Author: Our Changing Climate
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Can Small-Scale Farming Feed the World?
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In the 1970s, environmentalists and politicians in the imperial core quivered in their seats at the prospect of a population explosion. Malthusian prophecies of total collapse and Thanos-esque proposals of racial extermination pervaded political thought. For many, it seemed the end of the world was at our door, and one of the main worries was…
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Why Plastic Pollution Is Even Worse Than You Think
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Along the banks of the Mississippi River, right before it spills out past New Orleans into the sea, lies Cancer Alley: an 85-mile strip of shoreline where residents are contracting cancer at astronomical rates. But this isn’t a phenomenon based on genetics or some cruel twist of fate. Cancer Alley is the product of environmental…
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The True Cost of Cryptocurrency
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Amidst the loud hum of computers, digital gold is born. Churning and churning, hundreds of computers mine for a new form of currency – one that professes to be the decentralized, deflationary disruptor of the modern banking system. It goes by many names – Dogecoin, VibuCoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin – but they can all be…
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We had electric cars in 1900… Then this happened
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Tearing through the crowded streets of Philadelphia, an electric car and a gas-powered car sought to win a heated race. One that mimicked cars’ actual use: they had to stop at stop lights, wait for pedestrians to cross the street, and swerve in and out of the hundreds of horse-drawn buggies. That’s right: horse-drawn buggies…
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Planned obsolescence sucks. Here’s why it still exists
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In December of 1924, the heads of all the major lightbulb manufacturers across the world met in Geneva to concoct a sinister plan. Their talks outlined limits on how long all of their lightbulbs would last – the idea being that if their bulbs failed quickly, customers would have to buy more of their product.…
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The Problem with Consumerism
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In 2009, South Korea did something remarkable. The country poured 2% of its GDP – some 38.1 billion US dollars – into environmental projects, hoping to create one million green jobs over the next five years. The goal was to spur growth in a slumping economy while simultaneously creating a low-carbon society. In one sense,…
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The Real Problem with GMO Food
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On a crisp day in early August, 50 activists tore down a fence. They stormed through the barricade in the Bicol Region of the Philippines and ran towards the rice field beyond it. Then, to the shock of onlookers, the group began to tear out the rice plants by the handful. They did this not…
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The Global Water Crisis, Explained
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The Central Valley of California is one of the United States’ breadbaskets, or, more accurately, ‘produce’ baskets. For folks who live here, common-sense water conservation is second nature. Linda, an agricultural labourer, has lived here all her life, and she carefully teaches her children to be conscious of their water usage. They use shorter showers…
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Could This Be the Solution to Reaching 100% Renewable Energy?
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Tucked into a narrow valley straddling the border of Virginia and West Virginia lie two bodies of water: reservoirs carved from the earth of the Allegheny Mountains. One lies uphill of the other and a stream of water flows between the two. But if you look closely, that water seems to be defying gravity. Instead…
