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Svalbard Seed Vault becomes world's largest
Half a million seeds, about one-third of the world's crop seeds, contains the Svalbard Global Seed Vault now. Thus it has become the world's most diverse collection only two years after its opening.
"Some of the regional seed banks are highly vulnerable," said Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, that oversees the seed collection. "At a regular basis, collections and varieties become extinct."
Land grab in Africa
Ethiopia, where several million people depend on food aid, sells vast parts of its farming land to foreign companies and governments, and exports food and biofuel to the Western World and the Middle East. Vandana Shiva states: "We are seeing dispossession on a massive scale. It means less food is available and local people will have less. There will be more conflict and political instability and cultures will be uprooted."
Gold miners invade Yanomami territory
Due to the rising gold prices, gold-miners are again threatening the Yanomami indians in Brazil. The last invasion caused the death of about twenty percent of the Yanomami, Survival International reports.
U.S. Nuclear Posture Review
Will the U.S. use its Nuclear Posture Review to announce a reduction in nuclear stockpiles and a shift to a "sole purpose" strategy?
Alyn Ware sees Japan's and NATO countries' doctrines changing, which could open a window of opportunity for nuclear disarmament.
Decoding the genome
With Archbishop Tutu's and a Bushman's genome having been decoded, Pat Mooney once again raises the question: Who will make sure that our technologies and scientific knowledge won't be misused? What is the role of civil society in such decision-making processes? Do we really want to leave it all up to corporations, scientists, States?
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