Wayne Rooney struck twice, doubling his tally in the league this season, as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 3-1 Tuesday. United remain five points clear at the top of the Premier League table after Arsenal came from behind to beat Everton. There had been doubts about Rooney’s form, but he struck within a minute, running [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Drought’
Motorola Droid X Drought Dampens Launch for Verizon
July 16th, 2010 |
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Verizon Wireless said July 16 the Motorola Droid X has sold out online and at Verizon and Best Buy retail stores across the country, with new shipments slated for July 23. – Demand for the Motorola Droid
X proved greater than anticipated as Verizon Wireless struggled to put one in
the hands of everyone who waited in line at its stores July 15 to buy the
Android smartphone.
The Android 2.1-based
handset, which has a major multimedia focus, is sold out online and a…
Lim Yin Foong: UK property hit by tax hike, mortgage drought
June 2nd, 2010 |
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BRITISH PROPERTY INVESTORS who managed to hang on to their assets during the worst credit crunch and economic slump in a generation are about to be dealt another blow by the country’s new government. As part of urgent efforts to address the UK’s huge budget deficit, the new Cameron-Clegg coalition administration is proposing to increase capital gains tax on all non-business assets from the current 18%, to 40%, and possibly even to 50%. This tax hike will affect shares, second homes, buyto- let investment properties and collectable assets, and is largely expected to take effect in the tax year beginning April 2011.
Nomads forced to shoot camels in Kenya
October 16th, 2009 |
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Nomads in Turkana in Kenya’s extreme north have been reduced to sacrificing their animals to survive a bruising drought. “I brought this dromedary to have it killed and make a little money after the other one died of hunger with the drought,” Erkal Lorinyo, 65, explained. Some 20
Nomads forced to shoot camels in Kenya
October 16th, 2009 |
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Nomads in Turkana in Kenya’s extreme north have been reduced to sacrificing their animals to survive a bruising drought. “I brought this dromedary to have it killed and make a little money after the other one died of hunger with the drought,” Erkal Lorinyo, 65, explained. Some 20
Giant herd ‘flees Kenya drought’
August 11th, 2009 |
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A giant herd of cattle has fled from northern Kenya into the Borena zone in Ethiopia to escape a drought, according UN agriculture chiefs.
They say it is one of the largest movements of cattle in 10 years.
Kenya’s cabinet is meeting later to discuss the drought, which has seen farmers abandoning their villages in search of water in recent months.
Government measures to allow duty-free maize imports and subsidise fertiliser have failed to help the situation.
Disease risk
The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization says the herd numbers more than 200,000.
"Although seasonal migration across the border is normal, this is the largest influx recorded in 10 years," a UN statement said.
"This large influx may potentially result in the spread of livestock diseases, adversely impacting the cattle export market in Ethiopia."
The drought has also hit the country’s capacity to generate hydro-electricity and last week electricity rationing was introduced.
In January, President Mwai Kibaki said 10 million Kenyans were facing starvation.
He said this was due to drought and the effects of post-election violence, which forced thousands of farmers from their lands.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Use of Geo-Engineering to Slow Global Warming May Increase the Risk of Drought, According to a Paper in Science Journal
August 9th, 2009 |
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As I have repeatedly pointed out, geoengineering the Earth’s climate could cause a lot more problems than it solves.Now, the prestigious Science journal has published a report showing that geoengineering could cause droughts.As the BBC writes:Gabriele …
Drought takes toll on Iraq revival efforts
July 24th, 2009 |
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What was known as history’s fertile crescent, where lush farmland and abundant water gave rise to civilisation, is today a dusty desert where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers crawl sluggishly toward the sea. Vast tracts of Iraqi farmland are cracked and barren, precious marshes have dried up
Ugandan farmers pray for rain as crops fail
July 8th, 2009 |
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Failure to improve access to water in Karamoja in Uganda is likely cause widespread hunger and lead to mass migration, Oxfam International warns
Ugandan farmers pray for rain as crops fail
July 6th, 2009 |
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Failure to improve access to water in Karamoja in Uganda is likely cause widespread hunger and lead to mass migration, Oxfam International warns
How to create a drought-proof garden
July 2nd, 2009 |
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Guest blogger Andy Hamilton of selfsufficientish.com shows how to prepare your garden for dry spells
Eryngium maritimum is a great plant for dry gardens, and its roots can be eaten. Photograph: Doug Beckers/Flickr/Some rights reserved
When the affects of climate change take a stronger hold we can expect long periods of drought (this week’s heatwave my be a taste of things to come). The canny gardener will not only harvest as much rainfall as possible but will also use water effectively in their garden.
I always water in the evenings rather than the mornings, mainly because I don’t like getting up at 5am, but also because much of the water can be lost to evaporation. I also mulch with straw to keep the moisture in, and lawn clippings can be put to good use as a water-retaining mulch. Mulching also keeps at bay the weeds, which will compete with your plants for water.
You may have your guttering all connected up to water butts and are smugly reading this, or perhaps you don’t want to fork out for a butt. In either case, a very simple method of collecting rainwater is to leave buckets, old dustbins or old barrels outside. These should be covered in dry weather to reduce evaporation and to discourage mosquitoes.
It is the container gardener that really suffers during drought as pots can dry out quickly. These should be moved into the shade on particularly hot days or if you are going on holiday. The parts of your garden that get the most sun will also need more water, therefore you should aim to plant more drought-tolerant plants in these areas.
It is doubtful that the UK will say goodbye to rain altogether, so good practice will be to mimic the Mediterranean rather than the Sahara. This means many of the herbs that we already love can still be grown. Lavender is a good example – some strains are grown in the Balearics, such as Lavandula pinnata. Rosemary also is heat resistant and drought tolerant and can be pruned to fit into even the most manicured garden.
