Western governments and foundations are declining to support very common-sense improvements in farming practices like SRI because there is too much money at stake for companies like Monsanto and Dow. While genetically modified seeds pose technical problems by potentially promoting the evolution of resistant pests, there is a far more insidious issue that few talk about. 

In addition to creating seeds that resist disease and pests, these companies are also making them sterile so that farmers cannot collect seeds and plant them in subsequent years. As a result farmers that opt to use these seeds become indentured to the agri-business giants by having to buy new seeds every year. 

I sincerely hope that more farmers not only in developing nations but even here in North America adopt these practices and move away from technological "solutions."

I don't remember where I bought them, but I seem to recall paying about $70-80 for a pair of Sorel Caribous. As we approach the waning days of this winter season more than 22 years later, those same Sorels are still going strong. They're not exactly stylish, but they keep my feet warm and dry and are showing no signs of disintegrating or wearing out. Definitely the best footware investment I've ever made.

http://www.amazon.com/Sorel-Mens-Caribou-10-Boot/dp/B000BQM2RM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362262351&sr=8-1&keywords=sorel+caribou

Between 2007 and 2010 I wrote a number of stories about Miles Automotive which eventually morphed into Coda. While the company had some ambitious plans, they never had as much funding as +Tesla Motors or +Fisker Automotive and the market of plug-ins has not developed as quickly as proponents hoped. 

http://green.autoblog.com/2007/08/15/miles-automotive-trying-to-be-first-to-market-with-a-full-speed/
http://green.autoblog.com/2008/02/06/miles-xs500-will-be-a-lot-more-expensive-than-planned/
http://greenfuelsforecast.com/ArticleDetails.php?articleID=715
http://www.greenfuelsforecast.com/ArticleDetails.php?articleID=716

The site couldn't even recognize the Chrome browser properly, identifying it as the long defunct Netscape

The problem was in executing. The +Chevrolet Vega in particular had a lot of interesting details including the aluminum block engine. The GM engineers developed a block made from a high-silicon alloy. The bores were etched to expose the hard silicon giving a durable surface without the need for steel or iron sleeves. Unfortunately they used an undersized radiator that could manage the thermal loads, leading to overheating that warped the blocks.

While GM soon gave up, the same technology was eventually used by many other automakers with great success. Fortunately other innovations have worked out better in recent years.