Newsworthy

Forests and Climate Change

Can reforestation help mitigate climate change? Only if it’s done rapidly and sustainably. The opportunity is rapidly closing.

Eating Seaweed

There will be two billion additional people wanting food in 2050. Seaweed will provide many of them with a nutritious diet, and feed the fish too, which will become more plentiful because of it. Try algae today.

The Rise and Fall of Gazprom

Gazprom was so profitable that people said, “When Russia runs out of gas, Gazprom will be able to heat the entire country for another year just by burning its paper money.” No more. Konstantin Samoilov explains why.

Living with Microbes

People and animals produce 5 trillion kg of fecal waste each year. We’re doing a poor job of sanitation, Laura Kahn notes. Fecal waste worsens anti-microbial resistance, makes us sick, contaminates our atmosphere, and worsens climate change. Instead of looking for more ways of curing disease, we should concentrate on prevention.

Road Ahead on Autonomous Weapons

On battlefields, Branka Marijan says, AI decision- support systems are already diminishing human control over targeting. Humans have mere seconds to AI’s suggestions

A Townhall Discusses Student Encampments

Ruth Otim writes that the Gazans are uploading videos showing the devastation around them, so the world is seeing atrocities more than in previous wars.

The Baltic States: Defending Democracy

Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania regard Russia’s attack on Ukraine as evidence that Putin would try to recover their lands too, if not prevented by NATO. Marcus Kolga shows us the mainstream view in all the Baltic countries

Shall We Whiten Clouds?

Our “Cool Thinking” forums consider refreezing the Arctic. A promising way is to spray saltwater into low clouds. This whitens them, so they reflect more sunshine back into space, cooling the ocean below. In this forum, three engineers discuss the plan.

Shall We Try Athenian Democracy?

Until about 200 years ago, “democracy” was understood to mean government by the people, not by elected representatives. Hugh Pope and Metta Spencer talked about how the Athenians made it work – and how citizens’ assemblies do so today.

Do You Understand Carbon Sequestration?

Are you up to speed on global warming proposals? Test yourself on sequestration methods. Then we have a free course for you on Udemy.

Newsworthy

Between the Hammer of War and the Anvil of Natural Disasters

The war in Sudan is killing more people than the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, writes Mutasim Ali.

Stolen Pride

In this transcript of their forum, Arlie Hochschild and Metta Spencer discuss Arlie’s research in Appalachia,
where she went to find out what makes American right wingers tick. It’s partly their sense of wounded pride

War’s Hidden Victim

Ukraine is asking the International Criminal Court to declare Russia guilty of environmental war crimes, notes Alexander Belyakov. If that succeeds, it will be an unprecedented legal achievement.

Saving the Ice

Vinton Cerf, Robert Axelrod, Robert Luebke,and Peter Wadhams discuss a proposal to pump water from under the ice sheets to the top, so glaciers cannot slide so easily off into the ocean as the earth warms.

Monitoring International Treaty Process

Arthur Edelstein has been keeping tabs on whether all countries are signing the international treaties.

Revsiting the ‘Limits to Growth’ Debate

Mark Jaccard and John Feffer discuss an old issue: whether we can allow economic growth in a world of finite resources, and how to plan if we decide not.

Nairobi’s Kibera

Visiting this Kenyan slum, Brendan Collins met a most remarkable social activist, Aquaman, who has created
jobs and access to clean water for his neighbors.

Dethroning King Coal

Fossil fuel-generated electricity has to be replaced soon with renewables, but even a half-way measure, a shift to gas from coal, can save a lot of lives and help the climate.

Russia’s Electricity

Russia is slow in adopting renewable sources of electricity. Konstantin Samoilov advocates a turn to natural gas.

A Nonviolent March through Nova Scotia, Canada

Jill Carr-Harris tells of a 200-kilometer walk for peace led by the Mi’kmaq Grassroots Grandmothers.

Physicists Against the Bomb

Stewart Prager and Roohi Dalal tell us about a new group of physicists to promote abolition of nuclear weapons.

The World Court’s Opinion on Israel’s Occupation

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestine illegal, notes Thomas Woodley.

Pleistocene Park

John Bacher reports that the Zimovs believe that the Siberian megafauna were killed off by human hunters with spears.

Exploring Ocean-Based Climate Solutions

Peter Fiekowsky and Kathryn Moran discuss two different ways of removing carbon from the air and sequestering it in oceans.

Lois Wilson

We’ve lost our beloved sponsor, who had headed the United Church and had been a Canadian senator. Bruna Nota will miss their lunches together.

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