China’s environmental story is full of contradictions. What does one make of a country where the government severely limits the freedom of NGOs, yet has some of the most thorough environmental laws and most sustainably-minded leadership in the world? A place where the opening of a nature preserve is celebrated with a banquet that includes … Continue reading Book Review: China’s Environmental Challenges
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JKs8aSb7eo Spain's official submission to this year's Academy Awards, También la lluvia, is a film that draws parallels between the historical European colonization of Central and South America and the more ambiguous economic colonization by multinational corporations today. The common denominator in both is access to natural resources. The plot follows a fictional film crew … Continue reading Movie Review: Even the Rain
I come from the flat land of Michigan so when I flew into Appalachia for the first time, I was taken aback. From the sky, those gentle old mountains looked like elders gently watching over the little valley towns beneath them. In grade school we were told that while the Rockies might provide the more … Continue reading Book Review: Something’s Rising
Before artist Vik Muniz travels to Rio de Janeiro to work on a new project at one of the world’s largest landfills, he expects to find a rough crowd working there, drug addicts surely. His wife, supportive but visibly anxious about the idea, asks him pointed questions. “This is the end of the line,” he … Continue reading Movie Review: Waste Land
The Washington Post hosted an event entitled “The Future of Food” last week at Georgetown University. Speakers included all the big names in sustainable ag – Eric Schlosser (who just published an article defending "foodies" from calls of elitism), Wendell Berry, Marion Nestle, Vandana Shiva, and… the Prince of Wales?! (who knew? And fresh from … Continue reading Organic for the Sake of Farm Workers
One of my favorite books is Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia by Tom Bissell. I purposely sought out a book on Uzbekistan because it was a place I’d never heard much about. At the center of the story is one of the worst environmental disasters in history – … Continue reading Costs of Cotton