Vegetables would not be the first on the list of the drought gardener, yet we don’t have to do away with all edible plants. Consider beet spinach instead of normal spinach, try growing Jerusalem artichokes, and if you’re in the south-east of Britain, chickpeas.
If it is beauty you are after then sea holly (Eryngium maritimum) is a sound bet. It is an ingenious plant well adapted to drought conditions: sea holly grows to about 30cm tall but its roots can spread over a metre downwards to look for water. It’s a member of the carrot family, so its roots smell of carrots and can be eaten.
How do you harvest rainwater? Share your top tips for drought gardens below.
For more gardening tips visit Andy Hamilton’s website selfsufficientish.com or pick up a copy of his book The Selfsufficientish Bible.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Climate warning over China growth
June 30th, 2009 |
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Cost of crop failure soars as weather disasters become more frequent and severe
China faces an increase in weather disasters which will threaten crops and economic growth, the country’s most senior forecaster has warned.
He Lifu, of the National Meteorological Centre, told the China Daily newspaper that events such as droughts, floods and storms had become more frequent and severe since the 1990s and the trend was likely to continue.
“Extreme weather will be more frequent in the future due to the instability of the atmosphere, and global warming might be the indirect cause,” the forecaster told the English-language paper. He said his agency responded to 16 emergencies last year, the most since its foundation in 1949.
The annual economic cost of extreme weather has soared from 176.2bn yuan (£15.6bn) on average in the 1990s to 244bn yuan (£21.5bn) between 2004 and last year, according to ministry of civil affairs figures cited by the paper.
Farmers are resorting to their own measures to avoid losses. Wheat producers in Henan, Shandong and Hebei fired chemical pellets into the clouds this month to prevent hail and heavy rain from damaging their harvest.
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has also warned that drought has become more frequent since the 1990s, causing more crop failures.
According to the China Daily, the headquarters figures show that annual grain loss caused by drought has averaged 37.3m tonnes since 2000 – almost twice the level in the 1980s – while the annual average proportion of damaged crops has risen to 59.3%, compared with 48% in the 1990s.
Sun Jisong, the chief forecaster at the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, cautioned that part of the apparent increase in extreme weather might be due to more advanced observation techniques and improved recording.
He added that dealing with the rise would require reduced consumption of energy and resources to tackle the causes and improve forecasting and defences.
Last month, the annual Red Cross report said that a rise in weather-related disasters worldwide over the last decade – from around 200 a year in the 1990s to around 350 – was continuing. Its secretary general, Bekele Geleta, warned that extreme-weather events would become more frequent and more severe.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Like it or not, I’m involved
Fed up with windbag actors advocating for the poor and needy? Me too. But shutting up is worse
Why do you have to hear it from an actor? I have a profound dislike of activism. I don’t enjoy hearing dispatches from the crisis zone delivered by actors and rock stars. I get no joy from fundraising events, op-eds, posters, speeches, slogans. I’m tired of it. And I’m tired of the crisis in Africa.
If your profession gives you a public voice, you have a new relationship with those who don’t. Your voice becomes a cherished commodity. Not for its merits but for its sheer volume. You may have nothing to say, but those who do – the wise, the desperate and the better informed – all clamour to make use of your media connection.
We are not in a position to choose whether or not we have a relationship with our own society or with the world’s poorest people. We can choose the nature of those relationships, but either way they’re there. We’re business partners. If we choose to ignore them we are simply choosing to make that relationship a negligent and destructive one. As voters and consumers we are directly complicit in the misery of the millions we do business with. If we let our governments and businesses think we are indifferent to their cynicism they will go on practising it on licence from us and every cup of coffee we drink and every piece of cotton we wear will continue to be an act of cruelty.
We are involved with Africa, whether we like it or not. Of course, I’m aware of famine, drought, poverty and corruption, but I also see the statesmanship of Mandela, Joaquim Chissano, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf … the works of Achebe, Okri, Soyinka … the music of Fela Kuti, Cheikh Lo and Angelique Kidjo.
My own children will inherit all this together with the children of that continent. Within 15 years they’ll be trading or fighting with each other, exchanging diplomacy or whatever other relationship we might have set in motion. They will also share the triple crisis of a global economic slump, high food prices and climate change – all of which will be addressed (or not) by this year’s G8 in Italy.
Italy is another relationship I can’t wish away. My wife and children are Italian. I am completely in love with that country for better or worse. I was decorated by the Italian ambassador as an exhortation to promote Italy’s image abroad; an easy task when it comes to food, wine, architecture, etc … but one which will be made almost impossible if Silvio Berlusconi does not improve his lamentable record on aid. For this reason Oxfam issued me with call-up papers once again. I’ve held the giddy title of global ambassador for Oxfam for a number of years now.
So, with an all too familiar sinking feeling, the ambassador agreed to go to Italy to try to do something to persuade the G8 leaders to deliver on their aid promises and prevent the overwhelming number of preventable deaths taking place daily on their doorstep. No problem.
It’s tempting to look for ways back to a decorous silence. To try to return to a pleasing and well-argued belief that actors should shut up. But you can’t unknow what you know. NGOs have a way of inviting you to be a firsthand witness. And once you’ve seen what a well-placed or well-timed word (by anybody) can do, shutting up starts to require some painful mental contortions.
I had dinner with Bob Geldof a couple of weeks ago. I explained that I felt I had to be judicious about when and when not to speak out, that I wanted to hold fire and keep under the radar so as not to blow all credibility. He said, “Fuck that, you’ve got to just go!”
If everyone did that, we could finally do away with long-winded actors.