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Archive for August, 2012
Isaac rains stall harvest, buoy wheat prospects
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on August 29th, 2012
Reuters: Heavy rain from Hurricane Isaac will stall the harvest of U.S. crops but also add valuable soil moisture ahead of autumn seeding of winter wheat and boost river water levels, aiding waterway transport, an agricultural meteorologist said on Wednesday.
Isaac made landfall early Wednesday and topped a levee near New Orleans, triggering life-threatening flooding seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the same area, authorities said.
Global Weather Monitoring meteorologist John...
Drought Dries Up Balkans Harvests
Posted by Inter Press Service: Vesna Peric Zimonjic on August 29th, 2012
Inter Press Service: After two months of waiting, people from the central Serbian town Valjevo followed the call of their bishop and went to local Orthodox Church to pray for rain.
"It wasn`t because I am religious, but because I didn`t know what else could help," said Milan Stankovic (55), who attended the Sunday service. "Half of my raspberries are gone, half of the corn as well."
And the rain fell in the night between Sunday and Monday all over the Balkans, bringing a little relief to a region where hundreds...
Joining the EU is a cautious climate tick
Posted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Erwin Jackson on August 29th, 2012
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: AUSTRALIA'S CARBON LAWS are designed to do two things: reduce pollution to levels consistent with avoiding dangerous climate change; and drive low pollution investment in Australia. With this in mind The Climate Institute cautiously welcomed yesterday's announcement by the Government to join Australia's carbon price to the European Union's.
Much of the recent political debate in Australia has suggested that our carbon laws have been more ambitious than those in other economies. Some businesses...
Supreme Court of Brazil allows developers to continue construction of Belo Monte dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 28th, 2012
Agence France-Presse: Brazil's Supreme Court has approved the resumption of work on the huge Belo Monte dam in the Amazon, which was halted earlier this month after protests from indigenous groups.
The preliminary ruling on Monday overturns an earlier ruling that ordered construction of the dam across the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, to be stopped until indigenous peoples can testify before Congress.
However, the decision by Supreme Court President Carlos Ayres Britto could be revised when the court examines...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Supreme Court of Brazil allows developers to continue construction of Belo Monte damOne extinction leads to another…and another
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 28th, 2012
Mongabay: A new study in Biology Letters demonstrates that altering the relationship between a predator and its prey can cause wide-ranging ripple effects through an ecosystem, including unexpected extinctions.
Species help each other, directly or indirectly, which scientists refer to as mutualism or commensalism. For example, a species’ success may rely not only upon the survival of its food source, but may also indirectly rely upon the survival of more distantly related species.
To study the connections...
Japan declares its river otter extinct
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 28th, 2012
Mongabay: Japan's Ministry of the Environment today declared the Japanese river otter (Lutra lutra whiteleyi) extinct. Last seen in 1979 in the city of Susaki on the island of Shikoku, the unique subspecies was killed-off by overhunting and loss of habitat due to development.
The extinction of the Japanese river otter represents another loss in Japan's endemic mammal. Already the nation has seen the extinction two wolves, two bats, and a sea lion: the Honshu wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax) and the Hokkaido...
Obama warns of flooding from Tropical Storm Isaac
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 28th, 2012
Reuters: President Barack Obama warned residents of the Gulf Coast on Tuesday that there could be significant flooding from Tropical Storm Isaac and encouraged people to evacuate if instructed by authorities to do so. "As we prepare for Isaac to hit, I want to encourage all residents of the Gulf Coast to listen to your local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate," Obama said at the White House before departing on a two-day campaign trip. "Now is not the time to tempt...
Forest fire forces evacuation west of Madrid – video
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 28th, 2012
Guardian: Terrified residents are forced to leave their homes west of Madrid to escape a forest fire. Up to 2,000 people were evacuated, and local roads closed. Authorities say they believe the fire may have been started deliberately by several people working together. Firefighters say they believe the fire can be brought under control
Isaac a blessing and a curse for U.S. farmers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 28th, 2012
Reuters: Torrential rain and flooding from Tropical Storm Isaac will bring relief to a large chunk of drought-stricken cropland but will stall early harvest of corn, soybeans and rice, an agricultural meteorologist said on Tuesday.
Isaac was near hurricane force as it bore down on the northern U.S. Gulf Coast. It was expected to make landfall in the New Orleans area, seven years after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
"It will barrel first into southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi...
Vedanta shares slide as protest groups descend on AGM
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 28th, 2012
Guardian: Shares in controversial miner Vedanta Resources are continuing their recent slump with the stock among the day's worst performers as shareholders prepare for yet another turbulent annual shareholder meeting this afternoon.
The group's shares are trading down 20.5p at 904.4p - meaning they have lost around 8% in a week - as campaign groups ranging from Amnesty International, Survival International, London Mining Network and Foil Vedanta prepare to stage a series of protests in front of the group's...