Archive for Month: December 2023

“It is easy to romanticize poverty, to see poor people as inherently lacking agency and will.  It is easy to strip them of human dignity, to reduce them to objects of pity. This has never been clearer than in the view of Africa from the American media, in which we are shown poverty and conflicts without any context.”  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of Americanah   “It is the consistency of the information that matters for Read More

The problem:  Global carbon dioxide emissions from the fossil fuels industry exceeded 37 billion metric tons in 2022 – their highest level ever.  Since 1990, global C02 emissions have increased by more than 60 percent. Based on a business-as-usual trend, C02 emissions are forecast to increase to some 43 billion metric tons in 2050.  Even if many of the agreements to decrease C02 emissions that came out of the COP28 conference were implemented, a recent Read More

My father and grandfather were both farmers for much of their lives.  They prepared the soil, planted the seeds, pulled the weeds, nurtured the plants, and harvested the produce that resulted from all that care and hard work.  I’m sure it must have been very satisfying for them to see the fruits of their labor.  They never longed for a life defined by titles, trophies, or treasures.  Their goal, as I want to imagine it, Read More