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Mideast facing choice between crops and water
Global food shortages have placed the Middle East and North Africa in a quandary, as they are forced to choose between growing more crops to feed an expanding population or preserving their already scant supply of water.
For decades nations in this region have drained aquifers, sucked the salt from seawater and diverted the mighty Nile to make the deserts bloom. But those projects were so costly and used so much water that it remained far more practical to import food than to produce it. Today, some countries import 90 percent or more of their staples.
Now, the worldwide food crisis is making many countries in this politically volatile region rethink that math.
The population of the region has more than quadrupled since 1950, to 364 million, and is expected to reach nearly 600 million by 2050. By that time, the amount of fresh water available for each person, already scarce, will be cut in half, and declining resources could inflame political tensions further.
"The countries of the region are caught between the hammer of rising food prices and the anvil of steadily declining water availability per capita," Alan Richards, a professor of economics and environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said via e-mail. "There is no simple solution." Global food shortages have placed the Middle East and North Africa in a quandary, as they are forced to choose between growing more cr... more -
Diary: Colorado River drought
The south-western US is suffering its eighth consecutive year of drought. There are concerns that the Colorado River, which has sustained life in the area for thousands of years, can no longer meet the needs of the tens of millions of people living in major cities such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
We cannot continue to waste water as we are doing. We are turning the Western US into a desert. The south-western US is suffering its eighth consecutive year of drought. There are concerns that the Colorado River, which has sustai... more -
London is world's most expensive parking spot
As if rising gasoline prices weren't enough, motorists are being hit by higher parking charges, with London coming up tops as the world's most expensive city to park your car, according to a survey.
Parking your car in the City, London's financial district, costs on average $68.07 a day, or $1,166.87 a month, while parking in the popular West End entertainment district cost $1,135.76 month, according to an annual survey by real estate firm Colliers International that was conducted in June.
Sydney, Australia, came in second, with parking costing $774.76 a month, closely followed by Hong Kong at $742.40 a month. Perth, also in Australia, was fourth at $610.42 a month.
In the United States, New York City's Midtown was the priciest place to park at $585 a month, followed by the city's Downtown at $462 a month. As if rising gasoline prices weren't enough, motorists are being hit by higher parking charges, with London coming up tops as the worl... more -
Chesapeake watermen fear blue crab not coming back
It's an anxious summer for watermen harvesting the Chesapeake's best-loved seafood, the blue crab. The way some see it, the crabbing business here isn't just dying. It's already dead.
Crabs have thrived in the bottom muck of the Chesapeake and its tributaries even as centuries of overfishing harmed oysters, fish and other species in the nation's largest estuary. Now blue crabs are in trouble, too, and when they go, a way of life is sure to go with them.
The bay's blue crab stock is down about 65 percent since 1990 due to overfishing and water pollution, according to Virginia and Maryland fisheries managers. The states have imposed steep cuts on this year's female crab harvest, aiming to reduce the number of crabs taken by more than a third.
It's an anxious summer for watermen harvesting the Chesapeake's best-loved seafood, the blue crab. The way some see it, the crabbing b... more -
To Neglect Water...Is To Give It to Multi nationals
Serious and extremely worrying evidence indicates that water supplies are steadily being used up. And the causes of water scarcity are much the same as those of the food crisis: demand exceeds a finite supply.
The world's population is projected to grow from 6 billion to 8.5 billion by 2030 and unless we change the way we use water and increase water productivity — ie. produce more 'crop per drop' — we will not be able to feed them. That is the conclusion of the IWMI's recent Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture and its book, Water for Food, Water for Life, which drew on the work of 700 scientists.
end of excerpt.
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In all of the time I have been posting to this blog on the subject of water scarcity, this message has been the priority. Investing in water infrastructure and educating people in developing countries regarding irrigation methods that save water as well as planting conventional crop varieties that are not as water intensive. However, even though these are the main goals one of the priorities here as well that was also not mentioned in this article is stopping the commoditization and corporatization of water that keeps it from being used by the people as the human right it is.
