Climate Change Primer

In one of its last posts before dissolving, Green Blog has this interview that serves as an excellent primer on climate change:

Dieter Helm has long been frustrated that, despite more than two decades of international negotiations, the world has failed to tackle climate change. So he got angry, he said, and decided to write a book about it: “The Carbon Crunch: How We’re Getting Climate Change Wrong — and How to Fix It.” Continue reading

South Indian Open Markets

Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor

Vegetables and fruits typically constitute an essential part of the daily diet in India and they are in great demand year-round by most sections of the population. Open markets are very common in both small towns and cities of South India, where people buy and sell their fresh vegetables and fruits. Continue reading

Congrats To The AguaClara Team At Cornell University

From an article linked in one of our alumni emails we learned about an organization with a worthy set of initiatives and actions:

Katerva is building unique platforms to create and leverage its global action network:

  • The Katerva Awards – The pinnacle of global sustainability recognition. Through them, the best ideas on the planet are identified, refined and accelerated for global impact. Continue reading

Ottanthullal – Dance of Kerala

Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor

Ottanthullal is a combination of music, dance and linguistic variations, which is characterized by wit and humor. The most appealing aspect of the performance is the combination of storyteller and dancer in one actor, who effortlessly switches from one to the other. Continue reading

If You Happen To Be In Bangkok

Associated Press. Stuart Chapman, a regional representative of the World Wildlife Fund, presented a petition for a blanket ban on the ivory trade to Thailand’s prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, on Wednesday.

You might want to lend your signature to the petition mentioned below, for which we thank WWF:

As my colleague Erik Olsen just noted here, many threatened species will be competing for attention when officials from 177 countries open a conference on the trade in endangered species on Sunday in Bangkok. Continue reading

Holding Food Brands Accountable

Click the image above to take action. Thanks to Oxfam for the insistence that we hold the usual suspects accountable for the foods that make their way to our grocers:

You’re more powerful than any of the Big Ten food companies. Without you, they won’t stay big for long. Use Facebook and Twitter to nudge your favourite brands. Contact the CEO personally and tell them what needs to change. We’ll be constantly updating the scorecard so you can see the impact you’re having.  Continue reading

Mutthukkuda – Festival Umbrellas

Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor

Mutthukkudas are one of the main attraction in Kerala’s religious and political ceremonies, especially at the Thrissur Pooram, the state’s primary festival. During the pooram festival time there is one attraction called kudamattom (exchanging umbrellas) which is the most important aspect of the Trissur Pooram, were hundreds of beautiful long stemmed glittering umbrellas are exchanged rhythmically along with a traditional music orchestra and chenda melam played in the back ground. Continue reading

Pattu Pavadai – Traditional Long Silk Skirt

Pattu Pavadai is a traditional South Indian dress, especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They are frequently made from the famous Kanchipuram silk fabrics. Young girls wear Pattu Pavadai during ritual functions and special occasions.

Composting, Scaled For The Big Leagues

Corrado Construction. The Wilmington Organic Recycling Center in Delaware now produces some 75,000 tons of compost a year.

Corrado Construction. The Wilmington Organic Recycling Center in Delaware now produces some 75,000 tons of compost a year.

Thanks to Green Blog for coverage of the progress made getting this process in line with market forces:

Is it possible to make a living by turning rotting food into usable compost while also helping to curb greenhouse gas emissions and reduce landfill disposal costs?

The Peninsula Compost Company of Wilmington, Del., thinks so. Since 2009 it has been taking in growing quantities of spoiled food from supermarkets, restaurants, schools, and other sources and converting it in a matter of weeks into dark, moist, friable compost for use by landscapers, farmers and private gardeners. Continue reading

Hello From Ghana

Mole, Ghana

I have been in Ghana for five days, and this image above tells most of the story of the week that I have time to share in this post.  Since 1980 when I first met someone from this country, I have been looking forward to this visit.  A young man named Kwaku, his first time traveling outside Ghana, had just arrived in a southern Illinois August heatwave and was in the same 10-day soccer training camp as me.  During the previous two years I had captained an undefeated high school soccer team, had sat in a stadium watching Pele play his last professional game, and respectfully thought I knew something about the sport. Continue reading

If You Happen To Be In Washington, DC

Nordic

From our friends in the north comes our favorite kind of cultural festival–all mixed up. It is reviewed in this podcast and explained on the Kennedy Center’s website:

About the festival

February 19-March 17, 2013, the Kennedy Center presents Nordic Cool 2013, a month-long international festival of theater, dance, music, visual arts, literature, design, cuisine, and film to highlight the diverse cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as the territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Áland Islands. Continue reading