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Archive for August 30th, 2012
Climate Change Likely To Increase Spread Of The Flu
Posted by ThinkProgress: Zack Beauchamp on August 30th, 2012
ThinkProgress: The U.S. is going through the worst outbreak of West Nile virus in history, a problem likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Today, new research from the University of Michigan suggests that climate change is also likely to spread the flu:
[C]limate change could upset the carefully choreographed interactions between ruddy turnstone shorebirds and the horseshoe crabs that provide the bulk of their food during the birds` annual stopover.
Climate change caused disruptions to the well-timed...
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Obama approves preparation for oil drilling in Arctic, Shell en route
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2012
Mongabay: In the same week that sea ice in the Arctic Ocean hit another record low due to climate change, the Obama Administration has given final approval to Royal Dutch Shell to prepare for exploratory drilling in the region. Vehemently opposed by environmentalists and indigenous groups, the drilling plans are a part of the Obama Administrations 'all of the above' energy policy. Whether or not Shell will actually drill a well this season, however, is still up in the air as its oil spill containment barge...
Isaac could be blessing and curse in drought areas
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on August 30th, 2012
MSNBC: Thousands of farmers in drought-hit states will be seeing rain from Isaac, but the question many are wondering is whether it will be a blessing, curse or both.
After deluging Louisiana and Mississippi, Isaac on Thursday reached into Arkansas, one of the driest farm states where too much rain could ruin some crops now being harvested.
Farmers ran combines overnight Wednesday, the farm extension service at the University of Arkansas reported -- after earlier tweeting this advice: "Harvest in...
Despite Drought, Some Corn Farmers Reap Bounty
Posted by National Public Radio: Elizabeth Baier on August 30th, 2012
National Public Radio: For every farmer who is hurting this year during the drought, others are benefiting. Many fields in the South, Northwest and Upper Midwest are producing bountiful corn crops. And because the drought has pushed prices to record highs, farmers who have corn to sell expect a terrific payday.
"The corn has actually really, really taken off all the way through season. It's grown fast. It's been accelerated. The corn looks really good now," says John Scott, whose family farm in Sargeant, Minn., is just...
World Bank issues hunger warning after droughts in US and Europe
Posted by Guardian: Larry Elliott on August 30th, 2012
Guardian: The World Bank issued a global hunger warning last night after severe droughts in the US and eastern Europe sent food prices to a record high.
Damage to crop harvests from exceptionally dry weather this year raised sharply the Bank's food price index taking it above its peak in early 2011.
The Washington-based bank blamed the drought in the US for the 25% price rise of maize and 17% price rise in soya beans last month, adding that a dry summer in Russia, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan lay behind...
Unexpected finding shows fungi may not help store climate change’s extra carbon
Posted by Phys.Org: None Given on August 30th, 2012
Phys.Org: Fungi found in plants may not be the answer to mitigating climate change by storing additional carbon in soils as some previously thought, according to an international team of plant biologists.
The researchers found that increased carbon dioxide stimulates the growth of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)-a type of fungus that is often found in the roots of most land plants-which then leads to higher decomposition rates of organic materials, said Lei Cheng, post doctorate fellow in plant science,...
Arkansas rice farmers race against Isaac to harvest crop
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on August 30th, 2012
Reuters: Farmers in the top rice-producing state of Arkansas were harvesting their crop at breakneck speed, industry sources said Thursday, in a bid to limit damage from Hurricane Isaac, which had weakened and made landfall as a tropical storm.
The potential threat to the rice crop from Isaac comes on the heels of the worst drought in half a century, which devastated corn and soybean crops in the Midwest farm belt, but had been beneficial to rice plantings.
"I'm real nervous right now with the storm...
United Kingdom: Heavy rain causes chaos as summer confirmed as wettest in 100 years
Posted by Guardian: Helen Nugent on August 30th, 2012
Guardian: Forecasters have confirmed what many suspected: summer 2012 in England and Wales has been the biggest washout for a century. The Met Office said it had been the one of the dullest on record, one of the coolest, and the soggiest since 1912.
As if to illustrate the point, Cumbria was hit by heavy rain and flash flooding on Thursday, , forcing people to leave their homes and causing a train carrying about 100 passengers to derail.
A landslide is thought to have caused the derailment of the two-carriage...
Survivors say gold miners in helicopter massacred village of 80 in Venezuelan Amazon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2012
Mongabay: Up to 80 people have been massacred by gold miners in the remote Venezuelan Amazon, according to reports received by the indigenous-rights group, Survival International. According to Reuters, the reports have prompted the Venezuelan government to investigate the alleged murders of the Yanomami isolated community.
According to three indigenous survivors, sometime in July a helicopter and what-are-believed to be illegal goldminers massacred the Yanomami community of Irotatheri.
"They reported...
Better Use of Fertilizer and Water Can Feed Growing Population, Study Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: A new study suggests that the the world can meet the surging demand for food in the coming decades without rampant deforestation if farmers make better use of fertilizer and water resources. In an analysis of management practices and yield data for 17 major crops worldwide, researchers from McGill University in Montreal and the University of Minnesota estimated that yields for most crops can be increased 45 to 70 percent on lands already used for agriculture through more efficient fertilizer application...