I have been reporting recently on Current.com (linked here in the column) about Monsanto and its plan to spread GM foods across the globe. Foods which biotech makeup has been linked to possible health effects not only in humans but in cows through Posilac (Bovine growth hormones) in milk, and the environmental affects on waterways through the use of Roundup Herbicides. It is an insidious plan wherein they are buying up seed companies globally and binding farmers to only plant seeds in one season without permission to replant next season unless they continue to buy seed from Monsanto at a huge profit to the company. Monsanto has even gone so far as to 'patent' seed and pursue litigation against farmers they accuse of replanting seeds (as has been done in agriculture from its inception centuries ago) and even harrassing farmers who are innocent due to pollen from other fields landing on their crops. They are also lobbying state legislatures to not label foods that contain bovine hormones and GM ingredients.
But not only is Monsanto in the business of monopolizing seeds of the world and taking away the consumer's right to know, they are also involved in pursuing the privitization of water. Currently they have such projects in India and Mexico which will bring them millions in revenues.They are cornering the market on food and water in developing countries and in the US and by their methods putting farmers in great debt to the point that they are committing suicide in India due to BT cotton.
Therefore, while other explanations for food and water shortages certainly are relevant and deserving of our utmost attention, stopping multi nationals as well from patenting and stealing life is also one of the most important and crucial environmental and moral fights we will have in this century. For whoever controls the food and water controls the world.
So again, we do have enough food and water to feed and sustain the world if we start now to work on plans for the future that conserve these resources and address overpopulation. We don't need The World Bank to continue to scaremonger about this for profit. We don't need Monsantos to take advantage of us for profit. We need a plan that actually educates people about conservation and effective irrigation and infrastructure, and we need to give farming back to the farmers and water back to the people. Serious and extremely worrying evidence indicates that water supplies are steadily being used up. And the causes of water scarcity are... more -
The Stork: It’s a Bird of War!!
"The Stork" is an animated short-film created by Nina Paley. "The Stork" starts out as a pleasant little children's cartoon, but before long it turns into something very sardonic and sinister, closer to "Apocalypse Now."
It's a decidedly provocative, but at the same time very funny, look at the perils of population explosion. When Paley first began work on this film, she predicted that it would provoke a lot of anger, “be extremely unpopular, and possibly end my animation career.”
Nevertheless, "The Stork" ended up playing at The Sundance Film Festival and numerous other festivals, winning awards all along the way.
Photographs and the spine-chilling animated video are included. "The Stork" is an animated short-film created by Nina Paley. "The Stork" starts out as a pleasant little children's cartoon, but befo... more -
Japan's sales tax may rise due to aging population
In short, the current 5% sales tax will not be enough to pay for the influx of people that will be eligible for aid next fiscal year. The Financial Minster pushes the idea to increase the national sales tax to combat the costs as soon as possible. Prime Minister Fukuda expresses similar concern. Tokyo is already the second most expensive city in the world to live in-- imagine after the tax!
Sooner more than ever, travelers should shop duty-free! In short, the current 5% sales tax will not be enough to pay for the influx of people that will be eligible for aid next fiscal year. ... more -
It's the POPULATION stupid.
What does it mean to overpopulate planet Earth. We're eating up the planet and coverting what goes in to pollution of air, water and commons. It's not just too many people in one place but too many people living in where there are dwindling resources - not sustainable. It's occuring now - more and more populations are without basic resources (food and water). And this is futher problematic due to a few rich nations continuing to take these critical resources (water, wood, food) from the highly populated and poorer nations. We each not only need to reduce our carbon foot print we all need to rethink completely how we live. If we want there to be any viable life for those who inherit life on this planet from us, we are required to make dramatic changes in our way of living. Vying this, we must admit we care not if humanity and other life continue. That's it. What can you do?
STOP drinking bottled water - use the tap.
DRIVE as little as is possible.
Recycle.
Convert your lawn/garden to indeginous plants.
If you must mow - use a hand mower.
Don't use a dryer in the summer - hang your clothes out to dry.
Plant trees wherever you are able.
Turnoff the TV - and read a non-fiction book that gives you ever more better ways of living sustainably on our little green globe.
