Kenya: Farming a land where ‘normal’ has lost its meaning

By JESSICA LEBER of ClimateWirePublished: March 29, 2010 SAKAI, Kenya — No one complained that the rains were late when they watered the parched hills and muddied the roads here in December. Normally, they would have begun weeks earlier. Villagers were grateful the rain had come at all. “God is great. After these two seasons […]

Unemployment rate increases in 27 U.S. states in February

By CalculatedRisk on 3/26/2010 10:00:00 AM From the BLS: Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary Twenty-seven states recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 7 states and the District of Columbia registered rate decreases, and 16 states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, jobless rates increased in […]

Vietnam drought withers orchards — ‘Not a drop to drink’

Reported by Trung Duong – Tien Trinh  2000 custard apple trees. Around four years old. To a tree, they withered and died. That was a month ago. Now, he can do nothing but watch a hectare of his mango trees fade in the relentless heat. “Drought like this… there’s no way I can save the […]

Parched Australia farmers vote to abandon irrigation: ‘I just want the nightmare to end’

By PETER KERMarch 26, 2010 THE winds of social change are gathering speed across Victoria, after irrigators in one of state’s most drought-ravaged districts virtually voted themselves out of existence last night. More than 70 per cent of the 153 farmers in the Campaspe Irrigation District say they wish to cease irrigating. They declared their […]

Victims call China drought a human-caused disaster

By Lin Li & Feng MingSound of Hope Radio Network The continued drought in Southwest China has affected more than 50 million people in the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, and the city of Chongqing. Discontent over the artificial causes of the drought, sky-high food prices, and unsatisfactory disaster relief has increased. Meanwhile, the […]

Environmental refugees and global warming in Sub-Saharan Africa

ScienceDaily (Mar. 22, 2010) — Climate change and environmental degradation are likely to trigger increased migration in Sub-Saharan Africa with potentially devastating effects on the hundreds of millions of especially poor people, according to a paper in the International Journal of Global Warming. Environmental changes are especially pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), explain Ulrike Grote […]

West African farmers call for help as drought hits – acute malnutrition at 30 percent

By Staff WritersNiamey (AFP) March 22, 2010 West African farmers appealed Monday for help as drought and famine menaced people and livestock, with malnutrition already affecting nearly a third of the population. “Communities of farmers and pastoralists are already severely affected … with the acute malnutrition rate estimated at 29.9 percent, which is double the […]

Billions of gallons of toxic wastewater dumped into Ecuador rivers

“The stream was 50 meters from our house and chemicals were dumped into it. Oh, it stank! The water ran like a natural stream, but it was warm toxic waste water. We had headaches, dizziness, stomachaches…. Our children loved to fish and swim in the river. They came home covered in crude. We fried the […]

Historic China drought leaves millions short of water – cloud-seeding fails

  By Staff WritersBeijing (AFP) March 17, 2010 Millions of people face drinking water shortages in southwestern China because of a once-a-century drought that has dried up rivers and threatens vast farmlands, state media reported Wednesday. The drought has gripped huge areas of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan provinces, the Guangxi region, and the mega-city of […]

Graph of the Day: U.S. Real Consumption and Income Growth, 1933-2009

…Looking at real GDP growth over these periods, the 2002–09 era looks very weak, with only 1946–49 having a lower average annual rate of growth (in these years, GDP averaged an annual decline of 2.01 percent). Average annual real GDP growth was 1.72 percent for the 2002–09 period, much lower than the average of 3.97 […]

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