By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Oct 22 (IPS) – As African leaders meet in Ethiopia to discuss the devastating impacts of climate change, the United Nations has released a report warning that the economically-troubled continent will be one of the hardest hit by the ravages of global warming. “Projected climatic changes for Africa suggest a […]
By Tristan McConnell in Mwingi “The last time I had a good harvest was 2003 — there has been nothing at all for the last three years,” said Mutindi Maithya, 36, a widow who lives with her six children on a four- acre plot of sun-baked land. Sitting beneath a thorny acacia tree, she picks […]
By Lester R. Brown, October 22, 2009 Our early twenty-first century civilization is being squeezed between advancing deserts and rising seas. Measured by the biologically productive land area that can support human habitation, the earth is shrinking. Mounting population densities, once generated solely by population growth, are now also fueled by the relentless advance of […]
A new map illustrating the global consequences of failing to keep temperature change to under 2 °C was launched today by the UK Government, in partnership with the Met Office. The map was developed using the latest peer-reviewed science from the Met Office Hadley Centre and other leading impact scientists. The poster highlights some of […]
By Argaw Ashine, 22 October 2009 Addis Ababa — Ethiopian Government has appealed for an emergency food aid for 6.2 million people suffering from malnutrition and hunger due to drought. The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Mitiku Kassa, today presented the government’s humanitarian requirement to donor Community in Addis Ababa. According to Mr […]
ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2009) — A new study in China has found that people with higher levels of pesticide exposure are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study was carried out by Dr Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London together with scientists from Tongde Hospital Zhejiang Province. The agricultural […]
National park which was once a ‘paradise’ now on fire and churning out tonnes of CO2 By Giles Tremlett, Las Tablas de Daimiel, central Spain They are meant to be Spain’s most important inland wetlands, but yesterday the lagoons at Las Tablas de Daimiel national park were not just dry, they were burning. Stilted walkways […]
By John Gachiri, 14 October 2009 More Kenyans are in need of emergency food today than they were 20 years ago and the situation may get worse, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says in a new report. The report, Global Hunger Index (GHI), that measures levels of malnutrition and hunger was released on […]
By Boris BachorzSat, 17 Oct 2009 12:07 The camel, its legs attached with branches, brays desperately, blood spurting from the cut artery; nomads in Turkana in Kenya’s extreme north have been reduced to sacrificing their animals to survive a bruising drought. “I brought this dromedary to have it killed and make a little money after […]
Food production will have to increase by 70% over the next 40 years to feed the world’s growing population, the United Nations food agency predicts. The Food and Agricultural Organisation says if more land is not used for food production now, 370 million people could be facing famine by 2050. The world population is expected […]
