Category Archives: Uncategorized

2013 Marked the Thirty-seventh Consecutive Year of Above-Average Temperature

Posted on February 4, 2014 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Janet Larsen Last year was the thirty-seventh consecutive year of above-normal global temperature. According to data from NASA, the global temperature in 2013 averaged 58.3 degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 degrees Celsius), roughly a degree warmer than the twentieth-century average. Since … Continue reading →

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Arctic Sea Ice Freefall is Mirror Image of Carbon Dioxide Ascent

Posted on January 23, 2014 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Emily E. Adams The amount of Arctic sea ice has plummeted in recent decades—a bold manifestation of the rise in temperature resulting from the rapid increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. After staying below 300 parts per … Continue reading →

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Peak Water and Food Scarcity

Posted on January 14, 2014 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Lester R. Brown At the international level, water conflicts among countries dominate the headlines. But within countries it is the competition for water between cities and farms that preoccupies political leaders. Neither economics nor politics favors farmers. They almost … Continue reading →

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Many Countries Reaching Diminishing Returns in Fertilizer Use

Posted on January 8, 2014 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Lester R. Brown When German chemist Justus von Liebig demonstrated in 1847 that the major nutrients that plants removed from the soil could be applied in mineral form, he set the stage for the development of the fertilizer industry … Continue reading →

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As Sea Ice Shrinks, Arctic Shipping Options Expand

Posted on December 19, 2013 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Janet Larsen and Emily E. Adams On October 7, 2013, the Nordic Orion bulk carrier ship completed its journey from Vancouver, Canada, to Pori, Finland, having traveled northward around Alaska and through the Northwest Passage. It was the first … Continue reading →

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Less Than 3 Percent of Oceans in Marine Parks Despite Recent Growth

Posted on December 11, 2013 by earthpolicyinstitute

By J. Matthew Roney In May 1975, rising concerns about overfishing and deteriorating ocean health prompted scientists and officials from 33 countries to meet in Tokyo for the first global conference on marine parks and reserves. Noting the need for … Continue reading →

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India’s Dangerous ‘Food Bubble’

Posted on December 4, 2013 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Lester R. Brown India is now the world’s third-largest grain producer after China and the United States. The adoption of higher-yielding crop varieties and the spread of irrigation have led to this remarkable tripling of output since the early … Continue reading →

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Moving Up the Food Chain

Posted on November 25, 2013 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Lester R. Brown For most of the time that human beings have walked the earth, we lived as hunter-gatherers. The share of the human diet that came from hunting versus gathering varied with geographic location, hunting skills, and the … Continue reading →

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Climate Change Driving Weather off the Charts

Posted on November 18, 2013 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Janet Larsen Meteorologists are calling the typhoon that slammed into the Philippines with 195-mile-an-hour winds on November 8, 2013, the most powerful tropical storm to make landfall on record. Super Typhoon Haiyan had gusts reaching 235 miles per hour … Continue reading →

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China and the Soybean Challenge

Posted on November 6, 2013 by earthpolicyinstitute

By Lester R. Brown Some 3,000 years ago, farmers in eastern China domesticated the soybean. In 1765, the first soybeans arrived in North America, but they did not soon catch on as a crop. For 150 years or so the … Continue reading →

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