Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize-winning agronomist whose innovations in crop yield forever changed the field of agriculture, died in Dallas, Texas, on September 12. He was 95, humble till the end, and, above all else, a life-long exemplar of the moral rigor behind the so-called Green Revolution.
Although his work saved up to a billion lives, Borlaug's high-yielding rice and wheat crops have drawn criticism in the last few decades from those who view them as ushering in an era of chemical agriculture. Regardless of how you feel about so-called "genetically modified" crops, the fact remains that Borlaug saw suffering in the form of poverty and hunger and took action to remedy it.
Former President Clinton has introduced a new site devoted to encouraging any and all Americans to volunteer. Visit MyCommitment.Org to pledge time, money, or skills to a variety of causes. Only time will tell what will solve the planet's seemingly innumerable fails. Be your own Borlaug. Change the world.