Food for Thought
“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.
”
Leo Tolstoy
Tag Archives: food
How not to end world hunger
Food prices are rising. Again. And the scramble is on to figure out who to blame: climate change? Biofuels? Good old capitalist greed? Just this morning the New York Times published a discussion panel on the issue: “Is the world … Continue reading
Who pays for overfishing? Poor people in Africa (and elsewhere)
[Based in part on my evaluation for the Faculty of 1000, accessible only by subscription I'm afraid] The pervasive detrimental impacts of overfishing on marine life and ecosystems have been widely publicized in recent years, ratcheting up calls for stricter … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Oceans, Science, Sustainability
Tagged economics, fishing, food, population, research
2 Comments
The future of marine fish
[This article was an invited piece for the American Institute of Biological Sciences' Action Bioscience online site. I had occasion to mull its content afresh recently after a visit to the University of British Columbia's Fisheries Centre, whose "Sea Around … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Oceans, Sustainability
Tagged fishing, food, natural capital, research, restoration
1 Comment
Death and taxes . . . and reincarnation
Recently I got an uncharacteristic surge of organizational momentum, girded my loins, donned my battle gear, and dove into the swamp of my home office filing system. Many of you will appreciate from your own experience what a daunting task … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Books and media, Sustainability
Tagged food, recycling, restoration
3 Comments
Fast food: on the fast track to environmental ruin
Where does your food come from? This is a question central to the Gordian knot of issues tangling together public health, environmental health, energy markets, and geopolitics. It is increasingly on the lips of “localvores” seeking to enhance both their … Continue reading
A climate for conflict
As the evidence for ongoing climate change has grown incontrovertible, there is increasing urgency to the question of what these changes hold in store for us. Some wondered why Al Gore and the IPCC should be awarded the Nobel peace … Continue reading
I propose a toast — even at the expense of scientific productivity
And now, as the Pythons say, for something completely different. I realize that this is a bit peripheral to the mainsteam content of this blog but (as another famous person said), “I’m the decider”. In our profession of science, probably … Continue reading
Declining ocean health: It’s the economy, stupid
I know, I used the same subtitle for another recent post. But I’m not recycling titles out of laziness — well, not entirely anyway. I do so here to highlight the simple, yet perversely (and perhaps intentionally) misunderstood theme whose centrality … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Oceans, Politics, Sustainability
Tagged economics, fishing, food, natural capital, population, research
10 Comments
Marine biodiversity and food security
[Cross-posted from The Earth Portal, which includes images, FAQs, and a timeline] Harvesting of wild fish and shellfish from the oceans provides an important source of protein to earth’s population, particularly in the developing world, and is a major contributor … Continue reading
Can we afford to save the world?
The environmental problems the world faces are daunting. One often hears that the economic costs involved in resource conservation, reforestation, transition to a new energy regime, and so forth are so high that solving them is simply too expensive. But this … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Sustainability
Tagged climate, economics, energy, food, happiness, health, natural capital, population, restoration
1 Comment
