Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has been chosen by President-elect Barack Obama for agriculture secretary, the LA Times reports Dec. 17. The Organic Consumers Association warned a month ago against choosing Vilsack, calling him “Monsanto’s buddy” and “a shill for… Read moreObama USDA pick another “biofuel” booster
At the Poznan climate summit, Mexico’s Environment Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira announced his administration’s plan to cut 2002 greenhouse gas emission levels by 50% by 2050. The Mexican plan includes a carbon trading system that would set emissions limits on… Read moreMexico pledges to halve greenhouse emmissions —with carbon-trading
This Dec. 10 account from the San Francisco Chronicle paints Steven Chu, President-elect Barack Obama‘s pick to lead the Energy Department, as an alternative-fuels visionary who will buck the oil cartel. But this year saw a protest campaign on campus… Read moreObama Energy Department pick is “biofuel” booster
Via the Global Justice Ecology Project, Dec. 9: We, the undersigned representatives of indigenous peoples, local communities and non-governmental organizations monitoring the progress of negotiations in Poznan are outraged that the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand opposed the… Read moreIndigenous leaders protest Poznan climate summit
The leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations met in Washington, DC on Nov. 15 for the group’s first summit—an emergency session to discuss the world financial crisis. The G20 combines the Group of 8 (Britain, Canada, France, Germany,… Read moreLatin America plays leading role at first G20 summit; Fidel unimpressed
A green-energy ballot initiative in Missouri, Proposition C, was approved by voters, calling for the state to increase the use of renewable energy to 15% by 2021, mandating steady yearly increases. Prop C made Missouri the 27th state to require… Read moreMissouri passes alternative energy initiative; politics kill other such efforts
Earlier this year, we asked if oil would reach $200 per barrel by year’s end. Short of a sudden and dramatic crisis in the Middle East, that now seems impossible. The rising prices themselves put some long-overdue breaks on consumption—and… Read morePeak oil apocalyptoids eating crow yet?
Our October issue featured the story “Behind the Econocataclysm: Globalization, Oil Shock and the Iraq War” by Vilosh Vinograd, citing George Soros, Joseph Stiglitz and Walden Bello to argue that the financial crisis was sparked by George Bush’s imperialist aggression… Read moreOur readers write: Is it 1929 yet?
Even now that the economy is hitting the skids bigtime and the price of oil is back down below $100 ($66 per barrel on Oct. 30 according to CNNMoney)—prompting OPEC at its Vienna meeting to decide to cut production, after… Read moreExxon reaps record profits; McCain reaps two-faced propaganda
The US has plundered global wealth by exploiting the dollar’s dominance, and the world urgently needs other currencies to take its place, a front-page commentary in the overseas edition of the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily said Oct. 24. “The… Read moreChina People’s Daily: dollar dominance plunders planet
More than 900 million people in developing countries face starvation as food prices soar, a new report from Oxfam finds. Spiraling inflation in the cost of basic foods, such as rice and cereals, have pushed an extra 119 million people… Read moreOxfam: 900 million face starvation worldwide
Oil prices posted the biggest one-day dollar gain ever Monday Sept. 22 as the dollar fell in response to Washington’s $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan. October oil contracts surged in afternoon trading, reaching $130—a more than $25 gain. It… Read moreOil soars as dollar plunges
