Video: There Once Was An Island

By On The Level Productions18 April 2010 This is a trailer for the climate change documentary, There Once was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho. Four years in the making, this film is the story of a Pacific Island community in Papua New Guinea – their unique way of life and their fight to preserve […]

We meant well: How I helped lose the battle for hearts and minds in Iraq

The following is excerpted from We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People by Peter Van Buren. Read an interview with Peter Van Buren about the book here. By Peter Van Buren 21 September 2011 Help Wanted, No Experience Necessary The reconstruction of Iraq was […]

UN calls for long-term approach to East Africa drought

New York, Sep 25 (IBNS) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a long-term approach by national authorities and the international donor community to tackle the root causes of recurring drought-related food shortages in the Horn of Africa, which is facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. “Addressing underlying risk factors is among the keys to […]

Afghan drought conditions could spell disaster

KABUL, 21 September 2011 (IRIN) – The current dry spell sweeping across Afghanistan’s northern, northeastern and western provinces could lead to a large-scale food crisis and the humanitarian community should act quickly to ensure this does not degenerate into a disaster, government and aid officials warn. “The issue is very serious. Every other year drought […]

Notes from the Naomi Oreskes ‘Merchants of Doubt’ interview

By Anna Haynes19 September 2011 See Tamino’s post for the excellent (34 min) interview & a discussion thereof. Here are my notes from watching: Marshall Institute was originally founded (by 3) to defend SDI (star wars) The idea of demanding equal time – Seitz learned it from tobacco industry They came from cold war rocketry […]

Graph of the Day: Output Growth of Six Developed Nations, 2003-2011

After a rapid post-crisis recovery, the world economy is slowing down from around 4 per cent GDP growth in 2010 to about 3 per cent in 2011 (see table). Developing economies will continue to record higher growth, at above 6 per cent, compared with developed economies, which registered a mere 1.5 per cent to 2 […]

Over 1,000 Somali refugees a day pouring into Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp

By Sally Williams17 September 2011 It was the death of their last cow that did it for Abdi. He told his wife, Sarura, and their four children that they had to leave. In Bakool, Somalia, they packed some clothes and cooking pots and set out for Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp, on the edge […]

Kenya: ‘The people need water but the water holes are drying up and few are remaining’

ISIOLO/MARSABIT, 13 September 2011 (IRIN) – Pastoralists in the drought-hit northern and eastern part of Kenya are often caught up in conflict over resources as well as movements of livestock in search of water and pasture. Here IRIN offers the latest information from the region and testimony from pastoralists to illustrate the challenges they cope […]

FAO Food Price Index remains near record high, still above last year’s level

September 8 (FAO) – The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 231 points in August 2011, nearly unchanged from July and 26 percent higher than in August 2010. The FFPI hit its all time high of 238 points in February.  Firmer cereal prices in August were largely offset by declines in international prices of most […]

Iran accuses protesters of politicising dying Lake Orumiyeh

Tehran, Sept 5, 2011 (AFP) – The drying up of Iran’s largest saltwater lake is an “environmental issue” but some people seek to politicise it, media on Monday quoted the vice president for environmental affairs as charging. “The issue of Lake Orumiyeh is an environmental challenge,” Mohammad Javad Mohammadi-Zadeh, who is also head of Iran’s […]

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