Over the past few months I've been writing a bit about global agriculture for the Times's Green Inc. blog and the International Herald Tribune. It's an intriguing arena, full of explosive ideological and economic rifts that go back decades... and for most of the world, of course, it's a matter of life and death. I plan on doing some field reporting (sorry, terrible pun) on issues like GM crops and the aftermath of the green revolution while I'm in India the next couple of months.
I've got a feature, "Slow Burn," in the latest issue of GOOD magazine; it's a look at Woody Tasch, who's spreading the gospel of local, sustainable agriculture as an alternative to Wall Street investing. Has some pretty amusing illustrations by Tucker Nichols, one of which is above.
That's the cheeky headline of my latest piece for the New York Times, which details the rampant stripping of foreclosed homes in states like Nevada and Florida, and the authorities ability to do much about it. Here's the link.
Accompanying the story is a cool slideshow by Joshua Lott, who took this photo. Check it out here.
A bit after the fact, but here's a link to my feature (words and photos) for Phoenix Magazine about coal mining on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona...
The largest "Dia del los Muertos" -- Day of the Dead -- festival in the United States is held in Tucson each year. It's simply incredible and very death-centric... yes, people are dressed up like skeletons and ghosts a la Halloween, but the focus is on commemorating dead loved ones, rather than whatever Halloween is about (candy? I don't know). Strange and moving.
Some state attorneys general are weighing lawsuits against national banks for perpetrating a massive fraud on the American people, by marketing billions of dollars in exotic home loans that ultimately proved impossible to repay.
David Streitfeld, national business reporter, and I reported on the story in the Times last week. Will be curious to see how this develops...
This blog post I wrote for Green Inc. definitely ruffled some feathers... I reported on the announcement by a consortium of Chinese and American companies to build a massive wind farm in West Texas. Here's the hitch -- the project would be highly subsidized by the U.S. government, to the tune of as much as $500 million. But the turbines would be built in China. Go figure.
The initial post generated a follow-up from editor/reporter Tom Zeller Jr., and then another lengthy post, after U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York sent a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu asking him to stop federal stimulus money from being used to create jobs in China. All in all, pretty interesting.
My story on the manifold problems of South Tucson came out in the Tucson Weekly yesterday. Check it out here.
I took the above photo, of a young man in South Tucson who is trying to raise a family amid growing gang violence and street crime, in June.
Check out the rest here.
September 24, 2009, 10:17 am
Big Energy Funding for Tiny TechnologyFunding from the Department of Energy — and other sources — for nanotechnology research in the energy sector has risen nearly 40 percent so far this year.
September 22, 2009, 3:02 pmGov. Rick Perry assailed the bill, which would create a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, as a “legislative monstrosity” that would do grave damage to the Texas economy.
