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Archive for February 26th, 2011
Judge suspends hydroelectric dam project in Amazon rainforest
Posted by Scotland on Sunday Online: None Given on February 26th, 2011
Scotland on Sunday Online: A BRAZILIAN judge has suspended plans for construction of the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the Amazon rainforest, citing environmental concerns. Belo Monte, which would be the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam, has sparked protests in Brazil and abroad over its impact on the environment and native Indian tribes in the region.
Federal judge Ronaldo Desterro, in the northern Para stateADVERTISEMENT, said environmental requirements to build the dam had not been met. Those measures...
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Overfertilising corn undermines ethanol
Posted by Science Centric: None Given on February 26th, 2011
Science Centric: Rice University scientists and their colleagues have found that when growing corn crops for ethanol, more means less.
A new paper in today's online edition of the American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science and Technology shows how farmers can save money on fertiliser while they improve their production of feedstock for ethanol and alleviate damage to the environment.
The research has implications for an industry that has grown dramatically in recent years to satisfy America's...
Philippines considers climate change ‘survival fund.’
Posted by Alert Net: None Given on February 26th, 2011
Alert Net: Lawmakers, aid workers and activists in the Philippines are throwing their weight behind a national "survival fund" to tackle climate change after severe flooding caused by unseasonal and persistent heavy rains.
The abnormal weather over the last two months shows the urgent need to adapt to the changing climate, according to Snehal Soneji, Philippines country director of aid agency Oxfam.
"The climate is changing, weather events are becoming more erratic and frequent. Therefore the solution...
Indigenous People Declare They Are On The Foot Of War And Permanent Mobilization In Defense Of Their Territories
Posted by Indigenous People Declare: None Given on February 26th, 2011
Indigenous People Declare: Peru: Indigenous People Declare They Are On The Foot Of War And Permanent Mobilization In Defense Of Their Territories
Translated from Spanish, Original Below
At a press conference, the Board of AIDESEP and regional organizations today announced that Amazonian indigenous peoples are reported on a war footing and in permanent mobilization in defense of their ancestral territories, due to the insistence of this administration to develop policies behind the query as demanded by international conventions...
Brazilian judge blocks plans for construction of Belo Monte dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 26th, 2011
Guardian: Plans for the construction of the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the Amazon rainforest have been suspended by a Brazilian judge over environmental concerns.
The proposal to build Belo Monte, which would be the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam, has sparked protests in Brazil and abroad because of its impact on the environment and native Indian tribes in the area.
A federal court in Para state, under judge Ronaldo Desterro, has halted plans for the construction because...
Megadroughts once reigned supreme in Southwest — and may again
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 26th, 2011
USA Today: As the southern tier of the USA suffers through a drought that stretches from Arizona to Virginia – a distance of some 2,000 miles – new research this week finds that "megadroughts" used to be a common feature of the southwestern USA, and may be again, thanks to our favorite villain, climate change.
These "megadroughts" lasted for, um, millennia, which I think is a long, long time.
The authors, in a study published this week in the British journal Nature, say that "megadroughts" were a regular...