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $95 million in charitable giving around the world. The UPS Foundation, which has urgent humanitarian relief as part of its core focus giving areas, can be found on the web at UPS.com/foundation. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.

After three days at the 19th session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-19), I began thinking about how important women's leadership is to the tiered mission of Rio+20 also known as Earth Summit 2012 to help create a global green economy, and alleviate poverty. Over the course of the prep meetings earlier this year, and during CSD-19 this week, it became more clear to me why women need to have more control over the Earth's resources and the new technologies that can help to provide clean water, clean energy, clean air, and clean agriculture. With more power and training in the hands of women, particularly in developing countries, there will be more jobs for women, healthier communities, more education for girls, and population stabilization. With so much data that proves that women have a better track record for paying back micro-loans (even at higher rates), for protecting resources, and for investing money in their families and communities, it makes sense that empowering women is critical to the Rio+20 mission. On May 4th, the Democracy and Gender Equality Roundtable was held by UN Women, simultaneous to CSD-19. I was struck by the statistics that show how unrepresented women are in managerial roles in all walks of life, from board rooms to government positions. Worse than I thought actually. Without a seat at the table, women can have no voice. Some of the developing countries where families rule, presented another glitch. In these countries, when women are put in positions of power, it is often as a surrogate of their husbands and fathers. Questions were asked. Is this better or worse? I was reminded of the t-shirt worn by my friend, Jody Weiss, CEO of Peacemaker "Cause-metics" that reads, "I want my million bucks." The slogan refers to a factoid she offered that over the course of one’s lifetime, women in the same job make about $1 million dollars less than a comparable man. And Trish Karter, of Dancing Deer Bakery, standing on her head to show how upside down the proportion of women to men on boards is, and why turning this around can make a big difference in the world. One look at the speaker list at energy and oil conferences tells us where the power lies. As an affirmative action baby myself, I know I wouldn't have gotten my first job as a research diver for the State of California if there wasn't a quota to fill. But, as an ice diver, I was just as qualified as the male applicants. They just had never considered a woman before. I wondered about where I'd be? In the back office typing memos for my boss? On Thursday, May 5, I was invited by Osprey Orielle Lake to a Forum hosted by her Women's Earth and Climate Caucus, a gem of a side event beyond the walls of the United Nations, out there past the row of flags where women are collaborating to gain traction around climate change and other environmental issues. Which, incidentally, adversely affect women and children more than men. The Forum focused on global topics around water and food security, with presenters from NGOs and businesses, including my friend Ann Goodman, Executive Director of Women's Network for a Sustainable Future (WNSF), Joji Carino of Tebtebba Indigenous Peoples' International Centre, Donna Goodman, Director of Earth Child Institute, Anita Wenden of International Peace Research Association, and Bridget Burns, Program Director of WEDO - Women's Environment and Development Organization. This group of impressive women shared stories and strategies for adapting to and mitigating climate change. From there, I was cordially invited to a WEDO reception on Lexington Avenue, and some of us walked there together on what I would call an empowerment high. For me, WEDO was like discovering a treasure trove of international mentors and luminaries. Among other things, these highly educated and talented women have been working for twenty years to ensure that the environmental activities at the UN, benefit by a woman’s touch, or stronghold. Throughout the 1990’s WEDO played a key leadership role to ensure that gender was included in the outcomes of major UN conferences. In 2006, it was recognized with the Champions of the Earth award by UNEP and in 2010, WEDO received the Advocacy Award from the National Council for Research on Women. Their 20th anniversary conference will coincide with Rio+20. As the event wound down, Elizabeth "Liz" Thompson arrived, the Co-Coordinator of Rio+20. I can say I slept a little easier that night, knowing the Earth was in better hands than I thought. SEE: CSD-19 Can developed and developing countries find common-ground? by Martha Shaw May 3, 2011 on CSRwire. About Martha Shaw, M.Sc. Martha Shaw is a scientist and media contributor in clean technology and other topics. Martha has been named an Adweek Creative All Star and is the winner of international awards in communications. She is a member of the Climate Literacy Network, Fellow of the Explorers Club, board member of NYSES and CEO of Earth Advertising. NEWS FROM EARTH: * Ready for Rio? Find out how your green business can have a voice in the dialogue, and a seat at the table at COP-17 in Durban, South Africa, December 2011, and at Rio +20 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 2012. Learn more about the Green Business Initiative through Earth Advertising. * We are pleased to welcome our newest clients: New Leaf Paper, the earth's greenest 100% post-consumer paper, and Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, the largest biosphere in the world. See PBS Frontline World, Rough Cut: Mexico: The Business of Saving Trees. *Earth Advertising is a green certified, women-owned enterprise, committed to healthy people, a healthy planet, and a healthy economy through 360º media campaigns, webgames, creative tools, and research in consumer conscience.

