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Archived News - April, 2005
Over time, some of the links will have lapsed, so we cannot guarantee they all work. Please note that you can download our Media Database
(Excel Worksheet) which contains a full description of most articles and allows searching by subject, date, source, etc. We can also provide hard copies of some
items. Please contact us for further information.
Adaptation the key to surviving climate change, scientists say
ABC News Onlie | by Gary Kemble | April 4, 2005
A climate change conference in Canberra has been told Australia needs to consider focusing on ways of adapting to our changing environment, rather than pouring money
into trying to stop global warming. The conference was organized by the Australian APEC Study Centre to consider the approach to climate change, in the wake of the
failure of countries such as the United States and Australia to ratify the Kyoto protocol.
Professors develop spreadsheets for water
Associated Press | April 28, 2005
OMAHA, Neb. -- Scholars thing tweaking variables on a spreadsheet could help those who work the land cope with a drought that just won't go away. Farmers in about two
dozen of the Nebraska's 93 counties can now use the Water Optimizer to calculate how much a crop will yield given certain conditions, such as temperature, soil type
and irrigation levels.
Climate change won't spare crops
Science Now | Mason Inman | April 27, 2005
Projections that climate change during the 21st century could benefit agriculture may be off target, two new studies show. The studies, which tested the effects of
higher CO2 and ozone levels in open fields of soybeans, suggest models of future crop production are missing important factors.
Nearly 30,000 in drought-hit Djibouti Need food - UN
Planet Ark | April 26, 2005
Geneva - Nearly 30,000 people in Djibouti who have lost livestock due to worsening drought need emergency food and clean drinking water, the United Nations said on
Friday. Supplies would be needed over the next six months due to insufficient rainfall and overgrazing, particularly in the south, the UN office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs said.
Brazil may have troubles growing GM crops
Illinois Farm Bureau | April 22, 2005
ERECHIM, Brazil -- Devastating drought in Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul earlier this season caused more than just crop damage. Cattle, milk, pork and
poultry producers, along with the rest of the state's agriculture-based economy will continue to feel the effects of drought long after the rains have returned, reports
Keiran Gartlan, DTN South America Correspondent, in the fourth part series on Rio Grande do Sul.
As drought takes hold, Zambia's door stays shut to GM
SciDev.Net | by Brenda Zulu | April 22, 2005
Hunger is a perennial challenge facing African countries, and Zambia is no exception. But while some nations are prepared to boost supplies by importing food
containing genetically modified (GM) organisms, Zambia is sticking to its guns and saying no.
Northwest Drought
Associated Press | by Shannon Dininny | April 22, 2005
Granger, Wash. -- Months of below-average precipitation have left a parched Pacific Northwest reeling from what water managers say is the worst drought since 1977 --
and perhaps the worst ever if spring and summer rains don't arrive. Now farmers face difficult decisions about their crops.
Study indicates thirsty plants keep deserts' subsurface dry
AGNET | April 20, 2005
Desert bloom - plants that flourish in arid areas after rains - might reduce water accumulation in soil should the climate shift toward wetter conditions, according
to a study conducted by a team led by University of Texas at Austin hydrogeologists. By the same token, such vegetation keeps water from reaching the water table
deep below the surface in such areas.
U.S. West's water trouble getting worse, officials
CP Wire | by Christoper Smith | April 20, 2005
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Entering the sixth year of a record dry spell in much of the U.S. West is bad enough. But what really worries the head of the federal agency that
delivers water to more than 30 million people and four million hectares of farmland is what happens when the region's precipitation returns to normal.
Climate change has syrup makers fretting
Maine Today | by Mechele Cooper | April 19, 2005
For Five generations Kevin Bacon's Family tapped trees in their maple grove, boiled sap and bottled syrup. The former fire chief said business has been good up until
the last two years when a change in weather lowered his syrup production.
Portugal's worst drought in 25 years worsens
Planet Ark | April 18, 2005
LISBON - Portugal's worst drought for 25 years worsened at the start of April, according to an report from the National Weather Institute, with over half the country
affected by extreme drought. The report said rainfall recorded since October stood at less than 65 percent the average between 1961 and 1990, and it forecast
below-average rainfall world continue.
Drought resistant maize variety sought
The East African Standard via AllAfrica | by Ken Ramani | April 16, 2005
NAIROBI - Kenyatta University has, according to this story, embarked on research aimed at developing maize varieties tolerant to witch-weed, a serious constraint to
maize production in the country and sub-Saharan Africa. The story notes that Kenyatta University has become the second institution after the Kenya Agricultural
Research Institute to have a facility to research genetically modified foods.
Southern Africa: Recurrent dry spells 'Cause for concern'
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks | April 15, 2005
Johannesburg - The rising temperatures and recurrent dry spells in Southern Africa points to the impact of climate change and are "cause for concen", a senior
scientist told IRIN. Many countries in the region, such as Swaziland and Lesotho, were now entering their fourth year of drought.
