The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
President Barack Obama is carrying through on campaign promises to fight global warming, challenging the car companies and energy industry to get on the carbon-cutting bandwagon. But one of his toughest opponents may end up coming from his own US Midwestern back yard: Agriculture. Obama on Tuesday forged ahead with …
Turkey has boosted the flow of the Euphrates river passing through its dams upstream of Iraq to help farmers cope with a drought after Iraqi complaints, but it is still not enough, a top Iraqi lawmaker said on Saturday. Iraq is mostly desert and its inhabitable areas are slaked by …
The United States will try to persuade rich and poor countries to share the burden of fighting climate change next week, with a big US pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions likely to help mend ties. Washington will hold talks among major economies, including China, the European Union, Russia, India …
No one could say they hadn't seen it coming. The sand dunes had been advancing for decades before, two years ago, they finally swallowed the houses of Raimundo do Nascimento and 12 other families in Ilha Grande, an island in the Parnaiba river delta in northeastern Brazil. Standing on the …
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a "green new deal" on climate change on Thursday and urged for a final push in negotiations ahead of a key summit to be held in Copenhagen in December. "We absolutely must reach an agreement to reduce greenhouse gases and help millions of families …
Daishin Investment Trust Management, which runs a climate change fund that invests in companies engaged in disaster relief, plans a new commodities fund this year to capitalize on the effects of global warming. Yong-Jin Kim, who manages Daishin's $20 million Global Climate Change fund, likes makers of fire trucks, rescue …
The number of people displaced by conflict and natural disaster in Central and East Africa is now more than 11 million, the United Nations said on Monday. The numbers have grown recently due to attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel …
No one could say they hadn't seen it coming. The sand dunes had been advancing for decades before, two years ago, they finally swallowed the houses of Raimundo do Nascimento and 12 other families in Ilha Grande, an island in the Parnaiba river delta in northeastern Brazil. Standing on the …
AkshayaKumar Sahoo In a socio-economically backward district like Kalahandi, where most people are not so well educated, Kshamanidhi could have got a job. But he did not do that and instead concentrated on agriculture. In 2008, Kshamanidhi got Rs 40,000 from mango cultivation, Rs 15,000 from jackfruit, Rs 15,000 from …
Flash floods, wildfires and heatwaves brought on by climate change could test Europe's ability to insure against and respond to natural disasters, a new report warns. Flooding of the Nile Delta and further desertification of north Africa could also unleash a wave of migrants from Europe's southern neighbours, said delegates …
The biggest seawater desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, north of San Diego, can begin construction by year's end after a six-year effort to win regulators' approval, the developer said on Thursday. The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve permit revisions for the …
Ice crystals plucked from clouds and quickly analysed in flight show bits of biological material -- bacteria, spores and plants -- play a role in the formation of clouds, US researchers said on Sunday. The finding, reported in the journal Nature Geoscience, offers the first direct evidence of airborne bacteria …
The United Nations took a step towards a new climate treaty on Friday by publishing the first draft negotiating texts to help bridge a "great gulf" between options for rich nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Two documents totalling 68 pages also laid out choices on controversial issues such as …
The financial crisis has made it harder for the EU to agree on an internal target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions as part of a global climate change deal, Sweden's environment minister said on Friday. The Nordic country will take the helm of the European Union in the run-up to …
The world's poorest nations are not prepared for the strain climate change will put on their public health systems, according to studies by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and partners. The findings come ahead of a major summit of health ministers from Commonwealth nations in Geneva that …
Poor countries already suffering from the impact of climate change urgently need up to $2 billion to help adjust and cope, a new report submitted to the United Nations said on Thursday. The funds are needed to help the most vulnerable countries, mostly in Africa and small island states, the …
impact of drought water bank: As California reels under drought, green groups have sued the government for failing to study environmental consequences of a drought water bank. The government operates the water bank by purchasing water from willing sellers, primarily water suppliers, upstream of the Sacramento delta in northern California. …
US electricity generators support compromises being reached by Democrats in the House of Representatives on proposed climate legislation, saying the changes would soften the impact on power bills. "It makes (the proposed bill) more reasonable and we've always said we would be willing to support a more reasonable cap-and-trade bill," …
Water in this century will become a major source of strife between groups within countries. Drought has driven many tribes in Africa into terrain that they are not normally expected to occupy. When coupled with other factors such as ethnic or religious divides, this becomes a dangerous mix. (Correspondence)
