THE FLAWED IDEAL OF SUSTAINABILITY; PART 2.

In the much acclaimed partnership between the advocates of ecological sustainability and of development, who is going to lead whom? This is the all-important question to ask about the new path that so many want us to take. I fear that in the partnership it will be 'development' that makes most of the decisions, and …

HAIL MARY, MOTHER OF GOD…

I grew up in a Christian family, protestant to be precise. My extended family is largely Catholic. When I turned sixteen years old I joined the Anglican church and I was baptized and confirmed by the then archbishop. A few years of experience and wide exposure when in college pursuing environmental education made me have …

THE FLAWED IDEAL OF SUSTAINABILITY; PART 1.

The popular environmentalist slogan of 'sustainable development' threatens to become a deceptively easy path that never reaches a destination but meanders off into dead-end, frustrating the traveler and wasting energy. Though attractive at first view, it appeals particularly to people who are dismayed by the long ardous hike they see ahead of them or who …

ERA OF BIO-COLONIALISM; PART 2

In 1992, when Indian farmers destroyed Cargill's seed plant in Bellary, Karnataka, to protest against seed failure, the Cargill Chief Executive stated: "We bring Indian farmers smart technologies which prevent bees from usurping the pollen." In the United Nations Biosafety Negotiations, Monsanto circulated literature to defend its herbicide resistant Roundup ready crops on grounds that …