What does it mean to overpopulate planet Earth. We're eating up the planet and coverting what goes in to pollution of air, water and ... more -
Disappearing Forests of the Southeast
Housing Sprawl in the Southeast - Our Vanishing Wild Places
Our window of opportunity to preserve much of what is left of our great Eastern Forests closes more with each new housing development in our forests. The interactive graphics below demonstrate the land that has been lost to housing sprawl and how much more will be lost if current practices fail to change.
We have a chance to preserve for future generations much of what is left of our great Eastern Forests—and there is a lot worth saving. But the time to do so narrows with each new housing development in our forests, so we must all work together now to save our most important lands. TWS is working to establish more Wilderness areas in the east; to increase federal and state funding to purchase priority lands or development rights from willing sellers; to prevent road building & commercial logging in Forest Service roadless areas; and to create a broad understanding of how protecting forests helps to combat climate change.
* The data for these maps were produced by R.B. Hammer and V.C. Radeloff at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with funding from the USDA Forest Service North Central Research Station.
{ http://www.wilderness.org/OurIssues/EasternForests/Spra... } Housing Sprawl in the Southeast - Our Vanishing Wild Places ... more -
Egypt Overpopulation "two children per family -- a chance for a better life"
Overpopulation is undeniably is issue now, and is going to be more than ever in years to come. For whatever reason people don't like to talk about it.
But I don't think having a limit is such a bad idea, I mean don't go crazy by killing babies if they come in multiples, but have everybody get snipped and clipped after the second. For both sides. Overpopulation is undeniably is issue now, and is going to be more than ever in years to come. For whatever reason people don't like t... more -
World's top 10 most polluted places
1. Sumqayit, Azerbaijan—This area gained the dubious distinction of landing atop the Blacksmith Institute’s list of the world’s most polluted sites. Yet another heir to the toxic legacy of Soviet industry, this city of 275,000 bears heavy metal, oil and chemical contamination from its days as a center of chemical production. As a result, locals suffer cancer rates 22 to 51 percent higher than their countrymen, and their children suffer from a host of genetic defects, ranging from mental retardation to bone disease.
“As much as 120,000 tons of harmful emissions were released on an annual basis, including mercury,” says Richard Fuller, founder of Blacksmith, an environmental health organization based in New York City. “There are huge untreated dumps of industrial sludge.”
2. Chernobyl, Ukraine—The fallout from the world’s worst nuclear power accident continues to accumulate, affecting as many as 5.5 million people and leading to a sharp rise in thyroid cancer. The incident has also blighted the economic prospects of surrounding areas and nations.
3. DzerzHinsk, Russia—The 300,000 residents of this center of cold war chemical manufacturing have one of the lowest life expectancies in the world thanks to waste injected directly into the ground. “Average life expectancy is roughly 45 years,” says Stephan Robinson, a director at Green Cross Switzerland, an environmental group that collaborated on the report. “Fifteen to 20 years less than the Russian average and about half a Westerner’s.”
4. Kabwe, Zambia—The second largest city in this southern African country was home to one of the world’s largest lead smelters until 1994. As a result of that industry, the entire city is contaminated with the heavy metal, which can cause brain and nerve damage in children and fetuses.
5. La Oroya, Peru—Although this is one of the smallest communities on the list (population 35,000), it is also one of the most heavily polluted because of extensive lead, copper and zinc mining by the U.S.–based Doe Run mining company.
6. Linfen, China—A city in the heart of China’s coal region in Shanxi Province, Linfen is home to three million inhabitants, who choke on dust and air pollution and drink arsenic that leaches from the fossil fuel.
7. Norilsk, Russia—This city above the Arctic Circle contains the world’s largest metal-smelting complex and some of the planet’s worst smog. “There is no living piece of grass or shrub within 30 kilometers of the city,” Fuller says. “Contamination [with heavy metals] has been found as much as 60 kilometers away.”
8. Sukinda, India—Home to one of the world’s biggest chromite mines—chromite makes steel stainless, among other uses—and 2.6 million people. The waters of this valley contain carcinogenic hexavalent chromium compounds courtesy of 30 million tons of waste rock lining the Brahmani River.
9. Tianying, China—The center of Chinese lead production, this town of 160,000 has lead concentrations in its air and soil that are 8.5 to 10 times those of the national health standards. The concentrations of lead dusting the local crops are 24 times too high.
