Blogging the End of the World™
Drenching spring rain has failed to to ease crisis, with dams at their second lowest level ever going into summer. For the first time in 12 years Melbourne has received above average rainfall in spring but dams are still only 38 per cent full. The only time they have been lower was last year when […]
By COSIMA MARRINERDecember 3, 2009 JENNIFER TUNLEY got a shock when news broke that her Darling Downs town of Dalby had just eight hours’ supply of water left. “We hadn’t heard how drastic our water situation was until now,” Mrs Tunley said. “There was a bit of panic.” Dalby council’s dire warning that Queensland’s rich […]
Monthly cumulative rainfall residuals for Naracoorte, Australia with IPO [40]. (IPO: interdecadal pacific oscillation). Abstract: In Australia, a persistent drought extending over a 5- to 10-years duration has produced severe water restrictions for over 90 percent of water users in the nation. The effects of the 1996-2007 drought relative to other droughts and the implications […]
Rhino poaching worldwide is on the rise, according to a new report [pdf] by TRAFFIC and IUCN. The trade is being driven by Asian demand for horns and is made worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers, who now are using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high caliber weapons to kill rhinos, the report states. Since […]
HANOI (AFP) – Vietnam, the world’s second-biggest rice exporter, said Wednesday it needs help to safeguard the world’s food supply from the consequences of global warming. “The rice bowl of Vietnam will be severely affected” without action, Nguyen Khac Hieu, deputy director general of the government’s climate change agency, told reporters before key global climate […]
By Chris Buckley BEIJING (Reuters) – Droughts and floods stoked by global warming threaten to destabilize China’s grain production, the nation’s top meteorologist has warned, urging bigger grain reserves and strict protection of farmland and water supplies. Extreme weather damage can now cause annual grain output in China, the world’s biggest grain producer, to […]
The Maasai Mau Forest has been impacted heavily by encroachment, especially on the western side. Analysis of 1973 and 2005 satellite images shows that about 8,214 hectares of forest cover was lost inside the Maasai Mau Forest, and about 31,755 hectares lost outside the forest boundaries. This totals 39,969 hectares – representing about 39% of […]
By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California officials said on Tuesday that drought and environmental restrictions have forced them to cut planned water deliveries to irrigation districts and cities statewide to just 5 percent of their contracted allotments. Although the state Water Resources Department typically ends up supplying more water than first projected […]
A review of climate change in Antarctica forecasts that by 2100 the world’s seas will have risen to levels previously considered too extreme to be realistic. The review, Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment [pdf], was compiled by 100 scientists associated with the international Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Using 20 of the most […]
The number of food stamp recipients has climbed by about 10 million over the past two years, resulting in a program that now feeds 1 in 8 Americans and nearly 1 in 4 children. Food Stamp Usage Across the Country Technorati Tags: financial collapse,poverty,North America
