Articles

The 2040 Fund

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

Illuminating pathways out of the current mess

As 2017 draws to a close, we’re excited to announce our 2040 Fund. As technologies and corporate power gain critical mass, ETC’s contribution will shift from from fighting technologies one by one to defining the “positive possible” of the longer term, and illuminating pathways out of the current mess.

To make that possible, our goal is to build a base of donors to our 2040 fund who contribute an average of $20.40 per month. Want to be part of it? Click here to donate now.

Or read on to find out more.

Nobel laureates serving Monsanto and Syngenta

Submitted by Silvia Ribeiro on

By Silvia Ribeiro*

It is not often that so many prominent scientists reveal their ignorance on a topic in such a short space. This was the case for the public letter that a hundred Nobel laureates published on June 30th defending genetically modified organisms (GMOs), particularly the so-called “Golden Rice,” and attacking Greenpeace for its critical stance on these crops. The letter is so full of high-sounding adjectives and epithets, false claims and poor arguments that it seems more like a propaganda tirade from transgenic companies than scientists presenting a position.

A Bad Bet on Synthetic Biology

Submitted by ETC Group on

Cargill's Eversweet is competing with farmers and misleading consumers

Las Vegas seems to be an apt place to launch a risky corporate gamble that could destroy the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers. Earlier this month, the international food conglomerate Cargill chose the city’s famous Strip to introduce what it hopes will be its next blockbuster product: EverSweet, a sweetener made of “the same sweet components in the stevia plant.”
And yet, despite Cargill’s heavy reliance on stevia in its promotional material, EverSweet does not contain a single leaf of the plant. Cargill’s new product is an example of synthetic biology, a form of genetic engineering that uses modified organisms to manufacture compounds that would never be produced naturally. What makes EverSweet taste sweet is not stevia; it is a compound produced by a bioengineered yeast.

The Paris Climate-Change Spectacular

Submitted by ETC Staff on

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December will feature all the tightly choreographed production values of a Hollywood blockbuster. The cast will be huge: presidents and prime ministers at center stage, supported by thousands of extras, including protesters, riot police, and busloads of media. The script may still be under wraps, but the plot has already leaked: This time, in sharp contrast to the failed negotiations in Copenhagen in 2009, the planet is going to win. It is a seductive plot, but one that does not quite hold together.

Frente a la crisis, la respuesta ¿está en las nuevas tecnologías?

Submitted by Veronica Villa on

Evento co-organizado por el Grupo ETC y la Fundación Heinrich Boell

Tenemos el gusto de invitarles a nuestro siguiente Jour Fixe: "Frente a la crisis, la respuesta ¿está en las nuevas tecnologías?"
Se llevará a cabo el día jueves 18 de junio, a las 18:00 hrs, en Casa Lamm, Álvaro Obregón 99, esquina Orizaba. Col. Roma, México D.F.

Entrada libre
Presentan: Silvia Ribeiro y Verónica Villa del Grupo ETC; Emmanuel González, de la Unión de Científicos Comprometidos con la Sociedad-México y Annette von Schönfeld, Directora de la FHB para México, Centroamérica y el Caribe

2014 The Year that Was

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

The Green, Sharing, Making Economy

In 2014, the Green Economy -- dominating the media enviro beat and UN negotiations since well before the 2012 Rio Earth Summit – merged and morphed into the Sharing Economy and the Maker Economy to offer us a vision of Transformative Transnationalism. But, is this really a new Triple Bottom-line or just the same old Triple-Bottom Feeders? ETC Group takes an irreverent look at what was new in 2014 – and what only claimed to be.

The Green Economy:

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