20 people are dead in the Congo after Pygmies and Bantu ethnic groups clashed over a new caterpillar collection tax. Caterpillars are a food staple of the hunter-gatherer people. A local official said the civil war was cause by a disagreement over the harvest of the insects. “The attacks since Sunday left four (Bantu) Lubas […]
Category Archives: Agriculture
20 Dead in Pygmy Caterpillar Tax Protests
Cows Expel Gas So They Don’t Explode
by Daniel Brouse CALIFORNIA — “Quite frankly, we want them to expel gas so they don’t explode,” said Anja Raudabaugh, chief executive of Western United Dairymen. The California dairy industry is fighting back against proposed regulations to curb greenhouse gas emitted by belching and farting cows. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and the California […]
Climate Change, Extreme Weather and Toxic Crops
by Daniel Brouse The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released a report that examines how climate change is increasing the toxicity of crops. Crop Toxicity Extreme weather events, such as “drought and high temperatures, can trigger the accumulation in crops of chemical compounds that are toxic to animals and humans.” The report goes on […]
Temperature Reaches 123 Degrees in India
The temperature went over 123 degrees (50C) in India. This was the highest temperature ever recorded in the country. “Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea along and off Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the next 24 hours, along and off Andhra Pradesh coast during the next 48 hours and also and off […]
Air Pollution Killing Millions
by Daniel Brouse It is estimated by the World Health Organization that 7 million people per year die as a result of air pollution. “According to the latest urban air quality database, 98% of cities in low- and middle income countries with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not meet WHO air quality guidelines. Over 80% […]
Hope Versus Climate Change
Global warming is a huge problem; however, we can make it much worse if we keep burning fossil carbon and killing ecosystems. The hopeful bit is that: Coal is dead. The US energy information administration confirms coal production is declining across the country. Greenpeace reports that globally “coal is in terminal decline.” Solar and battery […]
Trees: Sudden Oak Death “Unstoppable”
A new report out of Cambridge University has determined that the sudden oak death epidemic in California is unstoppable. “Sudden oak death – caused by Phytophthora ramorum, a fungus-like pathogen related to potato blight – has killed millions of trees over hundreds of square kilometres of forest in California. First detected near San Francisco in […]
Global Drought
by Daniel Brouse EARTH — The world is experiencing one of the worst years of drought ever recorded. The conditions are so bad in India that the state of Bihar has banned daytime cooking. “We call this the fire season in Bihar,” a state-disaster management official said. “Strong, westerly winds stoke fires which spread easily […]
GMO’s: Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater
by Daniel Brouse The definition of GMO is the modern version, not selective breeding. (0) GMO’s (genetically modified organism) have been around for thousands of years; however, the irrational fear of GMO’s is a recent phenomenon. Are there risks to GMO’s? Yes. Has there been any evidence of harm to human health? No. The risks […]
Diet And Global Warming
For quite some time, the scientific consensus has been eating meat is worse for the environment than being a vegetarian; however, a new study found a very different result. Lettuce is “over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon,” according to researchers from the Carnegie Mellon University. Paul Fischbeck, study co-author and […]