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Today, United Way honored U.S. Bank with the 2011 Spirit of America® Award to recognize the company and its employees' commitment to improving the financial stability of individuals, families and local communities. Microsoft Corporation, Bank of America, Procter & Gamble and Dominion Resources, Inc. also received Summit awards for generosity, volunteerism and measurable community impact. "At a time when many families need extra help, U.S. Bank has demonstrated true leadership by dedicating their resources and people to improve financial stability through program grants, training, financial education and assistance, community service, and more," said Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way Worldwide. "Their commitment, and that of these other model corporate citizens, is truly improving lives." As part of the 2010 U.S. Bank United Way campaign, Richard Davis, chairman, president and chief executive officer for U.S. Bancorp, the parent company of U.S. Bank, called U.S. Bank employees to action, asking them to "Dare to Dream" of a community where everyone could live a healthy life. Employees responded wholeheartedly, leading U.S. Bank to a $12.5 million United Way campaign - an 11% increase from the previous year. In 2010, U.S. Bank provided $38 million in total charitable giving (including United Way), an increase of 24%. Further, over 36,000 U.S. Bank employees (60%) volunteered, helping hundreds of thousands of people with home buying, basic banking and more. "It is an honor to be recognized by United Way, an organization that truly makes a difference by providing a wide variety of services and assistance to those in need in communities across the country," said Davis. "I am especially proud of our employees whose contributions, service and partnership with United Way have helped to make our communities stronger, healthier and more vibrant places to live, work and play." U.S. Bank provided $25.8 million to support programs focused on financial education, job training, affordable housing and more - representing 75% of the bank's overall charitable giving. Plus, U.S. Bank boosted its fundraising efforts for United Way and 25,000 other qualifying charities by offering triple FlexPoints to customers who used their FlexPerks Visa card to make charitable contributions. Donations made via the card increased overall by 22% and donations specifically to United Way increased 45%. In addition to the 2011 Spirit of America Award, United Way presented Summit Awards for exceptional community results to these corporate leaders:

• Microsoft partnered with United Way in multiple ways including Gulf Coast oil spill support, software and grants, plus a companywide auction, photography book and employee donations – overall providing $14.3 million in cash, software and in-kind donations to United Way, part of the $603 million in cash, software, and matching of employee contributions to charitable organizations and causes around the world in 2010. Microsoft also supported United Way's focus on education by serving on the Campaign for the Common Good education launch panel, partnering with United Way during the NFL Half Time Show to promote InterroBang, an interactive online educational game for kids, and providing software and expertise for the online components of United Way's education town hall, plus local support for United Way of King County's Parent-Child Home Program to help low-income families prepare for kindergarten. Microsoft's General Counsel, Brad Smith was the co-chair of United Way of King County this year, and Microsoft employees logged more than 72,490 volunteer hours toward education projects and 363,000 hours overall. Since 2006, Microsoft has doubled the number of employees volunteering plus provided $23 million in matching grants, with a $17/hour donation for employees volunteering 10 or more hours.
• Procter & Gamble and its employees demonstrated their commitment to touch and improve lives by contributing time, cash and product to United Way organizations around the world last year, including raising almost $16 million for local communities through employee campaigns. In concert with the Company's Live, Learn and Thrive program that helps children get off to a healthy start, receive access to education, and build skills for life, P&G; helped expand the reach of United Way organizations around the world. For instance, P&G; provided support for the creation of United Way chapters in Panama and Honduras, and supported on-going efforts in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Canada, and the U.S. Through efforts like these P&G; has benefited more than 210 million children globally since 2007 - on its way to reaching 300 million by 2012. Plus, P&G; provided support to United Way of Greater Cincinnati's Winning Beginnings and Success By 6 early childhood education programs and the Born Learning program in Latin America. In addition to employee financial donations, more than 5,000 P&Gers; volunteered more than 37,000 hours to United Way agencies last year, including more than 145 team volunteer events, a 453% increase over the previous year.
• Bank of America has invested more than $450 million with United Way since 1999, taking a leadership role as the largest financial institution supporter for more than 10 years. The bank was the first financial institution to nationally support United Way's Financial Stability Partnership through $4.5 million in grants in addition to employee volunteers, providing free tax preparation and filing assistance to lower-income working families, resulting in 1.5 million free tax returns and $2 billion in total tax refunds. In addition, the bank is also the national founding partner of United Way's one-stop centers which bring a range of social services under one roof to increase people's economic self-sufficiency. In 2010, bank employees donated more than $25 million to basic human services supported by United Way and donated thousands of hours as part of more than one million volunteer hours contributed to local communities last year.
• Dominion and its philanthropic arm, The Dominion Foundation, granted $24 million in 14 states, including supporting United Way of Southeastern Connecticut's heating assistance program and food center. Dominion also provided $4.5 million in EnergyShare heating and cooling assistance. In 2010, Dominion employees volunteered 150,000 hours, a 20% increase over 2009. Dominion's focus on supporting the communities it serves is clear: Employees participating in the Speaker Bureau program spoke at 91 different schools and civic organizations in 2010; the company created STEM endowments for New England Public Schools, including "Worm World" outreach; and Dominion piloted a new higher education grants program in Virginia, focusing on workforce development. The program has been expanded to 10 states for 2011. Dominion is a leader and key sponsor of Greater Richmond and Petersburg United Way's Women's Leadership Initiative where 75 Dominion employees are members, focusing on supporting childcare centers.

