Sustainable Development

Water systems at risk from growing demand for food - expert

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alertnet // Laurie Goering
Water systems at risk from growing demand for food - expert
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LONDON (AlertNet) – Efforts to feed an extra 2 billion people by mid-century could lead to widespread destruction of forests, wetlands and other natural systems that protect and regulate the world’s water, researchers warn.

But finding ways to boost agricultural production while protecting nature could produce big benefits, including reduced poverty and hunger in some of the world’s most fragile countries and hikes in food production that are sustainable beyond 2050.

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Stockpiling seeds today saves plants for the future: A quarter of the world's plant species may be headed toward extinction. Seed banks aim to prevent that.

Stockpiling seeds today saves plants for the future
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According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a quarter of the world’s known plant species – some 60,000 to 100,000 species – are threatened with extinction.

And even though plants may not receive as much attention as endangered animals, like polar bears or tigers, they’re extremely important. Plants are a vital source of food, they can help stabilize the climate, and they also provide shelter, medicines, and fuel.

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Ecological Footprint Quiz

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Ecological footprints measure humanity's demands on nature.  Everything we do has consequences.

Ever wondered how much "nature" your lifestyle requires?  You're abount to find out.  The Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates the amount of land and ocean area required to sustain your consumption patterns and absorb your wastes on an annual basis.  After answering 27 easy questions you'll be able to compare your Ecological Footprint to others' and learn how to reduce your impact on the Earth.

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Pathways to Sustainabaility WBCSD

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Vision 2050:  The new agenda for business

Under the WBCSD's Vsion 2050 Project, twenty-nice WBCDSD member companies developed a vision of a world well on the way to sustainablility by 2050 and the pathways leading to that world.

This mural is a basis for visualizing the possible pathways.  The mural is meant to provide a tool for strategic planning, prioritizing, and monitoring progeress to help countires, businesses, NGOs , international organization and individuals assess the degree to which we are on track to accomplishing the vision.

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The Global Food Crisis, Mapped

Author: 

JUSTIN GILLIS
The Global Food Crisis, Mapped
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Oxfam, the antihunger group, has been running a campaign to call attention to the global food crisis, its consequences and its potential solutions. The Times outlined the challenge of future food security on a warming planet in this article several weeks ago, and this week my colleague Jeffrey Gettleman described the appalling famine unfolding in Somalia.

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