Submitted by ETC Group on
If we are to survive climate change, we must adopt policies that let peasants diversify the plant and animal varieties on our menus. Only they have the know-how and patience to find out what plants and livestock will thrive where. A fundamental change in the regulatory machinery is needed.
Submitted by ETC Group on
This briefing outlines the principal decisions and resolutions of the Convention on Biological Diversity and London Convention/Protocol relating to ocean fertilization in the context of the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation's "Haida Salmon Restoration Project".
The CBD Moratorium
Submitted by Anonymous on
From: Sweet,Adam [NCR] [mailto:Adam.Sweet@ec.gc.ca]
Sent: October-17-12 4:24 PM
Environmental protection and enforcement is a priority of our government. Under Budget 2012, we increased the levels of fines, and we have also recently increased the number of enforcement officers.
Submitted by ETC Group on
In mid-october 2012 ETC Group, working with partners, uncovered a large-scale unauthorised geoengineering scheme that had been carried out in July 300km off the west coast of Canada, close to the islands of Haida Gwaii. We discovered that this ocean fertilization scheme, which involved at least 120 tons of iron dust and iron sulphate being dumped into a highly biodiverse marine ecosystem, appeared to have given rise, at least in part, to an unusually large (10,000 sq km) plankton boom. We also learned that the principal actor behind this large dump of iron was Russ George formerly CEO of Planktos, a company that had attempted to dump iron in the waters west of the Galapagos Islands and the Canary islands in 2007. In ETC Group's view this activity violated at least three international moratoria established through the IMO's London Convention and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
This page presents a partial record of the media reporting and scientific and official responses to this large real-world geoengineeirng scheme.
Submitted by ETC Group on
Next year’s UN conference in Rio de Janeiro should mark the beginning of a new era of environmental and economic cooperation. Rio +20 is not only the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit, it is also Stockholm+40 – marking the UN’s first major environmental conference, and, somewhat ominously, it is also the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking Silent Spring. As we prepare for 2012, we have 50 years of environmental history to bear in mind.
Submitted by ETC Staff on
There is little faith in the reform of the UN system; nonetheless, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 – also known as Rio +20 – is not only to set the stage for a green economy, but also to provide an impetus for the institutional reform of the UN environmental sector. The ministerial-level advisory group brought together by the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) is preparing the reforms.
Submitted by ETC Staff on
Here's a grim prediction to chew on. This biotech craze dubbed "synthetic biology"—where hipster geeks design quirky life-forms: That technology is going to wind up costing lives—likely a lot of them. I'm not suggesting a direct kill by rogue viruses. These will be economic deaths. The dead will not be noteworthy: farmers, pastoralists, and forest dwellers who live in poor nations that depend on plant commodities.
Syn bio is feted as the next big thing, but we should be clear-eyed about what makes syn bio such a big deal and about whom it will harm. Its advocates predict that synthetic bio will lead to the "New Bioeconomy," in which we harness biology to perform tasks now accomplished by manufacturing.
The New Bioeconomy seems innocently green. It involves yeast and bacteria being repurposed as bio-factories to churn out the plastics, chemicals, and fuels we are already addicted to. Since microbes feast on plant-stuff—whether algae, wood chips, or sugar—plants would replace petroleum as the key feedstock for industrial production. The sourcing of strategic raw materials, including medicines, rubber, and oils, will shift from the hands of farmers in the global South to fermentation vats controlled by the North.
Submitted by ETC Staff on
La biodiversidad en el mundo no está repartida equitativamente, aunque es la base de todos los sistemas naturales. Siete por ciento del planeta, coincidente con las áreas de bosques tropicales, alberga más de la mitad de la biodiversidad que se conoce en el mundo. México es uno de los países llamados megadiversos, ubicándose entre los cinco primeros lugares en diversidad de especies de fauna y flora, de bosques y otros ecosistemas. También es un centro privilegiado de origen y diversidad de especies cultivadas.
La mayor diversidad cultural del planeta está en las mismas zonas. No es casualidad. Es causalidad. Durante miles de años ha existido una relación de apoyo mutuo entre la diversidad biológica y la diversidad cultural. Millones de indígenas y campesinos han ido adaptando y adaptándose al medio, a través del uso y la domesticación de recursos biológicos para su sustento: alimentación, vivienda, abrigo, medicinas, objetos rituales y para el placer ético y estético. La diversidad no es un fenómeno separado de la gente. Tiene actores: son los campesinos –y fundamentalmente las campesinas-, los agricultores de pequeña escala, las poblaciones locales tradicionales e indígenas.
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