Articles for October 2015

The End Of Suburbia

Environment
Published on

Created on Thursday, 07 October 2010 20:26

Since World War II North Americans have invested much of their newfound wealth in Suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years, so too has the suburban way of life become embedded in the American consciousness.

Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream. But as we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge about the sustainability of this way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, The End of Suburbia (2004) explores the American Way of Life and its prospects, as the demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply.

Energy prices will absolutely skyrocket in the coming years and the consequences of inaction in the face of this global crisis are enormous. In this documentary scientists and policymakers explain what Peak Oil means, not only for North America, but also for the rest of the world.

Click here to see the current crude oil and commodity prices and to read articles related to these topics.

 

Oil, Smoke & Mirrors

Environment
Published on

Last updated: July 24, 2018 at 19:43 pm

Created on Saturday, 28 March 2009 14:05

"Oil Smoke & Mirrors" offers us a sobering critique of our perceived recent history, of our present global circumstances, and of our shared future in light of imminent, under-reported and mis-represented energy production constraints.

Through a series of impressively candid, informed and articulate interviews, this film also argues that the bizzare events surrounding the 9/11 attacks, and the equally bizzare "war on terror", can be more credibly understood in the wider context of an imminent and critical divergence between available global oil supply and increasing global oil demand.

 

Food Inc.

Environment
Published on

Created on Saturday, 01 May 2010 15:41

The current method of raw food production is largely a response to the growth of the fast food industry since the 1950s. The production of food overall has more drastically changed since that time than the several thousand years prior. Controlled primarily by a handful of multinational corporations, the global food production business, with an emphasis on the business, has its own unwritten goals namely — production of large quantities of food at low direct inputs (most often subsidized) resulting in enormous profits, which in turn results in greater control of the global supply of food sources within these few companies.

Health and safety (of the food itself, of the animals, of the workers on the assembly lines, and of the consumers actually eating the food) are often overlooked by the companies, and are often overlooked by government in an effort to provide cheap food regardless of these negative consequences. Many of the changes are based on advancements in science and technology, but often have negative side effects. The answer that the companies have come up with is to throw more science at the problems to bandage the issues but not the root causes.

The global food supply may be in crisis with lack of biodiversity, but can be changed on the demand side of the equation.

Related

The World According To Monsanto