Catching Up

A busy few months……
We’ve begun to work with Richard Pritzlaff and the Biophilia Foundation on an exciting business development in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Richard and his partners have been buying farms (primarily in Maryland) for several years. The farms are reconfigured to reduce nutrient runoff and enhance wildlife habitat and other ecosystem services while [...]

Justice Souter

A statement from Justice Souter’s acceptance speech when sworn in to the Supreme Court:
“What we try to do is pass it on, to make the gifts and kindnesses that come to us the kind of human currency that goes on traveling,” he said. “I will try to preserve it, transmit it, I hope refreshed, to [...]

House Ways and Means Committee

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=668
Hearing on Addressing Price Volatility in Climate Change Legislation

Recession? No, It’s a D-process, and It Will Be Long

Ray Dalio, Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates
By SANDRA WARD  | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR
AN INTERVIEW WITH RAY DALIO: This pro sees a long and painful depression.
NOBODY WAS BETTER PREPARED FOR THE GLOBAL market crash than clients of Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates and subscribers to its Daily Observations. Dalio, the chief investment officer and all-around guiding [...]

www.natureservicesexchange.com

Three years ago we received a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant, in collaboration with economists at the University of Rhode Island, to develop a community-based ecosystem service market. The market prototype was narrowly focused on providing wildlife habitat (particularly for Bobolinks) on farm fields. By concentrating our energies, we were able to gain substantial insight about [...]

What Changes in Store for the Forest Service under Obama

An interesting article hypothesizing about the Forest Service and USDA under an Obama Administration.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/12/14/news/local/news04.txt

Voluntary Carbon Standard

From the Report:
This document provides guidance and additional context for users of the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), the VCS Program Guidelines, and the VCS Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) project tools. At the beginning of each section, relevant content from the respective VCS document (VCS, the VCS Program Guidelines, and the VCS AFOLU [...]

Earthworms

I’ve always experienced a sense of wonder over the impact of tiny things on our world.
Earthworms can change the chemical nature of the carbon in North American forest litter and soils, potentially affecting the amount of carbon stored in forests, according to Purdue University researchers.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081027152119.htm

Financial and Commodity Market Volatility

My friend John Phipps posted over the weekend about big swings in the financial markets in the past couple of weeks…particularly in the last hour of trading. I’ve noticed the same things…and he also notes the same volatility in commodity markets (around 1 pm). He’s suggests that traders begin ‘to plan on and for’ the [...]

Watch Walmart Grow

http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/?walmart