www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com - June 27, 2012

                                                                                Image source: usgs.gov

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti killed hundreds of thousands and destroyed large sections of the capital, Port au Prince; the clock is ticking on many earthquake faults throughout the world, and a comprehensive new book points to places around the world that could face the fate of Port au Prince.

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A class 2 brine disposal well in western Louisiana near the Texas border. The well sat by the side of the road, without restricted access. (Abrahm Lustgarten/ProPublica)

propublica.org - by Abrahm Lustgarten - June 21, 2012

Over the past several decades, U.S. industries have injected more than 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid deep into the earth, using broad expanses of the nation's geology as an invisible dumping ground.

No company would be allowed to pour such dangerous chemicals into the rivers or onto the soil. But until recently, scientists and environmental officials have assumed that deep layers of rock beneath the earth would safely entomb the waste for millennia.

There are growing signs they were mistaken.

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GHRF, and Nepal and Bhutan affiliated NGOs, along with Ministries of Health and Agriculture are partnering to utilize mobile and information technology tools to warehouse health and environmental data together to allow multi-level assessments and cross-correlation of outcomes to assess health and environmental impact. 

The Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet project and the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition would like to invite everyone to the launch of the book Eating Planet - Nutrition Today: A Challenge for Mankind and for the Planet on June 28th, 2012. There will a panel, "How do we feed (and also nourish) a planet of 7 billion?", hosted by the editor-in-chief of the Food & Environmental Reporting Network, Samuel Fromartz.

The event will take place at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC Studios on 44 Charlton Street, New York, NY, from 10 AM to 12 PM EST. The event is free to attend, but space is limited. Please see the link below to RSVP. A light brunch will be provided.

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submitted by Robert G.Ross

EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP/Getty Images - For more photos of new energy powers, click here.

foreignpolicy.com - by Steve Levine - June 5, 2012

A flurry of new finds has analysts giddy over a new age of energy abundance. Just don't ask about global warming.

Energy experts are tittering about a prodigious new golden age of oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Israel and Cyprus could become substantial oil and natural gas exporters, in addition to some other surprising places including French Guiana, Kenya, North Dakota, and Somalia.

submitted by Robert G. Ross

atlantis-press.com - Journal of Risk Analysis and Crisis Response - May 2012

Abstract:

Crises are our new reality. “Black swans” are increasingly becoming the norm; our systems, environments, contexts are structurally prone to crises. Doing more of the same will not be the appropriate way to deal with modern crises: a paradigm shift is needed, based on a more accurate understanding of the dynamics of complex systems. This paper is an invitation to change the theoretical vision of crisis and crisis management, and the education and training of all actors involved.

unhcr.org - May 31, 2012

NEW YORK, United States, May 31 (UNHCR) – UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres warned on Thursday that factors causing mass population flight are growing and over the coming decade more people on the move will become refugees or displaced within their own country.

In comments marking the launch in New York of "The State of the World's Refugees: In Search of Solidarity," Guterres said displacement from conflict was becoming compounded by a combination of causes, including climate change, population growth, urbanization, food insecurity, water scarcity and resource competition.

All these factors are interacting with each other, increasing instability and conflict and forcing people to move. In a world that is becoming smaller and smaller, finding solutions, he said, would need determined international political will.

Many of the sites were bubbling methane that has been stored for millennia

BBC News - by Richard Black - May 20, 2012

Scientists have identified thousands of sites in the Arctic where methane that has been stored for many millennia is bubbling into the atmosphere.

The methane has been trapped by ice, but is able to escape as the ice melts.

Writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, the researchers say this ancient gas could have a significant impact on climate change.

Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after CO2 and levels are rising after a few years of stability.

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Nature Geoscience - Geologic methane seeps along boundaries of Arctic permafrost thaw and melting glaciers

submitted by Kay Goss

unisdr.org - March 2012

A contribution to the global campaign 2010-2015 Making Cities Resilient – 'My City is Getting Ready!':

This handbook provides mayors, governors, councillors and other local government leaders with a generic framework for risk reduction and points to good practices and tools that are already being applied in different cities for that purpose. It discusses why building disaster resilience is beneficial; what kind of strategies and actions are required; and how to go about the task. It offers practical guidance to understand and take action on the "Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient" as set out in the global campaign "Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!".

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CLICK HERE - Global Monitoring Report 2012: Food Prices, Nutrition, and the Millennium Development Goals

ipsnews.net

WASHINGTON, Apr 20, 2012 (IPS) - Continuing near-record high food prices around the world are highlighting international inattention to a looming threat, observers here warned on Friday.

According to speakers at the launch of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) Global Monitoring Report 2012, on the sidelines of the Bank-IMF spring meetings, a lack of focus on agriculture and nutrition in development priorities could prove disastrous in the event of another spike in food prices.

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World Health Organization (WHO) - who.int

World Health Statistics 2012 contains WHO’s annual compilation of health-related data for its 194 Member States, and includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets.

This year, it also includes highlight summaries on the topics of noncommunicable diseases, universal health coverage and civil registration coverage.

CLICK HERE - World Health Statistics 2012

scribd.com/WorldBankPublications - April 2012

Poor people living in slums are at particularly high risk from the impacts of climate change and natural hazards. They live on the most vulnerable lands within cities, typically areas that are deemed undesirable by others and are thus affordable. Residents are exposed to the impacts of landslides, sea-level rise, flooding, and other hazards.

Exposure to risk is exacerbated by overcrowded living conditions, lack of adequate infrastructure and services, unsafe housing, inadequate nutrition, and poor health. These conditions can turn a natural hazard or change in climate into a disaster, and result in the loss of basic services, damage or destruction to homes, loss of livelihoods, malnutrition, disease, disability, and loss of life.

This study analyzes the key challenges facing the urban poor given the risks associated with climate change and disasters, particularly with regard to the delivery of basic services, and identifies strategies and financing opportunities for addressing these risks.

Several key findings emerge from the study and provide guidance for addressing risk:

economist.com - May 19, 2012

IT IS, says Gabriel Demombynes, of the World Bank’s Nairobi office, “a tremendous success story that has only barely been recognised”. Michael Clemens of the Centre for Global Development calls it simply “the biggest, best story in development”. It is the huge decline in child mortality now gathering pace across Africa.

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