The Story of Cap and Trade

The Story of Stuff meteored to international success and has fueled the next chapter in Annie Leonard's animated series on the environmental impact of our policies and practices, " The Story of Cap and Trade." Ironic and amusing, this animation points a finger at the troubles with using a market-based system to control the amount of carbon emissions we create because, as Leonard says, "there are a lot of devils in the details of the cap n' trade proposals on the table."

Future chapters include more animated storytelling on the life cycle of Plastic Bottles and electronics. Check it out on The Story of Stuff website.

Monsanto Seeds Sustainable Agriculture Greenwash

This Greenwash moment is brought to us by Monsanto who intends to meet the challenges of tomorrow by redefining "sustainability".

From the Monsanto website:

By 2030, Monsanto commits to help farmers produce more and conserve more by:

• Developing improved seeds that help farmers double yields from 2000 levels for corn, soybeans and cotton, with a $10 million grant pledged to improve wheat and rice yields.
• Conserving resources through developing seeds that use one-third fewer key resources per unit of output to grow crops while working to lessen habitat loss and improve water quality.
• Helping improve the lives of all farmers who use our products, including an additional five million people in resource-poor farm families by 2020.

That’s sustainable agriculture. And that’s what Monsanto seeds are all about.

Monsanto was primarily a chemical company, prior to focusing on the seed market. It helped us keep our lawns green with toxic herbicides now known to be carcinogenic. In 1980, concurrent with the Reagan Administration, the United States Patent and Trademark Office began to grant patents on seeds. Since then, Monsanto has purchased seed companies worldwide and has become the leader in genetic modification of seeds, monopolizing control of food production through a combination of its seed and pesticide sales. It systematically uses legislative pressure and lawsuits to fight the blocking efforts of farmers and stores who reject their products.

This Vanity Fair article, "Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear" provides a fascinating and well-researched piece on Monsanto's march to monopolize the seed market. It illustrates that Monsanto's definition of "sustainable" is about sustaining itself.

The War On Democracy

a film by John Pilger

Fear of communism and propoganda has excused every act of terrorism made by or supported by the United States. This movie tells the story of several Latin American countries that have endured USA's efforts to support "democracy". It's a full hour and a half with lots of wonderful historical footage and interviews with high ranking policy makers fed up with the choices this government has executed.

Not for the feint of heart.