The Spirit of America and Summit Awards program, now in its 24th year, is United Way's highest national honor for a corporation, recognizing the United Way Global Corporate Leadership company with the most comprehensive commitment to improving lives and strengthening communities. Applicants are evaluated by corporate peers, labor representatives and local United Ways. About United Way United Way is a worldwide network in 40 countries and territories, including more than 1,200 local organizations in the U.S. It advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all by focusing on the three key building blocks of education, income and health. United Way recruits people and organizations who bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done. LIVE UNITED® is a call to action for everyone to become a part of the change. For more information about United Way, please visit: LIVEUNITED.org. About U.S. Bank U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $311 billion in assets as of March 31, 2011, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,082 banking offices in 25 states and 5,238 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.

Much of the action at the CSD-19 takes place in informal discussions in the United Nations Lawn Building's Vienna Café, its lounge areas and during the various side events. Because the CSD-19 is concentrating on a global green economy, sustainable consumption and production, and related issues, there is more focus on business than ever before. I was able to catch up with Felix Dodds, Executive Director of the Stakeholder Forum. It was a good opportunity to get to the bottom of one topic that has been on my mind lately. That is, how the pioneers, leaders, local enterprises and entrepreneurs of triple bottom line businesses could be included in the process, as the Member States struggle to facilitate a new global green economy. I asked Felix how how green business leaders might help lead the world closer to a global green economy, the goal of Rio+20 in June 2012. "I think we need to make it more attractive for companies to become involved as we look at the issues through the different lenses of energy, water, agriculture and food security, and cities," said Felix Dodds. "There are lots of good positive examples where companies are bringing new ideas to the challenges we face." "It's very difficult to represent global businesses in their many different forms. Note that many global organizations that do exist tend to represent multinational corporations. Entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses are less represented without an obvious place to have a voice. But, the approach of the UN is not to exclude the others." As background, The Working Group at the CSD-19 which represents business, is called Business and Industry. It is comprised presently of three organizations: International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) and the United States Council for International Business. For Rio+20, the UN has cast a wider net. Originally under the direction of Chad Holliday, Chairman of the Board of Bank of America, a group called BASD 2012 was created as a coordinating partner for business, a temporary coalition of business organizations to ensure that the voice of business is heard in Rio. BASD 2012 is a joint initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSD) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). So, how can other organizations, like the business supporters and partners of the American Sustainable Business Council, for instance have a voice in the negotiations? The importance of capturing the triple bottom line vision and perspectives, experiences, ideas, innovations, and policy recommendations of pioneering green business leaders would be an essential contribution to the Earth Summit 2012. The Summit serves as an important opportunity and rallying point for the world community to accelerate and scale-up the transition to a low-carbon, more resource efficient and ecosystem-conserving global green economy. This Guardian article captures both the potential opportunity and possible pitfalls that the Summit represents. At this juncture, the usual global multinationals, through the various industry associations mentioned, are poised to provide the dominant business perspective and input to the Summit on their vision and recommendations for a transition to the global green economy. What is sorely missing are the lessons and the perspectives of pioneering green business leaders and entrepreneurs who have shown early vision, leadership and commitment to transforming the sustainability of industrial processes: These companies need to voice and demonstrate that their sustainable 'green' business models can drive both the bottom line through consumer demand and the 'top' line through innovation, new markets and new business opportunities. Felix Dodds suggested that new groups should be welcome to join the dialogue, and noted that The Stakeholder Forum was founded to help stakeholders stay informed and become involved in processes such as Rio+20 do (www.earthsummit2012.org). As the Commission on Sustainable Development works laboriously for two weeks on a framework and set of principles for a green economy, they are blazing new trails through unknown territory, and are bound to face some resistance from some well-funded entities that might be resistant, because of legitimate restraints in our present system, to letting go of business as usual. It’s going to take all hands on deck, and perhaps a major consciousness shift among both consumers and business. An eco-system in which 20% of the people consume 80% of the resources will collapse quickly. This may be the biggest challenge man has faced in evolution. In wrapping up our conversation, I asked Felix Dodds, who just published his new book Biodiversity-and Ecosystem Insecurity: A Planet in Peril, what a green economy would look like. "I think that no one understands the green economy yet," said Mr. Dodds. "There are many components and we must put our heads together." So, there we have it. A call to action, a call to "create a vision" of what a fair and just economy could look like, and what it will take to build it. SEE: CSD-19 Can developed and developing countries find common-ground? by Martha Shaw May 3, 2011 on CSRwire. About Martha Shaw. M.Sc. Martha Shaw is a contributing writer in clean technology and other topics. Martha has been named an Adweek Creative All Star and is the winner of international awards in communications, as well as a scientist. She is a member of the Climate Literacy Network, Fellow of the Explorers Club, board member of NYSES and CEO of Earth Advertising. NEWS FROM EARTH: * Ready for Rio? Find out how your green business can have a voice in the dialogue, and a seat at the table at COP-17 in Durban, South Africa, December 2011, and at Rio +20 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 2012. Learn more about the Green Business Initiative through Earth Advertising. * We are pleased to welcome our newest clients: New Leaf Paper, the earth's greenest 100% post-consumer paper, and Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, the largest biosphere in the world. See PBS Frontline World, Rough Cut: Mexico: The Business of Saving Trees. *Earth Advertising is a green certified, women-owned enterprise, committed to healthy people, a healthy planet, and a healthy economy through 360º media campaigns, webgames, creative tools, and research in consumer conscience.

