Millions face starvation as Niger prays in vain for rain

Urgent aid is needed to avert a catastrophe in West Africa  By Alastair Stewart To the north of Niger, the creeping Sahara; to the south, oil rich and agriculturally lush Nigeria – this nation straddles the Sahel – dry, hot and cruel. It has suffered catastrophic droughts – 1974, 1984 and 2005. And now, another. […]

In Congo forest, bushmeat trade threatens Pygmies

By TODD PITMAN, Associated Pressupdated 7/3/2010 9:39:02 PM ET THE ITURI FOREST, Congo — They emerge from the stillness of the rainforest like a lost tribe of prehistoric warriors forgotten by time — a barefoot band of Mbuti Pygmies wielding iron-tipped spears. The men come first, cloaked head to toe in coiled hunting nets shaved […]

Asia in the grip of water crisis: Asian Development Bank

Singapore (AFP) June 30, 2010 – Asia is in the grip of a water crisis that could set back the region’s robust economic growth if left unresolved, according to a top Asian Development Bank (ADB) official. Arjun Thapan, special adviser to ADB president Harukiko Kuroda on water and infrastructure issues, said governments must start managing […]

China to move tens of thousands for huge water scheme

  Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Paul Tait (Reuters) – China will move 345,000 people, mostly poor villagers, within about two years to make way for a vast scheme to draw on rivers in the south to supply the increasingly dry north, an official newspaper said on Tuesday. The forced resettlement for the South-to-North […]

Asia coal imports seen hitting record in 2011

By Fayen Wong Thursday June 24, 2010 05:40:03 AM GMT PERTH, June 22 (Reuters) – Asia’s thermal coal imports are set to hit a record high next year, nearing 500 million tonnes, as economies in the region extend their recovery over the next 18 months, an official Australian forecast showed on Tuesday. Asian exporters, such […]

Scientists study harmful algae blooms in Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan

ScienceDaily (June 22, 2010) — A team of scientists from the University of Nevada, Reno, DRI, Arizona State University and University of California, Davis has returned from a two-week expedition to Guatemala’s tropical high-mountain Lake Atitlan, where they are working to find solutions to the algae blooms that have assailed the ecosystem and the drinking […]

Frank Fenner sees no hope for humans – Scientist says ‘Homo sapiens will become extinct, perhaps within 100 years’

By Cheryl JonesJune 16, 2010 12:00AM FRANK Fenner doesn’t engage in the skirmishes of the climate wars. To him, the evidence of global warming is in. Our fate is sealed. “We’re going to become extinct,” the eminent scientist says. “Whatever we do now is too late.” Fenner is an authority on extinction. The emeritus professor […]

Dmitry Orlov: Checkmate

By Dmitry OrlovTuesday, June 15, 2010 In all of the descriptions of perilous situations that I have studied, arising during adventures on the high seas or in the high mountains, or during armed conflict, a single mistake rarely proves fatal. More often than not, death comes as a result of a sequence of bad choices […]

Water crisis fuels Yemen’s many woes

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 […]

East Africa seeks more Nile water, Egypt dismisses agreement

  Four East African states have signed an agreement to seek more water from the River Nile – a move strongly opposed by Egypt and Sudan. Under colonial-era accords, the two countries get 90% of the river’s water. Upstream countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia say it is unfair and want a new deal […]

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