10. Vapi, India—This town at the end of India’s industrial belt in the state of Gujarat houses the dumped remnant waste of more than 1,000 manufacturers, including petrochemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals. “The companies treat wastewater and get most of the muck out,” says David Hanrahan, Blacksmith’s London-based director of global operations. “But there’s nowhere to put the muck, so it ends up getting dumped.” 1. Sumqayit, Azerbaijan—This area gained the dubious distinction of landing atop the Blacksmith Institute’s list of the world’s most ... more -
Happy 6,666,666,666 day!
The world population of humans should reach 6,666,666,666 sometime in the next day. I'm buying a round for everyone! (Put it on the Underhill's bill.) The world population of humans should reach 6,666,666,666 sometime in the next day. I'm buying a round for everyone! (Put it on the ... more
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World in the balance: Global impact of overpopulation
PBS' Nova has produced a documentary about the impact of population trends on the planet. The supporting website provides interviews with researchers, interactive tools and trailers of the two part series.
- World population expected to reach nine billion by 2050
- 98% of growth will occur in the developing world
- Only 2.5% of Earth's water supply is fresh. U.N. reports that the scarcity of fresh water due to overuse and contamination will be the second most pressing global concern of the 21st century, after population growth.
- Human activities are releasing more carbon dioxide than the world's plants can process.
- In the next 100 years the Earth's temperature will increase 11 degrees Fahrenheit worldwide resulting in a sharp reduction of rivers and lakes, causing severe flooding in cooler regions, shifting agricultural zones and threatening hundreds of plant and animal species with extinction.
- 40% of the world's remaining forests are endangered.
- Human-induced factors are diminishing the abundance of agricultural topsoil.
- Half of the world's reefs may be gone by 2030 PBS' Nova has produced a documentary about the impact of population trends on the planet. The supporting website provides interviews ... more -
The Food And Climate Crises: Getting Population On The Agenda
This animated video states what should now be the obvious as far as global warming is concerned, albeit in a very entertaining way. However one Australian physicist, Phil Chapman, thinks we should be worrying about climate change in the other direction, as he touts the possibility of a return to an Ice Age.
Chapman cites an 11-year low in sunspot activity, and says that our plant actually cooled by 0.7 degrees Centigrade between January 2006 and 2007. "This is the fastest temperature change in the instrumental record," notes Chapman in an article that appears in today's Australian.
As the ice caps melt before our Googled eyes, critics have accused Chapman of cherry picking data, but regardless of whether we should be reaching for the sun tan lotion or for another layer of warm clothes to prepare for the future, living a green life still makes sense. There are so many reasons beyond global warming for ending our reliance on fossil fuels.
A recent study has concluded that even short-term exposure to smog can be linked to premature death. Our ever increasing appetite for oil funds wars and corrupt regimes, and is contributing massively to the food crisis we now face. The latter, which is caused, in the most part, by the fact that rising fuel prices are raising the cost of food production and transportation beyond what many consumers can afford, is ALREADY pushing many here at home over the poverty line into privation.
While experts can't agree on the extent and exact direction of climate change (two recently released reports claim that global warming may be far worse than the U.N. had previously predicted), there is a general consensus that the food crisis will bite before global warming does. And since the causes of both global warming and the food crisis are the same, namely over use of fossil fuels and over population, working towards a comprehensive solution should be a no-brainer.
In the scheme of things the dire problems we now face are so easily fixed. We already have the know-how to replace oil power with renewable, clean energy. We also know that cutting down rainforest and turning away from food crops in order to produce biofuel is "profoundly stupid," to recycle the words of Professor John Beddington, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor (who, unlike our scientific advisers, at least has the benefit of talking real, unabridged science with his boss).
The issue of the planet’s burgeoning population is a little trickier. While environment and sustainability issues are now firmly on the agenda, population control is the other side of the coin, and the elephant in the room that few in the West like to talk about (unless it’s in terms of “pro-life,” a policy that ironically, in global terms, results in more death). Again, it's not like we don't have the methods, but motivation is a problem, which is compounded by religious beliefs and our delicate sensibilities. How ironic that China, with their birth control already in place, may ultimately look enlightened where this issue is concerned.