Photo credit: tsuda via Flickr/Creative Commons Yesterday I watched the U.S. House of Representatives shill for Big Oil again by passing a bill allowing more drilling in our waters with less oversight and accountability. At the same time, House leadership blocked a vote to end billions of dollars in government tax breaks for the industry. Meanwhile, the oil industry just posted billions in profits in their first quarter reports, with Exxon reporting $10.7 billion in profit, Shell raking in $6.9 billion, Ch...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Crystian Cruz, Flickr, CC The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center has release its list of the most pedestrian-friendly cities in the US, with 11 getting rankings from Platinum to Bronze and 8 more getting 'honorable mentions'. Only one city received the highest honor. Find out which one below......Read the full story on TreeHugger

Volunteers are the lifeblood of every nonprofit, and Jolkona is no exception. We’ve introduced you to a few key volunteers on our team and I’m excited to introduce another one to you today! The single largest factor of Jolkona’s success is the team that supports this organization. Aaron Alhadeff is one of the integral members [...]

Burnham Associates, a Salem, Mass., dredging company, has agreed to pay a penalty of $105,000 to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it improperly disposed of dredged sediments. The EPA has asserted that the dredger violated the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, commonly known as the Ocean Dumping Act, as [...]

by Daniel Klein.

Last spring, I had the pleasure of following the farm-to-market process with one of the “successful” upstart organic farms in Minnesota. Laura and Adam from Loon Organics let me film and work through their Friday-Saturday operation. I had been idealizing the idea of starting a farm: seeing the beautiful produce stacked up at the market made me want to take out a loan, buy 50 acres, and start my own little operation. But after a day with the folks at Loon Organics, the frantic reality of running a diversified farm comes into focus:

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by Brad Johnson.

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room.

Senate Republicans have introduced legislation to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, established 40 years ago by President Richard Nixon to give Americans clean air and water. The bill, introduced by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), would merge the EPA, which enforces environmental laws, with the Department of Energy, which manages nuclear energy and energy research, into one department.

