Scientists Seeking to Save World Find Best Technology Is Trees (Bloomberg) -- Oxford University scientists, after a year of research, have determined the best technology to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and try to reverse global warming. It’s trees. They considered methods ranging from capturing emissions from factories and power stations to extracting carbon dioxide directly from the air, and adding lime to oceans to increase their absorption of the gas, a study released on Tuesday showed. None were more promising than planting trees, or baking waste wood to form a type of charcoal that can be added to soil. Relative to other so-called Negative Emissions Technologies, afforestation and biochar are low-cost, have fewer uncertainties and offer other benefits to the environment, the research shows. Policy makers need to work to increase their use as they are the most encouraging of the possibilities through 2050, the scientists wrote. To contact the reporter on this story: Louise Downing in London at ldowning4@bloomberg.net
Central Arid Zone Research Institute Division of Natural Resources and EnvironmentDivision of Integrated Land Use Management and Farming Systems Division of Plant Improvement, Propagation and Pest Management Division of Livestock Production Systems & Range ManagementDivision of Agricultural Engineering for Arid Production Systems Division of Transfer of Technology, Training and Production Economics Division of Natural Resources and Environment Major Programmes Integrated basic and human resource appraisal, monitoring, and desertification Disciplines Agronomy, Agro-meteorology, Economic Botany, Geography, Pedology, Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, Soil Chemistry Current activities Division of Integrated Land Use Management and Farming Systems Integrated arid land farming system researchPlant product processing and value additionManagement of land and water resources Agronomy, Agroforestry, Horticulture, Plant Physiology, Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, Soil Physics
Brasil exporta cerca de 112 trilhões de litros de água doce por ano Contêineres saem diariamente de portos na costa brasileira abarrotados de carne bovina, soja, açúcar, café, entre outros produtos agrícolas exportados para o mundo. Mas dentro deles há um insumo invisível, cujo valor ultrapassa cálculos estritamente econômicos. Ao longo do ano, o Brasil envia ao Exterior cerca de 112 trilhões de litros de água doce, segundo dados da Unesco — o equivalente a quase 45 milhões de piscinas olímpicas ou mais de 17 mil lagoas do tamanho da Rodrigo de Freitas. As Nações Unidas (ONU) estimam que, até 2025, cerca de dois terços da população mundial estarão carentes de recursos hídricos, sendo que cerca de 1,8 bilhão enfrentarão severa escassez de água. — A alocação dos recursos hídricos, além de ambiental, é uma questão econômica, porque quando a água é escassa é preciso destiná-la para onde haverá maiores benefícios para a sociedade. Recursos hídricos sem preço — O Brasil não tem dependência de irrigação, precisa apenas administrar a água da chuva.
Quirky Winds Fuel Brazil's Devastating Drought, Amazon's Flooding In São Paulo, Brazil, which is suffering its worst drought in almost a century, Maria de Fátima dos Santos has lived for days at a time with no water, relying on what she had carefully hoarded in bottles. But in the Bolivian Amazon, about 1,800 miles (2,897 kilometers) away, Nicolás Cartagena recalls the day almost a year ago when floodwaters rose to the thatched rooftops of Indian communities, destroying crops and washing away homes. The drought in South America's biggest city and the flooding in the Amazon are being triggered by the same wind-driven weather phenomenon that scientists say is probably a harbinger for more extreme water shortages and flooding across the continent. No one fully understands this boom-and-bust cycle, but meteorologist José Marengo says it has been triggered by a sprawling high-pressure system that settled stubbornly over southeastern Brazil. The loop starts in the Atlantic Ocean, where the winds carry moisture westward over the Amazon. Constant Boom and Bust
A City's Best Defense Against Climate Change? Its Trees, Wetlands, and Watersheds Faced with aging infrastructure and extreme weather, mayors of American cities are moving to reconnect urban areas with nature to protect drinking water, coastlines, and air quality as climate change accelerates. When a city incorporates natural infrastructure into its planning, it turns to living assets such as urban trees, wetlands, and watersheds to reduce pollutants and provide protection from storms and hurricanes. So effective is the strategy that the United States Conference of Mayors on Monday approved a resolution that encourages its 1,400 members to start building green bulwarks against climate change. Philadelphia, for instance, already is using green infrastructure to manage its storm water challenges. Runoff from the city’s streets, parking lots, roofs, and playgrounds once triggered sewer overflows that inundated waterways with pathogens, debris, and other pollutants, and made rivers unsafe for swimming and boating after storms.
Startup vai usar drones para semear 1 bilhão de árvores por ano Corte de madeira, mineração, agropecuária e a cada vez maior expansão dos centros urbanos em direção às florestas são responsáveis por levar ao chão aproximadamente 26 bilhões de árvores por ano. Para reverter este cenário de destruição, o americano Lauren Fletcher sonha em fazer um replantio em escala industrial: semear 1 bilhão de árvores por ano usando drones. “Há anos eu e meu time estudamos as mudanças climáticas. Com esta tecnologia, acreditamos que poderemos mudar o mundo”, afirma o visionário. Fletcher, engenheiro que trabalhou durante 20 anos na Agência Aeroespacial Americana (Nasa), é o CEO da BioCarbon Engineering, sediada em Oxford, na Inglaterra. No ar, os drones farão o mapeamento preciso das áreas que precisam ser replantadas, gerando imagens em alta resolução e mapas em 3D. O sistema é bastante sofisticado. A técnica de agricultura de precisão garantirá o replantio em larga escala. Numa última etapa, os drones servirão para monitorar as áreas que foram replantadas.
A decadência econômica do rio São Francisco Roberto Malvezzi (Gogó) Rio São Francisco, em Manga-MG> O óbvio se confirma. As principais atividades econômicas do rio São Francisco começam a entrar em decadência, em razão da diminuição do volume de água do Velho Chico. Hoje o ponto com mais água está aqui entre Juazeiro e Petrolina, com 1.000 m3/s. Vale lembrar que a vazão média do São Francisco até alguns anos atrás era de 2.800 m3/s. Não estamos falando da pesca, da agricultura de vazante, nenhuma dessas economias das populações tradicionais. A geração de energia começa declinar. Segundo, foi avisado que em final de julho e começo de agosto vários projetos de irrigação da região poderão ter seu acesso à água cortado. Acontece que Juazeiro/Petrolina montaram sua economia baseada na irrigação. Em breve pode acontecer com Juazeiro/Petrolina o que Monteiro Lobato chamou de “Cidades Mortas” no Vale do Paraíba depois que o ciclo do café se encerrou e deixou para trás cidades fantasmas economicamente mortas. Nazaré, Salvador - BA, Brasil
Ecuador Breaks World Record for Planting Most Trees in One Day I was reading through all the negativity and stupidity this morning while drinking my coffee and something said, ‘how about some good news?’, so I typed in GOOD NEWS and found your site… Ahhh! John Longo Oh my, you’ve made my day! I can’t tell you completely how happy you’ve made me. - Dany Thank you for writing your newsletter, Some Good News! - former Sec. of State Colin Powell Your daily stories have allowed me to rekindle a certain appreciate for the good things in life. - Trey Aubrey I think there needs to be a change of consciousness with the news ... to try to seek a higher ground. - Oprah Winfrey When I read the newspaper, I look for the good news because every thought we think changes our biochemistry. - Dr. I think the press, including TV journalism, has an ethical responsibility, a sacred responsibility, a service mission ... to make good news just as entertaining (as we've made sexy the violence). - Marianne Williamson - Norman Cousins, editor of Saturday Review -Bridget Driscoll