New Directions

A Decade of Independent Journalism

Starting a beneficial food business - funny speaker, Ronan Coughlan
Farmer inspired by soil conference - brilliant talk, Thomas Stacks
When everything gets thrown asunder and you need help
Every supply chain needs insects at some point
Why we should scale farms down
Saving Water
Polytunnel quandaries
Compost - to buy or not to buy?
Even now, dumplings = happiness
We're all the same
Eco cabin: Recycling at its best
DAFM calls for 'pigs with intact tails'-optimum conditions
Re-thinking the attributes of cabbage - Terri Ann Fox
The environmental impact of animals
Poem: The one & only pig physiotherapist
Shopping by symbols
Is washing vegetables from the garden a pain?
Growing Avocados in Ireland
Calves thrive with kindness
Self sufficiency over supermarket
Feel how Chopin calms your nerves
All night woodwork
Inspectors recommend concrete, we say bedding

2021 rings in strong for public banks

In a remarkably strong start to 2021 legislative sessions, three states — New York, Oregon, and Washington — have introduced new legislation to establish state-owned public banks. In contrast to bills of previous years that aimed to create a task force or call for a feasibility study, all four new bills would start a bank. Read more…

Hear from a slate of experts in New York’s Town Hall livestream

Join NYS Sen. James Sanders Jr, NYS Assembly Member Victor Pichardo, and a panel of experts and elected officials that includes Eric Hardmeyer, CEO of the Bank of North Dakota, for a virtual Town Hall that will examine how a public bank could help New York’s future. Read more…

San Diego resumes efforts to create city-run public bank

Millions in city reserves, now held by commercial banks, would be loaned to projects that fit with city goals Read more…

California just legalized public banking, setting the stage for more affordable housing

Supporters say the change allows for funding infrastructure demands or providing loans to public agencies at low rates. Read more…

How Germany’s public banking model could make Ireland’s sector more customer-friendly

AS THE SCALE of the tracker mortgage scandal emerges, banks in Ireland have been accused of forgetting their responsibility to act in the best interest of their customers. Read more…

New Business Continuity Voucher goes live through Local Enterprise Offices

The new Business Continuity Voucher is now available through Local Enterprise Offices and is open to sole traders and companies across every business sector that employ up to 50 people, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys T.D. announced. Read more…

860 humanities and social science grants

worth $174,223,652 with deadlines in the next 3 months. Academia.edu

‘Nailing your colours to the mast’: Ireland still has just one B Corp, with others in the wings

AS CONSUMERS ARE becoming increasingly demanding of businesses to be more environmentally and socially responsible, some Irish companies are looking at going the extra mile and considering B Corp status. Read more…

 

Wealth extraction from the poorest is the rule, not the exception

Catch Them If You Can was launched in Dublin earlier this week and reports on the scale of transfers from poor to rich which, according to the report’s authors Tony Daly and Colm Regan, is “both staggering and utterly indefensible”. Read more…

 

The value of biodiversity: Where ecology and economy blend

As problems of environmental change become more evident, we increasingly realize how much we depend upon wildlife for a wide range of so-called ecosystem services. Read more…

 

From Farm to Café, How Can Your Coffee Be More Sustainable?

Coffee is a lifeline for millions, a major global commodity, and a crop that’s farmed in dozens of countries. It’s a fusion of science and art that forms the start of our day, and fuels minds the world over – but how environmentally sustainable is speciality coffee really? Read more…

 

Can Seaweed Farming Play a Role in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation?

Seaweed aquaculture, the fastest-growing component of global food production, offers a slate of opportunities to mitigate, and adapt to climate change. Seaweed farms release carbon that maybe buried in sediments or exported to the deep sea, therefore acting as a CO2 sink. Read more…

 

Special Report: Organic farmers are leading the charge to spark a green revolution

With the UN urging us to change our ways in the face of climate crisis, Joyce Fegan meets producers who say going organic isn’t just good for the environment — it’s also good for their bottom line. Read more…

 

Evaluating the Economics of Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Healthcare in the United States is expensive and becoming more so every year. Policy and decision makers increasingly need information on costs, as well as effectiveness and safety, in order to formulate health-care strategies that are both clinically effective and financially responsible. Read more…