Economy-Resources Extraction Sector
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Explained: how Trump’s day one orders reveal a White House for big oil
by Oliver Milman 22/1/25 The Guardian
Trump has promised to cut Americans’ energy costs in half within a year and he claimed removing all restraints on drilling for “liquid gold” will achieve this, even though the US is already producing more oil and gas than any other country in history.
Global economy could face 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090 from climate shocks, say actuaries
by Sandra Laville 16/1/25 The Guardian
The global economy could face 50% loss in gross domestic product (GDP) between 2070 and 2090 from the catastrophic shocks of climate change unless immediate action by political leaders is taken to decarbonise and restore nature, according to a new report.
Plant treaty: Farmers’ groups raise alarm over global talks that could open India’s seeds to corporations
by Shimali Chauhan 7/7/25 DownToEarth
Farmers’ groups, seed savers and environmental advocates across India have warned that a new international agreement could allow global corporations to access India’s traditional seeds without adequate safeguards for farmers’ rights.
How Mass Deportation Will Disrupt America's Food Supply Chain
by Fiona Harrigan Reason 11/27/24
Undocumented immigrants are heavily represented among foreign-born food production workers. Though they make up just 5 percent of the country's labor force, undocumented immigrants represented 15 percent of food production workers and 12 percent of food processing workers, an Investigate Midwest analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Pew Research Center data found. From 2020 to 2022, 42 percent of farmworkers were undocumented, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service.
There’s a Reason Oil Well Sales Are Collapsing In California: Cleanup Costs
by Aaron Cantu 11/20/2024 Capital & Main
For years, large drillers in California sold unprofitable wells to smaller companies willing to wring the last drops of oil out of them. The process essentially kicked the cost of cleaning up oil fields — pumping concrete down well bores, removing tanks and pipelines — to operators with less ability to pay for the eventual cleanup. Policymakers and advocates predicted that taxpayers — not the oil companies themselves would ultimately have to pay billions for remediation once those oil and gas operations run dry. Unplugged wells emit climate-warming methane and pose long-term hazards to soil and groundwater.
An Indigenous reservation has a novel way to grow food – below the earth’s surface
by Hallie Golden 3/12/22 The Guardian
Near the southern border of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, a curved translucent roof peeks out a few feet above the dusty plains. It’s a blustery November afternoon and the last remaining greens outside are fading fast. But below ground, at the bottom of a short flight of stairs, the inside of this 80ft-long sleek structure is bursting with life – pallets of vivid microgreens, potato plants growing from hay bales and planters full of thick heads of Swiss chard and pak choi. Two people bend over the pallets, using scissors to harvest delicate sprouts of microgreens.
Scientists Create a Material That Makes Salty Water Safe to Drink in Minutes
DAVID NIELD15 AUGUST 2020 [1]
Now, a new innovation developed by scientists in Australia could be the most promising one yet, with researchers using metal-organic framework compounds (or MOFs) together with sunlight to purify water in just half an hour, using a process that's more efficient than existing techniques.
It's cheap, it's stable, it's reusable, and it produces water that meets the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards for desalination. Around 139.5 litres (nearly 37 gallons) of clean water can be produced per day from a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of MOF material, based on early testing.
