A global citizens' report on 'Seed Freedom' depicts the concentration and
restrictions in the global seed sector as a result of Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) regimes and corporate convergence. Released by Navdanya.
The Guardian newspaper asked 50 readers and public figures how they would lead the
world out of the climate predicament. According to the secretary general of Co-Operatives UK, it is time for the old idea of sharing to inspire us again. By Ed Mayo.
The IMF has decided to spend a $2.7 billion windfall from selling
gold at a high price by subsidising lending to low income countries. The
decision was taken at a meeting of the IMF Board in Washington DC on
Friday 28 September, according to the Jubilee Debt Campaign.
Given recent changes in the IMF, it is ironic to see European governments inflicting old-IMF-style programmes
on their own populations. The danger is that austerity measures will not only kill European economies, but also threaten the very legitimacy of European democracies, writes Ha-Joon Chang.
Cooperatives offer a means by which to change the economic and
social landscape and directly tackle issues of wealth inequality,
outsourcing of jobs and high unemployment. By bringing
democracy to our communities we can transform society and the economy, write Brian Van Slyke and Taliesin Nyala.
Civil society
representatives launching the fifth annual report on the right to food
and nutrition state that it is impossible to combat the causes of hunger
while keeping existing power relations untouched. A report by members of the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch Consortium.
The economic causes of Egypt's revolution
are obscured by political and religion tensions, and barely discussed in the mainsteam media. But the path to genuine development, a fairer distribution of wealth and falling poverty remains open – unless the IMF gets its way, writes Nick Dearden.
A series of four blogs give a colourful insight to the 3rd International Conference on Degrowth, Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity held in Venice, with speakers including Helena Norberg-Hodge, Serge Latouche, Silke Helfrich and Arturo Escobar among others. By Rob Hopkins.
A golden age of energy is coming to an end and we have to make the
transition to a new age, before our fossil fuel inheritance is spent. But the urgency of the climate challenge and the
immaturity of nuclear technology means we must turn to renewables to
find a solution, writes Dr. Thiemo Gropp.
We need to come to grips with land issues in a changing global context and rethink what may be needed to mobilise effectively in such a setting. Our analysis suggests that 'land sovereignty’ is a framework worth considering,write Saturnino M. Borras Jr. and Jennifer C. Franco.