In January, Newt Gingrich proposed abolishing the EPA, and several House Republicans have supported that goal, while making numerous attempts to hamstring limits on industrial polluters. Burr’s statement announcing his bill to eliminate the EPA argues that “duplicative functions” can be eliminated, even though the two departments are completely different:

Burr introduced a bill that would consolidate the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency into a single, new agency called the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE).  The bill would provide cost savings by combining duplicative functions while improving the administration of energy and environmental policies by ensuring a coordinated approach.

Burr’s bill has 15 cosponsors, all of them global warming deniers: Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Boozman (R-Ariz.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), David Vitter (R-La.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah).

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Kenyan blogger Clay Onyango comes up with the main reason why Osama was killed by the US administration whose president’s name begins the letter O while Crazy Nairobian explains what would have happened if Osama was killed by movie heroes such as Jack Bauer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Lee and Jason Statham.

Award-winning Tunisian blog Nawaat, which has been instrumental in reporting the Tunisian Revolution, has declined the Arab eContent award, in protest against the Bahraini government's censorship policy and violations of human rights. The Arab eContent is both organised and sponsored by the Bahrain government.

André-Michel Essoungou writes the following on the site reseautelecom.com: “According to the ITU [International Telecommunication Union], investments in the African mobile phone sector, the prime mover of information and communication technologies, went from US$8.1 billion in 2005 to nearly US$70 billion today. These technologies are about to become the driving...

Twitter users in Syria are reporting that mobile internet telecommunications have been disrupted today, as protests continued across the country. Some also report that landlines and electricity have been disconnected in different areas.

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Trinidad and Tobago News Blog reports that “former government minister and People’s National Movement (PNM) stalwart, Kenneth Valley died this morning.” Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (0) Share: facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Plain Talk calls for reason in the ongoing battle between local farmers and the Housing Development Corporation, saying, “I have called for a land use policy from this government and the last and I am not the only one. Farming for self sufficiency should be one of our front burner...

Uncommon Sense blogs about how the authorities “have responded to Andy Frometa Cuenca, a political prisoner on hunger strike since April 16 to demand his release and that of all political prisoners in Cuba.” Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (0) Share: facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon ·...

WICB Expose says that “Shivnarine Chanderpaul is just the latest in a long line of great West Indies cricketers to be mistreated by the West Indies Cricket Board” and links to an interview with the cricketer to support its claim. Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (0) Share: facebook ·...

Just the Facts provides an English translation –and explanatory notes– of the 10 questions Ecuadorians will be voting on tomorrow, May 7: “Polls indicate that while awareness of the questions is low, all of them will be approved.” Written by Silvia Viñas · comments (0) Share: facebook · twitter ·...

Clinton raises alarm on rising food prices: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Friday that global shortages of food and spiraling prices threaten widespread destabilization and is urging immediate action to forestall a repeat of the 2007 and 2008 crisis that led to riots in dozens of countries around the developing world. (AP)... Read More »

This year, our campus students brought in 7,000 new ONE Campus Challenge members, generated 8,000 petition-signers and wrote more than 4,000 letters to Congress. Across the nation, students took action and made a tremendous impact on the lives of the world’s poorest people. In addition to the OCC Grand Prize winners, this year we’ve decided... Read More »

I was at the Peterson Institute recently, hosted by Fred Bergsten at a book-launching event for The Globalization Paradox. The video of my presentation is here, and here is the Powerpoint that goes with it.

Ahead of the fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (UNLDC IV), Christian Kingombe considers past efforts to meet infrastructure gaps and sets out priority issues for discussion in Istanbul....(read more)

by Makenna Goodman.

Climate change is the issue of our time. Its ill effects will fall heaviest on the people who have least contributed to it: billions in the global south. But no one will escape the impact of the warming climate, and one place it will manifest most obviously is on our plates. If we look at chile peppers, for example, it’s easy to see how the negative effects of climate change have affected the food on our plates and the farmers behind that food. In their new book, Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail, authors (and self-titled “gastronauts”) Gary Nabhan, Kurt Michael Friese, and Kraig Kraft clear a path in the rubble on their beloved “spice ship,” with the chile pepper as their guide. You’ll never see hot sauce in the same way again. In this interview, the three spoke as a team, so I’ve conglomerated their answers to reflect their pepper-infused mind-meld.

Q. Your new book, Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail looks at both the future of place-based foods and the effects of climate change on agriculture through the lens of the chile pepper. Why the chile pepper, as opposed to, say, corn?

