The Wasteland: Israel and Iran after Nuclear War

Posted by Matt in February 26th, 2010 | no comment

Published in War, Academy Of Sciences, Authoritative Descriptions, Contamination, Crops, Disease Epidemics, Family Security, Genetic Disease, Growing Seasons, Inhalation, Ionizing Radiation, Medical Consequences, National Academy Of Sciences, Nuclear War, Plutonium Particles, Security Matters, Skin Cancers, Temperature Changes, Thirty Years, Utero, Wasteland

Thirty years ago, I published the first of 10 books that contained authoritative descriptions of the physical and medical consequences of nuclear war, any nuclear war. These descriptions were drawn largely from a 1975 report by the National Academy of Sciences, and included the following still valid outcomes: large temperature changes; contamination of food and [...]

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 [...]

Russia, Plagued by Heroin Use, to Press U.S. on Destroying Afghan Poppy Crops – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in September 22nd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Afghan, Afghanistan, American Counterpart, Bush, Crops, Drug Enforcement, Era, Eradication, Heroin, Holbrooke, Ivanov, Nytimes, Obama, Opium Poppy, Poor Farmers, Poppy Cultivation, Richard C, Russia, Taliban, United States

During talks this week with his American counterpart, Russia’s top drug enforcement official, Viktor P. Ivanov, will press the United States to step up efforts to destroy Afghan poppy cultivation, which he said was feeding a devastating drug problem in Russia.
The request comes just as American policy makers have swung sharply away from Bush-era programs [...]

Asia facing unprecedented food shortage, UN report says | The Guardian

Posted by Matt in August 24th, 2009 | no comment

Published in food, Asia Crisis, Asia Food, Better Management, Billions Of Dollars, Climate, Crops, Environment, Faces, Food Crisis, Food Shortage, guardian, Irrigation Systems, People, Population, Realistic Option, Social Unrest, Water Supplies

Asia faces an unprecedented food crisis and huge social unrest unless hundreds of billions of dollars are invested in better irrigation systems to grow crops for its burgeoning population, according to a UN report published today.
A combination of very little new land left for cultivation, an increasingly unpredictable climate and water supplies stretched to the [...]

Is Ethanol Getting a Bum Rap?

Posted by Matt in May 4th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Energy, Agricultural Economists, Agricultural Food, Agricultural Industry, Biofuels, Bum Rap, Corn, Corn Prices, Crops, Economy, Ethanol, Ethanol Industry, Food Policy Center, Food Prices, Grocery Bill, Higher Energy, M University, Mandate, Renewable Fuel, Villain

Corn-based fuel isn’t the villain critics contend, but shifting to other crops is critical
Blame energy costs, not ethanol, for your grocery bill
Has ethanol contributed to the surge in food prices? Not very much, concludes a group of agricultural economists at Texas A&M University in an Apr. 10 report from the school’s Agricultural & Food Policy [...]

China farms the world to feed a ravenous economy

Posted by Matt in May 3rd, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Economy, China Beijing, Chinese Enterprises, Contract Farming, Crops, Dirt, Frontier, Generations, Logging Concessions, Mud, Neat Rows, Northern Laos, People, Profits, Rice Fields, Rubber Trees, Rugged Mountains, Sap, Tracts, World Economy

CHALEUNSOUK, Laos: The rice fields that blanketed this remote mountain village for generations are gone. In their place rise neat rows of young rubber trees — their sap destined for China.
All 60 families in this dirt-poor, mud-caked village of gaunt men and hunched women are now growing rubber, like thousands of others across the rugged [...]

Water shortages could be every bit as worrying as oil shortages

Posted by Matt in January 22nd, 2008 | no comment

Published in Water, general, Bio Energy, Biofuel, Carpets, Cement, Coffee Fruit, Crops, Detergents, Economy Work, Electrical Appliances, Energy Need, Fruit Pizza, Global Economy, Litre, Oil Shortage, Oil Shortages, Petrol, Power Generation, T Shirt, Verge, Water Crisis, Water Shortage, Water Shortages

The world is on the verge of a water crisis. As the global economy and the world’s population continue to expand, we are becoming a much thirstier planet. It is important to realise just how much water we need to make the various aspects of our economy work.
Every litre of petrol requires up to 2.5litres [...]

The danger of water wars

Posted by Matt in November 28th, 2007 | no comment

Published in War, Water, Arid Lands, Crops, Cubic Kilometres, Danger Of Water, Global Trade, Grains, Middle East, Uk Imports, Violence, Water Consumption, Water Wars

Water consumption has tripled in the past 30 years and there’s a growing danger that disputes over the most necessary of resources could erupt into violence.
Many parts of the world, notably the Middle East, are running out of water to feed themselves. In response, a vast global trade is emerging. Not in water itself, but [...]