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Archive for June, 2011
Germany Is Criticized Even as E. Coli Outbreak Slows
Posted by New York Times: Alan Cowell on June 8th, 2011
New York Times: The German government came under increased criticism on Tuesday at home and abroad, accused of mismanaging the crisis surrounding an E. coli outbreak that has killed more than 20 people. German officials, however, reported a slight fall in the rate of newly reported infections. "There is much to suggest that we have put the worst behind us,' said Daniel Bahr, the federal health minister. Still, officials said they did not know the source of the outbreak. According to the Robert Koch Institute,...
Environment white paper is a step in the right direction
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 7th, 2011
Guardian: The environment white paper is a step in the right direction but the real test will be wider green policies. It shows what can happen when you keep the pressure up. Stung by the reaction to its efforts to sell off the public forest estate and the furious response to its red tape challenge, the coalition government now looks desperate to prove itself. That's just where we want it.
It is still a long way from being the greenest government ever, not that there's a lot of competition. But its new...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Environment white paper is a step in the right directionThe benefits and costs of a “golden age” of natural gas and fracking
Posted by Ecocentric: None Given on June 7th, 2011
Ecocentric: A Chesapeake Energy natural-gas well site near Burlington, Pa. Shale natural gas--usually the most boring of fuels--has been one of the hottest energy topics in 2011, alternately lionized as a cleaner-burning and plentiful power source and demonized as a poisoner of local water supplies, and even worse for the climate than coal. That debate will continue to run hot--just last week New York filed suit over potential shale gas exploration in the Delaware River Basin--but there's little doubt that...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on The benefits and costs of a “golden age” of natural gas and frackingChina drought retreats after heavy rains
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 7th, 2011
Telegraph: The rains shrank the area of farmland affected by drought by 39 percent to 8,880 square miles, including in the major rice-growing central and southern provinces of Hubei and Hunan, the People's Daily reported, citing the national flood and drought relief office.
Parts of China along the Yangtze River basin and nearby have been enduring their worst drought in 50 years or more, with rainfall 40 to 60 percent less than normal over recent months, damaging crops and cutting power from hydroelectric...
China chemical spill taints city’s water supply
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 7th, 2011
Associated Press: Customers stock up on bottled water in a Hangzhou supermarket.
Carbolic acid spilled into a river that supplies drinking water to the Chinese city of Hangzhou, knocking out supplies to more than half a million people in the suburbs and creating a run on bottled water in the city of 9 million.
A tanker truck carrying 20 tons of the caustic chemical overturned late on Saturday night. The chemical, also known as phenol, was washed by rain into the Xin'an river about 90 miles (145km) south-west...
White paper to redress biodiversity loss with wilderness areas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 7th, 2011
Guardian: The white paper on the natural environment will recommend the creation of wilderness areas.
The government should hold a competition to create 12 wilderness areas to enhance ecological protection in England, the first white paper on the natural environment in 20 years will propose on Tuesday.
Stung by accusations that it has failed to live up to its promise to be the "greenest-ever" government, the coalition will try to redress the continuing loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitat in England...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on White paper to redress biodiversity loss with wilderness areasPhotos: 600 new species discovered in Madagascar since 1999
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2011
Mongabay: More than 600 species of plants and animals have been described in Madagascar over the past decade, reiterating the position of Indian Ocean island as one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots, says a new report issued today by WWF.
Compiling data from scientific papers published between 1999 and 2010, WWF's Treasure Island [PDF] says Madagascar's bounty of previously undescribed species amounts to 385 plants, 42 invertebrates, 17 fish, 69 amphibians, 61 reptiles and 41 mammals. The discoveries...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Photos: 600 new species discovered in Madagascar since 1999Food security in developing world threatened by climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2011
Mongabay: Food security in developing world threatened by climate change
If swift action is not taken to prepare farmers in the developing world for hotter, drier, shorter growing seasons, climate change may threaten the lives of hundreds of millions of people by 2050. People in Africa and South Asia are particularly at risk of further impoverishment and hunger in a warmer world. According to the UN, a billion people are already going hungry worldwide.
Responding to pressing evidence that climate change...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Food security in developing world threatened by climate changeE coli outbreak linked to bean sprouts, says German minister
Posted by Guardian: Maev Kennedy and Abby d'Arcy on June 5th, 2011
Guardian: German bean sprouts were yesterday identified as the likely source of the E coli outbreak that has killed 22 people, caused chaos among Europe's vegetable growers and sparked a diplomatic row between Russia and the EU.
The state of Lower Saxony issued an urgent warning to stop eating bean sprouts on Sunday as it believes them to be the link between all the restaurants and food outlets in the outbreak. "We've a very strong lead linking a bean sprout company to the cases of E coli infection," said...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on E coli outbreak linked to bean sprouts, says German ministerGlobal Food Shortage Becomes Urgent as Planet Warms
Posted by LiveScience: Roy Britt on June 5th, 2011
LiveScience: A growing global food shortage has caused prices to double in recent years, and a growing consensus of scientists now blames climate change as one factor in an equation that includes a burgeoning population and increasingly scarce water supplies. More people around the planet are going hungry as a result.
Even as prices have also risen in the United States, most residents may not grasp the scope and severity of the problem.
Americans toss about 40 percent of their food in the garbage, according...