A. There is an easy enough metaphor behind the heat of chiles and the heat of global warming, but really it’s much more than that. Chiles are grown all over the world and have become the hallmarks of certain cuisines. There exists a tremendous amount of diversity in the shapes, tastes, and ecological adaptations of the chiles that reveal much to us about how climate change is affecting place-based foods. But there is also great diversity in how people process and consume chile peppers. They fire up people’s imaginations (and taste buds) in ways that corn, wheat, or soy can’t do. Plus we happen to love the hot little suckers.

Q. Over a year-long journey traveling in the U.S. and Mexico, the three of you—an agroecologist, a chef, and an ethnobotanist—came face to face with the realities of once thriving farms and producers now in danger of losing chiles integral to their local cultural identity. What chiles did you focus on, and why?

A. Of course there are many more heirloom chiles than the handful we focused on in the book. We happened to choose these because they are integral parts to the places we visited. Chimayos in New Mexico, Chiltepines in Sonora, Habaneros in the Yucatan, Tabascos in Louisiana, Datils in St. Augustine, Fish Peppers near Chesapeake Bay, even Beaver Dam peppers in Wisconsin and Jimmy Nardellos in Connecticut—each chile pepper has its own poignant (and pungent!) story and a role in local culture and cuisines.  

Q. How did the three of you come together to work on this project?

A. It started with a conversation between Gary and Kurt, about following the pepper trail—tracing how this simple nightshade made its way from Central America all the way to Southeast Asia. Gary admired the vitality of Kraig’s field work and enthusiasm for chile cultures, so we invited him on board the “spice ship.” For our first orbit, we decided to focus on plant hunting for peppers in North America. But we hope to take the spice ship around the world someday.

Q. I didn’t realize Tabasco™ sauce was once created solely from Tabasco™ peppers grown at the McIllhenny company production site in Avery Island, Louisiana. And while the company still produces all of their seed peppers in the original location, currently their peppers are farmed in over 165 countries worldwide. In your book, you talk about how this could be seen as a model for achieving resilience in the face of climate change. Can you speak more to this issue?

A. The key idea here is indeed resilience, the capacity to survive change. How do we adapt our culinary traditions and our cultures to deal with the changes that come with global warming without compromising identity and authenticity? 

For those who saw the vulnerability at Avery Island of having all their chiles in one basket, it was a very easy decision. Diversify where Tabasco would be grown, or risk losing everything. Yet in implementing some viable bet-hedging strategies, the McIllhennys admirably maintained links to tradition. All their peppers—wherever they are grown—are mashed with salt mined from Avery Island and all the seed for all the Tabasco grown elsewhere is maintained and propagated at Avery Island. Forced to make a change, this community figured out a way to adapt which maintained some sense of place and tradition.  

Q. How has the sustainable food movement and increased interest in terroir affected small-scale chile growers in the U.S.?

A. Because of the resurgence of direct marketing by small-scale growers, there is more vegetable diversity offered today at farmers markets, through CSAs and in grocery stores than a dozen years ago. Terroir—the taste of place—is still better known in wines, tequilas, maple syrup, and coffees than in vegetables and fruits, but growers and connoisseurs know it has been there all along. This, however, is the first book of many recent ones discussing the taste of place which recognizes that terroirs as we know them are being dramatically scrambled by climate change. [See Gary Nabhan’s Grist post on “global weirding and the scrambling of terroir.”]

Q. What is the most delicious chile dish each of you have ever had, and where did you eat it?

A. Kurt: Of course I can’t pick just one, but for me the most delightful recent discovery was learning about Xnipec in the Yucatan. It’s a kind of pico de gallo with habanero chiles and sour orange juice, sometimes they add cabbage. The name comes from the Mayan for “dog’s nose,” because when you eat it, it may make your nose run from the heat.

Kraig: Only one? A green chile cheeseburger —either in my parent’s backyard, or at the Owl Bar and Cafe in San Antonio, New Mexico.

Gary: So many chiles, so little time ... My two favorite traditional chile products are the Halaby pepper from Aleppo, Syria and chile Coban from Guatemala, but my favorite dishes is Ysleta green chile stews served near El Paso and my own chiltepin-vanilla bean ice cream, which is so hot you have to eat more of it to cool yourself down ...

Q. How can other chile lovers join the movement to protect and support heirloom chiles and their farmers?

A. A mutual friend of ours, Poppy Tooker, has coined the phrase “You’ve got to eat it to save it!” which is so true. The more of a market that exists for heirloom and local foods—not just chiles—the better their chance for survival.

