Barack: NYC hears about Darfur

So, I just went to the Barack Obama rally in New York City. A huge mass of people of all shapes and sizes gathered in Washington Square park, and while Obama talked about changing America's education system and providing health care for every American, he also talked about our serious need to reform foreign policy. In particular, he mentioned focusing our energy on areas of need around the world in which the United States could have a hopeful impact. He said, "we need to end the genocide in Darfur."

He might have been surprised by the huge roar of support that rang out from the crowd, but he shouldn't be too shocked: students at NYU have been putting Darfur on the top of their activism agendas, and Washington Square park was represented with student activists from around the city tonight.

It's encouraging to see that presidential hopefuls are discussing this issue on the campaign trail: a sign that it is a widening concern that has gained enough momentum to affect presidential campaigns.

Mali's Magic Weed

Normally we think of weeds as those pesky, unwanted plants stealing the nutrients from our carefully tended vegetables or roses. But what if a weed could help stop global warming and alleviate poverty?

This magic weed is called jatropha. It grows around the world, in Latin America, Asia, Africa. Farmers in Mali, West Africa have discovered that cultivating this weed may prove profitable. Why? It is used as biofuel. Already, jatropha is used in Mali to power generators for electricity. Oil companies like BP have begun investing millions into growing it.

Jatropha grows in a variety of climates, and does well in Mali's dry, Saharan farmland. It can grow beside food crops and its yield is much higher than that of other biofuel crops, like corn. Additionally, it helps prevent erosion and does not endanger other habitats the way a crop like palm oil, which takes land away from the rainforest, does.

But, will jatropha prove to be such a lucrative crop that farmers sacrifice land on which they currently grow food crops in its favor, thus leading to food shortages in Mali? And will it actually increase poverty by concentrating power in the hands of a few growers?


Read the New York Times article, "Mali's Farmers Discover a Weed's Potential Power."

Arab to Arab Violence Increases Sharply

Today's New York Times took note of a sharp increase in violence in Darfur, saying "Darfur’s violence has often been characterized as government-backed Arab tribes slaughtering non-Arab tribes, but there is a new Arab-versus-Arab dimension that seems to be a sign of the evolving complexity of the crisis. What started out four years ago in western Sudan as a rebellion and brutal counterinsurgency has cracked wide open into a fluid, chaotic, confusing free-for-all with dozens of armed groups."

Above are maps indicating the areas most affected by the spreading violence.