Category Archives: Environment

Just Say No: IKEA to Phase Out Plastic Packaging By 2028

IKEA pledges to phase out plastics packaging; federal and state lawmakers should impose a similar bank on all U.S. companies

Too Big to Strand? Bond Versus Bank Financing in the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy

Banks continue to provide financing to fossil fuel firms that the bond market would not finance as long as they do not price the risk of stranded assets. In this setting, stranded assets risks may have shifted to large banks.

The US Biofuel Mandate Helps Farmers, but Does Little for Energy Security and Harms the Environment

Why biofuel is a scam, except perhaps as a subsidy to Big Ag.

Profiting from the Carbon Offset Distraction

Carbon offset markets allow the rich to emit as financial intermediaries profit and undermine efforts to cut greenhouse gasses.

Finance Group Fails To Deliver at COP26

Finance, which some see as uniquely positioned to save the planet, has already bankrolled 1.5֯ C of warming.

Fifty Coral Reefs Selected as ‘Arks’ to Survive Climate Crisis

Australian scientists employ modern portfolio theory to target conservation priorities and generate a list of fifty priority coral reefs.

African Marine Rules Favour Big Industry, Leaving Small-Scale Fishers in the Lurch

European waters are not the only fisheries battleground. In Africa, conflict pits artisanal fishers against industrial forces.

‘We Are Fighting Back’: Global Black Friday Strikes and Protests Seek to #MakeAmazonPay

Workers around the world held Make Amazon Pay protests to obtain fair wages, end Amazon’s tax avoidance, and lower its impact on the planet

Dirty Dollars: Money Laundering, Steel, and Toxins

Money launderers moved millions into America to buy steel mills — while elected leaders helped them fend off U.S. regulators and foreign competitors, leading to sick workers and mountains of hazardous waste.

Climate Injustice at Glasgow Cop-Out

How the largely optical, pro-business gestures at addressing climate change were an affront to developing countries.

Book Review: Gabe Brown’s “Dirt to Soil”

“From Dirt to Soil” is well worth a read — and very hopeful, a good thing these days.

Why the UK (and US) Left Is Wrong To Be So Dismissive of Non-Violent Struggle

Some voices on the left advocate violent tactics. Is this recommendation well informed or desperate?

Apple Reverses Course on Right to Repair iPhones: More Concessions to Follow?

Apple announces a Self Service Repair program for iPhones 12 and 13, with broader company right to repair concessions expected to follow.

COP26: Climate Pledges Don’t Match Up With Policies—or Consumer Behavior

The ink is barely dry on COP26 pledges, and it’s not hard to see that they are largely for show.