For those who are gardeners, the best thing they can do is to grow and save and share heirloom seeds at home. In addition, there are some great organizations doing important work to protect biodiversity in our food system, including chiles. Native Seeds/SEARCH, Seed Savers Exchange, and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange are among the many nonprofits that work to conserve chile seed stocks and their related cultural legacies. And of course, support the chile farmers themselves and the many nonprofits working to save food biodiversity, such as Slow Food and its Ark of Taste.

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by Tom Laskawy.

In a recent report entitled “The Non-Organic Future,” public radio’s Marketplace program considered the challenge to agriculture of feeding a world population estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050. It was, to be frank, a terrible piece of journalism. Short, virtually fact-free, and weakly reported, it gave pride-of-place to soil scientist Pedro Sanchez of Columbia University. To his credit, Sanchez is a well-intentioned scholar dedicated to reducing world hunger. However, he sees his mission through the lens of conventional ag. In essence, Sanchez is nothing short of an evangelist for the policy of handing out fertilizers, pesticides, and hybrid seeds to developing world farmers. Reporter Adriene Hill allowed Sanchez to state, without the need for such things as corroborating facts, the following:

Pedro Sanchez: If you ask me point blank whether organic-based farming is better than conventional, my answer is no. There are just too many of us, we just need too many nutrients.

Adriene Hill: And those nutrients come from plants that need nutrients that organic fertilizers can’t always provide.

Sanchez: It’s like a bank account, you’ve got to have a positive balance.

Hill: And if you deposit only organics, he says ...

Sanchez: ... you’re going to go broke.

Sanchez is deeply involved in the Columbia University’s “Millennium Villages” project, which has in several countries handed out fertilizers, pesticides, and hybrid seeds to developing world farmers. When you do this, yes, farmers grow more crops and experience higher yields. And what happens when the developed nations of the world decide, for example, that they are about to “go broke”? That in this new era of budget cutting, deficit reduction, and $100+ a barrel oil, we can’t actually afford to give this stuff away? What happens is that all that “progress” in these select villages that Sanchez likes to tout is shown to be a petroleum-fueled mirage; the improvement stands on the verge of disappearing in a puff of good intentions gone wrong. Sanchez wants to wean the developing world off direct food aid, which would be a good thing. But replacing handouts of grain with handouts of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides doesn’t increase food security. Maybe Sanchez can’t see that because he’s too immersed in his work. Reporters should take a more skeptical view.

In fact, I would point Adriene Hill to another Marketplace report, this one from Jan. 2010 by her colleague Gregory Warner, about a Millennium Village in Rwanda that took a different path than Sanchez advocates. Warner spoke to Josh Ruxin, director of the project in Rwanda. Ruxin focused on teaching organic methods “like using composts and cow manure to boost the soil.”

Josh Ruxin: Check it out.

Gregory Warner: What’s going on here?

Ruxin: This is, you use it for irrigation.

Warner: Ruxin shows me some recycled water bottles shoved upside down in the soil.

Ruxin: And it works great, costs nothing. Highly effective.

Warner: He says that teaching farmers to go green isn’t only better for the environment, it’s cheaper than handing out fertilizer.

Ruxin: If they can even track down the fertilizer. There’s been such a run on fertilizer that one of the last places in the world that the fertilizer’s gonna reach is the relatively small market of Rwanda.

Right. So who’s living in fantasy land: organic advocates whose techniques don’t rely on annual deliveries of expensive synthetic fertilizers and chemicals—or scientists like Sanchez who believe that the fossil fuel fairy is going to descend on Africa and supply poor, small-scale farmers who live in remote villages that lack passable roads much of the year with literally tons of advanced agricultural chemicals, year after year?

In a comment on the above-linked Marketplace piece, Anna Lappe, author of Diet for a Hot Planet, pointed to a gaping hole in the report: the failure to acknowledge the 2009 International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD) Report, a joint project of the UN and the World Bank, among other agences. Here’s Anna’s apt description of the report:

The groundbreaking study brought together 400 experts who worked for 4.5 years to explore the most efficient, productive, and sustainable strategy for feeding the world. The conclusion—quite the opposite of the one reached by those quoted in this segment—stated in no uncertain terms that we must move away from chemical- and fossil[-fuel]-dependent agriculture, which by the way includes biotech.

Business as usual is not an option, was the radical consensus. Instead, small-scale and mid-scale agroecological farming holds our best hope for feeding the world safe, healthy food, all without undermining our natural capital.

