ENN Twitter
Business
Sinkhole Threatens Louisiana Community
March 22, 2013 01:52 PM - Allison Winter, ENN
Sinkholes have been making headlines in the news lately like when earlier this month, a Florida man was unfortunately pulled to his death because of the mysterious land collapse. Florida in particular is prone to sinkholes because of underground limestone caverns in which the rock is extremely porous and dissolves easily in water. This softening causes land to sink and the event has the ability to collapse without warning, swallowing whatever lies above ground causing fatal destruction. While sinkholes are naturally occurring depressions in the Earth’s surface that vary in both diameter and depth, they can also be caused by man-made industries, and consequently, a massive sinkhole in Louisiana is threatening an entire community.
Achieving a Sustainable Food System with Organic Farming
March 22, 2013 10:13 AM - Editor, Worldwatch Institute
Despite a slight decline between 2009 and 2010, since 1999 the global land area farmed organically has expanded more than threefold to 37 million hectares, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online service (www.worldwatch.org). Regions with the largest certified organic agricultural land in 2010 were Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations (12.1 million hectares); Europe (10 million hectares); and Latin America (8.4 million hectares), write report authors Catherine Ward and Laura Reynolds.
Shams 1: World's Largest Concentrated Solar Plant Goes Live
March 20, 2013 08:49 AM - Tafline Laylin, Green Prophet
The Shams 1 Concentrated Solar Plant (CSP) in Abu Dhabi is the largest of its kind in the world and it has finally gone live. Green Prophet visited the 100MW plant in the western region of the United Arab Emirates earlier this year as part of a Masdar-sponsored media tour during the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), and we were deeply impressed with the project's progressive scope and size.
The Looming Threat of Water Scarcity
March 19, 2013 11:47 AM - Maddy Traynor, Worldwatch Institute
Some 1.2 billion people—almost a fifth of the world—live in areas of physical water scarcity, while another 1.6 billion face what can be called economic water shortage. The situation is only expected to worsen as population growth, climate change, investment and management shortfalls, and inefficient use of existing resources restrict the amount of water available to people, according to Worldwatch Institute’s Vital Signs Online service (www.worldwatch.org). It is estimated that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will live in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, with almost half of the world living in conditions of water stress. Water scarcity has several definitions. Physical scarcity occurs when there is not enough water to meet demand; its symptoms include severe environmental degradation, declining groundwater, and unequal water distribution. Economic water scarcity occurs when there is a lack of investment and proper management to meet the demand of people who do not have the financial means to use existing water sources; the symptoms in this case normally include poor infrastructure.Large parts of Africa suffer from economic water scarcity.
The Red-Dead water conveyer can avoid a dead end
March 19, 2013 08:51 AM - Batir Wardam, SciDevNet
The Red-Dead canal could take a small step forward in light of projected environmental impacts and other constraints, says Batir Wardam. After a delay of more than six months, the World Bank has finally released the final drafts of the feasibility and environmental assessment studies for the controversial Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance project, designed to channel some 1.2 billion cubic metres of water 180 kilometres from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.
Disease threatens aquaculture in developing world
March 15, 2013 09:12 AM - Wagdy Sawahel, SciDevNet
Disease may challenge the ability of fish farming to feed the growing human population even as wild fish stocks decline and climate change hampers food production from other sources, a study shows. Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector in the world, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, with 90 per cent of production coming from the developing world, where it makes a significant contribution to many nations' economies.
Tribe rejects payment from electricity company behind destructive Amazon Dam
March 14, 2013 10:53 AM - Rhett Butler, MONGABAY.COM
Leaders of more than two dozen Kayapó indigenous communities have rejected a $9 million offer from Brazilian state energy company Eletrobras to fund development projects in their region due to the the firm's involvement in the construction of the Belo Monte dam, reports Amazon Watch, an activist group fighting the hydroelectric project.
Sustainable Air Travel Takes Off
March 12, 2013 06:07 AM - Leon Kaye, Triple Pundit
Last Thursday, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Flight 642 completed the seven hour and 17 minute flight from New York's JFK Airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol using sustainable biofuels. Flight KL642, operated by a Boeing 777-200, will fly every Thursday fueled by recycled cooking oil as part of the Dutch carrier's goal to have one percent of its flights operate on biofuels by 2015. For five years, KLM has experimented with various forms of biofuels in order to try to reduce its carbon footprint. First was the attempt to fuel 12 Fokker-50 planes with algae-based biofuel. Bio-kerosene was an experiment a year later, and as many as 200 short hop flights are now powered by a 50-50 blend of kerosene and recycled cooking oil.
Meat DNA testing can help save species
March 11, 2013 09:36 AM - Linda Nordling, SciDevNet
African governments need to boost local efforts to protect endangered species by supporting DNA testing, argues Linda Nordling. The horsemeat scandal that recently hit Europe has shown how DNA testing can improve food monitoring and safety. Most African countries are yet to adopt the technology despite its huge potential - both in ensuring that food is correctly labelled and in policing the illegal trade in animal products.
Housing improvements linked to good health
March 6, 2013 02:12 PM - Rachel Mundy, SciDevNet
Having enough suitable living space is a key determinant of health outcomes around the world, a review of studies on housing improvements for health has found. Initiatives targeting housing improvements at the most impoverished people and those in the poorest health were more effective than generic schemes targeting entire areas, the review found.