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More Ways to Combat Water Shortages

Sat, 2012-10-06 00:38 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Homeland Security News Wire - September 28, 2012

Water is the one element that every breathing, living organism on Earth needs, and unlike oil, there are no viable alternatives. In many undeveloped countries, water is becoming scarce. Concerns are growing about the availability of water in developed countries as well..

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Water
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The Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Half of its Coral in the Last 27 Years

Thu, 2012-10-04 17:12 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Barnards after cyclone Larry. Image: AIMS Long-term Monitoring Team.

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
October 2, 2012

Can we save the Reef by controlling crown of thorns starfish?

(ABSTRACT AND LINK TO STUDY - BELOW)

The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral cover in the last 27 years. The loss was due to storm damage (48%), crown of thorns starfish (42%), and bleaching (10%) according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today by researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville and the University of Wollongong.

"We can't stop the storms but, perhaps we can stop the starfish. If we can, then the Reef will have more opportunity to adapt to the challenges of rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification", says John Gunn, CEO of AIMS.

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Situation Report

Killers on the loose: the deadly viruses that threaten human survival

Tue, 2012-10-02 14:14 — Maeryn Obley

The Marburg virus: 'If tourists were tripping in and out of some python-infested Marburg repository, unprotected, and then boarding their return flights to other continents… it was an international threat.' Photograph: Science Photo Library

Image: The Marburg virus: 'If tourists were tripping in and out of some python-infested Marburg repository, unprotected, and then boarding their return flights to other continents… it was an international threat.' Photograph: Science Photo Library

guardian.co.uk - September 28th, 2012 - David Quammen

Astrid Joosten was a 41-year-old Dutch woman who, in June 2008, went to Uganda with her husband. At home in Noord-Brabant, she worked as a business analyst. Both she and her husband, Jaap Taal, a financial manager, enjoyed annual adventures, especially to Africa. The journey in 2008, booked through an adventure-travel outfitter, took them to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home to mountain gorillas.

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French Protesters March in 'Resistance' to Austerity

Sun, 2012-09-30 18:09 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

Protesters carry a banner reading 'no to austerity' at a march in Paris. Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

guardian.co.uk - by Kim Willsher - September 30, 2012

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to protest against the spread of economic "austerity" in France and Europe.

Chanting "resistance, resistance", the crowds had been rallied by around 60 organisations, including the leftwing Front de Gauche and the French Communist party, which oppose the European budget treaty.

"Today is the day the French people launch a movement against the politics of austerity," said the Front de Gauche president, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

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Protests puncture euro zone optimism

Sat, 2012-09-29 19:59 — Maeryn Obley

A protester runs from police in Athens on Wednesday. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

Image: A protester runs from police in Athens on Wednesday. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

globalpost.com - September 26th, 2012 - Paul Ames

Riot police fired tear gas at an angry mob throwing gasoline bombs during a general strike in Athens today, a day after Spanish police shot rubber bullets at leftist protesters attempting to storm parliament, where lawmakers were mulling more austerity.

Days after it seemed European policymakers may have finally launched a drive to save the continent’s single currency, the euro zone's battlefield is spreading from trading floors to the streets.

Now Spain’s richest region is calling for independence, part of the mounting political fallout from an economic crisis that is far from resolution.

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Cuba - Cholera - Unconfirmed Reports of New Cases Popping Up in Two Small Towns

Sat, 2012-09-29 09:20 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Cuban government stays mum on new cholera reports

mcclatchydc.com - The Miami Herald - by Juan O. Tamayo - September 25, 2012

MIAMI — Four weeks after the Cuban government announced that an outbreak of cholera in the eastern part of the island was over, there are unconfirmed reports of new cases popping up in two small towns.

Twenty-seven cases were reported in the municipality of San Luis, in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, and 19 more in the Bahia Honda municipality 35 miles west of Havana.

Roberto Gonzalez, a dissident living in San Luis, said that area public health workers and residents have told him of the more than two dozen confirmed cases and 102 suspected cases of cholera in the municipality over the past two weeks.

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Spain Recoils as Its Hungry Forage Trash Bins for a Next Meal

Thu, 2012-09-27 18:17 — Maeryn Obley

In Spain, the unemployment rate is over 50 percent among young people (Samuel Aranda for The New York Times)

Images: In Spain, the unemployment rate is over 50 percent among young people (Samuel Aranda for The New York Times)

nytimes.com - September 24th, 2012 - Suzanne Daley

On a recent evening, a hip-looking young woman was sorting through a stack of crates outside a fruit and vegetable store here in the working-class neighborhood of Vallecas as it shut down for the night.

At first glance, she looked as if she might be a store employee. But no. The young woman was looking through the day’s trash for her next meal.

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The G-20 and Food Security

Wed, 2012-09-26 18:11 — Maeryn Obley

Farmer with corn.Image: Farmer with corn.

submitted by Robert G. Ross

stanleyfoundation.org - September 2012

Spikes in the price of staple food commodities are pushing the issue of food security higher on the G-20 agenda. The Mexican finance ministry confirmed that the topic will be prominent for the next meeting of deputy finance ministers and central banks on September 23–24. The officials are mindful of the 2008 global crisis that sparked food riots in some 30 different countries, as well as the G-20’s own commitments to tackle price volatility. Prices rose by an alarming 10 percent earlier this summer, though the most recent reports have shown them stabilizing.

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Wastewater Service Likely Culprit in Norovirus Outbreak

Sun, 2012-09-23 22:39 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Albert Gomez

newstalkzb.co.nz - by Jacqui Stanford - September 21, 2012

An investigation has found Cardrona's wastewater service is the likely culprit in a norovirus outbreak that hit the snow resort town last month.

Over a 15 day period 66 people went down with the nasty bug.

After a boil water notice was put in place no new cases have been reported.

Public health officials say sampling shows the norovirus is likely to have come from wastewater systems in the area.

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/nbhea/1893145557-wastewater-service-likely-culprit-in-norovirus-outbreak

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Waste
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Sudan Refugees Flee Intensified Bombing Runs

Sun, 2012-09-23 21:13 — Kathy Gilbeaux

foxnews.com - Associated Press - September 19, 2012

Newly arrived refugees at a camp along the volatile South Sudan-Sudan border say renewed fighting between rebels and Sudan's military is likely to send thousands more people to an expanding camp here filled with refugees of war and hunger.

As the fighting intensified, tens of thousands began streaming into South Sudan. Since February, the population of Yida has skyrocketed from 17,000 to around 65,000 refugees.

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