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Population, Food, Oil … Collision?
World population and growth
Factoring the net birth minus death rate in the world each year, the annual increase to world population is about 75 million people. The current world population is about 6,900,000,000, or 6.9 billion.
Annually, we add to the planet the equivalent population of any of the following scenarios,
- New York City (9 of them!)
- Los Angeles (20 of them!)
- Chicago (27 of them!)
- San Francisco (94 of them!)
- Boston (117 of them!)
- Unites States of America (25 percent of the country!)
When you think about it, this is a startling number. And that’s in just one Read more…
Poultry farmers on bird flu alert
“We have asked poultry farmers to report any unusual and large-scale deaths so as to take the necessary measures to confirm if there is any outbreak of bird flu here,” said Dr Y Thirupathaiah, additional director, planning, directorate of animal husbandry.
In 2006, bird flu fear led to losses worth crores of rupees in the state as poultry birds had to be culled in large numbers and eggs were also destroyed.
In case of any signs of bird flu in the state, the serum samples will have to be Read more…
China top bank sees explosive growth in gold demand and voracious appetite for silver
SHANGHAI (Reuters) –
Demand in China for physical gold and gold-related investments is growing at an “explosive” pace and its appetite for the yellow metal is poised to remain robust amid inflation concerns, said an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) executive.
ICBC, the world’s largest bank by market value, sold about 7 tonnes of physical gold in January this year, nearly half the 15 tonnes of bullion sold in the whole of 2010, said Zhou Ming, deputy head of the bank’s precious metals department on Wednesday.
“We are seeing explosive demand for gold. As Chinese get wealthy, they look to diversify their investments and gold stands out as a good hedge against inflation,” Zhou told Reuters.
“There is also frantic demand for non-physical gold investments. We issued 1 billion yuan worth of Read more…
China sees U.S. stoking Brazil and India anger over yuan
By Zhou Xin and Koh Gui Qing
BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States has incited Brazil and India to criticize China’s currency policy, but Beijing need not worry too much because it can defuse the tension through talks, a series of Chinese government advisers told Reuters.
Independent analysts warned, however, that a belief that Brazil and India are doing Washington’s bidding and are not truly aggrieved could make Beijing complacent and undermine fledgling ties between the emerging powers.
Increasingly widespread calls for a stronger yuan are awkward for China, which is accustomed to facing U.S. pressure over its tightly controlled exchange rate but has long tried to cast itself as the natural ally of other developing nations.
Brazil and India are unlikely to be any more successful than the United States in persuading Beijing to permit faster appreciation, researchers in Chinese government think tanks said.
“They must realize that the root of problem is not China but Read more…
The Food Bubble is About to Burst
We’re fast draining the fresh water resources our farms rely on, warns Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute
What is a food bubble?
That’s when food production is inflated through the unsustainable use of water and land. It’s the water bubble we need to worry about now. The World Bank says that 15 per cent of Indians (175 million people) are fed by grain produced through over-pumping – when water is pumped out of aquifers faster than they can be replenished. In China, the figure could be 130 million.
Has this bubble already burst anywhere?
Saudi Arabia made itself self-sufficient in wheat by using water from a fossil aquifer, which doesn’t refill. It has harvested close to 3 million tonnes a year, but in Read more…
Lava-like substance triggers panic
Black liquid found oozing out from a field in Malkapuram of Anantapur
A lava like liquid substance erupted at Malkapuram village in Dharmavaram mandal on Saturday.
A shepherd first noticed a strange odour and plants withering. The inquisitive shepherd alerted other villagers who came to find out the source of the bad odour and finally zeroed in to the field belonging to one farmer Lakshminarayana Reddy.
At the field, the villagers found two deep holes from which lava-like black like substance erupted.
Scared at the strange phenomenon, the villagers alerted a geologist for studying the strange phenomenon .
According to an eye witness fire along with the black substance erupted out of the Earth surface at two different points. Geologist Mohana Rao said that a disturbance in the Earth had occurred after the earth quakes in Thailand, Tirupati and Delhi.
Weak zone
The rock formations process below the earth surface had created gaps resulting in creation of a weak zone in the Dolorite rocks.
Explaining the phenomenon, Mohan Rao maintained that an inorganic compound solution had oozed out of Uthosphere . The lava substance is being sent to geological laboratory for a thorough study.
Pakistan successfully test fires Hatf-VII missile
Pakistan successfully test fires Hatf-VII missile
The missile can carry conventional and other warheads, the ISPR said. — Photo by AFP (File)
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military says it has successfully test-fired a cruise missile capable of carrying ”strategic and conventional” war heads.
An army statement says the Hatf-VII or Babur missile, which has a range of 360 miles (600 kilometers), was test-fired from an undisclosed location Thursday. The statement did not specifically say if the missile could carry nuclear warheads.
Senior army officials and scientists attended the testing.
Pakistan and its nuclear-armed rival neighboring India routinely test different versions of their missiles. The two countries have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain in 1947. – AP
APP adds:
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, officers and scientists witnessed the test.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani congratulated the scientists and engineers for successfully conducting the test.
Gold buying spree grips Chinese households
In this world of chaos and tumult, the Chinese people know what to do to preserve their wealth – they buy gold. When Americans finally wake up, if that ever happens, there is a good chance that there won’t be any gold to buy at any price.
By David Lew
BEIJING (Commodity Online):An unprecedented investor interest in gold is turning Chinese households as store houses of wealth these days as people are on a gold buying spree across the rural and urban areas of the dragon country.
Bundles of news stories are these days written on the gold buying spree by the Chinese households. If not an overstatement, it is now a fact that people’s houses in China have soared in value thanks to the rising prices of gold in the last two years.
“People in China are buying gold like never before. They believe that gold is the best form of investment. So they are buying gold coins, bars and jewelery items and stocking up safely in their homes,” says Beijing-based bullion dealer J Kim Lee.
Quoting the World Gold Council figures, Lee says that if the gold buying spree by Chinese households goes on at the current pace, private gold Chinese demand may overtake Indian gold demand by 2014, giving the world’s two most populous nations two ounces of gold in every five sold worldwide that year.
Indian households are estimated to be owning 15,000 tonnes of gold. India continues to the largest consumer and importer of gold worldwide.
According to precious metals analyst Steven Jon Kaplan, a significant percentage of gold’s price increase in 2009-2010 was caused by the incremental demand from Read more…
Sri Lanka Flooding; nearly 900,000 Displaced
At least 13 people have been killed and more than 800,000 affected by fresh floods across Sri Lanka that have swept away homes, roads and vast swathes of agricultural land. Renewed heavy rainfall across several districts in Sri Lanka have forced army and navy personnel to fan out in teams to reach relief to the affected.
The incessant rains in several parts of the country have called for more humanitarian assistance for those who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
The prevailing weather conditions in most parts of the country have once again left thousands homeless for the second time in two months.
This time, however, the number of people that have been affected is somewhat lesser than last time. The people in the North Central and Eastern Provinces have been warned of the situation and have been advised to be on alert.
The situation has forced many schools to once again temporarily halt their activities for the safety of the children and the teachers. Some of them have been converted into temporary shelters for those who have been displaced.
While priority has been given for the well being of the affected people, the focus has also been on unprecedented effects of climate change.
The Meteorological Department admits that this was the worst weather condition experienced by Read more…
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