China to create largest mega city in the world with 42 million people

China is planning to create the world's biggest mega city by merging nine   cities to create a metropolis twice the size of Wales with a population of   42 million.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8278315/China-to-create-largest-mega-city-in-the-world-with-42-million-people.html

Why Africa needs an agricultural revolution

An African 'green revolution' would generate a number of productive jobs in agriculture and provide a leg up out of poverty for many.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jan/24/small-farm-revolution-africa-growth?CMP=twt_fd

Africa's cities to triple in size

The number of people living in African cities will triple over the next 40 years and by 2050 60% of Africans will be city dwellers, a UN report has said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11823146?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Percentage of global population living in cities, by continent

Studies have shown city dwellers have smaller carbon footprints than their countries' national averages.

Since 1950 there has been a huge worldwide increase in the percentage of population living within cities. The trend shows no sign of stopping - for the next 20 years, the flow of people is predicted to continue soaring.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/aug/18/percentage-population-living-cities

Malaria in retreat in much of sub-Saharan Africa, says WHO

Bed nets and indoor spraying credited with cutting rates of admissions and deaths, but gains are fragile, WHO warns



http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/dec/14/malaria-retreat-sub-saharan-africa

Brisbane floods: before and after

High-resolution aerial photos taken over Brisbane last week have
revealed the scale of devastation across dozens of suburbs and tens of thousands
of homes and businesses.

The aerial photos of the Brisbane floods were taken in flyovers on January 13
and January 14.

Hover over each photo to view the devastation caused by flooding.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/qld-floods/beforeafter.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

How can we feed 9 billion?

The world’s population is set to soar in the coming decades – but food   supplies are already under pressure. Meanwhile, Britain and Europe have   turned their backs on a great agricultural revolution.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/8258167/How-can-we-feed-9-billion.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The US-China power balance

Talks between US President Barack Obama and Chinese
President Hu Jintao are being billed as the most important meeting between the
two countries for 30 years. It comes at a time when relations have been strained
by issues such as the trade imbalance and China's growing military might.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12224578?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

On the map

Until recently, what is often billed as one of Africa's largest slums
- Kibera, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi - was a blank spot on official maps. But
a group of volunteers have been training young people living there to create
their own digital map of the area.


The result is the first complete map of Kibera, which it is hoped can form
the basis of plans to improve the area and the lives of its residents

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12164081?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The population explosion

This year, there will be 7 billion people on Earth. But how will the planet will cope with the expanding population – and is there anything we can, or should, do to stop it?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/14/population-explosion-seven-billion

Brisbane floods: the submerged city in pictures

The Brisbane river peaked at 4.46 metres, just short of record levels. The city centre and several suburbs have been inundated with floodwater with more than 100,000 homes without power.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/jan/13/australia-natural-disasters

Brazil landslides' death toll climbs as rescue teams dig for survivors

Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, is due to visit a string of mountain towns devastated by floods and landslides, as the death toll from the disaster reached at least 361.

Heavy rains on Tuesday night triggered some of the deadliest landslides in Brazilian history, sending mud sweeping through three towns and burying entire families as they slept.

In Teresópolis, a small town about 60 miles from Rio de Janeiro, 146 deaths have been confirmed, but local authorities expect that figure to rise.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/13/brazil-landslides-death-toll-rises

J Henry Fair: Abstraction of Destruction

Abstraction of Destruction is an exhibition showcasing J Henry Fair's images of environmental degradation, most of them taken out of planes at 1,000 feet. From oil refineries to paper mills and the oil-slicked Gulf of Mexico to the ravaged West Virginia mountaintops, the pictures appear in his recent book, The Day After Tomorrow: Images of Our Earth in Crisis. The exhibition is running at the Gerald Peters Gallery in New York

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2011/jan/13/abstraction-destruction-in-pictures#/?picture=370558414&index=0

Japan fears for future as number of new adults falls to record low

http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/10/japan-new-adults-record-low?cat=world&type=article

Haiti: One year on

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/haiti-one-year-on-from-quake-2179837.html

Interesting article from the Independent highlighting the impact of the 2010 1 year on and its impact still in a country that is struggling to cope.

A Tale of Two Floods Shows the Disaster Gap Between Rich and Poor

Interesting article from Time magazine discussing the constrasting effects of the current flooding disaster in Queensland Australia and the 2010 flooding diaster in Pakistan with some interesting points

"But economic development will be vital as well, because unless poor countries like Pakistan can develop—and boost their governance along the way—the disaster gap shown by these two floods will only grow".

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1oms3A/ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/01/04/a-tale-of-two-floods-shows-the-disaster-gap-between-rich-and-poor?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Map of Wealth Gap

http://i.imgur.com/OBeYU.jpg

Interesting Interactive Map showing the gap between developed and developing countries. The map shows the spread of 'Quality of life' cities as well as areas of healvily guarded borders.

China official warns of 300-year desertification fight

A senior Chinese official has said it
will take 300 years to turn back China's advancing deserts at the current rate
of progress.

Liu Tuo, who leads China's efforts to tackle the problem, said investment was
"seriously insufficient."


More than one quarter of China is either covered by desert or is land that is
suffering desertification.


The process is often caused by overgrazing and other unsuitable farming
techniques.


Authorities worry that expanding deserts could put crops and water supplies
in the world's second largest economy at risk.


But the official leading China's efforts against the problem said not enough
was being done.


Liu Tuo said there was a "huge gap" in the country's efforts, adding that at
current rates it would take 300 years to reclaim land which has recently become
desert.


"There is about 1.73m sq km (0.67m sq miles) of desertified land in China,
and about 530,000 sq km of that can be treated," he said.


"At our present rate of treating 1,717 sq km a year, I've just calculated
we'll need 300 years."


He also warned that global warming could exacerbate the problem by causing
drought.


Most of the desertification in China happens on the fringes of the Gobi
Desert which lies in the west of the country.