Today’s Feeding the World Conference in London will address the hotly debated use of genetically modified(GM) crops to address the global food crisis (apologies to British readers who didn’t get the word sooner).  While proponents of GM crops argue that the benefits of increased yields and nutritional value outweigh concerns over genetic manipulation, recent studies are reinforcing support for organic solutions to  global food concerns.  I fully believe that GM crops are not the answer, and that we can find ways address the problems of worldwide hunger through organic methods.  There are too many risks involved with GM crops, which place control of food in the hands of a few multinational corporations and reduces food security.  Many people argue that we already produce enough food to feed everyone and that the real problem lies in the politics of distribution.

Here is an excerpt from a  panel discussion at the Slow Food Conference some of us attended over Labor Day weekend, with Vandana Shiva laying it down about GM technology:

takepart and learn more with Participant Media’s upcoming film Food, Inc.

So yes, apparently Christian Bale has been arrested… Let’s all let his family and the authorities work out what they need to work out and leave them alone while they do it. If you want some Christian Bale action, why not watch one of his many amazing performances or the clips below:

And if you want to read about assault on women, why not actually takepart and get involved with the National Organization for Women - it’ll do the world more good than reading about Christian Bale’s arrest…

There are more clips after the jump so watch on…

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Low cost air travel is soaring (pun intended) and Europe’s working class contingent have become the new jetsetters of the region. Increased air travel for shorter distances across the European continent, however, has created a whole new set of issues on the carbon emissions front. Even with the increase in fuel prices, in many cases these airlines make it cheaper to travel by air than by train.

Low cost carriers are growing at 9 percent a year, and from an environmental point of view that is a problem, said Christian Brand, a researcher at Oxford University who specializes in the mathematical modeling of transportation emissions. Their cheap prices encourage more travel.

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May 10, 2008 is Pangea Day, when Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will produce a 4-hour program of films, music and speakers broadcast live at the same time all over the world. According to the festival site, “Pangea Day plans to use the power of film to bring the world a little closer together.” Check out this video explaining the concept.

and visit pangeaday.org for events, info and ways to get involved.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone’s made quite a splash with his efforts to make dirty ol’ London cleaner and greener. His congestion pricing initiative made headlines all over the world. Now, he’s taking on the green movement’s latest bête noire: bottled water.

Today, Livingstone launched “London on Tap,” a campaign to convince Londoners to “boycott bottled water in favor of cheaper, better-tasting and more environmentally friendly tap water,”  according to Reuters:

“We need to do everything we can to lower these (carbon) emissions”There is no need to buy the expensive bottled water that has become a bit of a fad in recent years.”

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Couples Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins as well as Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee have won Valiant Valiant Awards for coupling their efforts to make the world a better place by taking action together. Here is Valiant Valentine Couple #3, whose love for each other, which has already inspired films, books, and videos, and music, will now inspire you.

#3. Nothing says I love you more than risking your life to save the one you love. And this is exactly what Lucie Aubrac did, not once, but twice! And the last time she was pregnant! Lucie Aubrac was a history teacher when she met Raymond, a Jewish engineer and army officer, in France in 1938. After France fell to the Nazis, the two joined the French Resistance, helping found the group Liberation-Sud. In 1943, Raymond, who was now an important leader in the Resistance, was captured by the Gestapo and scheduled for execution. A pregnant Lucie convinced the notorious Gestapo chief, Klaus Barbie, nicknamed the “Butcher of Lyons,” to let her see Raymond and during the visit, she relayed an escape plan. As he was being driven back to his cell, Lucie and other Resistance members ambushed the truck, freeing Raymond and other Resistance fighters.

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London’s notoriously dirty air once earned it the nickname the Big Smoke, and it’s still one of the smoggiest cities in Europe. I lived there for a time when I was an angsty, antsy young anglophile, and I’ll never forget the shock I got the first time I blew my nose and the tissue turned black. It made me feel downright Dickensian.

But Mayor Ken Livingstone’s determined to give his fellow Londoners’ lungs a break by declaring Greater London a “low emission zone.” As of yesterday, all diesel-engine trucks–or lorries, as they call them–weighing more than 12 tons must meet strict emissions standards or face a stiff fine. The new standard will be extended to buses, coaches, and other vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tons beginning on July 7th.

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