Watch Are Latest Protests a Game-Changer for Egypt's Politics? on PBS.

SEPTEMBER 25: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting on September 25, 2012 in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

huffingtonpost.com - By HAMZA HENDAWI, SARAH EL DEEB and MAGGIE MICHAEL - July 1, 2013

CAIRO — Egypt's military issued a "last-chance" ultimatum Monday to President Mohammed Morsi, giving him 48 hours to meet the demands of millions of protesters in the streets seeking the ouster of the Islamist leader or the generals will intervene and impose their own plan for the country.

The military's statement, read on state TV, put enormous pressure on Morsi to step down and sent giant crowds opposing the president in Cairo and other cities into delirious celebrations of singing, dancing and fireworks. But the ultimatum raised worries on both sides the military could outright take over, as it did after the 2011 ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

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internationalrivers.org - June 25, 2013
by Susanne Wong and Peter Bosshard

Renewables 2013 - Global Status Report
(178 page .PDF report)

The staggering growth in renewable energy has the potential to fundamentally change the way we generate and use power. Previously dismissed as marginal technologies, renewables have become “increasingly mainstream and competitive with conventional energy sources.” This is the conclusion of a new report on the global status of renewable energies by the REN21 Network.

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ABOUT - REN21 - http://www.ren21.net/

huffingtonpost.com - By MAGGIE MICHAEL, SARAH EL DEEB and HAMZA HENDAWI - June 30, 2013

CAIRO — Hundreds of thousands of opponents of Egypt's Islamist president poured onto the streets in Cairo and across much of the nation Sunday, launching an all-out push to force Mohammed Morsi from office on the one-year anniversary of his inauguration. Fears of violence were high, with Morsi's Islamist supporters vowing to defend him.

Nationwide, the rallies were among the most gigantic Egypt has seen in nearly 2 1/2 years of continuous upheaval, including during the square-packing, 18-day uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in early 2011.

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cnn.com - by Reza Sayah and Greg Botelho - June 28, 2013

(CNN) -- Egyptian troops canvassed streets Friday after a fresh spate of violence in the volatile North African nation, hoping to prevent a repeat of the bloody, chaotic revolution of two years ago, a military spokesman said.

A woman sells cassava at a roadside market north of Uganda's capital, Kampala. Also known as manioc of yuca, cassave withstands heat, drought and flooding. Ugandans tend to grow it in small plots for family consumption during lean times. (Photo: Jon Miller/Homelands Productions)

submitted by Albert Gomez

theworld.org - by Jon Miller - June 13, 2013

Cassava is a vital staple in Africa and one of the most climate-resilient crops anywhere. It’s also highly susceptible to viral diseases. In Uganda, scientists are testing a virus-resistant transgenic variety, which they hope to introduce for free. But it’s run into a buzzsaw of hostility to genetically modified foods. Can this—or any—GMO succeed in the face of such determined opposition? Should it?

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G8 David Cameron thanked NGOs and other organisations for their lobbying on transparency

submitted by Albert Gomez

ecodesk.com - June 20, 2013

G8 leaders have committed to implementing transparent strategies to report pollution levels and energy consumption through the Open Data Charter, signed by all G8 countries this week.

Environmental protection is one of the key targets cited in the charter that can be achieved through the use of open data. This is arguably the most important climate change-related commitment, as under the environmental umbrella comes natural resource use, extractive industries and conflict minerals, positive governance and budget allocation.

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submitted by Albert Gomez

environmentalleader.com - June 3, 2013

So-called “green” or “climate” bonds, being issued by a number of financial institutions and state governments as a means of generating funding for sustainable development and clean energy technology, are becoming increasingly popular and could become a major new force in the green investment world, according to the Globe-Net.

The World Bank developed the Green Bond concept in 2007/2008 and simplicity is key to its popularity, according to Globe-Net blog post. The World Bank’s green bonds are triple-A rated and can be traded as easily as other “vanilla” investments, offering investors a high rate of liquidity.

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earth-policy.org

Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity

Chapter 5. Eroding Soils Darkening Our Future

by Lester R. Brown

In 1938 Walter Lowdermilk, a senior official in the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, traveled abroad to look at lands that had been cultivated for thousands of years, seeking to learn how these older civilizations had coped with soil erosion. He found that some had managed their land well, maintaining its fertility over long stretches of history, and were thriving. Others had failed to do so and left only remnants of their illustrious pasts.

Chapter 5. Eroding Soils Darkening Our Future
http://www.earth-policy.org/books/fpep/fpepch5

( ALSO SEE - http://resiliencesystem.org/full-planet-empty-plates-new-geopolitics-food-scarcity

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (C), Defence Minister Abdelfatah al-Sissi (R) and Prime Minister Hisham Qandil (L) arrive at Almaza military Airbase in Cairo on May 22, 2013 to attend the welcoming of the policemen and soldiers who were seized in Sinai by kidnappers following their release. (AFP)

huffingtonpost.com - by Hamza Hendawi - June 23, 2013

CAIRO — Wading into an increasingly volatile fray, Egypt's military on Sunday gave the nation's Islamist rulers and their opponents a week to reach an understanding before planned June 30 opposition protests aimed at forcing out the president, in a toughly worded warning that it will intervene to stop the nation from entering a "dark tunnel."

The powerful military also gave a thinly veiled warning to President Mohammed Morsi's hard-line backers that it will step in if the mostly secular and liberal protesters, who have vowed to be peaceful, are attacked during the planned demonstrations.

mashable.com - May 21st, 2013 - Zoe Fox

Nearly one million people are affected by natural disasters each year. In the U.S. alone, some 400 people die from disasters that cost the economy $17.6 billion. Helping respond to these cataclysmic events, social media is now a go-to tool for those effected by disasters.

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