BBC News – Global threats in 2010 revealed by report

Posted by Matt in January 15th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Geopolitical, Agriculture, Arrogance, Bbc, Bbc News, Conflict, Drums Of War, Economic Threats, Facing The World, Global Threats, God, Hegemony, hezbollah, Inshallah, Israel, Occupation, Regional Force, Regional News, Reputation

Underinvestment in energy and agriculture are among the biggest economic threats facing the world in 2010, according to a report.
“And inshallah (God willing), Israel, the occupation, hegemony and arrogance are in the process of disappearing.” Nasrallah said that Israel, which fought a devastating conflict with Hezbollah in 2006, was again beating the drums of war [...]

Land Rush in Africa – BusinessWeek

Posted by Matt in November 28th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Africa, Acreage, Agribusinesses, Agriculture, Arab Oil, Businessweek, Crops, Developing Countries, Farmland, Fascination, Fear, Goldman Sachs, Homelands, Investor, Land Rush, Latin-America, Morgan Stanley, Oil Countries, Sachs Gs, Tracts, Water Land

Farmland in developing countries has become an unlikely object of investor fascination. Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) are each raising hundreds of millions of dollars for agriculture funds aimed at Africa and Latin America. Agribusinesses in the U.S. are leasing vast tracts of African land from which they expect to export crops and [...]

Desalination growing threat to Arabian Gulf – The National Newspaper

Posted by Matt in August 31st, 2009 | no comment

Published in Water, Agriculture, Arabian Gulf, Bahrain, Brine, Desalination Plants, Director General, Dubai, Fresh Water, Gulf Shores, Icba, Kuwait, peak oil, Peak Water, Qatar, Saudi-Arabia, Shawki Barghouti, Uae

Never mind peak oil, or even peak water: Some experts are pondering the possibility of the UAE’s development being limited by “peak salt” – the notional point at which the Arabian Gulf becomes so salty that relying on it for fresh water stops being economically feasible.
There is cause for concern, says Dr Shawki Barghouti, director-general [...]

Brazil Becomes the New Food Superpower

Posted by Matt in July 1st, 2008 | no comment

Published in Brazil, Agricultural Research, Agriculture, Amazon, Bountiful Land, Brazil Food, Brazilian Government, Brazilians, Commodity Prices, Farmers, Fertility, Food Power, Food Prices, Giant Steps, Needy World, New Food, Silvio, South-America, Springboard, superpower, Wasteland

As commodity prices soar, South America’s agricultural giant steps up to feed a needy world
The Brazilians still call these lightly wooded plains the cerrado—or “closed” or “inaccessible” land. But nowadays the cerrado is very much open for business, its fertility a springboard from which the world’s newest superpower in agriculture is emerging. “We have been [...]

When Disaster Strikes

Posted by Matt in May 14th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Uncategorized, Agriculture, Climate Scientist, Climate Trends, Disaster, Disasters, Disastrous Earthquakes, Drought, Earthquake, Earthquakes In Asia, Faults, Food Crisis, Inadequate Preparation, Scientist Colleagues, Sub Saharan Africa, Term Climate, Tropical Cyclones, World Food

FP: What potential disasters keep you up at night?
ALL: We’re all concerned about major, disastrous earthquakes. In particular, I’m worried about disastrous earthquakes in Asia. Large cities are built near faults, and there are cities that haven’t seen earthquakes in 500 years but are due. It is entirely conceivable that we could see an earthquake [...]