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Archive for September, 2010
Colombian scientists predict climate change to affect most food crops
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
Voice of America: An international agricultural research institution in Cali, Colombia is conducting a study into the effects of climate change on the world's top crops. The study by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture is scheduled for release later this year. For generations, rich Colombian mountains have produced a variety of food crops, beans, cassava and notably coffee. But local coffee farmers say the weather is changing, and so are crop yields. Carmen Eneida Trujillo is worried. ...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Colombian scientists predict climate change to affect most food cropsMexico floods show need for global climate pact: president
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
AFP: Mexico's latest rash of storms and floods highlights the urgent need for a global accord on cutting greenhouse gases blamed for climate change, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Wednesday. Calderon told an energy forum that UN talks opening in November in Cancun, Mexico "will call for urgent attention" by all the participating countries. Leaders need only "go see some families in Mexico who have lost everything, or parts of their homes" to flooding and storms, he ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Mexico floods show need for global climate pact: presidentWhen worlds collide
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
BBC: It was the biggest event in our planet's history since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Three million years ago, the Americas collided. The creation of the Panama Isthmus - the narrow land bridge that joins the two continents - wreaked havoc on land, sea and air. It triggered extinctions, diverted ocean currents and transformed climate. Now a multi-billion dollar project to widen the Panama Canal is set to reveal new secrets about the event that changed the ...
Water map reveals 80 per cent of world faces scarcity risk
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
Business Green: Businesses could soon face crippling water shortages according to new research revealing 80 per cent of the world's population live in areas experiencing serious water security risks. A series of maps published yesterday in the journal Nature, collating data on documented threats to human water security and freshwater biodiversity in global river systems, showed that large swathes of the world's land mass are at risk of water shortages that could impact both biodiversity and human ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Water map reveals 80 per cent of world faces scarcity risk‘River crisis’ worsens threat of water scarcity
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
AFP: The vast majority of the world's rivers are reeling from pollution, over-development and excessive extraction, and billions of dollars of investment by rich countries to avert water stress have damaged biodiversity, a study released on Wednesday said. "Rivers around the world really are in a crisis state," said one of its authors, Peter McIntyre, a professor of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The investigation, published by the journal Nature, looked at the ...
India takes to new flood-tolerant rice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
SciDev.Net: A new flood-resistant rice variety developed at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines is proving to be popular in the flood-prone areas of India and Bangladesh. In India, since release in August 2009, more than 100,000 farmers have received seeds of the 'Swarna-sub1' variety and it is now being grown over 12 million hectares, the IRRI said in a press note this month (14 September). Rice covers 44 million hectares in India. IRRI scientists helped ...
80 Percent of Global Water Supplies at Risk
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
National Geographic: River biodiversity and our water security are in serious trouble, according to a comprehensive survey of waterways released yesterday. At risk are the water supplies of nearly 80 percent of humanity, and two-thirds of the world's river habitats. Hotspots of concern include nearly the whole of Europe, the Indian subcontinent, eastern China, southern Mexico, and the United States east of the Rockies. But experts say there may be hope for restoring rivers and securing future water ...
Fears for Argentinian glaciers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
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Argentine lawmakers pass glacier law to curb mining
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
Reuters: Argentina's Senate passed a law on Thursday that curbs mining on the nation's glaciers, a measure praised by environmentalists but criticized by supporters of the industry as a deterrent to investment. Senators approved the law with 35 votes in favor and 33 against after hours of debate, eventually agreeing to accept changes made in the lower house that pro-mining provinces had opposed. President Cristina Fernandez, who angered green campaigners by vetoing a similar law two ...
Calculate your foods’ carbon emissions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 30th, 2010
AFP: A study released September 29 by Envido, a UK-based provider of low carbon energy solutions, found that the majority of people would buy local goods if product labels showed the number of air miles involved in a product's journey to market. However, for the time being, consumers curious about their food's miles can calculate it online. Fifty-one percent of respondents believed that food products that cause harm to the environment either directly or through associated carbon emissions ...