By BEN DOHERTYJune 12, 2010 Farmers in Thailand’s drought-stricken north have been told by the government they cannot plant any more rice, further fuelling anti-Bangkok sentiment in the Red Shirt-loyal region. Thailand is the world’s largest rice exporter, shipping more than 9 million tonnes offshore each year, but the worst drought in nearly 20 years […]
By STEVEN LEE MYERSPublished: June 12, 2010 SIBA, Iraq — The Shatt al Arab, the river that flows from the biblical site of the Garden of Eden to the Persian Gulf, has turned into an environmental and economic disaster that Iraq’s newly democratic government is almost powerless to fix. Withered by decades of dictatorial mismanagement […]
Sanaa, Yemen (UPI) Jun 9, 2010 – Two people were killed recently in a dispute over water rights in Yemen where extreme water scarcity is arguably the violence-plagued country’s greatest crisis. With the ancient capital, Sanaa, expected to run dry in a few years, water shortages are stirring popular discontent and fueling growing political unrest […]
By Associated Press Writer Ray Henry June 01, 2010, 7:44AM BUFORD, Ga. — Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is expected to sign new water conservation rules meant to help him reach a deal with Alabama and Florida that will prevent metro Atlanta from losing much of its water. Perdue plans to sign the legislation this morning […]
(University of Arizona) Droughts in the late 20th century rival some of North Africa’s major droughts of centuries past, reveals new research that peers back in time to the year 1179. The first multi-century drought reconstruction that includes Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia shows frequent and severe droughts during the 13th and 16th centuries and the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun 9:43 a.m. EDT, May 19, 2010 While the Chesapeake Bay’s overall health improved slightly last year, the rivers that drain much of the Baltimore area remain in such poor shape that they earn a “failing grade,” University of Maryland scientists reported Tuesday. The bay as a whole improved […]
