Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/177861983?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Medvedev warns against upsetting stability (AP)
MOSCOW ? President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday responded to the wave of protests over fraud-tainted election, proposing a set of reforms to liberalize Russia's political system, but sternly warning that the government won't allow "provocateurs and extremists" to threaten stability.
Medvedev said in his state-of-the nation address that Russia "needs democracy, not chaos" and that the government would strongly resist foreign pressure.
The statement follows massive rallies against fraud in the Dec. 4 vote, in which the main Kremlin party, United Russia, lost a quarter of its seats. Opposition leaders and independent election monitors said United Russia only managed to retain its majority by fraud.
A rally in Moscow drew tens of thousands demanding a repeat vote and punishment for the officials involved in fraud, the largest show of discontent since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Another massive rally is set for this weekend.
The protests dented the power of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and signaled that his bid to reclaim the presidency in next March's election may not be as trouble-free as had been thought.
Both Putin and Medvedev, who has been his loyal placeholder, firmly rejected the calls for a rerun, saying the vote reflected the people's will. Putin has accused the United States of fomenting the protests in order to weaken Russia, and Medvedev has rejected U.S. criticism of the vote.
"We won't allow provocateurs and extremists to drag society into their adventures, and we won't allow any outside interference into our domestic affairs," Medvedev said Thursday.
While defending the vote results, Putin has suggested easing the tight controls on Russia's political life he introduced during his two presidential terms in 2000-2008.
He said last week he would support easing the draconian rules of registration for political parties and restoring the direct elections of governors he abolished years ago. Putin added, however, that the president would retain the power to approve gubernatorial candidates, a provision that would make the election token.
Medvedev repeated the pledge to return to direct elections of governors and spelled out Putin's promise to ease registration rules for political parties. He said that a group of 500 people representing more than half of Russia's provinces would be allowed to register a party ? a significant simplification of the current arcane procedure that requires a party to have at least 45,000 members and makes it easy for authorities to deny registration to opposition groups.
Medvedev also proposed reducing the number of signatures a candidate must collect to get on the presidential ballot from 2 million to 300,000.
The opposition, however, would only be able to take advantage of the new procedures in the next election cycle.
"Medvedev's address is like an injection in an artificial limb," tweeted Oleg Kashin, a columnist at the Kommersant daily.
Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader, said that Medvedev's proposals were welcome but insufficient, adding that Saturday's rally will continue to push for a repeat election.
"We wouldn't have heard any of these proposals if there hadn't been protests," Nemtsov said on Ekho Moskvy radio.
On the Internet, many argued for keeping pressure on the government to bring more democratic changes. Over 39,000 already have signed up on Facebook for Saturday's rally.
"Well, they threw some bones to us," Elena Panfilova, head of Transparency International in Russia, said on Twitter. "Now we can either try to build something good out of them or demand the rest of the skeleton."
____
Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed to this report.
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Do new endorsements mean Mitt Romney has clinched the nomination?
GOP endorsements are piling up for Mitt Romney ? his share of them has grown to 65 percent. While that's no guarantee, it's becoming harder to envision anyone else winning the nomination.?
Increasingly, it's becoming hard to envision anyone other than Mitt Romney actually winning the GOP nomination.
Skip to next paragraphNewt Gingrich? His star is falling fast, and his momentum is all in the wrong direction.
Ron Paul? He may well win Iowa ? and even New Hampshire, which admittedly would throw Mr. Romney for a bit of a loop ? but his base of support just isn't broad enough to get the actual nomination, especially once success causes the other candidates to turn their negativity on him.
Rick Perry? Jon Huntsman? If the field is blown wide open by early Paul wins, combined with a dismal showing by Romney, then it's possible one of them could become a factor ? this is, after all, one of the most volatile primary contests in recent memory, and fortunes can shift quickly. But given where they both are right now, it seems a monumental task.
Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann barely seem worth mentioning at this point.
Which leaves... Romney. It may be one reason that more and more key GOP figures are coalescing around him.
Romney has always been more the choice of the Republican establishment, but now he's starting to win endorsements from key conservatives outside the establishment as well.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (one of Sarah Palin's "Mama Grizzlies") is one of the most high-profile recent examples. And he has the endorsement of Christine O'Donnell ? the tea party favorite who won the Delaware primary (and lost the general election) despite having the GOP establishment against her.
This week he got the Des Moines Register endorsement too (although according to New York Times polling analyst Nate Silver, their track record for choosing candidates is mixed).
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Official: 10 trapped in Turkish mosque collapse (AP)
ANKARA, Turkey ? A mosque under construction collapsed on Saturday, trapping an estimated 10 workers in the rubble, an official said.
Mayor Hasan Unver told NTV television four other workers were injured in the accident at the building site in town of Acigol, in the central Turkish province of Nevsehir. Their condition was not serious, he said.
Unver said the workers were trapped beneath the collapsed dome of a mosque that was being built at an industrial area of Acigol.
