By Ray Smith for IPS, part of the Guardian Environment Network, www.guardian.co.uk22 July 2011 Even though their ice is called ‘eternal’, many alpine glaciers’ lives may come to an end within this century. For 150 years, most of them have been more or less constantly retreating, and since the eighties, their shrinkage has visibly increased. […]
By Julie Ingwersen, with additional reporting by Bob Burgdorfer and Meredith Davis; editing by Jim Marshall21 July 2011 CHICAGO (Reuters) – A historic drought in the southern Plains intensified in the last week and contributed to dry conditions emerging in the heart of the Midwest crop belt, a weekly climatologists’ report said Thursday. The weekly […]
By ARTHUR WESTING 14 July 2011 Some 200 years ago Benjamin Franklin noted that nothing is certain except for death and taxes. Today Franklin could readily have been additionally certain of the inevitability of two further events of sad note, namely armed conflicts and global warming. In his latest book, impassioned investigative journalist and courageous […]
BORENA (OROMIYA REGION), 19 July 2011 (IRIN) – For many people, access to water is a mere turn of the tap away; for Abdha Aso, a 20-year-old mother of five, it involves a four-hour round trip to a muddy pond. Only a year ago, she could reach a nearby stream in 20 minutes but it […]
By MICHAEL MCNUTT, CAPITOL BUREAU15 July 2011 With no forecast of rain in sight, Gov. Mary Fallin suggests Oklahomans seek help from a higher power. The governor on Thursday asked Oklahomans to set aside time Sunday to pray for rain. Dry conditions have contributed to more than 140 wildfires this year, resulting in the loss of […]
By BETSY BLANEY, Associated Press14 July 2011 LUBBOCK, Texas – The unrelenting Texas drought has produced a cruelly ironic twist: cattle dying from too much water. Agriculture officials in parched Texas said Wednesday there are no hard numbers on how many head of cattle have died but reports of deaths from too much water or […]
Geneva (AFP) July 11, 2011 – The over-exploitation of the Amu-Darya river which snakes across Afghanistan, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, could threaten the long-term stability of the region, the UN said Monday. The problem dates back to the Soviet era, when a massive cotton growing programme was launched by Moscow, sapping up water and releasing […]
BISLE (SOMALI REGION), 12 July 2011 (IRIN) – Every day, 500g of boiled wheat is divided up between two adults, four children, a calf, a goat and a donkey in the Farah household. It is the only food they have had after rains failed for the past two seasons. The 15kg sack of wheat is […]
The primary Mata Atlantica forest once stretched over much of the eastern edge of Brazil. Large swaths of it have been eliminated and replaced with eucalyptus plantations. Photos and commentary by Anne Petermann, Executive Director, Global Justice Ecology Project30 June 2011 On Wednesday, July 29th, around 200 participants divided into 4 groups toured various facilities […]
By Tom Parry in Dadaab, Kenya, Daily Mirror 12 July 2011 Hawa Muya cradles her baby boy while her daughter shelters from the sand and flies against her mum’s black robe. The 28-year-old is sitting patiently in a long line as she keeps a close eye on Hussein, who is 10 months, and Fatma, aged […]
