Sep 14
En un esfuerzo de reducir el trafico de drogras, muchos paises han recurrido a la erradicacion forzada de cultivos ilegales. Existen dos principales maneras en las que la erradicacion forzada toma lugar: fumigacion aerea o eliminacion por tierra. En teoria, se assume que la erradicacion de estos cultivos permitira y detendra el trafico de drogas. …
Sep 13
In Mexico, it is calculated that a little over 50% of the population is urban. Since the 1940’s, the urban population began to grow exponentially because of the lack of economic support for the rural population. In the last 50 years there have been important political and economic decisions that have given people large incentives …
Aug 26
“I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in this country.” – President Barack Obama Today has officially been declared Women’s Equality Day in the United States—yet it is widely unheard of by most Americans. On August 26, 1920, …
Aug 25
Microfinance has become something of a buzzword in recent years (depending on which circles you run in), and the industry’s increase in popularity has also lead to an increase in criticism. You may remember my last post about microfinance, as well as the posts written by my colleagues, but for those of you who don’t, …
Aug 19
In my last post, I gave an overview of the plight of U.S. child farmworkers and the lack of protection they receive. Hundreds of thousands of children are working on U.S. farms, picking the fruits and vegetables that land in our regularly shopped grocery stores. Despite popular belief, the agricultural industry has been found to …
Aug 17
Do you know who is picking your fruits and vegetables? I bet you wouldn’t think that children as young as 5 are working the farms and fields that supply your grocery stores. I bet even more that you wouldn’t think the farms and fields I am referring to are in the United States. The truth …
Aug 17
Vivimos en un mundo con desigualdades económicas, divididos entre los países “desarrollados” y los en vía de desarrollo, el Norte y el Sur. Como ciudadanos del mundo, reaccionamos con estás desigualdades económicas de diferente manera. Naciones desarrolladas y sus ciudadanos muchas veces sienten “la responsabilidad del hombre blanco” (para citar el poema de Kipling). Para …
Aug 15
Since Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt, some of the bloggers and activists who devoted their online time to organizing revolution have turned to a new use for social media: economic aid. 20 prominent Egyptian bloggers—the same ones who previously blogged about overthrowing Mubarak—have joined together to create a Twitter fundraising campaign, Tweetback. The …
Aug 08
There’s a new kind of state (country states, not US states, just so we’re clear) emerging: MIFFs, Middle Income Failed-Fragile states. These MIFFs are classified as middle-income states in the World Bank list of countries by income category, but they have highly unstable governments and a lot of conflict. They are—or are close to being—failed …
Aug 05
Our agricultural and food system have many inefficiencies. Damages to the environment and promotion of an unhealthy food system are both causes and consequences of bad agricultural practices. We’ve previously studied the dangers of the monocrops. They’re apparently threatening our long-term agricultural sustainability (to learn more see posts). A change is needed, but how can …
