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Archive for November 14th, 2010
Flood control planning awash in bureaucracy
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 14th, 2010
Bangkok Post: Flood control planning awash in bureaucracy
The first in a series of articles exploring the elusive long-term solutions for flood management in Thailand
With the country still drying out after this year's torrential rainfalls that left communities inundated in virtually every corner of the map, the various state agencies in charge of flood control are at odds on how to proceed. Each of these many agencies (see graphic) has its own regulations and mandates and each is eager to protect its own...
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Climate change worsens plight of Iraqi farmers
Posted by Reuters: Khalid al-Ansary and Serena Chaudhry on November 14th, 2010
Reuters: Frequent dust storms and scarce rains are stifling Iraq's efforts to revive a farming sector hit by decades of war, sanctions and isolation.
Wheat and rice production has suffered from a severe drought in the past two years, due in part to rising temperatures, along with a dearth of water in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The U.N. Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit (IAU) says water levels in the two rivers -- Iraq's main water sources -- have dropped to less than a third of normal...
Egypt: Sea level rise threatens Alexandria, Nile Delta
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 14th, 2010
Reuters: Twenty years ago, Taher Ibrahim raced his friends across Alexandria's beaches, now rising seas have swept over his favorite childhood playground.
Alexandria, with 4 million people, is Egypt's second-largest city, an industrial center and a port that handles four-fifths of national trade. It is also one of the Middle East's cities most at risk from rising sea levels due to global warming.
"There were beaches I used to go to in my lifetime, now those beaches are gone. Is that not proof enough?"...
Report predicts rising sea levels in lower Hudson Valley
Posted by PoughKeepsie Journal: None Given on November 14th, 2010
PoughKeepsie Journal: A new state environmental report predicts sea levels could rise more than four feet in some coastal areas of the state over the next 70 years, with dramatic implications for New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley.
The Hudson River is at sea level in New York City. Rising waters' effects will be felt far upstream, the report says.
"Sea level rise and coastal flooding from storm surges are already impacting and will increasingly affect New York's entire ocean and estuarine coastline...
Arid Israel recycles waste water on grand scale
Posted by Reuters: Ari Rabinovitch on November 14th, 2010
Reuters: Arid Israel recycles waste water on grand scale
* Israel is world leader in water recycling
* Water technologies a large export market
Thirty years ago, Israeli farmers faced a daunting choice -- find a new water source or go under. Their solution was waste water recycling. Now climate change is presenting other nations with a similar choice.
With increased interest worldwide, Israel is marketing its waste water reuse technologies and has developed a billion-dollar industry by sharing...
Arab world among most vulnerable to climate change
Posted by Reuters: Alistair Lyon, on November 14th, 2010
Reuters: Arab world among most vulnerable to climate change
* Governments urged to act to protect against disasters
* Middle East already short of water
Dust storms scour Iraq. Freak floods wreak havoc in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Rising sea levels erode Egypt's coast. Hotter, drier weather worsens water scarcity in the Middle East, already the world's most water-short region.
The Arab world is already suffering impacts consistent with climate change predictions. Although scientists are wary of...
Indiana nears billion gallon ethanol goal
Posted by Star Press: Seth Slabaugh on November 14th, 2010
Star Press: In the wake of Indiana's ethanol boom -- and then bust -- 13 plants are standing, a dozen of which are running or soon will be.
And when the 13th plant is re-started next spring, it will give the state more than 1 billion gallons of ethanol production annually. Nearly a third of that is coming out of East Central Indiana.
"One billion gallons was one of Gov. Mitch Daniels' (agricultural) strategic goals," said Christopher Hurt, an economist at Purdue University. "So this is a pretty remarkable...
Unilever unveils ambitious long term sustainability programme
Posted by Guardian: Julia Finch on November 14th, 2010
Guardian: Consumer goods group Unilever will today unveil an ambitious new sustainability plan that aims to double sales and halve the environmental impact of its products over the next 10 years.
The initiative will cover not just Unilever's greenhouse gas emissions, waste and water use – but the impact caused by its suppliers and consumers, from agricultural growers to the packaging and waste water produced by consumers of Unilever brands, which include Dove, Persil, Bertolli, Flora and PG Tips.
"More...
Cocoa genome ‘to save chocolate’
Posted by BBC: Jason Palmer on November 14th, 2010
BBC: The public release of the genome of the cacao tree - from which chocolate is made - will save the chocolate industry from collapse, a scientist has said.
Howard Yana-Shapiro, a researcher for Mars, said that without engineering higher-yielding cacao trees, demand would outstrip supply within 50 years.
Dr Yana-Shapiro said such strains will also help biodiversity and farmers' welfare in cacao-growing regions.
The genome's availability will likely lead to healthier, tastier chocolate.
The...
Climate change threatens Lebanon’s snow, cedars
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 14th, 2010
Reuters: Lebanon's ski resorts have survived civil war but now face an insidious threat from climate change expected to cut snow cover by 40 percent by 2040.
The effects of global warming are still a low priority for conflict-prone Lebanon, where environmental neglect rules.
Skiers and the tourist businesses that depend on them hope this year's warm winter and brief season was not a harbinger of the future for the Arab world's only snow playgrounds.
Christian Rizk, 47, manager of the Mzaar ski resort...