Oil polluting the ground at Cold Lake in Alberta.  Photograph obtained by the Toronto Star

grist.org - by John Upton - July 22, 2013

Thousands of barrels of tar-sands oil have been burbling up into forest areas for at least six weeks in Cold Lake, Alberta, and it seems that nobody knows how to staunch the flow.

An underground oil blowout at a big tar-sands operation run by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has caused spills at four different sites over the past few months. . .

Media and others have been blocked from visiting the sites, but the Toronto Star obtained documents and photographs about the ongoing disaster from a government scientist involved in the cleanup, who spoke to the reporter on condition of anonymity.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

huffingtonpost.com - by Eric Zuesse - July 20, 2013

A new article in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is headlined "The Multimillennial Sea-Level Commitment of Global Warming," and it reports that because of carbon emissions that are virtually certain, on the basis of the lack of policy-response to global warming thus far, sea levels are now set to rise anywhere from around 8 inches to 7 feet within 100 years, and around 5 yards to 10 yards within 2,000 years. The projections are clearer (within a narrower range) for the longer time-frame than for the shorter one. That's because even if the short-term consequences of heat-rise turn out to be relatively slight, the longer-term consequences are clearer, and will be considerably larger, as delayed impacts kick in.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

PNAS - The multimillennial sea-level commitment of global warming
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/07/10/1219414110

globalhumanitarianassistance.org - July 17, 2013

www.wcs-heal.org

HEALTH & ECOSYSTEMS: ANALYSIS OF LINKAGES (HEAL) represents a global collaboration among leading public health and environmental conservation institutions focused on understanding relationships between the state of ecosystems and public health outcomes.

With planning grants over the past several years from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society organized a series of workshops starting in 2009 that brought together top professionals from the public health and conservation communities.

Image: A worker is seen at a wheat store after the harvest at Damanhour city in Al Beheira, governorate, about 135 km (84 miles) north of Cairo May 4, 2013. Picture taken May 4, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

preview.reuters.com - July 11th, 2013 - Sarah McFarlane

Egypt has less than two months' supply of imported wheat left in its stocks, ousted President Mohamed Mursi's minister of supplies said, revealing a shortage more acute than previously disclosed.

Speaking to Reuters near midnight in a tent at a vigil where thousands of Mursi supporters are protesting against the Islamist president's removal, former Minister of Supplies Bassem Ouda said the state had just 500,000 tonnes of imported wheat left. Egypt usually imports about 10 million tonnes a year.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

A rescue boat sailing through the water logged lanes during flood in river Yamuna on June 20, 2013 in New Delhi, India. Low-lying areas along the Yamuna remained submerged for the second consecutive day though the water level in the river started receding today. (Photo by Arijit Sen/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE - Red Flood alert in India from 23/06/2013 00:00 UTC to 15/07/2013 23:59 UTC -
Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS)

huffingtonpost.com - by BISWAJEET BANERJEE - July 16, 2013

LUCKNOW, India -- More than 5,700 people missing since floods devastated northern India last month are being presumed dead, even as rescue officials struggle to bring aid to affected villages, top officials said Tuesday.

New Delhi: Air pollution accounts for over 500,000 deaths in India annually, a new study says.

CLICK HERE FOR STUDY - Environmentsl Research Letters - Global premature mortality due to anthropogenic outdoor air pollution and the contribution of past climate change

cnn.com - by Matthew Knight - July 16, 2013

Article Highlights:

• Air pollution responsible for more than two million premature deaths worldwide annually
• Study assesses impact of fine particulates and ozone using atmospheric climate models
• East Asia worst affected region with over a million deaths per year
• Study also found that climate change hasn't had huge impact on effects of air pollution

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE)

The incident took place as crowds gathered to commemorate the Dalai Lama

bbc.co.uk - July 9, 2013

Chinese police opened fire on Tibetans who had gathered to mark the Dalai Lama's birthday, injuring several, rights groups and reports say.

The incident happened in Daofu in Sichuan province on 6 July.

A crowd had gathered at a mountain to mark the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's birthday with offerings and incense, when police used tear gas and opened fire, the reports said.

China's Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of the reports, Reuters said.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

earth-policy.org - by Lester R. Brown - July 9, 2013

Peak oil has generated headlines in recent years, but the real threat to our future is peak water. There are substitutes for oil, but not for water. We can produce food without oil, but not without water.

We drink on average four liters of water per day, in one form or another, but the food we eat each day requires 2,000 liters of water to produce, or 500 times as much.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Millions of Muslims travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia every year

bbc.co.uk - July 13, 2013

Health officials in Saudi Arabia have asked pilgrims visiting its holy sites to wear masks in crowded places to stop the spread of the MERS coronavirus.

A list of requirements issued by the health ministry also tells elderly people or those with chronic diseases to postpone their pilgrimage.

Thirty-eight people have died from the virus in Saudi Arabia.

Millions of Muslims from around the world are expected to take part in the Hajj this October.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

The arrest warrant for Mohamed Badie has provoked anger among his supporters according to the BBC's Jim Muir

bbc.co.uk - July 10, 2013

Egypt's state prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and at least nine other senior figures.

Mr Badie is accused of inciting the violence in Cairo on Monday in which more than 50 people were killed.

Many Brotherhood members are already in detention and warrants are said to have been been issued for hundreds more.

Meanwhile, a foreign ministry spokesman has said ousted President Mohammed Morsi is being held in a "safe place".

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

One witness said the fireball that followed the derailment was "like an atomic bomb"

bbc.co.uk - July 7, 2013

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the part of Lac-Megantic affected by Saturday's crude oil explosion looks like a "war zone".

At least five people died when runaway wagons packed with crude oil derailed and blew up early on Saturday.

Some 30 buildings had been completely incinerated by fires which engulfed the historic centre, said Mr Harper.

Police are trying to find 40 missing people: a nearby bar was said to have been crowded at the time of the blast.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi protest in front of the Republican Guard headquarters in Nasr City in Cairo, Egypt, Monday. Officials said more than 51 people were killed in clashes at the site.  (Photo: Khalil Hamra AP)

usatoday.com - by Sarah Lynch - July 8, 2013

Pro-Morsi supporters say security forces fired on them; the army claims people stormed a military building in Cairo.

CAIRO — At least 51 people were killed and more than 300 injured when Egyptian soldiers and police clashed with Islamists early Monday at a sit-in by supporters of former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, raising the specter of civil war.

Interim leader Adly Mansour issued a statement Monday expressing "deep sorrow" over the deaths and calling for self-restraint in the interest of the nation.

Significantly, the statement from his office echoed the military's version of events, noting that the killings followed an attempt to storm the Republican Guard's headquarters.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

nytimes.com - by David D. Kirkpatrick - July 8, 2013