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Archive for October 21st, 2010
Grainy Season: Engineering Drought-Resistant Wheat
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
National Public Radio: Last summer's drought in Russia pushed wheat prices to their highest levels in years, and the fallout is a reminder of how much humanity depends on the rain. Now, scientists are searching for novel approaches to make wheat less vulnerable to drought. Some efforts are trying to replace the genes that made possible the dramatic boost in wheat harvests in the latter half of the 20th century in India known as the Green Revolution. Few people can see the accomplishments of the Green ...
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Nepal: Alarm bells
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
Himalayan Times: The Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) that has been prepared on the basis of calculated vulnerability of 170 countries to climate change effects in the next 30 years has some bad news for Nepal which is in the South Asian region that is depicted as the most vulnerable region when it comes to climate change. What is more disturbing is that Nepal ranks fourth in the index. This shows that the country is barely prepared to respond to the climate change stress. In fact, Nepal's ...
Ottawa urged to beef up oil sands enforcement
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
Reuters: A trio of environmental groups called on Ottawa on Wednesday to beef up enforcement of legislation in the Alberta oil sands, saying unchecked development is harming Canada's international reputation. In a report, Environmental Defense, Equiterre and the Pembina Institute said lax federal standards and poor policing are causing inter-provincial friction as well. "Despite occasional 'tough talk' and vague statements about the need for improvements, the federal government has ...
Guatamala: Spreading Expertise on Integrated Waste Management
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
Inter Press Service: Guatemala has more than 700,000 clandestine garbage dumps. But a growing network of public and private sector employees are receiving training in integrated waste management that they in turn pass on to others, as part of a unique cooperation initiative with Mexico and Germany. The Red Giresol Guatemala -- the "Guatemalan network of environmental promoters for prevention and integrated management of solid waste" -- emerged in 2006 from a "triangular cooperation" agreement between the ...
Australia: Lessons to be learnt from irrigation mistakes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: As the Murray-Darling Basin debate rages, southern states should be looking north for the future model on how to deal with precious water resources. Scientists say northern Australia - where the hopes of a new food bowl were once pinned - has the potential to lead the way when it comes to sustainable irrigation and dealing with climate change. The region's development opportunities have been described as "tantalising" at the Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Areas ...
Water safe after Hungary spill but needs monitoring: WHO
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
Reuters: Drinking water in Hungarian villages hit by a toxic sludge spill is safe, but must be continuously monitored, along with the air, soil and food, for contamination by heavy metals, the World Health Organization said. Reporting on an investigation conducted in Hungary last week, the WHO called for the removal of the corrosive mud to be completed, especially from houses, to minimize residents' exposure. Residents and nearly 4,000 workers involved in the clean-up should be given ...
Gulf deepwater drilling freeze thawing slowly
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
Reuters: Some leading offshore drilling contractors, after reporting declines in quarterly profits, said on Thursday there were encouraging signs for activity in the Gulf of Mexico next year despite a shortage of permits. Noble Corp, the second-largest offshore drilling contractor by fleet size, said it was even possible one of its deepwater rigs could get back to work in the U.S. Gulf by the end of this year. This month, the U.S. government lifted a moratorium on deepwater drilling ...
Evidence is weak for tropical rainforest 65 million years ago in Africa’s low-latitudes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
EurekAlert: The landscape of Central Africa 65 million years ago was a low-elevation tropical belt, but the jury is still out on whether the region's mammals browsed and hunted beneath the canopy of a lush rainforest. The scientific evidence for a tropical rainforest at that time is weak and far from convincing, says paleobotanist Bonnie F. Jacobs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Fossil pollen from Central and West Africa provide no definitive evidence for communities of ...
Labor Uses Automated Calls to Tout Controversial Oil Pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
New York Times: Campaign lore is replete with tales of mysterious "push polls" designed to spread negative and often distorted messages about a candidate. But a new round of calls in Nebraska has turned the concept on its head, greeting residents with a barrage of feel-good arguments about a $7 billion oil pipeline that has met unexpected resistance in the state. The automated calls cheerleading for the Keystone XL line, which would nearly double U.S. imports of Canadian tar sands, began going out ...
Could Water-Efficient Maize Boost Africa’s Food Security?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 21st, 2010
Inter Press Service: As controlled field trials of a genetically modified (GM) crop are about to begin in five African countries amidst promises of improved crops grown under poor conditions, critics are charging organisations with selling out the interests of African farmers. A team of scientists in the United States, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique has developed water-efficient maize varieties under the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project. The high-yielding maize ...