Food Security: Hunger, Starvation, World Resources Institute, Peak oil, Peak water, Peak wheat, Famine, Famine scales, Community Food Security ... crisis, Land degradation, Desertification
Shanghaiist (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
In Shanghaiist's Philanthropist feature, we highlight individuals and groups doing interesting things to make the world a little bit of a better place. This week we talk to one of the organizers of the third annual Rock for Roots & Shoots concert. Rock for Roots & Shoots is a charity concert benefitting the Million Dollar Tree Project. Where: Yuyintang, 1731 Yanan Xi Lu, near Kaixuan Lu. 延安西路1731号(凯旋路)...
Conservation Value Notes (Free subscription) | 18/11/2009
If we are to feed a growing population in a warming world, protecting biodiversity is key, says this article in the Guardian: (B)iodiversity can act as a natural "insurance policy" against sudden environmental changes and a buffer against losses caused by them (as well as by pests and diseases). Biodiversity is essential for reliable and stable long-term food production. The famines in Ireland...
Desdemona Despair (Free subscription) | 17/11/2009
9 February 2009: The worst fires in the country's history have killed more than 130 people and destroyed towns in the state of Victoria. Australia hit by deadly bushfires Technorati Tags: wildfire , forest fire , heat wave , Australia , global warming , climate change , desertification
i On Global Trends (Free subscription) | 16/11/2009
Rapidly melting glaciers in mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan over the next few decades could lead to increased desertification and land degradation, according to experts.By the end of the century, we could see temperatures rising 4-6 degrees centigrade, and by 2050 the number of glaciers could fall from 8,200 to 142, Zukhra Abaikhanova, environment programme adviser with the UN Development
Globalisation and the Environment (Free subscription) | 15/11/2009
After a recent trip to China and crossing some very large rivers on route it is hard to imagine the potential problems that melting glaciers are storing up. The Tibetan Plateau problems include flooding,water shortages and desertification. More economics research is needed in this area. This post from the imaginatively named "Self Destructive B******s" is a good place to start along with...
Desdemona Despair (Free subscription) | 15/11/2009
The bushfires that swept through Victoria In February 2009 killed almost 200 people as record temperatures turned the bush into a tinderbox. The events, described as Australia's worst peacetime disaster, have left thousands homeless, destroyed entire communities and transformed forests into ash. After the bushfires: Australia counts the cost Technorati Tags: drought , heat wave , wildfire , forest...
Desdemona Despair (Free subscription) | 13/11/2009
When Zeus filled Pandora’s jar with the evils of the world, he saved Delusional Hope for last – to prevent humans from committing mass suicide as they were overcome by the other evils. A year of blogging Desdemona has helped me to overcome the curse of delusional hope. Hope prevents us from seeing things as they are; hope immobilizes us. It is vital that we, as a species, abandon all hope...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 13/11/2009
There are only a few small acacia shrubs to show for it at the moment but Senegal's leader believes in a great green wall that would stem desertification across Africa from coast to coast.
Leanne Wood AM/AC (Free subscription) | 13/11/2009
Assembly Record of proceedings 3rd November 2009 Leanne Wood : Plaid Cymru supports the calls from the environment movement for wealthy industrialised countries to commit to a cut of at least 40 per cent in domestic emissions by 2020. This call is not just about getting the UK Government to agree to such a target, but about persuading other industrialised countries to agree that a 40 per cent cut in...
Desertification (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
Here is an interesting publication, mentioning some success stories in the combat of desertification and ways to improve sustainable land management : “Productivity through a combination of rainwater harvesting practices (such as the use of microcatchments), application of compost or manure to improve soil fertility and planting of drought-tolerant indigenous fruits trees and vegetables.”...
Desertification (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
Read at : Gen News http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem_print.aspx?name=63511105 First global scientific conference supporting UN efforts to curb desertification opens in Argentina EUREKALERT >Contact: Megan Dold mdold@burnesscommunications.com 301-280-5720 International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics Scientists gather in Buenos Aires to find a way forward for agriculture in...
Desdemona Despair (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
Laboratory measurements of the response of reactive N gas emissions and soil respiration to changes in soil temperature in ( A ) dry soil from beneath L. tridentata , ( B ) dry soil from plant interspaces, and ( C ) wetted soil from beneath L. tridentata . In arid environments such as deserts, nitrogen is often the most limiting nutrient for biological activity. The majority of the ecosystem nitrogen...
Random Jottings (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
Urban Desertification: The Kelo case was a dreadful constitutional error by a Supreme Court that had somehow been seduced into reckoning local government's pursuit of “economic development†was more important than individual property rights. So the bulldozers rolled — and then, even before the recession — the developers disappeared. Now,...
Desdemona Despair (Free subscription) | 10/11/2009
By Krishna Ramanujan Ithaca NY (SPX) Nov 10, 2009 - As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers. As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain...
Desdemona Despair (Free subscription) | 10/11/2009
By Maryam Omidi MALE (Reuters) - The Maldives, threatened by rising sea levels because of global warming, on Monday pleaded with developed nations to reduce carbon emissions and said developing nations could change the outcome at climate talks in Copenhagen. The appeal by the Indian ocean archipelago came at a climate change summit grouping Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Kiribati, Barbados, Bhutan, Ghana,...
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