by Carl Howard | Oct 22, 2013 | Blog Topics, Charity and Philanthropy, Ethics, Resources, Food and Environment, Science and Skepticism, Society
So, you still think we’re not utterly fucked as a species? I offer two exhibits. Exhibit A Namibia is having the worst drought in 30 years. At the time of UNICEF’s video (below), about 1/3 of Namibians were facing food insecurity. Crops have failed and for...
by Carl Howard | Dec 12, 2012 | Biases and Fallacies, Blog Topics, Race, Resources, Food and Environment, Society
A follow-up from the last post, I’ve recently had a change of mind about the idea of “first world problems”. For those not familiar, this is a hash tag on Twitter and a general internet trope that you add on to a complaint you make. It’s meant to show that you...
by Carl Howard | Sep 11, 2012 | Blog Topics, Resources, Food and Environment, Travel
Iran’s GDP per capita is $6200 according to the 2011 CIA World Factbook (although it’s likely reduced now since the embargo was intensified). This puts it as the 85th richest per capita out of 191. It’s less rich than Colombia, Botswana and Romania but richer than...
by Carl Howard | Jun 26, 2012 | Blog Topics, Resources, Food and Environment, Travel
When people think of environmental disasters, Uzbekistan probably doesn’t come to the top of mind. This is yet another aspect of Central Asian invisibility. Actually, Uzbekistan is a testament to some of the worst environmental disasters of the 20th century. And of...
by Carl Howard | Feb 5, 2012 | Biases and Fallacies, Blog Topics, Charity and Philanthropy, Resources, Food and Environment
With the recent Susan G. Komen For The Cure brouhaha, the question of what charities (especially very large charities) spend their money on has been in discussion once more. If you’ve been under a rock, a quick recap. Susan G Komen has recently cut funding to a...
by Carl Howard | Dec 8, 2011 | Biases and Fallacies, Blog Topics, Race, Resources, Food and Environment, Society
t’s recently come up in a Facebook discussion that I don’t think the idea of a “Third World” has much merit. I’ve posted on this briefly a few years ago but I hope I’ve learnt a thing or two since then! Just to get things clear, there are definitions of First/Third...
