Thinking global, living local: Voices in a globalized world

Read all posts for ‘Natural Resources’

  • Pumpkin Festival by David Smith CCBy

    Running out of Bacon: The Contradictions of Food Scarcity in a Wealthy Nation

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    Food has become more of an interest after I moved to the United States. I’ve struggled with my weight all of my life so food was certainly in my mind, but nowadays I’m thinking of food beyond the calories, or rather, about food in other ways. Whether it is about the giant portion sizes at restaurants, the great variety of food available or the great waste of food that is seen as normal here I’m still grasping to understand the food culture in my new country.

  • South Africa and the Ghosts of Marikana

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    Roughly six weeks after 34 striking miners were gunned down by police at the Marikana platinum mine in South Africa, the strikes are over and the miners have all gone back to work, having finally agreed to terms on a pay increase slightly lower than their original demands.  The dust […]

  • As peace slowly restores, Rio Tinto slowly returns

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    It’s been almost fifteen years since the end of the civil war and the landowners on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are discussing the return of the mining giant Rio Tinto. Rio’s infamous Panguna mine, owned by its subsidiary Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) was at the […]

  • hutan: 100 Years of Peace, Unity, and Happiness. Photo by Rajkumar1220 on Flickr CC BY 2.0.

    Don’t Destroy Your Home (and Other Ideas on Happiness)

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    The notion that economic growth is inherently beneficial for society is deeply entrenched dogma in the United States. The primary (indeed, almost sole) metrics of our nation’s health and success are economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the total value of all nationally produced goods and services, and […]

  • Energy Efficiency: An Introduction to a Golden Opportunity

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    As cities around the world continue to grow, so too will their unquenchable thirst for energy. Meeting this demand will be challenging, especially if we’re going to do so in a manner that is both cost-effective and sustainable for future generations. The challenge is particularly potent for small businesses, for […]