Stories by Jeff Conant

Jeff Conant is a writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the author of A Community Guide to Environmental Health (Hesperian Foundation, 2008) and A Poetics of Resistance (AK Press, 2010). subscribe to Jeff Conant's feed

Should Mexican Farmers Suffer for California’s Carbon? Community Fears Land Grab Under Guise of Stopping Climate Change

Posted on: Nov 15, 2012, Source: YES! Magazine

A California proposal would offset the state’s climate-altering emissions by paying for forest conservation in Chiapas. Could there be unintended consequences in a region with a history of human rights abuse and land grabs?

Police-Occupy Stand Off at the Gill Tract Farmland in SF Bay Area

Posted on: May 10, 2012, Source: Climate Connections

Occupy v. Whole Foods? Activists Take Over Land Slated for Development and Start a Farm

Posted on: Apr 24, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The Gill Tract is prime agricultural soil that activists hope can feed hundreds. But the UC Berkeley-owned land may be sold to Whole Foods.

Why Market-Based 'Solutions' to Climate Change Can Cause More Harm Than Good

Posted on: Jun 8, 2011, Source: AlterNet

A leading environmental activist from Chiapas talks about the threats faced by biofuel plantations, carbon offset programs and more.

In Blow to Big Polluters, Judge Halts California's Cap and Trade Program

Posted on: May 25, 2011, Source: AlterNet

The judge greenlighted most of the policies in California's AB32 except the cap and trade plan, which some argued would benefit polluters at the expense of poor communities.

Global Warming Law Shifts Responsibility from Polluters to Communities [Contains Photo Slideshow]

Posted on: Apr 21, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Communities in California and Mexico are angered by a cap-and-trade plan that could shift the burden from polluters to poor communities.

Massive UN-Supported African Palm Plantations Leading to Oppression, Kidnapping and Murder

Posted on: Feb 4, 2011, Source: AlterNet

The promise of carbon credits and free money from schemes like the U.N.-backed Clean Development Mechanism, appear to be among the causes of renewed violence.

No to Geo-Engineering: UN Issues a Moratorium on Efforts to Manipulate the Earth's Climate

Posted on: Nov 7, 2010, Source: YES! Magazine

Under the agreement, no geoengineering projects can take place until risks to the environment as well as social, cultural, and economic impacts have been assessed.

Biofuels Fallacy: Why Burning Plants Instead of Fossil Fuels Won't Save the Climate

Posted on: Nov 5, 2010, Source: AlterNet

The quest to replace black fuels with green fuels is just another resource and land grab by big corporations.

The Doomsday Machine and the Race to Save the World: Geoengineering Emerges as Plan B at the 11th Hour

Posted on: Oct 25, 2010, Source: AlterNet

How close are we to space sunshades, mountaintop painting, 'fertilizing' the oceans with iron, and redirecting hurricanes? Closer than you might imagine.

Energy Company's Shocking Plan to Spray Clouds with Toxic Chemical to Increase Rainfall -- and Make Hydropower Profits

Posted on: Jun 7, 2010, Source: AlterNet

The practice known as 'cloud seeding' has been done in California for decades. But the environmental costs are high and the regulations for corporations nonexistent.

It Takes a Network: Water Seminar Draws Participants From Across the Globe

Posted on: Mar 31, 2010, Source: Transnational Institute

In early February, representatives from more than 30 countries met to discuss the benefits and dangers of democratizing water resources.

New Signs the Tide May Be Shifting Against Water Privatization

Posted on: Feb 19, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Despite a widespread crisis of confidence inspired by the failures of privatization and the global economic crisis, the private water industry is far from giving up the ghost.

Fixing Our Water Crisis Can't Be Done by the Corporations that Are Exacerbating It

Posted on: Apr 2, 2009, Source: AlterNet

If we learned anything from the World Water Forum it should be that the privatization model has failed and a grassroots movement is needed.

An Inside Peek: Why the World Water Forum Is a Sham

Posted on: Mar 18, 2009, Source: AlterNet

Behind the public posture as a trade expo and an educational forum for water advocates lies a labyrinth of political intrigue and corporate cronyism.

Fifth World Water Forum Marked by Violence and Repression

Posted on: Mar 17, 2009, Source: AlterNet

A block of southern governments led by Uruguay is building support for an alternative, legitimate forum to be led by the United Nations.

Defeating the Multinationals Is Just the Start of the Problem for Anti-Globalization Movements

Posted on: Jan 8, 2009, Source: AlterNet

Bolivia ignited anti-globalization supporters by ousting the company that controlled its water. But that was just the beginning of its problems.

Is the Latest Eco-Term Just Corporate Hype?

Posted on: Dec 1, 2008, Source: AlterNet

The idea that Coca Cola can be environmentally accountable for the water it uses -- 'water neutral' -- has many skeptics.