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Archive for July 26th, 2012
Rainforest wildlife havens on brink of collapse
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2012
Independent: The health of protected tropical forests and their rich wildlife, from exotic frogs and freshwater fish to tigers and forest elephants, is on the brink of collapse, researchers have warned.
Wildlife havens set up to protect tropical forest species have suffered badly as a result of the huge deforestation and habitat destruction going on around them, a large international study concluded.
The rich biodiversity of the tropical rainforests has seen a significant decline over the past 20 or 30...
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NASA Greenland Ice Melt Report Sparks Global Warming Debate
Posted by Yahoo!: Mark Whittington on July 26th, 2012
Yahoo!: A NASA report describing an "unprecedented" instance of ice melting in Greenland has sparked a new debate about global warming and has elicited accusations that the space agency has become politicized where climate science is concerned.
97 percent of Greenland's ice sheet melted in July
According to the report, NASA satellite data suggests that at one time or another 97 percent of the ice sheet that covers Greenland had thawed due to the persistence of a warm air mass over that land mass. Ordinarily...
Papua New Guinea Casts Wide Net Against Malaria
Posted by Inter Press Service: Catherine Wilson on July 26th, 2012
Inter Press Service: In Papua New Guinea, a Pacific Island nation located south of the equator, 90 percent of the population is at risk of malaria and 1.9 million cases are reported every year. But, according to a recent medical study, a programme to distribute long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets to every district in the country has dramatically reduced malaria infections.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) claims half the world's population is susceptible to the infectious disease transmitted to humans...
Brazil decree opens tribal lands to mining, dams in ‘national interest’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2012
Mongabay: A directive signed Monday by Brazil’s Solicitor-General could hamper the efforts of indigenous tribes to win government recognition of their traditional lands, reports Survival International, a human rights group focused on native peoples.
The directive "opens up all indigenous areas to mineral, dams, roads, military bases and other developments of 'national interest' without the need to consult with or address concerns of indigenous peoples", according to an expert familiar with the directive...
Drought’s Silver Lining is Fewer Tornadoes Across U.S
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 26th, 2012
Climate Central: There is at least one upside to the massive drought that covers more than half of the lower 48 states: a near-record low number of tornadoes. In contrast to last year, when swarms of tornadoes killed hundreds during the spring and early summer, this year has seen a flatlining of tornado numbers since June. Through July 23, there had been just 12 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. this month, and unless a severe weather outbreak in the Northeast on Thursday results in a large number of twisters, it's...
For blighted soybeans, a little rain goes a long way
Posted by Reuters: K.T. Arasu on July 26th, 2012
Reuters: Two inches of rain over the next two weeks is all that the soybean crop needs to ensure that millions of tiny pink flowers now budding at a near-record pace mature into the small green pods that will help feed the world.
As scattered rain in the north and east of the farm belt this week brought the first significant relief to this summer's drought, the worst in 56 years, agronomists said even a small amount of moisture will help the soybean crop avoid the fate facing corn, which has been decimated...
Drought Tightens Its Grip on High Plains, Central States
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 26th, 2012
Climate Central: The massive U.S. drought, which is already driving food prices skyrocketing and prompting federal disaster declarations, has only grown worse during the past week. According to the latest edition of the U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday morning, between July 17 and July 24, the portion of the country affected by "extreme" to "exceptional" drought jumped from 14 percent to about 21 percent. The portion of the country affected by exceptional drought, which is the most significant drought category,...
US midwest drought worsens despite rains
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2012
Reuters: The most extensive drought in five decades intensified this week across the US midwest and plains states that produce most of the county's corn, soybeans and livestock, a report from climate experts showed on Thursday.
Almost 30% of the nine-state midwest was suffering extreme drought, nearly triple from the previous week, according to the US drought monitor for the week ending 24 July.
Conditions in the midwest, which produces roughly three quarters of the corn and soybean crops in the world's...
House will act on livestock drought aid: Speaker Boehner
Posted by Reuters: Charles Abbott on July 26th, 2012
Reuters: The House of Representatives will act on aid to livestock producers hurt by the worst drought in half a century, Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday, but there was no agreement on how to do it with Congress a week away from its summer vacation.
Two-thirds of the continental United States was under moderate to exceptional drought with 40 percent of U.S. counties declared agricultural disaster areas. While crop insurance will aid many growers, livestock producers with drought-stunted pastures...
Indigenous tribes hold 3 engineers hostage over Belo Monte dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2012
Mongabay: Three engineers are being held hostage by the Juruna and Arara indigenous tribes as tensions rise over the on-going construction of the Belo Monte dam in Brazil, reports the Indigenous rights NGO Amazon Watch. The company building the dam, Norte Energia, has confirmed that three of its employees were being held against their will. Tribal groups in the region say the massive dam will upend their way of life, and that construction is already making travel along the Xingu river difficult.
The $11...