News & Press
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Nitrogen Pollution Likely to Increase Under Climate Change
Friday, February 17th 2012
Scientists have recently found humanity's nitrogen footprint on watersheds once thought to be isolated and pristine, indicating our impact on the world is more widespread than previously imagined.
These findings show that natural nitrogen equilibriums have shifted drastically and are now driven largely by human factors. This world awash in nitrogen can have devastating effects on health, ecology and the climate.
Nitrogen is an important element to all... -
Cities and Flooding: A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management for the 21st Century
Wednesday, February 15th 2012
The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery suggests that Urban flooding is a serious and growing development challenge. It is a global phenomenon which causes widespread devastation, economic damages and loss of human lives.
The occurrence of floods is the most frequent among all natural disasters globally. In 2010 alone, 178 million people were affected by floods. The total losses in exceptional years such as 1998 and 2010 exceeded $40 billion. -
Climate Change Mitigation and Afforestation
Monday, February 6th 2012
Researchers from Germany and Hungary suggest; afforestation in larger forest blocks could affect climate on a regional scale and may reduce the projected climate change in a drought-threatened study region.
Increased forest cover affects the climate to a very different extent, depending on the region. In some areas, half of the projected precipitation decrease can be offset and the total number of drought events may be reduced, assuming complete afforestation of... -
Climate-driven heat peaks may diminish wheat crop yields
Monday, January 30th 2012
According to a study published Sunday in Nature Climate Change, more intense heat waves due to global warming could diminish wheat crop yields around the world through premature ageing.
Current projections based on computer models underestimate the extent to which hotter weather in the future will accelerate this process, the researchers warned.
In some nations, wheat accounts for up to 50 percent of calorie intake and 20 percent of protein nutrition... -
The Biodiversity Crisis and Climate Change
Tuesday, January 24th 2012
The FAO estimates that 40 percent of the world (2.6 billion people) rely on fuelwood or charcoal as their primary source of energy for cooking and heating. Fuelwood consumption has increased 250 percent since 1960. The collection of fuelwood and building material from the rainforest remains an important cause of deforestation by settlers. This ultimately leads to habitat fragmentation and fragmented patches of forest are subject to drying winds that increase the frequency ...
