Pakistan flood crisis as bad as African famines, UN says – ‘Humanitarian crisis of epic proportions’

Survey shows almost a quarter of children under five are malnourished in Sindh province, six months after floods By Declan Walsh in Islamabad, www.guardian.co.uk Thursday 27 January 2011 09.56 GMT A “humanitarian crisis of epic proportions” is unfolding in flood-hit areas of southern Pakistan where malnutrition rates rival those of African countries affected by famine, […]

Roubini: Jump in food, energy prices ‘can topple regimes’

By Tom Keene and Stuart WallaceJan 26, 2011 8:42 AM PT  A surge in food and energy costs is stoking inflation in emerging markets and causing riots that may topple governments, said Nouriel Roubini (video of Roubini interview), the New York University economist who predicted the financial crisis. Global food costs monitored by the United […]

A closer look at the financial impact of Australia’s epic floods

By Gregory WhiteJan. 27, 2011, 11:48 AM The weather: it has been blamed for the weak Q4 2010 UK GDP, today’s disappointing jobs number in the U.S., and soaring commodity prices. Obviously a lot of folks don’t buy that, but the impact is self-evident, especially in Australia. The government is so worried the money spent […]

Graph of the Day: Populations of UK Wild Birds, 1970-2009

Populations of wild birds in the UK are falling dramatically with even slight recent recoveries apparently stalled, government figures show. Only seabird populations remain comfortably above 1970 levels, while farmland bird numbers continue to plunge from a brief mid-1970s peak to half those of 40 years ago. Habitat changes responsible for fewer nesting sites and […]

China drought threatens water supplies: state media

By Staff WritersJan 24, 2011 Beijing (AFP) – A months-long dry spell across northern China is threatening drinking water supplies and crops, and more bone-dry conditions are expected, state media said Monday. The capital Beijing has had no significant precipitation in more than three months, the longest such spell in the city in 40 years, […]

Philippine flood, landslide death toll rises to 71

The number of affected families has risen to almost 380,000, of whom more than 10,700 still are temporarily sheltered in 58 evacuation centers. By Vittorio HernandezJanuary 24, 2011 (AHN) The death toll in the Philippines from floods and landslides continues to go up. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the fatality […]

Forest accords not saving trees: report

NEW YORK, 24 Jan 2011 (AFP) – International accords on saving vulnerable forests are having little impact because they do not attack the core causes such as growing demand for biofuels and food crops, a new report said. With Africa and South American alone losing 7.4 million hectares (18.3 million acres) of forest a year, […]

From fire to flood for Australia farmers

By Mark RalstonSunday 23 January 2011 HORSHAM (AFP) — Marshall Rodda weathered Australia’s decade-long drought, but as he recovers from record-breaking floods the seasoned farmer can’t help thinking that when it rains, it pours. Before the rains began in April, Rodda was among the thousands of Australian farmers struggling to make ends meet in the […]

For many species, no escape as temperature rises

By ELISABETH ROSENTHALJanuary 21, 2011 KINANGOP, Kenya — Simon Joakim Kiiru remembers a time not long ago when familiar birdsongs filled the air here and life was correlated with bird sightings. His lush, well-tended homestead is in the highlands next to the Aberdare National Park, one of the premier birding destinations in the world. When […]

Tropical storms hit production of rice in Philippines – Manila may have to import to avoid shortage

By Barbara Mae Dacanay, Bureau ChiefPublished: 00:00 January 22, 2011 Manila: Climate change which has shortened the distance between the occurrence of El Niño (drought) and La Niña (continuous rains) have imperilled already scant Philippine rice production in 2010, a trend which is expected to continue in 2011, the department of agriculture said in a […]

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