Global Trade

Carbon Fundamentalism vs. Climate Justice

admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:22:01 -0600

By Gopal Dayaneni

Imagine waking up on December 1, 1999, and learning about the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the first time by watching it fall apart. The catalyst? An internationalist “inside-outside” strategy that leveraged people power on the outside to provide political space inside for the Global South and civil society organizations. (A note on the WTO.)

The potential for such a political moment is once again upon us, exactly 10 years after the collapse of the WTO in Seattle, Wash. This time, it’s the 15th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 7, 2009, for 12 days to forge a climate policy that will succeed the initial commitments set by the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. The goal is to substantially reduce atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gasses while addressing the consequences of climate disruption already underway. Global warming has already disproportionately impacted the small island states, coastal peoples, indigenous peoples, and the poor throughout the world, particularly in Africa.

Voices of Climate Justice

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:08:04 -0600

Some of the voices raised for climate justice in this issue.

"The climate bill, unfortunately, has been co-opted by the oil and coal industry."
—Tom Goldtooth

"My number one inspiration right now is not an organization or a person or an event, it’s the city of Detroit."
—Adrienne Maree Brown

"Climate change has provided the perfect “disaster capitalism” storm: an excuse for expanding corporate ownership and control over the commons."
— Rachel Smolker

David Harvey

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:40:50 -0500

The Financial Crash and the Right to the City
An Interview by Amy Goodman

David Harvey is a Marxist geographer and distinguished professor of anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He’s the author of several books, including The Limits to Capital and A Brief History of Neo-liberalism.

Port of Oakland: Private Industry or Public Agency

Editor2 — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 15:32:10 -0600

By Ben Jesse Clarke and Hana Baba

In the United States, there are 361 public ports. The Port of Oakland, the fourth largest, processes about $30 billion of exports and imports annually. Oakland’s enormous cranes, unloading gigantic ships, mean a lot of money is changing hands. But critics say local communities are being short-changed on benefits and plagued with negative impacts. “It’s not a private business, it’s a public agency and its revenue is not profit. It belongs to the people.” So says Rob Smith of Urban Strategies in Oakland.

The New Face of Agriculture

Editor2 — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:21:25 -0500

Alternative models to corporate agribusiness

By Anuradha Mittal

For thousands of years, small family farmers across the globe have grown food for their local communities, planting diverse crops in healthy soil, recycling organic matter, following nature’s rainfall patterns, and maintaining our rich biodiversity. Today, this agricultural system—which was built on knowledge accumulated and passed on from one farming generation to the next—faces both an environmental and moral crisis.

What’s called “modern industrial agriculture” is replacing family farms with corporate farms, and biodiversity with monocultures. This agricultural model is trading local food security for global commerce.

Engendering Global Justice: Women First

Editor2 — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:23:34 -0500

A tool for prioritizing women in trade deals

By Marceline A. White

Strategies From the Global South

Editor2 — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:11:49 -0500

The alliances and alternatives that aim to defeat corporate-driven trade

By Deborah James

In September 2003, the World Trade Organization (WTO) summit in CancÃºn, Mexico came to a screeching halt after a large bloc of the world’s developing countries refused to expand the WTO unless the wealthier nations made existing trade rules fairer. The “Group of 21” developing nations emerged as a powerful South-South alliance. Led by India, South Africa and Brazil, the Group includes 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Corn Crisis

Editor2 — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 17:16:54 -0500

The impact of U.S. food policy on Mexican farmers

By Oxfam International

“Corn is the basis of our culture, our identity, adaptability and diversity. Corn created us, and we created corn.”
Exhibition Sin maíz, no hay país, or Without corn, there is no country

Mexico City, 2003

“We are only able to subsidize Mexican corn with the lives of the people that produce it. The only way we can compete with North American prices is to give up the basic necessities.”
Víctor Suí¡rez, executive director of the National Association of Rural Producers’ Enterprises (ANEC)

Trading Human Rights for Corporate Profits

Editor2 — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 16:59:32 -0500

Global trade policy weakens protections for health, the environment

By Martin Wagner

Beyond Trade

Editor2 — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 16:41:12 -0500

The WTO’s expansive agenda and impact

By Lori Wallach