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Archive for February 26th, 2014
Australia: Tony Abbott: drought relief not ‘super favourable social security’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 26th, 2014
Guardian: The government has announced an extra $320m to help drought-affected farmers, with Tony Abbott emphasising it was disaster relief not a “super favourable social security regime”.
A farming allowance equivalent to the Newstart allowance will be paid to farming families fortnightly to help them with daily living expenses; $280m in concessional loans will be delivered though eligibility standards yet to be announced, and more money will be poured into water-related infrastructure.
Up to $10.7m...
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Drought: no amount assistance can fix land turned permanently to dust
Posted by Guardian: Dugald Murray on February 26th, 2014
Guardian: As drought hits parts of NSW and Queensland, Australia’s farmers are again asking for relief. For those living in cities, drought is easily forgotten. The latest drought is watched on the nightly news bulletin where the harsh realities do not affect daily life. Annual heatwaves, devastating to the elderly, are simply an inconvenience to most. Drought is part of Australia. The fact it is not new does not negate its impact on humans and livestock. This month, Lifeline confirmed the suicide of a farmer...
Nuclear Waste Repository Set to Reopen After Leak
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 26th, 2014
New York Times: Almost two weeks after an unexplained puff of radioactive materials forced the closing of a salt mine in New Mexico that is used to bury nuclear bomb wastes, managers of the mine are planning to send workers back in and are telling nearby residents that their health is safe.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, 28 miles east of Carlsbad, has been in operation for 15 years, burying wastes in an ancient salt bed deep beneath the desert, mostly without incident, and some experts have said that the site...