“You better keep ’em far away from the water supply.”
Subjects Archives: Ecology
Marxist Ecology, Environmental Science and Ecological Crisis
How Green Is the Jewish National Fund?
Greenwashing Apartheid: The Jewish National Fund’s Environmental Cover Up. JNF eBook (Volume 4). May 15, 2011. The 63-year old State of Israel has had overwhelming success at hiding its true intentions and purposes, effectively whitewashing actions which, if properly understood, would be extremely disturbing to most people. Thus the passage of laws discriminating on […]
Michal Kalecki and the Economics of Development
In the long and impressive catalogue of Michal Kalecki’s contributions to economics, the proportion of writings devoted to what is now called “development economics” is relatively small. And most of his work in this area is concise to the point of being terse, in short articles that simply state some crucial principles, typically without much […]
El Salvadoran Government and Social Movements Say No to Monsanto
On the morning of Friday, May 6th, President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador’s left-wing FMLN party arrived at the La Maroma agricultural cooperative in the department of Usulután for a potentially historic meeting with hundreds of small family farmers. Usulután has often been referred to as the country’s breadbasket for its fertile soil and capacity […]
Morocco: Mapping the 20th of February Movement Marches Held on the 22nd of May
For more information about the 20th of February Movement in Morocco, visit <24.mamfakinch.com>, <www.mamfakinch.com>, <www.facebook.com/Movement20>. Cf. Rashid Abul-Samh, “Besieged Monarchs” (Al-Ahram Weekly 1048, 19-25 May 2011); Oxford Analytica, “Persistent Protests Undermine ‘Moroccan Exception’” (24 May 2011). var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var idcomments_post_url; | Print
Renewable Energy Likely to Become Dominant Climate Change Solution by 2050, U.N. Study Concludes
But Support for Renewable Energy Policies Remains Key to Reaching Goals Renewable energy is likely to become the world’s dominant climate change solution by the middle of the century, according to a new study by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It has the potential to be more competitive than nuclear power, […]
Nuclear Power: Not the Solution to Climate Change
If carbon emissions from energy production are the problem, is nuclear power the solution? After all, nuclear reactors split uranium atoms to generate heat; no fossil fuels are used on site, and no CO2 is released into the air from the power plant itself. Plenty of voices can be now heard advocating construction of nuclear […]
India: The Growth-Discrimination Nexus
Many people, especially in India, tend to believe that the process of economic growth is likely to be mostly liberating for those oppressed by various forms of social discrimination and exclusion. The argument is that market forces break open age-old social norms, especially those of caste and gender, that have for so long denied opportunities […]
Feeding the Arab Uprisings
I’ll be talking about the relationship between food and the uprisings. I call them uprisings, I don’t call them revolutions, for a multitude of reasons that I will address. . . . One of the most common assertions is that these uprisings were triggered, at least partly, by high food prices. I would like to […]
The Ecological Rift: A Radical Response to Capitalism’s War on the Planet
John Bellamy Foster, Brett Clark, and Richard York. The Ecological Rift: Capitalism’s War on the Earth. Monthly Review Press, 2010. 544 pages. Climate change is often called the greatest environment threat facing humanity. The threat is very real. Unless we cut carbon pollution fast, runaway climate change will worsen existing environmental and social problems, and […]
The Euro Crisis as a Twin Recycling Problem: A New Rationale for the “Modest Proposal”
1. Introduction: The Twin Recycling Problems in Brief Europe’s crisis is caused by its institutional failure to confront two recycling problems: a debt recycling problem and a surplus recycling problem.
Regarding Syria
A regular meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Syria, chaired by its Secretary General Comrade Ammar Bakdash, was held on 25 March 2011. . . . The Central Committee examined at length the manifestations of unrest in some cities in Syria, especially the unfortunate incidents in the town of Dara’a. […]
Japan’s Nuclear Power Plant Workers, Exposed to Radiation, Hidden from Sight
隠された被爆労働：日本の原発労働者 Kenji Higuchi (樋口健二) is a photographer in Japan, acclaimed for his work of documenting the effects of industrial pollution and the exploitation of nuclear power plant workers. This documentary film was released by Channel 4 (UK) in 1995. Cf. Tim Shorrock, “Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare (Part One)” (18 March 2011); Tim Shorrock, “Japan’s Nuclear […]
Study Tour to Venezuela: Food Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Social Change
Food Sovereignty Tour + Agroecology Short Course in Venezuela, July 10-22 July 10 to 22, 2011 Please register ASAP! You are invited to participate in a study tour to study food sovereignty, social movements, and social change in Venezuela, July 10 to 22. The tour will examine issues of land reform, urbanization, rural development, […]
Who Rules Syria and How? Interview with Joshua Landis
Paul Jay: The title of your upcoming book, Syria’s Democratic Experiment, first of all, what is the experiment? And then talk a little about how we got there. Joshua Landis: Well, the book really deals with a period at the time of independence — 1946, ’45, ’46 — in Syria, when the French left and […]
Fukushima: Far from Under Control
For weeks TEPCO and the Japanese government have tried to assure us that the crisis at Fukushima is stabilising and that the situation is under control. However, the recent decision to dump over 15,000 tonnes of highly radioactive water directly into the sea seems to suggest just the opposite. TEPCO’s decision to further contaminate […]
China Reacts to Fukushima
The dark cloud hanging over the future of nuclear power because of the unfolding crisis in Japan may have a silver lining in China by increasing attention to reactor safety. Within days of the earthquake that crippled the nuclear plants in Japan, the Chinese government abruptly suspended approvals for new plant construction, suspended work […]
Long Blackouts Pose Risk to US Reactors
Long before it happened in Japan, regulators in the United States knew that a similar, days-long power failure, whatever the cause, could lead to a radioactive leak in this country. Alan Kolaczkowski, Nuclear Engineer: Looking at the blackout situations and losses of all power, we know that once those pumps finally die off — […]
Global Warming: Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer
Nuclear power is unreliable for fighting global warming. Scandals, earthquakes and accidents can shut down numerous plants simultaneously. When one of these problems occurs, without sustainable alternative energy sources, fossil fuel plants must kick in, spiking greenhouse gas emissions.
Japan’s Muslim Community Aiding Tsunami Victims
People from all walks of life and different faiths have come to the aid of the victims. Members of the Muslim community of Tokyo are among the thousands of sincere and caring volunteers who are rushing supplies to Japan’s needy. . . . Between Tokyo and the ravaged areas lies Fukushima Prefecture, where radiation […]
