Organic vegetables, bees, butterflies and hoverflies

I've switched to buying organic vegetables.

I'd been thinking about it for a while, because of all that good stuff about organics (more carbon held in the soil, less fertiliser runoff into waterways, more biodiversity) but it took me a while to decide to make the change - because organic does cost more.

While I was dithering, I read a blog post that reminded me about the worldwide problem with declining pollinators.

And I thought to myself: "I think I can't afford an extra $10 or 15 a week for vegetables, but I think I can afford to live in a world without bees?"

I guess we don't yet know for sure the reason that bees are declining, but it reminded me that my expectations about the price of food might be based on a slightly screwed-up system.

Cancun and deforestation

Great editorial in the Listener a couple of weeks ago on solutions for deforestation coming out of Cancun: Chop or change .

I want to find out more about REDD, the UN scheme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

Cancun may only have been a small step forward, but it gives me renewed hope for a global agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.