Lots of ‘Ifs’ – But Afghan Mineral Reserves Offer Hope for the War-torn Country (and for the Electric Car Industry)

afghan-lithium-deposits-500x262.jpg

Afghanistan’s desolate Ghazni Province may hold the world’s largest deposits of lithium. (Image: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) Just days after the Afghan War became the longest war in US history – 104 months, surpassing the 103-month American engagement in Vietnam – the New York Times, quoting top US government officials, reported the discovery of […]

Read more

Father of "Green Revolution" Leaves Behind Big Questions

norman-borlaug.jpg

Plant pathologist Norman Borlaug, 95, died this Saturday, raising questions about the legacy of industrial food in the Third World. In 1970, Borlaug received a Nobel Peace Prize for averting famine through bringing fertilizers, pesticides and new plant strains to countries like India, Mexico and Pakistan. But environmentalists argue that his plant engineering only delayed […]

Read more

Afghan Opium Growers Get Burned Out

afghanistan-poppy-opium-heroin-photo.jpg

Afghan farmers get “burned out” as government tows to US pressure. But for poppy farmers, it’s poppies or starvation. Wheat crops, or biofuel crops cannot compare in value. Molar (not his real name) is an Afghan farmer living in the central Hazzrajat Province of Afghanistan. His 60 hectare farm along the Helmand River has been […]

Read more