Sustainable Farm Practices Improve Third World Food Production
Crop yields on farms in developing countries that used sustainable agriculture rose nearly 80 percent in four years, according to a study scheduled for publication in the February 15 issue of the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology. The study, the largest of its kind to date -- 286 farm projects in 57 countries -- concludes that sustainable agriculture protects the environment in these countries while substantially improving the lives of farmers who adopt the resource-conserving practices. Science Daily

Climate refugees in a drowning Pacific
While the rest of the world continues to debate the implications of climate change, for people living on small Pacific islands the problem is startlingly real. Loss of land, crops and freshwater supplies caused by rising sea levels threaten to diminish living conditions in many Pacific island states, and pose a serious risk to regional stability and security. WWF

Can Cell-Phone Recycling Help African Gorillas?
Recycle your cell phone, save the gorillas. It may not be as simple as that, but a recycling program to collect old cell phones at the San Diego Zoo and other American zoos is highlighting the little-known connection between cell phone use and the survival of African gorillas. Conservationists point out that recycling cell phones protects landfills from the many potentially hazardous chemicals found in the phones, including antimony, arsenic, copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc. National Geographic News

Summit focuses on chemical usage
Environment ministers from around the world are meeting in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to discuss the rising use of man-made chemicals. The United Nations-backed conference, the largest yet, is expected to issue a declaration on the way chemicals should be managed around the world. BBC News

Big business and greenhouse: a declaration of surrender
Government leaders meeting in Sydney to discuss climate change said we could trust big business to reduce greenhouse gases without regulations or binding targets. This is more a declaration of surrender than a demonstration of trust. The genuine commitment of big business is belied by their recent history of denying problems such as global warming and opposing fuel efficiency standards. Online Opinion

Recycling Reality
Ever wondered what good you're actually doing as a kerbside recycler? You've been filling up your recycling crates with the detritus of a modern consumption lifestyle, but are your efforts making a difference to the level of rubbish ending up in landfill? ABC Online

Sustainable Cities Program
The goal of this program is to contribute to the critical mass of research and training expertise, postgraduate coursework, and industry and government partnerships in the area of Sustainable Cities. The main objective of the program is to respond to the need for research and training for engineers, architects and urban development professionals facing the challenges of Sustainable Development in cities in Australia, throughout the Asian region and across the world. The Natural Edge Project

James Lovelock: 'The lush, comfortable world we are used to is going rapidly'
James Lovelock insists that he's an optimist, but not when it comes to the future of our planet. We have passed the point of no return, says the scientist who invented the concept of the Earth as a planetary "super-organism" and who impishly named it after the ancient Greek goddess Gaia. We have reached a point where civilisation itself is threatened. Life as we know it will never be the same, he warns, and we have no one to blame but our own ignorance and greed. Independent Online Edition

Consuming the future
"Capitalism is not sustainable by its very nature. It is predicated on infinitely expanding markets, faster consumption and bigger production in a finite planet. And yet this ideological model remains the central organising principle of our lives, and as long as it continues to be so it will automatically undo (with its invisible hand) every single green initiative anybody cares to come up with." Robert Newman, The Age

Urban Sustainability
TakingITGlobal.org is an interactive and creative site that connects young people to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action about issues of concern in their local and global communities. This section of the site explores the theme of urban sustainability.

www.takingitglobal.org/themes/urban

4 Corners, Global Warming
ABC TV's 4 Corners program returns after the summer break with a program on global warming.

ABC TV, 8.30pm Monday February 13th, 2006

Wonders and glory of creation
"We often sing in church about the wonders and glory of creation, the things God's hands have made. But are our lives a reflection of this wonder and respect for creation? Should development be a headlong rush towards industrialisation or moves towards a sustainable lifestyle in harmony with our surroundings? We in the North have lived too long simply taking from creation, seeing the environment as something for us to use. It is time for a radical re-think. We can learn from the people of the South that we do not own the world, the water or the air. We are here for only a short time, but we leave heavy footprints on the face of creation. Our prayer is for simplicity, and it is a challenge to the greed that leads to destruction. " © Linda Jones