All Entries in the "Development" Category
Peace Please
by Einar Du Rietz As military war is possibly the worst threat to humanity and the environment, alongside with famine caused by socialised economies, the Nobel Peace Price, is indeed one of of top events of the year. And constantly debated. This year, as well as previous. The usual questions are: Should it really go [...]
They Still Sing
by Einar Du Rietz About 50 years ago, the book Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson was published, and triggered an environmental debate that has been going on since then. Lot’s of articles are written about this these days, and, Cato Institute, among others, has published an essay collection. Carson passed away in 1964, and I [...]
The Fat Lady Doesn’t Sing – Yet
by Einar Du Rietz You get Tosca instead. It’s a pity I could not use the brilliant headline from this article: Apocalypse Not, by Matt Ridley, in Wired Science. It sums up a lot. “Over the five decades since the success of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962 and the four decades since the success of [...]
The Summer of Science
by Einar Du Rietz Unlike other summers, this year is rightfully filled with daily news. The EU, Syria, just to mention a few and disregarding the Olympics. No tabloids with reported aliens or slight nudity in the city. For fans of science, and science fiction, however, we get our fair share. According to a most [...]
A Cold Playground
by Einar Du Rietz Ask me about a Doom Sayer or Dr Killjoy, and I’ll direct you to Greenpeace. First, the problem was that the poles were melting (they are not, in any lasting way) and that the polar beers faced extinction (the population is increasing). Then, the prospect of drilling for gas and oil [...]
Honor as Due
by Einar Du Rietz “Welcome to the United Nations. It’s your world”, reads the top banner. Thank you very much, but I’ll stick to the part that belongs to me, while – also – doing my modest share in trying to persuade other people to please not make a mess of the rest of [...]
Beware of Atlas – He Might Shrug
by Einar Du Rietz The Rio circus is over. For now. And everyone agree that nothing really came out of it. Apart from hefty hotel bills and an even costlier wish list (more reports on cfact.org). Media is however doing its best to sell the shaky message from the UN. One report that made the [...]
More Than Rio
by Einar Du Rietz The Rio circus has barely started and already, reports are streaming in on plans for international taxation schemes, close to police power for the UNEP…believe me, the list will be longer. For regular reports from our team in Rio, check out www.cfact.org . Meanwhile, in Europe, the environment ministers don’t want [...]
The News That Never Were For Real
by Einar Du Rietz …but very well could have been, as so many people – including yours truly – believed in, was the appointment of the dictator Mugabe as UN boss for “tourism“. The apparent truth, as we all know now was that UN Tourism had urged world leaders to promote tourism in their countries. [...]
Happy Earth Day Humans
by Einar Du Rietz Only weeks after the peculiar, entirely symbolical and possibly dangerous Earth Hour gimmick, it’s now the 42′nd Earth Day. Hard to be against the Earth, but I’ve never understood the tendency to use these events to suggest an ongoing conflict between the earth and humanity. CFACT International President David Rothbard comments: “Celebrate them [...]
They Don’t Want To Hurt You – They Just Want Your Money
by Einar Du Rietz The heroic boy scouts collected money, went to a village in deepest Africa and helped develop a well. A few month later, excessive use had dried it up and the final result was an extension of the desert. Examples of unintended consequences (and sometimes plain stupidity) in development aid are numerous, some [...]
More Hot Innovations
by Einar Du Rietz Few things make me as happy as innovative solutions to environmental, and thus human, problems. The most recent innovation that caught my eye was the prototype for Ezystove, an an ultra simple stove, now being tried in Namibia. Production will probably take place in Namibia and Kenya, and the idea is [...]
Innovation Saves The World It Makes Go Round
by Einar Du Rietz I love a sunny story and the most recent one I stumbled upon, cherished in the environmental movement, is a recent innovation – still under development – of a new method to turn toxic textile.factory effluent into clean water. Go for it, Maria Jonstrup! One of the most disturbing ingredients of [...]
Crowded? Not really
by Einar Du Rietz Just found out that (according to BBC): “When you were born, you were the:3,453,632,094th person alive on Earth and 77,442,249,607thperson to have lived since history began” Go on, take the test. Don’t know what it’s really good for, but it’s a bit of fun, at least if you are easily amused. And [...]
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