USDA ignores pesticide ravaging bee population, threatening global environment

By Mike Barrett, NaturalSociety12 January 2012 It has recently been reported that certain research was suppressed concerning the bee decline which has been occurring over the past few years. It seems that the large sum of money raked in by Bayer, a maker of pesticides, was enough to kick research under the carpet that linked […]

Southern plants find fertile ground farther north as climate changes in the U.S.

By Janice Lloyd, USA TODAY26 January 2012 Southern magnolias, lovers of sultry weather, braving the chillier Northeast? Camellias, a New Orleans trademark, staking out in North Carolina and higher latitudes? It’s true, gardening experts say, and expect similar oddities to represent the new norm. It is now safe to plant new species in many parts […]

U.K. report: Warming to increase climate-related deaths in summer – ‘The country may sleepwalk into disaster’

By Reed Landberg25 January 2012 Sugar and wheat farming probably will become more productive as the average temperature rises across the U.K. in the next 40 years, the government concluded in a report [pdf] assessing the impact of climate change. Sugar beet yields may rise 20 percent to 70 percent and wheat yields by as […]

Pakistan PM wants to work with India on climate change

DAVOS, 26 January 2012 (The Times of India) – Pointing out that Pakistan has “excellent” relationship with India, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said cooperation between the two to tackle climate change was “doable”. He said Islamabad wants to work with New Delhi on this front. “Yes, certainly there can be cooperation. We […]

Scientists: ‘Look, one-third of the human race has to die for civilization to be sustainable, so how do we want to do this?’

[This is Desdemona’s kind of satire.] WASHINGTON, 26 January 2012 (The Onion) – Saying there’s no way around it at this point, a coalition of scientists announced Thursday that one-third of the world population must die to prevent wide-scale depletion of the planet’s resources—and that humankind needs to figure out immediately how it wants to […]

‘Monster’ rules Nepal village on frontline of global warming

By Gopal Sharma; editing by Paul Casciato27 January 2012 BARAHBISE, Nepal (Reuters) – Looking at the swirling grey waters of the Bhote Koshi River, Ratna Kaji remembers when it turned into a “monster,” leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. “It came down roaring, washed away homes and people when they were sleeping,” the […]

Singapore raises sea defenses against tide of climate change – ‘A rise of two meters would turn Singapore into an island fortress’

By David Fogarty; Editing by Ron Popeski and Sanjeev Miglani26 January 2012 SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A 15-km (10 mile) stretch of crisp white beach is one of the key battlegrounds in Singapore’s campaign to defend its hard-won territory against rising sea levels linked to climate change. Stone breakwaters are being enlarged on the low-lying island […]

Video: Fukushima animals abandoned and left to die

[Apologies in advance for the ad.] By Kyung Lah, CNN26 January 2012 Inside Fukushima Exclusion Zone, Japan (CNN) – When you stand in the center of Japan’s exclusion zone, there is absolute silence. The exclusion zone is the 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, an area of high radiation contamination. On March […]

Video: What happened to Chernobyl children 7 years after the accident (from a Japanese TV program in 1993)

By arevamirpal::laprimavera 26 January 2012 When it was someone else’s problem (Chernobyl), Japan was telling the truth about the effect of radiation, particularly on children. Here’s Tokyo Brown Tabby’s translation and captioning of a TV program from 1993. Ironically, the female newscaster has morphed into one of the strongest proponents (even today) of nuclear power […]

Graph of the Day: Fertilizers and Ocean Dead Zones

23 January 2012 (UNEP) – Industrially produced nutrient fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus) are essential to global food security and have been the main driver of dramatically improved agricultural yields over the last sixty years to feed a growing population. At the same time, excess nutrients from inefficient use in farming and insufficient treatment of nutrients in […]

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