Commodity Corner

Michael Pollan: “What’s in the beef?”

Photo by Kris Krüg

Where does your burger come from? Journalist and food writer Michael Pollan has traced back the source of much of what we eat, and says that the ultimate answer is oil. Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, argues that it takes massive amounts of petroleum-derived fertilizers and pesticides to run industrial farms and feed lots, with dire consequences for human health and the Earth’s climate.

Check out Pollan’s multimedia presentation below, from the Poptech conference in Camden, Maine last month.

[Editor's note: After some Reuters fact-checking, Pollan withdrew his Poptech assertion that "A vegan in a Hummer has a smaller carbon footprint than a meat-eater in a Prius," and his statement has been edited out of the video. The erroneous meme has nevertheless continued to spread on Twitter]

Click here for Reuters Poptech coverage

from Ayesha Rascoe:

Rally against climate bill exposes anger against govt

A rally in Richmond, Virginia on Thursday was supposed to be a protest against Washington's climate bill. But like the raucous healthcare townhall meetings of recent weeks, there was plenty of anger to go around.

Sponsored by a powerful oil lobby and other business groups, the Energy Citizens Alliance event was a pep rally of sorts to encourage  residents to rise against the recently passed House of Representatives climate bill that would limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Many of the protesters grumbled not only about the issue at hand but the direction of government in general.

"It's a lousy Congress, they're doing nothing," said Ray Oberleitner, a retiree who brought his wife Rita to the event. The couple said they are also worried about the plethora of so-called czars appointed by President Obama -- such as the Health Czar and the Green Jobs Czar -- to oversee issues, calling them dangerous.

Another woman said she was worried the United States would become a third world country, while others fretted about Washington's growing deficit.

Some carried the signs provided by organizers with phrases like "Congress don't take away my job!" while others milled around eating hot dogs and hamburgers while taking in the sounds of local of rock band.

Speakers at the event painted a dire picture of U.S. economy if the House climate bill becomes law.

Now in the movies: The gentle giant

German utility RWE – Europe’s fifth-largest power company and the continent’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxcide – has resorted to a new way to counter what it sees as a fundamental misunderstanding about power companies.

Its animated movie – to be shown on TV and in cinemas – is meant to show what the company is really about – and overcome the public’s distaste for an industry whose dominance has allowed it to mete out ever higher power prices.

RWE portrays itself as a colossus with trees growing on his shoulders. He dives into the sea to install tidal-power plants and repairs power lines with gentle force.

Floating a balloon, adding to global warming?

Democrats floated big plans to tackle climate change proposals in the U.S. Congress this week but realistically there will be much more hot air — both from industry and politicians — before this bill is turned into law.   The draft legislation, running hundreds of pages, will now be considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in coming weeks along with all manner of panels. And, oh yes, the Senate, home of the filibuster, will also get to weigh in.      At the heart of of the legislation is Cap and Trade — a panacea for those who believe greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet to dangerous levels and a boon to those who think the sinking economy makes this the dumbest time to anchor industry with more costs.      “This legislation will create millions of clean energy jobs, put America on the path to energy independence, and cut global warming pollution,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman.      Sounds good but Waxman is a Democrat from California, where these ideas are more readily embraced.        Listen to what a guy from Texas thinks: “Tuesday’s cap and trade bill marks a triumph of fear over good sense and science and it couldn’t come at a worse time because it proposes to save the planet by sacrificing the economy,” said Representative Joe Barton, the senior Republican on the energy and commerce panel.   In a cap and trade system, power plants and other industries would need permits for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. Unused permits could be sold to other companies, but overall emissions would gradually drop.      Under the proposal that uses 2005 as a base year, U.S. carbon emissions would have to be reduced by 20 percent by 2020, 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050. Those goals are a tad more aggressive than what President Barack Obama had proposed.      Now let the games begin. Very few seem ready to predict when a climate change bill will pass but most say it won’t be this year — especially if Democrats in Congress decide to give Obama’s health care plans the priority.      So there certainly will be a lot more talk, much of it heated. And one other thing is for certain: each yearly delay will mean the United States, as the world’s largest emitter, will spew another 6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

For more Environment News, click here.

Photo Credit: Reuters/Eric Thayer (The Empire State building in New York turned off its lights on March 28 at 8:30 pm local time, joining homes, office towers and landmarks in more than 80 countries that signed up for Earth Hour to raise awareness about climate change); Reuters/Chris Baltimore (An aerial photograph of a power plant in Georgia)

from Global Investing:

Deflation to jump the shark?

The recent spate of shark attacks on Australian beaches could mark a turning point in global deflation and signal a change in fortunes for some beleaguered emerging economies, if Nomura strategist Sean Darby is to be believed.

Speaking at a Nomura investors forum, Darby said a chance sighting of a shark on Sydney's famed Bondi Beach three weeks ago made him realise that prices of grain and other soft commodities -- punished of late by global recession fears -- could be due for a rebound.

"I actually saw a shark on Bondi Beach and that made me wonder about the impact of La Nina and how there's a severe drought around the world at a time when many farmers are finding it hard to access credit," said the Hong Kong-based analyst.

The La Nina meteorological phenomenon has been blamed for bringing deep ocean creatures -- such as sharks -- closer to shore and also for a long-running drought that has hit farmers in Australia, China and North America.

Persistent drought could push food prices higher, potentially benefitting soft commodity-producing economies from Vietnam to Ukraine, Darby said.

"This is one area that could disrupt the picture of global deflation that bond markets have," he said.