· October, 2010

Stories about Environment from October, 2010

Caribbean: Hurricane Tomas

  31 October 2010

Trinidad and Tobago, the twin island republic that seemed to be directly in Tomas‘ path on Friday, was spared its effects, but as the storm veered north, islands that had previously been out of its path were suddenly thrust into storm warning mode. Tomas is now situated south-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico; the hope remains that the Category 2 storm, which is expected to gather more strength, will steer clear of Haiti.

Guyana: Cyclone Approaches

  29 October 2010

Demerara Waves reports that “the densely populated coastland, including Georgetown and several villages, could be struck by strong winds, heavy rainfall lightning and thunder” associated with an approaching weather system.

Trinidad & Tobago: Approaching Storm

  29 October 2010

aka_lol says that an approaching tropical storm “doesn’t look good for a population that had to put up with extremely bad weather for the rainy season and continues to weather the Clico financial crisis with desperate threats from formerly-rich policyholders.”

China and the U.S: Fuss about rare earth

  29 October 2010

Adam Minter from Shanghai Scrap looks into the data of China agricultural trade and points out that the recent intimations of a ban on the rare earth elements has been overstated. On the other hand, the Chinese experts have underestimated the importance of low-cost soy beans and wheat to social...

Madagascar: Village Burned Down by Highwaymen during Cattle Robbery

  28 October 2010

The villages of Ampasimbe and Ankaenihenibe in Madagascar were attacked by gangs of highwaymen [Fr] (Dahalo in Malagasy) that made away with 18 and 15 zebus respectively. As the Ampasimbe villagers retaliated against the robbers, their village was burned down entirely, partly because of the powerful wind guts at the time.

Bermuda: Ahoy There!

  27 October 2010

Elaborate plans are afoot for the development of “a pirate-themed waterpark”; New Onion asks: “Who has deep pockets and is that bad of a businessperson other than the Bermuda Government?”, while Vexed Bermoothes says: “There has not been a well thought out business plan…there should be limited development on this...

Ukraine, Serbia: Food, Libraries, Dwellings

  26 October 2010

A Crimean Tatar wedding feast and fall's bounty at a Kyiv farmers’ market – at The Pickle Project; an initiative to help a library in the Ukrainian town of Konotop – at Jud Dolphin Adventure; the Modern Village exhibit at the Pyrohiv Museum of Folk Architecture and Life just outside...

Peru: Thousands of Indigenous People Block Rivers in Protest

  26 October 2010

Globalizado reports [es] that thousands of indigenous people in the Amazon are blocking the mouth of rivers Marañon and Tigre. The communities are protesting the constant contamination of the rivers by oil company Pluspetrol, which they accuse of neglecting those affected by a recent oil spill [es] and of not...

Trinidad & Tobago : Fix the Floods

  26 October 2010

The Undisputed Truth thinks it “laughable” that taxpayers’ money has been spent on things like summits “when we have such stupid problems, i.e. 20-30 mins of rain and the entire capital city is crippled.”

Flooding disaster in Thailand

  26 October 2010

More than 40 people are now confirmed dead due to rising floodwaters in the northeast and central parts of Thailand. Parts of Bangkok, the country’s capital, are now flooded too. Netizens provide disaster updates through blogs and twitter

Myanmar: Cyclone Giri death toll rises

  26 October 2010

More than 30 died or have been declared missing when Cyclone Giri struck the western coast of Myanmar. The state media claimed that government officials visited the affected region but other reports also mentioned the failure of the government to respond to the relief offer of the international community.

Bangladesh: Land Grab And Protests

  25 October 2010

In Rupganj, Bangladesh land-owners protested acquiring of land for an army housing project and they clashed with the security forces leaving 50 people injured and one dead. Bloggers react angrily.

China: Rare earth

  25 October 2010

George Chen blogs about the international and domestic debates over China’ exportation of rare earth.

Haze envelops Singapore

  22 October 2010

Haze in Singapore and south Malaysia! They blame it on the burning of trees in Sumatra, Indonesia where farmers are preparing for the crop planting season. Residents are coughing and complaining. The haze makes everyone dizzy and the web is buzzing about it