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Archive for June 17th, 2011
Global warming sharply reduces crop output
Posted by Express Tribune: Shamsul Islam on June 17th, 2011
Express Tribune: Scientists discuss how to apply innovative methods to farming.
Global warming is not only playing havoc with lives of people but also damaging agriculture badly as a one degree rise in temperature reduces wheat yield by seven per cent and rice production by 10 per cent.
This was revealed by speakers on the third day of a week-long workshop on “Strengthening skills of young professionals in Pakistan and Afghanistan”, organised by the US Department of Agriculture in collaboration with Endowment...
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Fracking: miracle or madness?
Posted by Cape Argus: John Yeld on June 17th, 2011
Cape Argus: SOME hail shale gas as the miracle answer to the world`s energy needs for centuries to come, and as a key means to significantly reduce fossil fuel emissions that are the major driver of human-induced climate change. Others dismiss such claims as exaggeration and hyperbole, and point to research suggesting the carbon footprint of shale gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing -- or fracking -- is equal to that of coal or even greater because of "rogue" methane leaks. They warn of severe environmental...
High costs seen hampering use of algae as biofuel
Posted by Reuters: Ivana Sekularac on June 17th, 2011
Reuters: The cost of farming algae as a biofuel must be cut by about 90 percent if it is to become commercially viable and reduce pressure on food prices, according to research by Dutch scientists.
Major companies including oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp, Finnish refiner Neste Oil and Dutch vitamin maker DSM are investing in algae production technology in order to develop biofuel.
It could eventually help ease demand and price pressures on food crops that also are used to produce biofuel, such as palm oil....
Japan: Fukushima radioactive water clean-up begins
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 17th, 2011
Reuters: Tepco, the operator of Japan's stricken nuclear power plant, has said it is starting an operation to clean up the site's radioactive water after several glitches and delays.
Large and expanding pools of radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which is about 150 miles north-east of Tokyo, were in danger of spilling into the sea within a week unless action was taken, officials said.
The company has pumped massive amounts of water to cool three reactors at the nuclear plant, which went...
China evacuates 500,000 as flooding breaks worst drought in 50 years
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 17th, 2011
Guardian: China has evacuated more than 500,000 people from deadly floods that are devastating areas in the south of the country following the worst drought in 50 years.
At least 105 people have been swept to their deaths or killed in landslides and another 65 are missing after rivers burst their banks. The authorities have issued the highest level of alarm about dykes and dams under dangerous pressure.
Television channels that were only recently broadcasting images of dried-up lake beds are now carrying...
Palestinian desire for food security drives farming innovation
Posted by Guardian: Rebecca Collard on June 17th, 2011
Guardian: In a rural area of the central Gaza Strip, Eyad Najjar plucks organic carrots from the sandy soil of his tiny farm. Najjar no longer uses fertilisers or pesticides for his plot, which also grows tomatoes, parsley, rocket, lettuce and spinach. Instead, a fishpond on the field's far edge delivers water rich in nutrients via drip irrigation.
Smiling, Najjar squeezes an almost-ripe fruit hanging from the branch of a lemon tree. "The onions and lemons are bigger and better," he says.
But Najjar...
Desertification in Inner Mongolia, China – in pictures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 17th, 2011
Guardian: Inner Mongolia, China's third largest province, is battling severe desertification. Over-grazing, logging, expanding farms and population pressure, as well as droughts, have turned once fertile grasslands into sandy plains. As part of China's efforts to stop the land degradation, NGOs have been helping with reforestation
ALERT! Protect Moscows Khimki Forest and Russia’s Other Old Forest Remnants from Roadways and Ecocidal Industrial Capitalism
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on June 17th, 2011
TAKE ACTION HERE NOW!
Activists continue to battle road construction equipment in the old-growth Khimki Forest [search] just outside of Moscow, setting an example for old forest protectors and global ecological sustainability protestors globally. Industrial development that destroys ecosystems is ecocidal, destroying possibility for future human advancement. For years Russian activists and journalists have survived beatings, arrests and intimidation to protest and report on the amazing grassroots movement to protect including when necessary to fight for Russia's remaining urban old forest remnants. Such a movement is needed globally to protect and restore primary, old-growth and other old forests for global forest, climate, biodiversity, ecosystem and ecological sustainability. EI has successfully contributed to the Khimki Forest protection campaign in the past and we expect you all to please come out and do so again.
China steps up flood evacuations
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 17th, 2011
BBC: Fatal floods hit China forcing over 500,000 to flee
China has raised the disaster alert to the highest level, as flooding spreads across central and southern provinces
Days of torrential rain have forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in central and southern China.
The government has described flooding in some areas as the worst since 1955 and has mobilised troops to evacuate some 555,000 people.
More than 100 people are known to have died so far this month.
China's...
UK to fare better than most as world warms up
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 17th, 2011
Independent: Britain will fare better than most other countries as the world heats up in the 21st century, but people living in London and other major UK cities will have to get used to uncomfortably hot summer nights, the latest assessment of global warming suggests.
A team of climate scientists in the United States have produced a detailed global study of the temperature increases expected in different regions over the coming century.
The analysis shows places such as China and the Arctic experiencing...