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Reduction of Livestock Gas Emissions May Be Within Reach
By The Editors Livestock is known to be a major global threat to the environment. In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a highly influential report (Livestock’s Long Shadow – Environmental Issues and Option) stating that the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation. Henning Steinfeld, senior author of the 2006 report said at that time: “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.” These words are certainly true…
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Food Waste Harms Climate, Water, Land and Biodiversity
By The Editors The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a few days ago a report detailing the first study to analyze the impacts of global food wastage from an environmental perspective, looking specifically at its consequences for the climate, water and land use, and biodiversity. Key facts and figures from the report are: The global volume of food wastage is estimated at 1.6 billion tonnes of “primary product equivalents.” Total food wastage for the edible part of this amounts to 1.3 billion tonnes. Food wastage’s carbon footprint is estimated at 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent of GHG released into the atmosphere per year. The total…
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Quinoa Production Goes Global
By The Editors There are at least two staple foods that The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) would like to see in our future: edible insects and quinoa. While it may take some time to see edible insects on the Western dinner tables, quinoa is already around, well-respected and well-adapted. The FAO has officially declared that the year 2013 be recognized as “The International Year of the Quinoa.” A few days ago (August 12-14) the role that quinoa’s biodiversity and nutritional value plays in providing food security and nutrition and in the eradication of poverty, was discussed at the International Quinoa Research Symposium hosted by Washington…
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Central Asia Large Mammals: Victims of (Cashmere) Fashion
By Roberta Attanasio One thing here affects something else there. This is the principle at the basis of The Global Fool’s mission — To raise awareness of environmental problems and their global nature. Last month, a team of international researchers published the results of a study entitled “Globalization of the Cashmere Market and the Decline of Large Mammals in Central Asia”. As the title suggests, the results of the study show a disturbing link between the global cashmere trade and declining native wildlife species in India, Mongolia and China’s Tibetan plateau. In other words, there is a link between Western world fashion (one thing here) and native wild animals in Central Asia…
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Quinoa: A Future Sown Thousands of Years Ago
By The Editors The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has officially declared the year 2013 “The International Year of the Quinoa” to serve as a catalyst for increased production and consumption of quinoa. The Andean indigenous peoples have maintained, controlled, protected and preserved quinoa as food for present and future generations through ancestral practices of living in harmony with nature. Like the potato, quinoa was one of the main foods of the Andean peoples before the Incas. Traditionally, quinoa grain are roasted and then made to flour, with which different types of breads are baked. It can also be cooked, added to soups, used as a…
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What is Carbon Farming?
By Roberta Attanasio Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, and ozone) work like the glass walls of a greenhouse and are responsible for the greenhouse effect. What is the greenhouse effect? It’s a process in which greenhouse gases let the radiation from the sun onto the Earth’s surface. At the same time, they trap the heat that reflects back up into the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect keeps our planet at an average 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). However, if the greenhouse effect is too strong, our planet gets warmer and warmer. This is what is happening now — the greenhouse effect is becoming stronger because of increased release of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.…
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The $11 Trillion Reward
By The Editors According to a brand new report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), increasing our consumption of fruits and vegetables could save more than 100,000 lives and $17 billion in health care costs from heart disease each year. In addition, better farm policies, designed to encourage production of healthy food instead of processed junk foods, will help us reap those benefits. “The $11 Trillion Reward: How Simple Dietary Changes Can Save Lives and Money, and How We Get There” examines the linkage between fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of cardiovascular diseases. These diseases, the leading killer of Americans, include coronary heart disease and stroke, which together are…
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Sustainability in Action: Mushrooms Replace Polystyrene Packaging
By The Editors We’re all familiar with polystyrene, one of the most widely used plastics. Because polystyrene can be easily cast into molds with fine detail, it has a zillion uses and you can find it everywhere. Think of protective packaging products such as packing peanuts (foam peanuts), clamshell containers, CD and DVD cases, lids, bottles, trays and more. Polystyrene is very slow to degrade – it persists in the environment for a long time. Do you remember the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the Plastic Footprint? What can be done to address this global environmental issue? Here we have an example: an innovative idea that becomes mushroom-based packaging, and …..…
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Global High Tech Hubs, Applied Sciences and Net-Zero Energy Buildings
By The Editors At this time, it only offers a beta class (a one-year Masters of Engineering degree in Computer Science from Cornell University), with a handful of students housed in space donated by Google – in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. In the next few years, it will be a major global research and academic program that will confer graduate degrees and engage in research in the Applied Sciences – on Roosevelt Island, a 52-hectare sliver of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. We’re talking about Cornell NYC Tech and the launch of an innovative curriculum that leaves behind the traditional highly academic approach to learning and…
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Indigenous Knowledge? Yes, It’s Global Knowledge
By The Editors Sharing global knowledge? Yes, indispensable knowledge on the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity, the sustainable use of protected natural areas, as well as development and food security — all related to the indigenous peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other countries, such as Canada and Australia. Indispensable knowledge that is being shared these days (May 26 – 29) in the capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, Darwin. The occasion? The first World Indigenous Network (WIN) conference, which calls on native delegates from over 50 countries to help build a strong foundation for an innovative and well-grounded enduring World Indigenous Network. According to the World Indigenous Network website,…
