Monthly Archive for January, 2012

Empty cans of pesticide in a ditch at a farm in Arusha, Tanzania. Photo by Norwegian School of Veterinary Science

From ScienceDaily

An increase in human activity is posing a threat to natural aquatic ecosystems in Tanzania and contributing to environmental damage and ecological changes.

Doctoral research carried out by Hezron Emmanuel Nonga shows that agriculture and livestock farming leads to eutrophication in lakes and the proliferation of cyanobacteria which produce microcystins. New information about microcystins and other mycotoxins in Tanzanian lakes is useful for appraising the risk linked to drinking water and edible fish, which in turn affects the health of both humans and animals.

In Tanzania, there are many and varied wetland areas and aquatic ecosystems which are productive but also vulnerable. Hezron Emmanual Nonga’s doctoral research project has studied how human activities affect ecosystems in wetlands and has also examined the incidence of cyanobacteria, the production of microcystins and the possible effects of these toxins on wild species.

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By John Quiggin from The National Interest

In political terms, the issues of climate change and energy took a back seat for most of 2011. There was some modest progress at the Durban conference in December. Moreover, having given up on the idea of cap-and-trade legislation, the Obama administration took some significant regulatory measures including new fuel-economy standards and restrictions on old coal-fired power plants.

The truly significant developments, however, were not driven by politics, although they will have profound political implications. In 2011, nuclear power ceased to be a serious option for meeting the world’s energy needs, and solar photovoltaics (PV) finally became an option worth noting.

The “solar vs. nuclear” dispute had been largely symbolic for several decades. After rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s, new installations of nuclear power came to a grinding halt. This was partly a result of safety fears created by the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Economic factors were even more significant. Far from being too cheap to meter, nuclear power turned out to be far more expensive than its main rival, coal, primarily because of unpredictable capital costs and generally high interest rates.

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By Elisabeth Rosenthal from The New York Times

Clamshell containers on supermarket shelves in the United States may depict verdant fields, tangles of vines and ruby red tomatoes. But at this time of year, the tomatoes, peppers and basil certified as organic by the Agriculture Department often hail from the Mexican desert, and are nurtured with intensive irrigation.

Growers here on the Baja Peninsula, the epicenter of Mexico’s thriving new organic export sector, describe their toil amid the cactuses as “planting the beach.”

Del Cabo Cooperative, a supplier here for Trader Joe’s and Fairway, is sending more than seven and a half tons of tomatoes and basil every day to the United States by truck and plane to sate the American demand for organic produce year-round.

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