Banking on Climate Chaos: The fresh numbers are in

Rainforest Action Network – Mar 24, 2021

60 banks, $3.8 trillion in fossil fuel financing since 2015. Big banks are talking a big talk on climate without real action to stop the climate crisis or human rights violations fossil fuel projects inflict on frontline communities.

See how your bank stacks up at http://bankingonclimatechaos.org

Banking on Climate Chaos Case Study: The Arctic Refuge

Rainforest Action Network Mar 24, 2021

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the world’s last intact ecosystems and one of the few places in the United States that has never been developed or industrialized. After 50 years of protection, the refuge was opened to oil and gas leasing and development.

This was originally published as a case study in “Banking on Climate Chaos: Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2021” — a report by Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance, and Sierra Club. You can see the full report at http://bankingonclimatechaos.org

Underestimating Challenges for Avoiding a Ghastly Future

Paul Beckwith Mar 11, 2021

Recently a peer reviewed scientific paper titled “Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future” was published in the journal “Frontiers in Conservation. Science”. It used to be extremely unusual for scientific papers to have such dire titles, but not anymore. I chat about some of the key findings in this paper. I review some of the abundant evidence that future environmental conditions will be far more dangerous than many people and organizations currently understand. Political and economic systems and leadership do not seem prepared or even capable of action at any scale large enough to even begin to tackle the problem. We need all scientists to speak out candidly and accurately to convey the enormous scope of our dire situation. I chat about Biodiversity Loss, the Sixth Mass Extinction, Ecological Overshoot (Population Size and Overconsumption), failed international goals and future prospects, climate disruption, political impotence, and how we collectively need to change the rules of the game. Please donate to http://paulbeckwith.net​ to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system change.

Underestimating Challenges for Avoiding a Ghastly Future: Part 2 of 2

Paul Beckwith
Mar 11, 2021

Jeffrey Sachs – Alleviating Global Hunger with Agricultural Biotechnology

CBIWashingtonDC

Jeffrey Sachs,Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, discusses the benefits of agricultural biotechnology in alleviating the world hunger.

The Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI) communicates science-based information about the benefits and safety of agricultural biotechnology and its contributions to sustainable development. Its members are the leading agricultural biotechnology companies.

Plant biotechnology is already helping the world grow more and better food. It is also producing greater yields of crops used to produce biofuels to help meet our energy needs. In addition, the development of drought-tolerant crops are helping farmers cope with drought and water shortages, in order to better preserve and manage our water resources. This new technology holds even more promise for a sustainable future in each of these areas.

To learn more about CBI, please visit http://www.whybiotech.com/index.asp

Why I love fertilizer

Bill Gates Nov 14, 2018

During a trip to Tanzania, Bill Gates visited the Yara fertilizer plant in Dar es Salaam, the largest fertilizer distribution center of its kind in East Africa, to learn how the agriculture supply chain and specifically fertilizer is changing to better serve small holder farmers. Learn more at https://b-gat.es/2PM12S3

See related:

• The Fertiliser Trap | IATP
• The “Green Revolution:” Its Essence, Achievements & Aftermath
• The Malthus Insight and the Global Limits of “Green Revolution” Food Production
• Global Balliol
• AGRA – some critical scientific assessments

More data, better farms

Bill Gates – Oct 9, 2018

Dancing Crow Farm is the pilot site for FarmBeats, an amazing new project that hopes to make farmers more productive by arming them with data. Learn more at https://b-gat.es/2QuU8O3

The future of farming

Bill Gates – Jan 20, 2016

Technology is transforming farming even in the world’s poorest countries. Bill Gates shares how the future of agriculture will shape up. Learn more at https://www.gatesnotes.com

A better way to fertilize

Bill Gates – Mar 26, 2019

What if we could fertilize plants without releasing as many harmful greenhouse gases into the air? A company called Pivot Bio has genetically modified microbes to provide plants with the nitrogen they need without contributing as much to climate change. Learn more at https://b-gat.es/2TR8sX0

Bill Gates Now Owns The Most Farmland In America | Forbes

Forbes – Jan 18, 2021

Bill Gates, the fourth richest person in the world and a self-described nerd who is known for his early programming skills rather than his love of the outdoors, has been quietly snatching up 242,000 acres of farmland across the U.S. — enough to make him the top private farmland owner in America.

After years of reports that he was purchasing agricultural land in places like Florida and Washington, The Land Report revealed that Gates, who has a net worth of nearly $121 billion according to Forbes, has built up a massive farmland portfolio spanning 18 states. His largest holdings are in Louisiana (69,071 acres), Arkansas (47,927 acres) and Nebraska (20,588 acres). Additionally, he has a stake in 25,750 acres of transitional land on the west side of Phoenix, Arizona, which is being developed as a new suburb.

According to The Land Report’s research, the land is held directly and through third-party entities by Cascade Investments, Gates’ personal investment vehicle. Cascade’s other investments include food-safety company Ecolab, used-car retailer Vroom and Canadian National Railway.

While it may be surprising that a tech billionaire would also be the biggest farmland owner in the country, this is not Gates’ only foray into agriculture. In 2008, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced $306 million in grants to promote high-yield, sustainable agriculture among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The foundation has further invested in the development and proliferation of “super crops” resistant to climate change and higher-yield dairy cows. Last year, the organization announced Gates Ag One, a nonprofit to advance those efforts.

Trump: What’s The Deal? Full Documentary (1991)

Journeyman Pictures
1991

Donald Trump is one of the richest and most famous men in America, but on what foundation has his success been built? From accusations of harassment to repeated flirtations with bankruptcy, his very public business career has been one of artifice and intrigue; a Machiavellian performance played out before the American media. Originally produced in 1991, Donald Trump: What’s the Deal? investigates the unscrupulous reality behind this most public of figures.