Not that there are any global warming denialists (is that a word? is now, as a word is merely an utterance than conveys a meaning), but, my oh my, are we no paying attention or not?
It’s often said that humans need to see the speeding train bearing down upon them before they take action. See this picture? There’s an engine and caboose in there, as well as a whole load o’ freight cars in there if you take a close look.
I admit I’m a fan of Jeffrey Sachs. He runs around with Bono (whose cultivated persona always makes me laugh), does his best as an economist to solve the world’s problems, and writes in a compelling manner. But could it be that he’s a touch too hopeful? That however much poverty has contracted in the past decades, this contraction, like the U.S. (and global) economy is a soon-to-be-burst bubble blown up large by an overheated and quick-burning oil economy? Am I delusional in thinking the coming decade is going to find a large surge in the number of starving humans? Do I dare call Sach’s hopefulness naive? I don’t want to. I want to believe. I want to think Nike-like slogans, espoused by our political poppets, can save us all. Even though I know the kids in this photo can’t quite afford shoes. No, they can’t.
From the Asia Times Online:
Soaring global rice prices are hitting the stomachs of Asia’s poorest citizens. The people of East Timor, where nearly 40% live on less than 0.55 US cents a day, have just been told they may not receive their annual quota of food aid.
“We have been forced to provide less food to East Timor; provide less rice than we intended to,” Paul Risely, Asia spokesperson for the United Nations food agency, told Inter Press Service (IPS). “We have requested the people of East Timor to look for local substitutes.”
“Any chance to reduce high malnutrition rate is severely curtailed,” added Risley of a country that suffers from chronic malnutrition, where some 46% of the children are stunted and 42% of children below five years are underweight. Currently, the WFP has pledged to feed one in five people in East Timor which has a population of 1.1 million people…
…last year Vietnam placed limits on rice exports in order to meet domestic demand, triggering a spike in the price of its grain in the world market. The ban stemmed from national food security concerns in the communist-ruled country. Hanoi wanted to avoid a local food shortage due to flooding in the rice-growing central regions.
Yet, such a weather-related feature, which some are attributing to climate change, was only one reason to push global rice prices to new heights. Another trigger includes the steady rise in oil prices, making fertilizer more expensive, pushing the cost of harvesting up, and increasing the cost of transporting the grain.
This just in! While Obama and Clinton favor NUCLEAR power, wind is looking more and more the smart person’s play. FYI - Ralph Nader is a big wind (now don’t say “bag”!) supporter. But, hey, the great news is that no matter who you vote for (Clinton, Obama or the Republican guy), you’ll be picking a President without a developed environmental agenda! John Edwards for VP? Then you’ll get my vote, Obama.
Eco-Economy Indicator — WIND ENERGY
March 4, 2008
Eco-Economy Indicators are the twelve trends the Earth Policy Institute tracks to measure progress in building an environmentally sustainable economy — an eco-economy. Wind power capacity is an indicator because wind is poised to become the foundation of the new energy economy.
GLOBAL WIND POWER CAPACITY REACHES 100,000 MEGAWATTS
Jonathan G. Dorn
At its current growth rate, global installed wind power capacity will top 100,000 megawatts in March 2008. In 2007, wind power capacity increased by a record-breaking 20,000 megawatts, bringing the world total to 94,100 megawatts — enough to satisfy the residential electricity needs of 150 million people. Driven by concerns regarding climate change and energy security, one in every three countries now generates a portion of its electricity from wind, with 13 countries each exceeding 1,000 megawatts of installed wind electricity-generating capacity…
For entire text see www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Wind/2008.htm
For data see www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Wind/2008_data.htm
For an index of Earth Policy Institute resources related to Wind Energy see www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Wind/index.htm
And for a plan to move rapidly to renewable energy, see Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, by Lester R. Brown, posted on-line for free downloading at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm.