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Archive for June, 2011
Chemicals in Farm Runoff Rattle States on the Mississippi
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2011
New York Times: As the surging waters of the Mississippi pass downstream, they leave behind flooded towns and inundated lives and carry forward a brew of farm chemicals and waste that this year — given record flooding — is expected to result in the largest dead zone ever in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dead zones have been occurring in the gulf since the 1970s, and studies show that the main culprits are nitrogen and phosphorous from crop fertilizers and animal manure in river runoff. They settle in at the mouth of the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Chemicals in Farm Runoff Rattle States on the MississippiIndia’s largest state unveils pro-farmer land bill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2011
Reuters: The chief minister of India's most populous state has unveiled a new land acquisition policy, local media reported on Friday, making it easier and more lucrative for farmers to sell land in the face of growing anger over land acquisition for industry.
Mayawati, chief minister of India's northern Uttar Pradesh state, says the policy ensures a seller's market for farmers, in an attempt to remove a nationwide roadblock for infrastructure and development in Asia's third-largest economy.
"Under...
Climate Change Spells Peril for Millions of Poor: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2011
Reuters: Millions of people already living in poverty are on a collision course with hotter and more variable weather that threatens crop yields and livestock, a global study on climate change "hotspots" has found.
The study released on Friday identifies regions where millions of people are already living close to the edge in terms of food security and then maps the expected impacts of changes in temperature, rainfall and other factors by 2050.
The result is one of the most comprehensive studies of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate Change Spells Peril for Millions of Poor: StudyClimate to wreak havoc on food supply, predicts report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2011
BBC: Areas where food supplies could be worst hit by climate change have been identified in a report.
Some areas in the tropics face famine because of failing food production, an international research group says.
The Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) predicts large parts of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa will be worst affected.
Its report points out that hundreds of millions of people in these regions are already experiencing a food crisis.
"We are starting to see much...
‘Routine antibiotic use’ linked to new MRSA strain found in UK dairy cows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 2nd, 2011
Ecologist: Fresh concerns over the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections from farm animals to humans have been raised after scientists find new strain of potentially deadly superbug in dairy cows
Scientists have discovered a new type of the potentially deadly MRSA bacteria in dairy cows that is almost identical to one found in hospital patients.
Strains of MRSA, which causes infections in humans and is resistant to many existing antibiotics, have already been found in pigs, poultry and cattle in several...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Routine antibiotic use’ linked to new MRSA strain found in UK dairy cowsHouse Panel Clears Fiscal 2012 Energy, Water Spending Bill; Programs for Renewables Take a Hit
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 2nd, 2011
New York Times: House appropriators today cleared a $30.6 billion spending bill for the Energy Department and Army Corps of Engineers that could see a floor vote before August.
The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee this morning passed the fiscal 2012 funding measure (pdf) by voice vote. Full Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said he would move it through the full committee and to the House floor before the chamber breaks for summer recess in August.
The spending plan...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on House Panel Clears Fiscal 2012 Energy, Water Spending Bill; Programs for Renewables Take a HitCanada: Manitoba to curb hog farms to save Lake Winnipeg
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 2nd, 2011
Reuters: Manitoba will tighten rules on expanding hog farms and ban manure spreading to cut the flow of phosphorus into the world's 11th-biggest freshwater lake, as Lake Winnipeg deteriorates from algae growth.
The western Canadian province, which has the country's third-largest pig herd, will also protect wetlands that filter out pollutants and force the capital Winnipeg to build a sewage treatment plant, Premier Greg Selinger said on Thursday.
The buildup of nutrients like phosphorus from sewage,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Manitoba to curb hog farms to save Lake WinnipegUnited States: Fracking Brings Jobs And Pollution To Town
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 2nd, 2011
National Public Radio: NEAL CONAN, host: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan broadcasting today from the studios of Texas Public Radio in San Antonio. And the headline in today's editions of the San Antonio Express News reports that Marathon Oil bought tracts in a once-desolate place called Eagle Ford for $3.5 billion. Towns that seemed set to dry up and blow away are booming back to life atop one of the most promising new oil fields anywhere. What's made that all possible is a relatively new drilling technique...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United States: Fracking Brings Jobs And Pollution To TownUniversity of Regina researchers awarded $1.25 million to study climate change on Prairies
Posted by Regina Leader-Post: None Given on June 2nd, 2011
Regina Leader-Post: Researchers at the University of Regina have been awarded $1.25 million to study how climate change will impact the Prairies, particularly in agricultural and First Nations communities.
The money is part of a $2.5 million international project on Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Extremes in the Americas. A total of $12.5 million was announced by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under the International Research Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change (IRIACC) on Thursday...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on University of Regina researchers awarded $1.25 million to study climate change on PrairiesStalwarts in China’s Water Struggle
Posted by New York Times: Edward Wong on June 2nd, 2011
New York Times: To report out my article on China’s ambitious and troubled plan to divert water from the south to try to satisfy the drinking needs of people in the dying north, I traveled to the Han River, a tributary of the Yangtze River that winds through the heart of the country. It is there, at a reservoir at Danjiangkou, that the middle channel of the water diversion project starts.
Scientists who study the Han told me that the water project could kill or severely damage the river, which provides crucial...