Archive for March 21st, 2010

Enviros, growers agree on farmland reuse for solar

Associated Press: Cash-strapped farmers in California's agricultural heartland and environmentalists at odds over water rights and wildlife protections finally agree on something: that thousands of acres of cracked, salty farmland is the perfect site for a sprawling utility-scale solar farm. The 47 square-miles of land proposed for the Westlands Solar Park in remote Kings and Fresno counties is just one of dozens of unfinished solar projects in California, but renewable energy analysts say it is a rare ...

Climate change knocks at Kashmir’s doors

DNA: The day temperatures in Srinagar hover around 22 to 26 degrees Celsius which is 11 degrees above normal in March. What has baffled the farmers and experts is the huge rainfall deficit in March that could affect the agriculture crops in Kashmir. "The temperatures are currently running between five to 10 degrees above normal. This is because the weather systems are not effective", said TK Jotshi, assistant director Metrological Center Kashmir. Met office records show there is a ...

Climate change, development blamed for rapidly rising number of ‘100-year storms’

Eagle Tribune: In their worst form, they were known as "100-year storms": catastrophes that occurred once a century and caused devastating floods. And yet, in just the past four years, three times the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire have been hard-hit by storms that once came with interludes of decades between them. The most recent deluge was last week, when residents of Andover and Lawrence were forced out of their homes as their properties became drenched and heavily damaged by ...

Internet ‘threatens’ rare species

BBC: The internet has emerged as one of the biggest threats to endangered species, according to conservationists who are meeting in Doha, Qatar. Campaigners say it is easier than ever before to buy and sell anything from live baby lions to polar bear pelts on online auction sites and chatrooms. The findings were presented at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). Several proposals to give endangered species more protection were ...

Internet is biggest threat to endangered species, say conservationists

Guardian: The internet has emerged as one of the greatest threats to rare species, fuelling the illegal wildlife trade and making it easier to buy everything from live lion cubs to wine made from tiger bones, conservationists said today. The internet's impact was made clear at the meeting of the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). Delegates voted overwhelmingly today to ban the trade of the Kaiser's spotted newt, which the World Wildlife Fund says ...

Philippines: Drought drives monkeys out of forests, into streets

Philippine Daily Inquirer: LACK of food due to drought has forced monkeys to leave their sanctuaries in Barangay New Israel here and take refuge in nearby forested areas. "It all started when severe heat wilted some crops in the village including banana plants that serve as food for these animals," Darwin Paraiso, a village councilor, said. Paraiso said the monkeys started to form groups and scramble for food, particularly bananas donated by Dole-Stanfilco. The village councilor said there were ...

Lebanon’s liquid treasure is just trickling away

Agence France-Presse: Rose Hatem's home overlooks the Mediterranean and is just a short distance from one of Lebanon's longest rivers. But twice a week the 60-year-old has to buy water for her daily needs. "I have been buying in water since I moved here 14 years ago," Hatem told AFP in the picturesque village of Amsheet, north of the Lebanese capital Beirut. "In the summer, when demand is high, I'm often left without a drop." Hers is a story repeated across Lebanon, one of the rare countries in the ...

Solution to a thirsty world: sea water without the salt

Times (UK): MIDDLE East government officials spent last week in Vienna, discussing oil at a meeting of Opec, the producers' cartel. In Oman, however, another dwindling resource was top of the agenda. In the coastal town of Al Khaluf, Oman's minister for water turned on a desalination plant that will provide the area with 100 cubic metres of fresh, clean water every day -- enough for 80,000 people. The plant was sold by Modern Water, a British company that claims places such as Oman will ...