Hundreds die in India heatwave — Death toll expected to rise as India faces record temperatures of up to 122F in hottest summer on record

By Jason Burkewww.guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 May 2010 16.32 BST Record temperatures in northern India have claimed hundreds of lives in what is believed to be the hottest summer in the country since records began in the late 1800s. The death toll is expected to rise with experts forecasting temperatures approaching 50C (122F) in coming weeks. […]

Infections link to bees decline

  By Katia MoskvitchScience reporter, BBC News  Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in honeybees could be caused by a “synergy” between groups of fungi and viruses. US researchers claim to have identified a new potential cause for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in honeybees. The disease is responsible for wiping out many beekeepers’ entire colonies over the […]

Historic drought spurs life-or-death struggles in Kilimanjaro's shadow

  By MICHAEL BURNHAM AND NATHANIAL GRONEWOLD of GreenwirePublished: May 25, 2010 AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK, Kenya – … When the rains failed for the second straight year in 2009, plants withered to their roots in this critical dry-season refuge. Marshes and the shallow bed of Lake Amboseli, usually fed by seasonal rains and runoff from […]

20th-Century warming in Lake Tanganyika is unprecedented

  Tucson AZ (SPX) May 25, 2010 – Lake Tanganyika’s surface waters are currently warmer than at any time in the previous 1,500 years, a University of Arizona researcher and his colleagues report online in Nature Geoscience. The rise in temperature during the 20th century is driving a decline in the productivity of the lake, […]

‘Peace depends on water’: A Himalayan village builds artificial glaciers to survive global warming

As glaciers disappear in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, one man is helping farmers irrigate their fields by storing water in an innovative way By Gaia Vince    LEH, INDIA—In the high-altitude desert of the Indian trans-Himalayas, one man is buying time for villagers suffering from global warming by creating artificial glaciers. The ancient kingdom […]

Prolonged dry spells cause food security crisis in the Sahel

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Date: 19 May 2010 In 2009, agricultural production has been seriously affected in parts of the Sahel following late onset of rains, prolonged dry spells and significant pest infestations. The eastern and central parts of the Subregion were most affected with cereal outputs estimated to have […]

Report on failure to halt wildlife decline is buried

  By Michael McCarthy, Environment EditorSaturday, 22 May 2010 A report showing that Britain is failing to halt the declines of many of its highest-priority wildlife species and habitats, from the red squirrel, the juniper and the common skate to chalk rivers and coastal salt marshes, was “sneaked out” this week by the Government with […]

Drought and winter leave Mongolians a harvest of carcasses

By ANDREW JACOBSPublished: May 19, 2010 SOUTH HANGAY PROVINCE, Mongolia — They call it the zud, a prolonged period of heavy snows and paralyzing cold that adds to the challenges of living on a treeless expanse nearly the size of Alaska. But this year’s zud followed a punishing summer drought that stunted the grass and […]

Judge sides with farmers in California delta water lawsuit

Staff and wire reports | Posted: May 18, 2010 8:10 pm SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge ruled Tuesday in favor of Central Valley farmers and urban water agencies seeking to loosen restrictions on pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a major source of irrigation and drinking water for much of California. U.S. District Judge […]

Nitrate contamination spreading in California communities

By Julia Scott | May 13, 2010 The water supply of more than two million Californians has been exposed to harmful levels of nitrates over the past 15 years – a time marked by lax regulatory efforts to contain the colorless and odorless contaminant, a California Watch investigation has found. Nitrates are now the most […]

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