<p>Some geologists believe that humanity's effects on the planet are so significant and enduring that the Earth has entered a new epoch: the Anthropocene.</p>
<p>Community activists and affordable housing advocates in New Orleans face ongoing struggles to promote alternative redevelopment schemes that meet the needs of low-income households.</p>
<p>The increasing use of food grains in biofuels, rising meat consumption in Asia and perverse government farming subsidies are having a serious effect on global food security.</p>
<p>The U.S. Census Bureau's Report on Vacancies and Homeownership shows that homeownership rates are declining while inventories of available housing are increasing.</p>
<p>Scientists are warning that unless consumers use fewer plastics and oceangoing vessels and oil platforms dispose of their wastes differently, gigantic plastic Garbage Patches swirling in the Pacific gyres will continue to grow.</p>
