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Archive for May 12th, 2013
In Trinidad, Causes Debated as Flooding Worsens
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 12th, 2013
Inter Press Service: Officially, the Caribbean`s rainy season begins in June, coinciding with the start of the hurricane season. But recently, heavy rains have signalled an early start to the rainy season, flooding streets, swelling rivers and causing widespread damage to crops.
"With global warming, you have to expect anything these days," Shiraz Khan, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Farmers` Association (TTFA), told IPS.
He said the situation has been further complicated by the fact that during the dry season,...
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For Peat’s Sake: expert investigates tropical peatland in Southeast Asia
Posted by 24Dash: None Given on May 12th, 2013
24Dash: Fascinating peatland ecosystems play a key role in the global cycle -- however urgent action is required to protect them from human impact.
Professor Susan Page, from the Department of Geography will give her Inaugural public lecture, For Peat`s Sake: Understanding the Vulnerability of the Tropical Peat Carbon Pool at the University of Leicester on Tuesday 14 May.
The lecture will explore Southeast Asia, where the largest area of tropical peatland is located, and the particular role that tropical...
TransCanada Files Lawsuit to Stop Keystone Pipeline Protests
Posted by Oklahoman: Jay F. Marks on May 12th, 2013
Oklahoman: Energy infrastructure company TransCanada has asked an Oklahoma judge to help keep protesters away from its pipeline construction sites. The company is building a 485-mile oil pipeline between Cushing's storage hub and refineries along the Gulf Coast. The project is part of TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which is awaiting approval from the Obama administration to cross the U.S.-Canada border. The 1,179-mile pipeline would carry oil from Canada and North Dakota through Cushing to the...
Plans to increase exports of liquefied natural gas could accelerate fracking boom, critics say
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 12th, 2013
Washington Post: A domestic natural gas boom already has lowered U.S. energy prices while stoking fears of environmental disaster. Now U.S. producers are poised to ship vast quantities of gas overseas as energy companies seek permits for proposed export projects that could set off a renewed frenzy of fracking.
Expanded drilling is unlocking enormous reserves of crude oil and natural gas, offering the potential of moving the country closer to its decades-long quest for energy independence. Yet as the industry looks...
UK scientists ‘develop superwheat’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 12th, 2013
BBC: British scientists say they have developed a new type of wheat which could increase productivity by 30%.
The Cambridge-based National Institute of Agricultural Botany has combined an ancient ancestor of wheat with a modern variety to produce a new strain.
In early trials, the resulting crop seemed bigger and stronger than the current modern wheat varieties.
It will take at least five years of tests and regulatory approval before it is harvested by farmers.
Some farmers, however, are urging...
United Kingdom: Who needs mega-farms?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 12th, 2013
Independent: The plan for a "mega-farm" of 25,000 pigs in Derbyshire should make us uneasy. As should the proposals for a 1,000-cow dairy factory in Wales and for a 15,000-ton-a-year salmon farm in Galway Bay off Ireland, on which we also report today. The Independent on Sunday opposes these steps towards the further intensification of farming, but we should be clear why. The standards of animal welfare in these huge farms would probably be no worse than those in British agriculture generally; in some respects,...