MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE Greenhouse gas emission reduction
NEW REGIONALISM AND THE NEW NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMY - Insights from North America and Implications for Australia by Professor Michael Hibbard, University of Oregon.
For the past 150 years or more, traditional natural resource extraction and agriculture led the development of rural regions. While those industries continue to play an important role in the economy, because of structural changes they provide fewer jobs and less wealth to rural communities.
At the same time, there has been a growing recognition of the need for restoration and long-term management of the environment - for example, restoring and maintaining intact and functioning ecosystems, healthy fish and wildlife populations, clean water, and mitigating climate change.
The trend toward environmental restoration and management presents economic development opportunities for rural communities. Some examples are watershed and forest restoration, which require firms, workers, material, and supplies; wildfire mitigation which produces biomass with commercial uses; the increasing demand for sustainably produced agricultural products and new forms of bio-based products, many of which entail substantial value-added processing; various forms of carbon sequestration and non-carbon-emitting energy; and eco-tourism.
These sorts of goods, services, and activities, along with the "localisation" of the supply chains for agriculture and natural resource products, can strengthen rural self-determination and help reverse the decline experienced by many rural communities. Most of them are familiar to policy makers and rural development professionals. However, they are generally thought of in isolation from one another, not as constituent parts of an emerging and potentially significant component of the rural economic base. We use the term New Natural Resource Economy (NNRE) as a summary descriptor of this emerging component of the rural economy.
This seminar, delivered by Professor Michael Hibbard, from the University of Oregon, introduces the concept of NNRE within the wider framework of New Regionalism, drawing on examples from rural Oregon and South East Alaska. Drawing on a developing wider study comparing rural and regional development in the US and Australia, the seminar considers potential implications of the North American experience for sustainable regional development and natural resource management in Australia.
Eco-Farming AGROECOLOGY Can Double Food Production in 10 Years, says new UN report .
GENEVA - Small-scale farmers can double food production within 10 years in critical regions by
using ecological methods, a new UN report* shows. Based on an extensive review of the recent
scientific literature, the study calls for a fundamental shift towards agroecology as a way to
boost food production and improve the situation of the poorest.
"To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming
techniques available," says Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and
author of the report. "Today's scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods
outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live --
especially in unfavorable environments."
Agroecology applies ecological science to the design of agricultural systems that can help put
an end to food crises and address climate-change and poverty challenges. It enhances soils
productivity and protects the crops against pests by relying on the natural environment such as
beneficial trees, plants, animals and insects.
"To date, agroecological projects have shown an average crop yield increase of 80% in 57
developing countries, with an average increase of 116% for all African projects," De Schutter
says. "Recent projects conducted in 20 African countries demonstrated a doubling of crop yields
over a period of 3-10 years."
"Conventional farming relies on expensive inputs, fuels climate change and is not resilient to
climatic shocks. It simply is not the best choice anymore today," De Schutter stresses. "A large
segment of the scientific community now acknowledges the positive impacts of agroecology on
food production, poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation -- and this this is what is
needed in a world of limited resources. Malawi, a country that launched a massive chemical
fertilizer subsidy program a few years ago, is now implementing agroecology, benefiting more
than 1.3 million of the poorest people, with maize yields increasing from 1 ton/ha to 2-3
tons/ha."
The report also points out that projects in Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh recorded up to
92 % reduction in insecticide use for rice, leading to important savings for poor farmers.
"Knowledge came to replace pesticides and fertilizers. This was a winning bet, and comparable
results abound in other African, Asian and Latin American countries," the independent expert
notes.
"The approach is also gaining ground in developed countries such as United States, Germany
or France," he said. "However, despite its impressive potential in realizing the right to food for
all, agroecology is still insufficiently backed by ambitious public policies and consequently hardly
goes beyond the experimental stage."
The report identifies a dozen of measures that States should implement to scale up
agroecological practices.
"Agroecology is a knowledge-intensive approach. It requires public policies supporting
agricultural research and participative extension services," De Schutter says. "States and
donors have a key role to play here. Private companies will not invest time and money in practices that cannot be rewarded by patents and which don't open markets for chemical
products or improved seeds."
CLIMATE ACTION: A CAMPAIGN MANUAL FOR GREENHOUSE SOLUTIONS
Dr Mark Diesendorf
In the USA, social movements succeeded in stopping 59 proposals to build new conventional (dirty) coal-fired power stations. In the UK, there was an extended campaign to stop the expansion of Heathrow airport, primarily on the grounds of the greenhouse gas emissions from increased flights. Responding to this global epidemic, Climate Action is a campaign manual that draws upon positive case studies of successful grass-roots social movements from the last few decades, and presents a menu of strategies for activists and citizens who want to pressure governments and businesses to create a framework for big and rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr Mark Diesendorf is Deputy Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at University of New South Wales, Sydney. Previously he was Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Technology Sydney and a Principal Research Scientist in CSIRO, Australia's national scientific research organisation. His work in community and professional groups included being President of the original Australasian Wind Energy Association, Coordinator of the Australian Conservation Foundation's Climate Change Program, President of the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics and active membership of several other NGOs devoted to environment, health, renewable energy, appropriate technology and peace. He is author of Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy (UNSW, 2007).
We are riding a new wave of industrial revolution into the RENEWABLE ENERGY AGE. Renewable Energies bring only advantages and no burden to the world.
The ECO SUSTAINABLE PLANET and ECO SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY sections often overlap - as crops become fuel and microorganisms make electricity - the line is blurred and indeed that is the desired 'interconnectedness' effect.
All these exciting new green technologies could become marketable at any time. To clarify exactly what is available now, you'll find WAPSEC is in the business of WATER & POWER SECURITY. WAPSEC supplies 'wholistec' solutions with leading-edge technology from Germany and Australia.
ECO SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY Ecology and Technology working together in synergy. SUSTAINABLE is 24 x 7. ECO SUSTAINABLE is when there's no waste. The waste product of one process is fuel for the next.
THE AGE of ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY - inspiration leads to innovation, and solutions provide engineers and architects methodologies to green the world. Man learns to live with the planet.
ECO SUSTAINABLE PLANET
ECO SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY
In the USA, social movements succeeded in stopping 59 proposals to build new conventional (dirty) coal-fired power stations. In the UK, there was an extended campaign to stop the expansion of Heathrow airport, primarily on the grounds of the greenhouse gas emissions from increased flights. Responding to this global epidemic, Climate Action is a campaign manual that draws upon positive case studies of successful grass-roots social movements from the last few decades, and presents a menu of strategies for activists and citizens who want to pressure governments and businesses to create a framework for big and rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
THE ECOLOGY REVOLUTION 
