Category Archives: environment

Tory Incompetents and Thames bursts banks as Cameron calls UK floods ‘bibilical’ | News | DW.DE | 10.02.2014

Communities Minister Eric Pickles joined the attack, suggesting that the government had “perhaps relied too much on the Environment Agency’s advice” on flood prevention. Pickles, a member of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party, told BBC TV that “we thought we were dealing with experts.”

On Monday, Chris Smith, the head of the Environment Agency, hit back and accused ministers of having held back vital funds. Smith, a former member of parliament for the Labour Party, said the Treasury had limited the amount the agency could spend on flood management in Somerset.

“When I hear someone criticizing the expertise and professionalism of my staff in the Environment Agency who know more about flood risk management – 100 times more about flood risk management – than any politician ever does, I am not going to sit idly by,” Smith said.

via Thames bursts banks as Cameron calls UK floods ‘bibilical’ | News | DW.DE | 10.02.2014.

Home | Nethwork – New Imperialism and Outsourcing Dutch jobs at same time?

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via Home | Nethwork.

Federal officials to evict bird species from Columbia River islands | KREM.com Spokane

Bad joke, oxymoron, dumb idea? All of the above – The Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation knows how to conserve fish or manage birds?

 

Federal officials plan to evict Caspian terns from two Columbia River man-made islands to protect endangered salmon and steelhead.

The Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation believe that if they can get the salmon-eating birds to stop nesting on the islands, they will find new nesting areas outside the Columbia River Basin.

A media source reports the two islands in the plan are Goose Island is in Potholes Reservoir near Moses Lake, and Crescent Island, created from dredged material, is in the Columbia River about nine miles south of the confluence with the Snake River near Wallulla.

According to data collected from fish tags that litter the island after birds digest the fish, about 370 pairs of terns nesting on Goose Island feasted on 14.6 percent of inland Columbia Basin steelhead from 2007 to 2009.

via Federal officials to evict bird species from Columbia River islands | KREM.com Spokane.

500 Gardens in Madisonville | Sidestreams Foundation, Inc. – Urban Farming

(My old neighborhood) Madisonville is a neighborhood of Cincinnati that has a lot going for it, especially for a gardening project.  There are large lots, generations of garden tradition, active community partners in the Madisonville Community Council, the Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Council, and local churches, and we have two years of partnership with Lighthouse Community School and success in building gardens on the school parking lot and nearby vacant lot with the students.  The neighborhood has a vibrant mixture of ages, ethnicities, incomes, and family origins, and carries a USDA Food Desert designation.

For two years we have worked with the Lighthouse Community School in Madisonville.  We have built gardens on a parking lots and a vacant lot.  We have facilitated job training for young people and provide fresh food to our gardens neighbors.

Through the Lighthouse work we have learned that there is a desire for fresh vegetables in the neighborhood.

via 500 Gardens in Madisonville | Sidestreams Foundation, Inc. – Urban Farming.

Hunters (faux-men) in Gemany Say Wolf Populations a Growing Threat – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Wannabe “he-men” hunters in Germany similar to same in US – any excuse to go and shoot a wolf – to feel like a “real” man and lie about it to get your way! Members of district hunting association in Meissen, an idyllic city with a castle that is world famous for its porcelain, recently criticized the wolves’ return in a letter to the Saxony state interior minister that included the header “urgent”. In it, the hunters lament that Saxony has the “world’s densest population of wolves,” and that it is increasing. It goes on to say that they worry not only about public safety, but also that “previously unseen mass packs” of up to 40 wild boar had been lurking about in the Meissen area recently.

The hunters claim the animals have joined together in large packs out of fear of the wolves and are causing tremendous damage. They also claim that local partridges, pheasants, hares, owls and skylarks are disappearing, devoured by wolves and other predators. Something has to be done, the hunters warn — otherwise fear “will become an unwelcome part of daily life.”

via Hunters in Gemany Say Wolf Populations a Growing Threat – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Avian Flu Diary: FAO On H7N9’s Cross Border Threat

The spread of the H7N9 virus among poultry in live bird markets (LBM) in China’s Guangxi Province has significantly increased the risk that it will progressively spread to other neighbouring countries of China, posing an increased human health risk, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today.

 

The virus, which produces no detectable symptoms among infected birds, has seriously disrupted poultry production and markets in 14 provinces of China, as well as Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan Province of China. It has resulted in at least 290 confirmed illnesses with 66 human deaths from animal-to-human transmission. There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission with many human cases being linked to poultry exposure at live bird markets (LBM).

 

Authorities in China have tracked movement of the infection to live bird markets in Guangxi between 24 and 28 January 2014, where the province’s first human casualty was also reported. Guangxi Province shares a border with Viet Nam while its neighbouring province, Yunnan, shares borders with Myanmar, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam.

via Avian Flu Diary: FAO On H7N9’s Cross Border Threat.

Chikungunya outbreak in Caribbean expanding | Vaccine News Daily

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced on Monday that 247 new cases of Chikungunya fever were reported in the Caribbean in the past week alone and the outbreak continues to expand.

The epidemiological data regarding the Chikungunya outbreak shows that it began in Saint Martin and is continuing to spread throughout the Caribbean. Most of the areas already affected have seen an increasing number of cases.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports Chikungunya fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease. The chikungunya virus causes fever-like symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, rash, nausea and joint swelling, according to the World Health Organization.

via Chikungunya outbreak in Caribbean expanding | Vaccine News Daily.

Doctors warn of pandemic potential of the new H10N8 bird flu virus | South China Morning Post

Doctors warn of pandemic potential of the new H10N8 bird flu virus | South China Morning Post.

A novel bird flu virus that has killed one mainlander and left another critically ill has the potential to spread efficiently among humans, doctors warn.

They say the fact that the H10N8 bug jumped to humans for the first time in December is an important warning of a possible pandemic.

H7N9 avian influenza concerns escalate in China | Business, Political, and Cultural News in Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas

Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith said, the company is still committed to vertically integrating its operations there and at this time the two plants are running one shift with company controlled birds.

via H7N9 avian influenza concerns escalate in China | Business, Political, and Cultural News in Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas.

China to expand Antarctica research – Xinhua | English.news.cn

Why? It’s what “big” nations do!

The current icebreaker, Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, continued its research in Antarctic after being trapped by heavy floes from December last year until Jan. 7.

China is looking into establishing a fourth research base in Antarctica to expand the range of research and improve safety.

China launched its first Antarctic expedition in 1984 and has established three research stations on the continent — Great Wall, Zhongshan and Kunlun.

via China to expand Antarctica research – Xinhua | English.news.cn.