Innovation Toronto » governments

Change We Can Stomach

innovation2 — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:23:51 +0000

COOKING, like farming, for all its down-home community spirit, is essentially a solitary craft. But lately it’s feeling more like a lonely burden. Finding guilt-free food for our menus — food that’s clean, green and humane — is about as easy as securing a housing loan. And we’re suddenly paying more — 75 percent more in the last six years — to stock our pantries. Around the world, from Cairo to Port-au-Prince, increases in food prices have governments facing riots born of shortages and hunger. It’s enough to make you want to toss in the toque.

But here’s the good news: if you’re a chef, or an eater who cares about where your food comes from (and there are a lot of you out there), we can have a hand in making food for the future downright delicious.

Farming has the potential to go through the greatest upheaval since the Green Revolution, bringing harvests that are more healthful, sustainable and, yes, even more flavorful. The change is being pushed along by market forces that influence how our farmers farm.

The $200 barrel of oil?

innovation2 — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:33:59 +0000

photo credit: obo-bobolina

OIL briefly reached another record on Tuesday May 6th as West Texas Intermediate traded at over $122 a barrel for the first time. Ten years ago a barrel fetched around $15. The feeble dollar, soaring demand and supply constraints have all helped to push up prices by 25% in the past four months alone. And there is little sign of respite for worried governments and consumers. This week Goldman Sachs, a bank, predicted that oil could reach $200 a barrel before the end of the year.

Read more . . .

Improving innovation

ron — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:26:45 +0000

Search engines could be the answer

OVER the past decade, innovation has emerged from the shadows to become a new industrial religion, worshiped by public figures, investors and businessmen alike. Around the world, the rhetoric of innovation unites politicians on the left and right, having replaced the post-war language of welfare economics.

Board members see it as the key to increasing profits and market share. Governments hurl money at it when trying to fix failing economies. But despite being responsible for something like half of all economic growth, and the topic of countless government studies, innovation remains essentially a black art.

Some Biofuels Are Worse Environmentally Than Fossil Fuels, Analysis Shows

ron — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:47:55 +0000

Biofuels reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in comparison to fossil fuels. Smithsonian researchers highlight a new study that factors in environmental costs of biofuel production. Corn, soy and sugarcane come up short. The authors urge governments to be far more selective about which biofuels they support, as not all are more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels.