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Archive for September 18th, 2012
Why the world needs a renaissance of small farming
Posted by Guardian: Colin Tudge on September 18th, 2012
Guardian: British farmers can't produce pigs as cheaply as the Poles, or cattle feed as cheaply as the Brazilians, or milk as cheaply as the Americans, or fruit as cheaply as the Spanish, and if they can't pull their socks up, the market dictates, they will just have to go. According to a recent survey by the National Pig Association, about 100 small- to medium-sized pig farmers are likely to quit this year – which is 10% of them. We are losing dairy farmers by the score every month. Horticulture has long...
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Fertilizer makers bank on US farm recovery from drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2012
Reuters: Some of the world's biggest fertilizer companies are banking that the aftermath of the worst U.S. drought in 56 years will boost sales, as U.S. farmers seek to cash in on high crop prices.
Chicago Board of Trade corn and soybean futures hit all-time high prices this summer, as the drought slashed U.S. harvest estimates to the smallest in 6 and 9 years, respectively.
Those high prices may carry into next spring's North American planting season, depending on how South American crops fare in the...
Bolivia protects river dolphins
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2012
BBC: Bolivian President Evo Morales has enacted a law aimed at protecting a unique species of dolphins that live in the country's Amazon rivers.
The new legislation bans fishing freshwater pink dolphins and declares the species a national treasure.
At a ceremony along the shores of the Ibare river, President Morales called on the armed forces to protect the habitats of the pink dolphins
The species is threatened by erosion, pollution and logging in the Amazon.
The Bolivian pink dolphin, whose...
Warming May Increase Tropical Rainfall, Study Shows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2012
Climate Central: It's one of the classic predictions of global-warming science: as the planet heats up, extreme precipitation should become more common. That's because warm air can hold more moisture than cool air, and when that moisture finally comes down as rain or snow, there's more of it to fall.
Exactly how much more, however, is something scientists are still working out -- and a paper just published in Nature Geoscience has taken a step in that direction. According to author Paul O'Gorman, an atmospheric...
Explosive Urban Growth To Put Major Strain on Biodiversity
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: The world’s urban areas will expand by more than 1.2 million square kilometers by 2030, nearly tripling the area of urban development that existed worldwide in 2000, according to a new study. That development surge, researchers say, will coincide with construction of new roads, buildings, and energy and water systems, causing considerable habitat loss in critical biodiversity hotspots -- including many regions that were relatively undisturbed by development only a decade ago. Writing in the journal...
Little Concern for the Environment in EU-Central America Agreement
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2012
Inter Press Service: - The Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union (EU) will increase environmental and social pressures on the region, warn experts and activists. But some observers stress its potentially positive impacts.
"We can expect an increase in the activities of extractive industries," which bring about "negative environmental and social repercussions," said Juventino Gálvez, the director of the Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment at Rafael LandÃvar...
Major changes needed to protect Australia’s species and ecosystems –
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2012
PhysOrg: A landmark study has found that climate change is likely to have a major impact on Australia's plants, animals and ecosystems that will present significant challenges to the conservation of Australia's biodiversity.
The comprehensive study, conducted by CSIRO (Australia's national science agency), highlights the sensitivity of Australia's species and ecosystems to climate change, and the need for new ways of thinking about biodiversity conservation.
'Climate change is likely to start to transform...
Climate Change Dramatically Increases Rainfall in the Tropics
Posted by Laboratory Equipment: None Given on September 18th, 2012
Laboratory Equipment: Extreme precipitation in the tropics comes in many forms: thunderstorm complexes, flood-inducing monsoons and wide-sweeping cyclones like the recent Hurricane Isaac.
Global warming is expected to intensify extreme precipitation, but the rate at which it does so in the tropics has remained unclear. Now an MIT study has given an estimate based on model simulations and observations: with every 1 C rise in temperature, the study finds, tropical regions will see 10 percent heavier rainfall extremes,...
Campaigners welcome EU plan to limit crop-based biofuels for transport
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2012
Guardian: Development campaigners have welcomed a major shift in European biofuel policy after the commission said it plans to limit crop-based biofuels to 5% of transport fuel.
"Finally the European commissioners have come to their senses," said Clare Coffey, policy adviser at ActionAid. "They are firmly acknowledging that using precious food and agricultural land to fuel our cars is bad for people and bad for the environment. In a world where a billion go to bed hungry every night, that is immoral." Record...
Report: The Age of Western Wildfires
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2012
Climate Central: The 2012 wildfire season isn't over yet, but already this year is shaping up to be the one of the worst on record in the American West. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, with nearly two months still to go in the fire season, the total area already burned this year is 30 percent more than in an average year, and fires have consumed more than 8.6 million acres, an area larger than the state of Maryland.
Annual number of wildfires greater than 1,000 acres on U.S. Forest Service Land...