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Archive for August 5th, 2011
Cleaner, not cooler
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 5th, 2011
Economist: THE juxtaposition of “gas” and “boom” conjures misfortune: mining disasters, Zeppelins in flame and the like. But the gas boom that the world is currently experiencing is a conflagration to be celebrated. The development of previously unexploitable shale gas as a resource in America and other countries, and the growth in the liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) market, between them promise a future in which more gas is traded more freely, to the benefit of the world at large.
Shale gas, as well as gas...
Crops with deeper roots capture more carbon, fight drought:study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 5th, 2011
Reuters: Creating crops with deeper roots could soak up much more carbon dioxide from the air, help mankind fight global warming and lead to more drought-tolerant varieties, a British scientist says in a study.
Douglas Kell of the University of Manchester says crops can play a crucial role in tackling climate change by absorbing more of mankind's rising greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Doubling root depth to two meters would also make crops more drought resistant, improve soil structure...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Crops with deeper roots capture more carbon, fight drought:studyIllegal logging activities blamed for flood in Indonesia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 5th, 2011
Rainforest News: Uncontrolled illegal logging has been blamed for a flash flood in Tangse district, Pidie regency, Aceh, on Thursday evening. The flood waters killed at least 12 people and displaced hundreds of families. "It's undeniable that the disaster was caused by illegal logging and land clearing activities in the region," Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Aceh branch executive director Teuku Muhammad Zulfikar. Illegal logging activities became increasingly widespread in the region following the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Illegal logging activities blamed for flood in IndonesiaDigital cloud lets farmer know when to water
Posted by BBC: Fiona Graham on August 5th, 2011
BBC: "Water availability is gradually declining. Even 30 years ago we had probably twice as much water as we have now."
Glenn Schur has been farming for 30 years.
His father first moved to the plains around Plainview, Texas in the late 1940s, and after graduating from college Mr Schur returned home to work on the farm he now owns.
Almost half of the property's 1,800 acres are given over to cotton production, the rest is divided between grain sorghum, wheat, seed crops and livestock.
Times...