Their one kid per couple policy may seem harsh by our standards, but five kids, with two more mechanical gas-guzzlers in the garage, is not a sustainable existence. We really have to learn one very simple lesson: we can't have it all. But next to the possible oblivion of our planet and/or our race, a little compromise and a lot of enlightenment, and action, seems like a small price to pay. For now, let’s at least get population control on our “to do” list alongside ending war, hunger, poverty, pollution and oil reliance, since these issues cannot be dealt with in isolation, and require a holistic approach. This animated video states what should now be the obvious as far as global warming is concerned, albeit in a very entertaining way. Ho... more -
The Stork...
...is the bird of war.
This simple animation demonstrates the impact of the continued rise of global demographics on human society and nature alike. Simple but effective.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=148463578726650... ...is the bird of war. ... more -
India offering firearm permits for vasectomies
Yes, that's right...
Get neutered, get a gun.
That is India's answer to its overpopulation problem...
Trade in your ability to bear kids for the right to bear arms...
Should this be followed by the rest of the world? Yes, that's right... Get neutered, get a gun. That is India's answer to its overpopulation problem... ... more -
The looming food crisis is 'worse than climate change'
Climate change gets a lot of attention these days, but according to Britain's new chief scientific adviser, we should be more concerned about the future of food. He warned that in the rush to grow biofuel crops as alternative energy sources, we're putting our food security at risk. Food demands are increasing with population growth and increasing wealth in developing nations, driving the need to produce more food crops up. We've already seen the price of food staples going up.
"There is progress on climate change. But out there is another major problem. It is very hard to imagine how we can see a world growing enough crops to produce renewable energy and at the same time meet the enormous increase in the demand for food which is quite properly going to happen as we alleviate poverty."
He also said that climate change would lead to pressure on food supplies because of decreased rainfall in many areas and crop failures related to climate. "The agriculture industry needs to double its food production, using less water than today," he said. The food crisis would bite more quickly than climate change, he added.
Do you perceive the looming food crisis as being more dangerous than climate change? Climate change gets a lot of attention these days, but according to Britain's new chief scientific adviser, we should be more concerne... more -
10,000,000 girls missing from Indian population
Pre-natal sex determination and female foeticide is more prevalent in the urban, educated and prosperous classes, Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhary said on Wednesday.
“Female foeticide is an extreme manifestation of violence against women. Female fetuses are selectively aborted after pre-natal sex determination, thus avoiding the birth of girls. As a result of selective abortion, about 10 lakh girls are missing from the Indian Population,” she said at a session held as part of week-long celebration to mark International Women’s Day on March 8.
The easy accessibility to ultra sound technology which has percolated even to the rural areas and increase in mobile van delivering services has made sex selective determination and foeticide more common, she said.
The figures released show that the high incidence of female foeticide is reflected in the fall in child sex ratio (0-6) years in India which has declined drastically from 945 in 1991 to 927 per 1000 males in 2001. Pre-natal sex determination and female foeticide is more prevalent in the urban, educated and prosperous classes, Minister for Women a... more -
Yemen Sleepwalks Into Water Nightmare
With a population increase from 60,000 to 2 million people in the last fifty years and groundwater resources that cannot be replenished fast enough to keep up with consumption and population increases, Yemen is the perfect example of what this world faces in this century should current behavior continue.
I cannot wrap my head around this. I cannot fathom how people can continue to build populations while depleting resources. This truly is a nightmare and one we will see played over and over again unless the international community begins to add population to the resume of what we must address in solving the water/climate crisis.That means access to family planning and contraception in developing countries with an emphasis on education.
Any global climate treaty signed next year must include how the global community will address overpopulation in ratio to availability of resources combined with conservation efforts. With the population of this world fast approaching 9 billion people, we will simply not be able to sustain them all with our precious resources being wasted and lost to climate change. Something has to give, and it has to be us. In places like Yemen however, it may already be too late. So what can countries like this do to adapt? With a population increase from 60,000 to 2 million people in the last fifty years and groundwater resources that cannot be replenishe... more -
One person can affect the future
No one is going to be able to live on this planet if we keep our current lifestyles up.
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Overpopulation
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Overpopulation
