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Archive for August, 2012
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,...
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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...
Keeping low “profile” helps Canadian miner gain approval in Peru
Posted by Reuters: Mitra Taj on August 30th, 2012
Reuters: Canada-based Hudbay Minerals has begun building its $1.5 billion Constancia copper mine in southern Peru after keeping a low profile to win crucial support from local communities, company President David Garofalo said.
The groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, in which Garofalo participated along with local leaders, came a week after Peru shelved Newmont Mining Corp's $5 billion gold mine in the northern Cajamarca region due to intractable opposition.
"We stayed focused on the people that are...
Drought eases in U.S. Midwest, worsens in northern Plains
Posted by Reuters: Karl Plume on August 30th, 2012
Reuters: The worst U.S. drought in a half century loosened its grip on the Midwest in the past week, helped by rain and cooler temperatures, but the drought grew more dire in the northern Plains, a report from climate experts said on Thursday.
But the improved Midwest weather arrived too late for crops in major farm states such as Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, where severe corn and soybean yield losses have already been realized.
The portion of the contiguous United States suffering from at least...
Farming Among the Waste in Cameroon
Posted by Inter Press Service: Monde Kingsley Nfor on August 30th, 2012
Inter Press Service: - Cameroonian urban famer Juliana Numfor has six plots of land where she grows maize, cassava, sweet potatoes and leafy vegetables, including cabbages, wild okra and greens.
The soil in which her crops grow is moist and visibly marshy, and a stream of water runs near it. But if you take a closer look you will notice that the water is dark and smells unpleasant.
In fact it is wastewater, which comes from a student residential quarter in Yaoundé, popularly called "Cradat", that is less than...
Rain comes too late for Iowa’s corn crop as drought weighs on midwest minds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2012
Guardian: Flying into Des Moines, the corn fields look surprisingly green. America's midwest produces half the world's corn and Iowa its largest harvest, yet amid the worst drought in living memory all the untrained eye can see is the occasional brown mark, like a cigarette burn on the baize of a pool table.
But appearances can be deceptive.
In Boone, Iowa, 30 miles away from the state capital, traffic backs up for miles bringing 200,000 people to Farm Progress, the US's largest agricultural show one....
Despite Possible Attacks, Gaza Plans Half-Billion-Dollar Desalination Plant
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2012
Inter Press Service: Last May the European Commission reported that scores of infrastructure projects in the Gaza Strip, financed mostly by the European Union, have been damaged or destroyed, wittingly or unwittingly, by Israeli military forces in the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Nevertheless, undaunted by this destruction, the Palestinian Authority plans to launch an ambitious half-billion-dollar project for a new seawater desalination plant in water-starved Gaza next year.
When the...