Maplecroft: South Asia is region most vulnerable to climate change

Paris (AFP) Oct 20, 2010 – South Asia is the world’s most climate-vulnerable region, its fast-growing populations badly exposed to flood, drought, storms and sea-level rise, according to a survey of 170 nations published on Wednesday. Of the 16 countries listed as being at “extreme” risk from climate change over the next 30 years, five […]

Graph of the Day: Global Water Availability Per Capita, 1950-2000

Measured on conventional indicators, water stress is increasing. Today, about 700 million people in 43 countries live below the water-stress threshold of 1,700 cubic metres per person—an admittedly arbitrary dividing line. By 2025 that figure will reach 3 billion, as water stress intensifies in China, India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on national averages, the projection […]

British crops to face water supply crunch, may relocate

By Nigel Hunt; editing by James JukweyMon Oct 18, 2010 4:04pm EDT LONDON (Reuters) – Agricultural crops in Britain may need to be moved to new areas as the threat of both drought and flooding rises in the coming decades, a report [pdf] commissioned by the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) said on Monday. […]

Graph of the Day: Income Share of Top 0.1 Percent of US Population, 1940-2008

During the 20th century, the United States experienced two major trends in income distribution. The first, termed the “Great Compression” by economists Claudia Goldin of Harvard and Robert Margo of Boston University, was egalitarian.* From 1940 to 1973, incomes became more equal. The share taken by the very richest Americans (i.e., the top 1 percent […]

Graph of the Day: Annual Flows of the Colorado River, 1905-2005

Annual flows (in million cubic meters) of the Colorado River into the delta from 1905 to 2005 at the Southern International Border station. Note that, in most years after 1960, flows to the delta fell to zero as total withdrawals equaled total (or peak) renewable supply. The exceptions are extremely high-flow years when runoff exceeded […]

Pollinator crisis shrinking vegetable production: scientists

New Delhi, Oct 10, (PTI): Vegetable production in India is shrinking over the years due to a decline in the population of pollinating insects like bees and butterflies, a new study has claimed. The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Calcutta, found a disturbing trend in the growth of yields of several […]

Peak water: Conceptual and practical limits to freshwater withdrawal and use

Media Contact: Nancy Ross, Pacific Institute, nross@pacinst.org May 24, 2010 A new journal article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) highlights new “peak water” limits to global and regional freshwater availability and use. The May 24, 2010 early edition of the journal includes the new article “Peak Water Limits to Freshwater […]

WWF: Global biodiversity down 30 percent since 1970 — 60 percent of tropical species extinct

WWF’s 2010 Living Planet Report [pdf] is the world’s leading, science-based analysis on the health of our planet and the impact of human activity on the planet.   The  biennial report explores the changing state of biodiversity, ecosystems and peoples’ consumption of natural resources. It also explores the implications of these changes for the future of […]

Smithsonian reports regional sea temperature rise and coral bleaching event in Western Caribbean

Contact: Beth King, kingb@si.edu 12 October 2010 (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Bocas del Toro Research Station and Galeta Point Marine Laboratory are reporting an anomalous sea temperature rise and a major coral bleaching event in the Western Caribbean. Although the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, issued an advisory […]

Graph of the Day: Agricultural Output in Russia, 2006-2010

By Geoff RileyThursday, August 26, 2010 This BBC news article explains how extreme weather conditions in Russia this summer is hitting GDP growth.  The Russian economy has always been sensitive to changes in the world prices of commodities such as oil and gas (two major exports). In this sense, Russia is more exposed than the […]

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