*Originally posted on Decembet 22, 2020 The year 2020 was the worst year I can recall. The pandemic that emerged in January accelerated during the late winter and early spring, stabilized in the summer, and remerged with cooler temperatures. We’ve had more than 300,000 fatalities in the US and close to 2 million globally, and […]
My Annual Review: 2020 A Terrible Year With a Promising Ending Read More »
Several weeks ago, I was invited to participate in a series of University of Notre Dame conferences on environmental sustainability—first in Castel Gandolfo and now in Rome. The project was inspired by Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical Laudato Si'(“Praised Be”), which framed care for the planet as an urgent moral responsibility closely linked to human dignity and justice, particularly for
Learning About Environment and Faith Read More »
In early February, I participated in the Ashby Workshop on the social impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), held at the Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Virginia. The workshop was organized by Fathom, a philanthropy-supported nonprofit, and brought together about 150 participants under strict no-attribution and no-recording rules. The group was deliberately multidisciplinary, including AI researchers, scientists, ethicists, economists, and policymakers.
Learning enjoying and assessing AI Read More »
I got a wonderful gift from Thomas Reardon, a volume of Thomas Kuhn’s classics. I should have read it before, but I didn’t, and reading it, I understood why it’s a “great” book. It presents a convincing conceptual framework, compelling narrative without excessive jargon, and presents interesting and clear examples. The book presents an original
I recently returned from Tahiti and Moorea in French Polynesia, where I attended a conference on Sustainable Island Health at the UC Berkeley Gump South Pacific Research Station. The meeting brought together scientists, policymakers, and local leaders to imagine how French Polynesia—one of the most stunning places on Earth—might become a global model of sustainable development
Building a Blue Bioeconomy in Paradise Read More »
A comprehensive new textbook, Agricultural Economics and Policy, by David Zilberman, Ruiqing Miao, and Jian Rong (World Scientific). Over the past forty years, I have taught graduate courses in agricultural and resource economics. When I was a graduate student at Berkeley, no course in this area was offered. The faculty who had previously taught it had
Bridging Theory, Evidence, and Practice in Food, Resources, and Sustainability Read More »
The circular bioeconomy aims to enhance the productivity of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries by optimizing the use of natural resources in these sectors. It emphasizes recycling residues and waste products to generate energy, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, while also enabling carbon sequestration. These efforts contribute significantly to the transition from non-renewable resources, such as petroleum, to
Traveling Across Europe on the Road to a Circular Bioeconomy Read More »
Late August and early September are always good times to travel. This year, I am in Europe, where I participated in the European Agricultural Economics conference in Bonn and then travelled for two days to discover Lisbon. The Conference in Bonn The good news that I learned this summer is that agricultural economics is alive
Working at Bonn and Playing at Lisbon Read More »
I enjoyed my recent visit to New Delhi and Jarfour in India so much that I was excited to accept an invitation to the third Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi in October 2024. I attended all three days of the Conclave and then visited Kerala in Southern India with my guide and friend Gajendra Nathgubey (+91
Learning About and Enjoying India’s Natural Resources Read More »
Our bioeconomy consortium (ICABR) returned to Ravello after five years of pandemic and meetings in Bologna and Argentina. Ravello is as charming as ever. I still enjoy climbing the steps and taking in the view, but I do it slower. Both the regulars and some new faces participated in this glorious meeting. There was a
Integrating Technology and Policy To Tackle Climate Change Under the Italian Sun Read More »