As the IAASTD report shows, Sanchez’s view is hardly the only or even the dominant view among development experts about how to “feed the world.” Indeed, if there is a consensus, Sanchez’s views are in the minority. There is a debate to be had over organic vs. conventional agriculture and the need to feed a growing population. But let’s have that debate, and not some ill-considered collection of fact-free sound-bytes. Are we clear, Marketplace?

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by Lester Brown.

This piece originally appeared in The Guardian.

Long after the political uprisings in the Middle East have subsided, many underlying challenges that are not now in the news will remain. Prominent among these are rapid population growth, spreading water shortages, and ever growing food insecurity.

In some countries, grain production is now falling as aquifers are depleted. After the Arab oil-export embargo of the 1970s, the Saudis realized that since they were heavily dependent on imported grain, they were vulnerable to a grain counter-embargo. Using oil-drilling technology, they tapped into an aquifer far below the desert to produce irrigated wheat. In a matter of years, Saudi Arabia was self-sufficient in wheat, its principal food staple.

But after more than 20 years of wheat self-sufficiency, the Saudis announced in Jan. 2008 that this aquifer was largely depleted and they would be phasing out wheat production. Between 2007 and 2010, the wheat harvest of nearly 3 million tons dropped by more than two-thirds. At this rate, the Saudis likely will harvest their last wheat crop in 2012 and then be totally dependent on imported grain to feed their Canada-sized population of nearly 30 million people.

The unusually rapid phaseout of wheat farming in Saudi Arabia is due to two factors. First, in this arid country, there is little farming without irrigation. Second, irrigation there depends almost entirely on a fossil aquifer, which, unlike most aquifers, does not recharge naturally from rainfall. And the desalted sea water Saudi Arabia uses to supply its cities is far too costly for irrigation use, even for the Saudis.

Saudi Arabia’s growing food insecurity has even led it to buy or lease land in several other countries, including two of the world’s hungriest, Ethiopia and Sudan. In effect, the Saudis are planning to produce food for themselves with the land and water resources of other countries to augment their fast-growing imports.

In neighboring Yemen, replenishable aquifers are being pumped well beyond the rate of recharge, and the deeper fossil aquifers are also being rapidly depleted. As a result, water tables are falling throughout Yemen by some 6.5 feet per year. In the capital, Sana’a—home to 2 million people—tap water is available only once every four days; in Taiz, a smaller city to the south, it is once every 20 days.

Yemen, with one of the world’s fastest-growing populations, is becoming a hydrological basket case. With water tables falling, the grain harvest has shrunk by one-third over the last 40 years, while demand has continued its steady rise. As a result, the Yemenis now import more than 80 percent of their grain. With its meager oil exports falling, with no industry to speak of, and with nearly 60 percent of its children physically stunted and chronically undernourished, this poorest of the Arab countries is facing a bleak and potentially turbulent future.

The likely result of the depletion of Yemen’s aquifers—which will lead to further shrinkage of its harvest and spreading hunger and thirst—is social collapse. Already a failing state, it may well devolve into a group of tribal fiefdoms, warring over whatever meager water resources remain. Yemen’s internal conflicts could spill over its long, unguarded border with Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the bursting food bubble in Saudi Arabia and the fast-deteriorating water situation in Yemen, the other two populous countries in the region, Syria and Iraq, have water troubles. Some of these arise from the reduced flows of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, which both countries depend on for irrigation water. Turkey, which controls the headwaters of these rivers, is in the midst of a massive dam building program that is slowly reducing downstream flows. Although all three countries are party to water-sharing arrangements, Turkey’s ambitious plans to expand both hydropower generation and irrigated area are being fulfilled partly at the expense of its two downstream neighbors.

Given the future uncertainty of river water supplies, farmers in Syria and Iraq are drilling more wells for irrigation. This is leading to overpumping in both countries. Syria’s grain harvest has fallen by one-fifth since peaking at roughly 7 million tons in 2001. In Iraq, the grain harvest has fallen by one-fourth since peaking at 4.5 million tons in 2002.

Jordan, with 6 million people, is also on the ropes agriculturally. Forty or so years ago, it was producing over 300,000 tons of grain per year. Today it produces only 60,000 tons and thus must import over 90 percent of its grain. In this region only Lebanon has avoided a decline in grain production.

Thus in the Arab Middle East, where populations are growing fast, the world is seeing the first collision between population growth and water supply at the regional level. For the first time in history, grain production is dropping in a geographic region with nothing in sight to arrest the decline. Because of the failure of governments in the region to mesh population and water policies, each day now brings 10,000 more people to feed and less irrigation water with which to feed them.

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