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Archive for April, 2011
Govt committed to keeping Papua`s forest regions intact
Posted by Antara News: None Given on April 27th, 2011
Antara News: Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said his ministry remains committed to keeping Papua`s primary forest regions intact and not letting them be exploited by forest concession holders.
The minister made the statement in a media dialogue on forestry policies held by ANTARA News Agency here on Tuesday.
He said there had been requests for opening the forest regions in Papua for non-forestry activities but the government was resolved to keep intact the 7.3 million hectares of primary forests in the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Govt committed to keeping Papua`s forest regions intactRise in wildlife tourism in India comes with challenges
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 27th, 2011
Mongabay: Rise in wildlife tourism in India comes with challenges A line of tourist jeeps clogs the road in a dry forest, as all eyes--and cameras--are on a big cat ambling along the road ahead; when the striped predator turns for a moment to face the tourists, voices hush and cameras flash: this is a scene that over the past decade has becoming increasingly common in India. A new study in Conservation Letters surveyed ten national parks in India and found that attendance had increased on average 14.9% from...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Rise in wildlife tourism in India comes with challengesSAY NO! To Global Shale Gas Frackings Final Human Descent into Ecocidal Barbarity
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on April 27th, 2011
By Ecological Internet's Climate Ark Climate Change Portal
TAKE ACTION HERE NOW!
It is simply wrong to blow up the Earth destroying scarce water for limited energy with no climate benefits as purported. New science shows shale gas fracking [search] equally damaging to climate as other fossil fuels including coal, and last week there was a major toxic fracking water release into Pennsylvanias waterways; yet fracking remains largely unregulated by the EPA in the United States. Meanwhile the rest of the world is following Americas lead, with fracking spreading to China, South Africa, Europe and elsewhere. However protest is spreading too. The human family must not allow every last ecosystem to be destroyed, destroying our shared biosphere, before we transition from wasteful unsustainable energy to 100% truly renewable energy. Tell the Obama administration to set a good example and heavily regulate fracking, or outlaw this newest ecocidal energy source before it spreads.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on SAY NO! To Global Shale Gas Frackings Final Human Descent into Ecocidal BarbarityFish on brink of extinction sparks calls to eat responsibly
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
Independent: A conservation group is urging people to consume responsibly after releasing a report that found that more than 40 species of fish found in the Mediterranean - including bluefin tuna and sea bass - could disappear in the next few years.
According to a study released this week for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, almost half of the species of sharks and rays and 12 species of bony fish in the Mediterranean Sea are threatened with extinction due to overfishing, marine habitat...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fish on brink of extinction sparks calls to eat responsiblyClimate change to hit American West water supply
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
Reuters: Climate change could cut water flow in some of the American West's biggest river basins -- including the Rio Grande and the Colorado -- by up to 20 percent this century, the Interior Department reported on Monday.
This steep drop in stream flow is projected for parts of the West that have seen marked increases in population and droughts over recent decades, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a telephone briefing.
"These changes will directly affect the West's water supplies, which are already...
US judge says EPA, not Fla., must lead Glades fix
Posted by Associated Press: Curt Anderson on April 26th, 2011
Associated Press: The state of Florida has failed to protect the threatened Everglades and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must step in to enforce anti-pollution rules, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Alan Gold's decision gives the EPA greater authority over water permits affecting discharges from sugar growers, farms and businesses, which are largely responsible for phosphorous-laden fertilizer runoff that is choking the vast wetlands. The EPA last year proposed a new cleanup plan largely...
Fracking regulations could ease public concerns: White House
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
Reuters: The natural gas industry should support "common sense" regulation to ease public worries about potential water contamination from hydraulic fracturing, a drilling practice vital to the U.S. shale gas boom, White House economic adviser Gene Sperling said on Tuesday.
Advances in the technique, known as fracking, have allowed drillers to tap abundant U.S. shale gas reserves. Sperling said natural gas drillers and their supporters should back rules to address concern about the impact of fracking on...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking regulations could ease public concerns: White House‘Push–pull’ pest control to reach more African farmers
Posted by SciDev.Net: Mercy Adhiambo on April 26th, 2011
SciDev.Net: Napier grass produces a gummy substance that traps freshly hatched stem borers A farming technology that uses intercropping to repel insect pests from food crops has been given a new lease of life by a programme to expand its uptake.
The 'push--pull' strategy intercrops cereals with a repellent plant bordered by an attractive trap plant. For example, maize can be intercropped with desmodium, which repels ('pushes') pests such as the maize stem borer away from the crop, and bordered by Napier...
Could crop ancestors feed the world?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
SciDev.Net: Wheat is just one of many crops that originated in Syria
The race is on to develop and test improved crop varieties to feed the world's growing population -- and help may lie in Syria's wild plants.
Many of the first crops emerged in Syria, where humans are thought to have first discovered agriculture some 11,000 years ago. Emmer wheat, barley, chickpea, pea and lentil crops all originated here.
Researchers from around the world are flocking to the Arabian desert to create crops for an increasingly...
‘Extreme Drought’ Sets Texas Ablaze and May Sprawl Over the South Until Midsummer
Posted by Climate Wire: Lauren Morello on April 26th, 2011
Climate Wire: Wildfires have burned about 1.5 million acres in Texas since January, egged on by a drought that federal forecasters say is the worst to hit the state in 45 years. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say their weather models predict the severe drought that has parched the southern United States will continue to midsummer -- and beyond.
"Predictions over weeks to one to three months suggest the drought will continue, and even intensify, in some areas as we struggle...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Extreme Drought’ Sets Texas Ablaze and May Sprawl Over the South Until Midsummer