globalbriefs


News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.


Food Charter United Nations Blueprints Sustainability Goals


A new publication, Trade and Environ- ment Review: Wake Up Before it is Too Late, from the United Nations Com- mission on Trade and Development, declares that transformative changes are needed in current food, agriculture and trade systems to increase diversity on farms, reduce use of fertilizer and


other inputs, support small-scale farmers and create strong local food systems. Key indicators of needed transformation in agriculture include increased soil carbon content and better integration between crop and livestock production; more incorporation of agroforestry and wild vegetation; reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of livestock production; reduction of GHG through sustain- able peatland, forest and grassland management; optimization of organic and inorganic fertilizer use; reduction of waste throughout the food chains; chang- ing dietary patterns toward climate-friendly food consumption; and reform of the international trade regime for food and agriculture.


The report includes contributions from more than 60 international experts,


including a commentary from the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy. Source: iatp.org


Pick-Me-Up Books Mailbox Libraries Gain Worldwide


Alice Mills smiles as she looks at the box that sits on her lawn in Hutchinson, Kansas, an act of kindness for neighbors and the community. Inside the box is a miniature library. Books sit on two shelves; the bottom with short stories for children and the top with novels for adults. After her children grew up and moved away from home, they took the books they wanted with them. The rest sat on a bookshelf collecting dust. “If they’re here, they’re not being read,” Mills says.


The concept for the Little Free Library began in 2009 to promote literacy and the love of reading, as well as to build a sense of community, according to LittleFreeLibrary.org. They are now popping up around the world in the United States, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, Spain, Turkey and the Congo. A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project survey shows that Americans strongly value the role of public libraries in their communities, both for providing access to materials and resources and for promoting literacy and improving the overall quality of life. More than half used a public library in a one-year period, and 72 percent say they live in a “library household”. Most Americans say they have only had positive experiences at public libraries and value a range of library resources and services. National Library Week begins April 13.


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Contributing source: HutchNews.com Hudson County


NAHudson.com


Trees are Trying Forests Have Limited Powers to Save Us


Forests have a finite capacity to soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a recent study from Northern Arizona University. Results published in the online journal New Phytologist illustrate


how today’s rising atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2


the soil lost carbon content due to microbial decomposition. These factors essentially canceled each other out, signifying that nature cannot entirely self-correct against climate change.


While plants did contain more carbon in the presence of higher CO2


levels,


Marine Maneuvers Harnessing the Ocean’s Power Potential


The U.S. Depart- ment of Energy (DOE) is investing $16 million on 17 tidal and wave projects to sustain- ably and efficiently capture energy from waves, tides and currents. The proj-


ects will also help gather crucial data on how these devices interact with the surrounding environment.


The DOE will also spend $13.5 mil- lion on eight projects to help U.S. com- panies build durable, efficient wave and tidal devices that reduce overall costs and maximize the amount of energy captured. Specifically, the projects will focus on developing new components and software that predicts ocean condi- tions and adjusts device settings accord- ingly to optimize power production.


Source: Ecoseed.org


search over an 11-year period showed that ecosystem carbon uptake was not significantly increased by high CO2


. ) might alter the car-


bon and nitrogen content of ecosystems. In contrast to expectations, re-


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