Early
spring is a fact of life for the birds and bees
News.Telegraph | by Charles Clover | April 15, 2005
A horse chestnut in leaf and blue tits starting to nest in January are among the most recent signs that spring is getting earlier. A record number of unseasonal
events has been submitted by members of the public for a database that monitors the times of annual events in the natural world.
Farmers could receive
$1-billion under Kyoto plan, Dion says
Globe and Mail | by Jeff Sallot | April 15, 2005
OTTAWA -- Canadian farmers could get federal financing totaling $1-billion for not plowing their fields and adopting other energy-saving practices under the
government's Kyoto plan, Environment Minister Stéphane Dion says. So-called zero-till or low-till farming could qualify for subsidies under a new program to reduce
greenhouse-gas emissions, as Canada is required to do under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, Mr. Dion told the House environment committee yesterday.
Australian farmers watch skies as drought returns
Planet Ark | by Michael Byrnes | April 14, 2005
SYDNEY - Wheat farmer Xavier Martin stares at bare patches on the hills around his property in eastern Australia. The grass has died and even the trees are thinning
out.
Australian farmers watch skies as drought returns
Reuters | by Michael Byrnes | April 13, 2005
SYDNEY - Wheat farmer Xavier Martin stares at bare patches on the hills around his property in eastern Australia. The grass has died and even the trees are thinning
out.
Drought continues to cripple NSW farms
ABC News Online | April 9, 2005
The continuing drought is causing more heartache for farmers in New South Wales, with no rain to help this year's winter crop. The latest figures show march was the
driest month in six months, and more than three-quarters of the state is now in drought.
EU open to Portugal drought aid request from farmers
Planetark | April 8, 2005
BRUSSELS - The EU executive Commission said it would seek to give Portugal advance farm funds to fight the worst drought in 25 years but promised no immediate relief,
EU officials said on Thursday. Hundreds of cattle, goats and sheep have starved while most of the country is gripped by extreme of severe drought.
Wash. Irrigation District Shuts Off Spigot
Associated Press | by Shannon Dininny | April 7, 2005
MOXEE, Wash. -- An irrigation district that serves about 1,400 farmers in the Yakima Valley has shut off the water supply for what is believed to be the first time
ever during the month of April, yet another sign of the region's severe drought. The shutdown Wednesday marked the earliest date the 72,000-acre Roza Irrigation
District has interrupted water for irrigators.
Climate change could sour US maple sugaring
Christian Science Monitor | by Christa Farrand Case | April 6, 2005
PUTNEY, VT. - In the predawn darkness of Putney's maple-studded hills, Don Harlow begins his mornings by coaxing his truck down a rutted forest path. At the end is a
cylindrical tank twice his height into which hundreds of gallons of sweet maple sap have flowed, siphoned through 11,000 taps and 40 miles of plastic tubing.
Dry days force changes in crops
Knight-Ridder Tribune | by Jeff St.John | April 6, 2005
This year's drought has forced farmers across Washington to "significantly" reduce planting of spring wheat, barley, hay and corn, according to a U.S. Department of
Agriculture survey released Tuesday. With spring wheat planting down 17 percent this year from 2004 and hay and field corn cultivation also down, these planting
decisions likely will lead to a drop in farm income this years, the USDA survey said.
Drought parches Australia
The Vancouver Sun | by Bloomberg | April 5, 2005
MELBOURNE -- Drought spread across Australia last month after about two-thirds of the country received 20 percent or less of the mean monthly rainfall, the government's
weather forecaster said. Drought areas extend across the continent in a band from the towns of Port Hedland and Broome in the southwest of Western Australia state, to
Bourke in northwestern New South Wales state, the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology said in a statement Monday.
CIMMYT sows second field trial of promising transgenic drought tolerant wheat
CIMMYT | April 4, 2005
In March, CIMMYT scientists continued their pursuit of drought tolerant wheat with the second field trial of transgenic lines carrying the DREB gene, given to CIMMYT by
Japan International Research Center for Agriculture Sciences (JIRCAS). The gene, obtained from Arabidopsis thaliana, a relative of wild mustard, exhibited considerable
promise in its initial field trial in 2004, and in earlier greenhouse trials (see September 2004 E-news).
GM soy hit harder by Brazil's drought then conventional varieties
English IPS News via NewsEdge Corporation | by Mario Osava | April 4, 2005
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Drought in southern Brazil has reduced this year's important soybean harvest dramatically in Rio Grande do Sul state -- and added fuel to the heated
national debate about transgenic crops. Genetically modified (GM) soy, which accounts for the majority of soybean production in the southern state, suffered greater
losses than conventional soy varieties, according to reports by local growers.
Rural climate change forum launched
Environment Data Interactive Exchange | April 1, 2005
Environment Minister Elliot Morley has launched a high level forum to tackle climate change issues in rural areas this week. The Rural Climate Change Forum will
inform policy development and research on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from land based activities, the adaptation of land management practices to deal with
climate change, and the role land management can have in managing the impacts of climate change such as increased flood events.
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