The Human Imprint

Water wars: forecast or fantasy?

There was much discussion at the annual Women's Food and Farming Conference about whether the natural resources (capital) that we have will meet the demands of a growing population.

Water security is a key factor and the Independent reports that between Pakistan and India there is growing concern over water rights and water availability and how to tackle the current problems we have with rain fall versus demand. Farmers in Pakistan's food growing regions have accued India of reducing one of the subcontinent's most important rivers the Chenab to " little more than a trickle". The water table in the region has dropped from 50 feet below ground level to 100 feet. The lowering of the water table is an issue not only seen here but in many regions of the world. What do you do if your well doesn't reach the water?

Cassava - will new varieties fit the bill?

The Guardian has a fascinating video about the people of Katine. They have had two years of failed cassava harvests following the crop becoming susceptible to a virus. New virus-resistant strains have been planted and training provided on how to improve crop husbandry. The development of community loan schemes and the purchase of the milling machine which provides much needed technology all help to improve food security. Do check out the video.

Bottled water sales go down

The Guardian reports that people are switching from bottled water to tap water in restaurants. The article reports that in 2008 after 30 years of increases bottled water sales dropped by 9 per cent. A further survey has shown that tap water is the preference in restaurants.

"Almost two thirds of the people, 63 per cent, said they always asked for tap water or would prefer to drink tap water in restaurants rather than buy a bottle of still or sparkling. Despite that, one in four people surveyed by the WaterAid charity felt pressured to order bottled water when dining out. Women were more likely to choose tap water than men, while people in Greater London and Scotland were the most likely to choose bottled water. Diners in the South-east and East Anglia were the happiest with tap".

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in the credit crunch.

Cholera epidemic past its peak

I have blogged many times over the last few months about the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. BBC News reports that according to the World Health Organisation the epidemic appears to have passed its peak. The articel states that:

"The number of new cases recorded in the week to mid-March nearly halved to 2,000, against 3,800 the preceding week and 8,000 cases a week in February. .. The agency warned the weekly statistics were not always accurate. There have been more than 90,000 cholera cases in Zimbabwe since the start of the epidemic last August, about 4,000 of them fatal". Follow the link to read the full article.

One million in Sudan will not get food aid from May

Associated Press reports that more than one million people in Darfur will not get their food rations from May if Sudan and the United Nations can't fill gaps left by the expulsion of more than a dozen foreign aid groups. Without further money the resourcea will run out within four weeks for spare parts and the fuel needed to provide drinking water for 850,000 people. To make matters worse  more than 600,000 people are in danger of not getting materials needed to build shelters before the upcoming rainy season. This is a huge humanitarian crisis..

Carbon footprint higher in rural areas

In the rural areas we have less opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint mainly because so many of us to not have access to public transport. The Guardian carried a report that highlights this. Here are some of the key facts in the article:

• Per capita greenhouse gas emissions for a Londoner in 2004 were the equivalent of 6.2 tonnes of CO2, compared with 11.19 for the UK average.
• The rural northeast of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, had the highest footprints per capita in the UK.
•  In the US, New Yorkers register footprints of 7.1 tonnes each, less than a thrid of the US average of 23.92 tonnes.

It is two miles to our nearest shop, seven miles to our nearest supermarket and the schools are not within walking distance. However, the amount of carbon sequestered in rural areas is far more than in the towns so maybe we should be looking at the carbon balance as well - and who's carbon footprint is it anyway ... this could be debated at length ..

Are welsh farmers cool?

My family and I have really enjoyed the welsh sheep video .. it is great to see farmers who show the fun side of rural life .. with a little bit of help. Do check it out!

Final report on 2005 E.coli inquiry released

BBC News reports that "The head of an inquiry into a Welsh E.coli outbreak which left one boy dead and over 150 other people ill says more resources must go into food safety". The inquiry chairman Prof Hugh Pennington has urged food producers to "get to grips" with safety management.

The article states that "Sharon Mills, whose son Mason Jones, five, died, said she would campaign to increase sentences over food hygiene. In an emotional statement, she said the butcher (William Tudor) to blame served only 12 weeks, although he was jailed for a year".

One hundred and fifty six individuals and forty-four schools across South Wales were affected in the outbreak which was the largest outbreak of its kind in Wales, the second biggest in the UK and the sixth largest worldwide. Click on the link to watch the news Video

World Water Day

March 22nd is World Water Day The UN has been sponsoring this world water awareness day for sixteen years now. Scientific American reports that this year's theme "Sharing Waters Sharing Opportunities" aims to up knowledge about all of the bodies of fresh water (263 by the U.N.'s count) that cross – or create – international borders.  The report states that:

"More than half of the world's population lives in river basins shared with other countries, according to the U.N., yet only 16 countries (Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic and Uzbekistan) have signed the group's Convention on Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (an agreement to ensure countries don't hog or harm shared water resources). Per the U.N.'s decision, the agreement won't be ratified until at least 35 nations are officially on board, but some have argued that the convention, which began in discussions back in 1971, doesn't adequately cover new environmental issues or pose a strong enough legal structure to settle potential conflicts. Negotiating the use and conservation of these waters is nothing new, though. People have been making international water treaties for more than 4,500 years (dating at least back to two Sumerian city-states that quibbled over the Tigris River around 2500 BC.)." 

Check out the article by following the link or go to the World Water Day site to find out more. 

World TB Day

The 24th of March is World TB Day. Why?

Well on that day in 1882, the German microbiologist Robert Koch announced his discovery that the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis caused tuberculosis (TB) (Source: Eurosurveillance) . Twenty three years later he was awarded a Nobel prize. World TB Day is a day to remember the ongoing issues around the world with TB. It is estimated that every year, there are over nine million new cases of TB worldwide. One and a half million people die from TB every year making this one of the most important fatal human infectious diseases. It is not a disease that we should underestimate.