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Archive for July 16th, 2012
Russia floods spur calls for emergency warnings
Posted by Reuters: Gabriela Baczynska on July 16th, 2012
Reuters: Russia's government faces growing pressure to install a new emergency warning system and improve weather forecasting after survivors complained that little was done to prevent scores of people being killed in floods in the south of the country.
Survivors said no flood warning had been issued before a huge wave through Krymsk, the worst-hit town in the Krasnodar region near the Black Sea, early on July 7. The death toll in the region was 171 and many homes were destroyed.
"In fact, we should...
Posted in 
‘Apocalyptic’ summer for wildlife
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2012
Press Association: This year's bad weather has proved "almost apocalyptic" for much of the UK's wildlife, the National Trust warned on Monday.
Many birds, bats, butterflies, bees, amphibians and wildflowers have been struggling in the cold wet conditions and the trust warns that the outlook for some species next year is bleak.
There have been some wildlife winners from the wettest April to June on record and the second dullest June ever recorded, but they are hardly Britain's most loved species, with slugs and...
More Companies Are Reporting Water Related Climate Change Risks
Posted by Triple Pundit: Gina-Marie Cheeseman on July 16th, 2012
Triple Pundit: Corporate disclosures of water-related climate change risks in financial filings have increased since 2009, a Ceres report found. The report specifically found that disclosures of water risks increased between 2009 and 2011. The biggest change occurred in the percentage of companies disclosing water-related physical risks, which increased from 76 percent to 87 percent. In 2009, only eight of the 82 companies surveyed (10 percent) disclosed that climate change posed water related risks. In 2011, there...
India: Kerala charts out plan to tide over climate change
Posted by Hindu: K.S. Sudhi on July 16th, 2012
Hindu: Introduction of a "climate-tailored agricultural management" system, preservation of ecologically important biomes, and development of water bodies are some of the strategies proposed by the State to overcome the impact of climate change. The strategies have been listed in the State Action Plan for Climate Change, prepared by the Department of Environment and Climate Change. The strategic plan, with a projected financial outlay of Rs.1,000 crore, is being circulated among various stakeholders.
Strategies...
Challenges galore for global agriculture next ten years
Posted by Business Line: None Given on July 16th, 2012
Business Line: Global food security has clearly been under strain in recent years with fluctuating output, weather aberrations, rising production costs and of course food inflation that dilutes the nutrition intake of the poor.
The emerging picture for the coming decade is one of firm demand driven by a combination of expanding population, rising purchasing power and changes in food habits, especially in developing countries on the one hand, and slowing growth in global agricultural output on the other. Add...
The Great Timber Rush
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2012
Bangkok Post: Treasure hunters have a romantic reputation. The popular perception is of Spanish doubloons, Ming Dynasty china or stolen gold bullion hidden beneath the sands of a tropical island or deep beneath the ocean.
Boats negotiate the waterways of Sabah state in search of sunken logs that can fetch between US$1,000 and $3,000 each.
However, buccaneers are increasingly hunting for a treasure with a modern-day difference -- timber. If the economics are right, the returns can be great.
More recently...
United Kingdom: ‘Apocalyptic’ weather for wildlife – unless you are a snail or a midge
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2012
Telegraph: Well loved species, like butterflies and bumblebees, that need dry conditions to take flight and breed are in danger of going extinct in some areas.
Garden birds are failing to feed their young as the rain washes away insects and the cold stunts the growth of berries.
Seabirds have been blown from their nests on cliffs and bats are struggling to feed their pups as hunting for insects is difficult in a downpour.
However slugs and snails are thriving from the downpours and gardeners are struggling...
Anger after Bill Gates gives £6m to British lab to develop GM crops
Posted by Independent: Nina Lakhani on July 16th, 2012
Independent: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given British scientists a multi-million pound grant to develop GM crops in what could be the most significant PR endorsement for the controversial technology.
The John Innes Centre in Norwich has received £6.4m for a five-year project to engineer cereals such as corn and barley to extract nitrogen from the atmosphere, rather than relying on ammonia-based fertilisers.
But the decision by the Gates Foundation to invest substantial funds in technology...