Vandana Shiva on the Problem with Genetically Modified Seeds

Bill Moyers talks to scientist and philosopher Vandana Shiva, who’s become a rock star in the global battle over genetically modified seeds. These seeds — considered “intellectual property” by the big companies who own the patents — are globally marketed to monopolize food production and profits. Opponents challenge the safety of genetically modified seeds, claiming they also harm the environment, are more costly, and leave local farmers deep in debt as well as dependent on suppliers. Shiva, who founded a movement in India to promote native seeds, links genetic tinkering to problems in our ecology, economy, and humanity, and sees this as the latest battleground in the war on Planet Earth.

There is a revolution brewing in the hearts and minds of the world's women. Seed Future is an example of success agains the corporations which seek to take over our global resources.

A New Challenge from Al Gore, in honor of Earth Day 2013

(This video is Time Traveled from 2008! A message from Al Gore to our future, on Earth Day)
To solve the Climate Crisis, we must first accept the challenge of solving the Political Crisis that is attacking our Democracy. This is a challenge, a call for heroes in a global conflict to save the future. Gore founded the Alliance for Climate Protection, and speaks of the Energy Supergrid, an idea of Buckminster Fuller that inspired our local San Diego institute, the Global Energy Network Initiative.   

Why Top Predators Matter

From the Environmental Defense Fund comes a warning of imbalance in our global oceans: 

The dire straits facing sharks around the world is a major theme in many gloom and doom predictions about the fate of the oceans. And there is plenty of reason for worry. Many shark populations are estimated to be at less than 10% of original levels, with some species possibly in danger of extinction. This is bad news not only for sharks, but for the many cultures that rely on them for protein in their diets.

Ecologists, too, warn of the effects of the decline in shark species and other top predators on ocean ecosystems. Eliminating sharks may induce what scientists call “ecological cascades,” where one effect induces another, and so on through the living world. 

One example of that process is the rise in populations of certain rays –  key shark prey – in regions where shark populations have declined. If there are too many bottom feeding rays, that may threaten seagrass beds and the shellfish that inhabit them. Those seagrass beds also serve as nurseries for many other species. So losing sharks may seriously degrade marine ecosystems, which could threaten the human fisheries tied to them. In addition, sharks can help control populations of invasive and exotic species – a growing problem as ocean ecosystems change.  

The Story of STUFF

If we look closely at the systems from which we profit, we realize that everyone over 30 is part of the problem. The Story of Stuff defines the system and shows us where the solutions may lead to a sustainable future.

"Our enormously productive economy ... demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption ... we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate." - Victor Le Beau, Retailing Analyst 

Planned Obsolesce - how long a product can last and still inspire consumer trust

Perceived Obsolesce - fashion, improvement  

Tip: Wealth = Leisure Time

Bottled Water - EPA drinking water contaminants
This is how to manufacture demand, create fear.

SOLAR SHINGLES: copper and zinc VS. indium and gallium

e360 digest

22 AUG 2012: SOLAR SHINGLES MADE FROM
COMMON METALS OFFER CHEAPER ENERGY OPTIONU.S. scientists say that emerging photovoltaic technologies will enable the production of solar shingles made from abundantly available elementsrather than rare-earth metals, an innovation that would make

The Consumption Conundrum:
Driving the Destruction Abroad

High-tech products increasingly make use of rare metals, and mining those resources can have devastating environmental consequences. But two experts look at the consequences of blocking projects like the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska.
READ THE e360 REPORT

solar energy cheaper and more sustainable. Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, a team of researchers described advances in solar cells made with abundant metals, such as copper and zinc. While the market already offers solar shingles that convert the sun’s energy into electricity, producers typically must use elements that are scarce and expensive, such as indium and gallium. According to Harry A. Atwater, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, recent tests suggest that materials like zinc phosphide and copper oxide could be capable of producing electricity at prices competitive with coal-fired power plants within two decades. With China accounting for more than 90 percent of the world’s rare-earth supplies — and prices rising sharply — companies and nations are racing to find new sources of rare earth minerals, which are used in everything from solar panels to smart phones.

U.S. Military prepares for consequences of global climate change

U.S. Military now admits that global warming is the most serious threat to our national security over the next 50 years. From the Boston Globe.

“[Climate change] is probably the most likely thing that is going to happen . . . that will cripple the security environment, probably more likely than the other scenarios we all often talk about,’’ Admiral Locklear told the Boston Globe. “We have interjected into our multilateral dialogue – even with China and India – the imperative to kind of get military capabilities aligned [for] when the effects of climate change start to impact these massive populations,” he said. “If it goes bad, you could have hundreds of thousands or millions of people displaced and then security will start to crumble pretty quickly.’’

 The effects of wasting our non-renewable fossil fuels and dumping the carbon into the atmosphere are many, but combined they will cause such unrest that even the most powerful nation in the world takes note. The end of fuel is only one problem for the war machine, after all it is difficult to fly jets on solar cells, but with weather change you create uncertainties in the global food supply, changes in global sea level that will displace low lying populations like New Orleans, ocean acidification that will disrupt species and further undermine food sources, and of course political potential for war and its ripple effects in a time of WMD.

Crowdsource Funding Fundamentally Changes the Game

One of the most important and exciting developments in the last year was the 2012 JOBS Act, which sets up clearing houses for a new type of business funding called CROWDFUNDING. This is a break from the historic public stock market, in which investors had to be "Qualified" to buy principle shares in a private corporation. SEC rules limit investors in most corporations to friends and family plus wealthy investors who self-qualify with large personal incomes and assets that make them virtually indestructible financially. 

The purpose of these regulations was theoretically to protect small investors from the common kinds of stock investment scams that many of our capitalist Wall Street types are well schooled. Ponzi Schemes look innocent compared to the kind of 'business investments' that can fool the novice investor, if such laws were not in place. However, the effect of these strict SEC accredited investor qualifications was to lock the average person out of the most lucrative capital markets. Making it impossible for the poor to benefit from our ever growing capitalist economy by investing in start-up companies. 

The Rocky Mountain Institue now informs us about the next alterative, an exciting crowd-sourced funding plan, an example of which is a little company called Mosaic. Our future is bright, if you are smart.

From Forbes to Fortune, Bloomberg to the Wall Street Journal, a young company named Mosaic has been getting a lot of attention of late. Why? Because Mosaic is bringing crowd-sourced funding to the world of solar PV.

Crowdfunding is nothing new. Companies such as Kickstarter have allowed individuals to fund everything from their next indie film to extensive out of pocket medical bills with pooled donations from family, friends, and other supporters. But thanks to last year’s JOBS Act, debt-based crowdfunding is now an option as well, in which investors come together to fund startups and small businesses in return for repayment plus interest from a company like Mosaic.

It’s inclusive, meaning that investors of all shapes and sizes can get into the game. And it currently makes for a good, low-risk investment. Mosaic—with more than $1.1 million invested in solar projects to date—boasts 4.5–6.5% risk-adjusted annual returns, besting the latest interest rates on 30-year Treasury bonds.  READ MORE ...