State-run TRT television showed images of rescuers, some holding a bright orange stretcher, scrambling to rescue one trapped worker amid a pile of rubble and iron rods.
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Pope emphasizes human dignity (AP)
VATICAN CITY ? Pope Benedict XVI warned Friday that respect for human dignity "is seriously threatened" by concerns over profit, utility and material possessions.
At a time when the economic crisis is causing a "rising sense of frustration" in society, young people need to be educated on the ethical needs for achieving justice and peace, he said.
The pope expressed his concerns in an annual written message for the church's celebration of its World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, saying "it seems as if a shadow has fallen over our time, preventing us from clearly seeing the light of day."
But he said he is convinced that the young "with their enthusiasm and idealism, can offer new hope to the world."
At the same time, Benedict urged political leaders to give young people "a transparent image of politics as a genuine service to the good of all."
He said that despite "the profession of good intentions, the value of the person, of human dignity and human rights is seriously threatened by the widespread tendency to have recourse exclusively to the criteria of utility, profit and material possessions."
The pope's homily during a New Year's Day Mass will concentrate on the themes in the message.
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Bus accident in west Nepal kills 15 people (AP)
KATMANDU, Nepal ? A speeding bus has skidded off a mountain road in western Nepal, killing 15 people.
Govindmani Bhurtel, Chief Government Administrator of Baitadi district, says the driver lost control and the bus rolled off the highway Saturday night near Srikedar village, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of the capital, Katmandu.
He says six people were injured in the accident and were taken to hospitals.
Road accidents are common in Nepal, which is covered mainly by mountain terrain. Most accidents are blamed on poorly maintained vehicles and roads.
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Brain-heart link may explain sudden death in Rett syndrome
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2011) ? Poets might scoff at the notion that heart and brain are closely related, but scientists led by those at Baylor College of Medicine say a genetic defect that affects the brain can stop a heart.
In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, BCM researchers and colleagues found that heart problems that occur in nearly 20 percent of children with Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder, originate because the Rett gene (MeCP2) is lost in nerve cells -- not in heart muscle cells.
"The finding in mice opens the door to tailoring treatments to prevent heart rhythm problems and even deaths in girls with the disorder," said Dr. Jeffrey Neul, associate professor of pediatrics at BCM, a researcher at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital and the assistant medical director of the Blue Bird Circle Rett Clinic.
Long QT syndrome
"We began by looking at mice whose symptoms closely mimicked that of Rett syndrome. We found that those mice also exhibited electrical malfunctions in the heart, known as long QT syndrome," said BCM collaborator Dr. Xander Wehrens, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics and the Juanita P. Quigley endowed chair in cardiology at BCM. Long QT syndrome describes an interval usually measured on an electrocardiogram or ECG. These electrical malfunctions cause that interval to be too long, which can lead to a dangerous heart beat that can cause sudden death in people.
"Long QT syndrome is found in nearly 20 percent of people with Rett syndrome," said Neul. Sudden death also occurs in a significant percentage of Rett patients, and Neul and his colleagues wondered if the two might be linked.
The gene MECP2 occurs in the genomes of every cell, providing a code for the protein associated with it, MeCP2. It can have different activities in different cells. In this study, researchers created a mouse in which MeCP2 was missing only in the brain and nervous system. Even though MeCP2 functioned normally in the heart, the heart beat abnormally.
Brain sends wrong message to heart
"We showed that the heart problems were actually secondary to nervous system deficits and that cardiac activity can be remolded by abnormalities in brain activity," said Neul. "Basically, the brain is sending the wrong message to the heart leading to the malfunction."
Taking a closer look at the heart cells affected by the nervous system deficits, researchers found an unusual persistent sodium current.
Sodium currents occur naturally in cell function. When there is cell activity, sodium travels in and out of the cell through a channel that acts like a window opening and closing. Unusual persistent sodium current means the "window" doesn't close properly, causing a slow trickle of sodium to flow through the channel for a longer period of time.
Seizure drug improves sodium problem
There are seizure medications that block this process, which also occurs in other neurological disorders. When Neul and his colleagues used an anti-seizure drug to treat these malfunctioning heart muscle cells in the lab, the sodium current problem improved. They then gave the common anti-seizure drug to the abnormal mice which corrected the heart rhythm problem and blocked sudden cardiac death.
The next step is to treat the animals long term, he said. At that same time, they plan to look at what is going on in children with Rett who are already taking these kinds of medicines to treat their seizures.
"Are the people on these drugs less likely to have long QT intervals?" he said, "More research in the lab will help us reassess what we are doing in the clinic and determine if we need to change our treatment methods," Neul said.
Others who contributed to the research include: Mark D McCauley, Tiannan Wang, Elise Mike, Jose Herrera, David L. Beavers, Teng-Wei Huang, Christopher S. Ward, and Daniel G. Glaze, all of BCM; Steven Skinner, Greenwood Genetic Center; and Alan K. Percy, University of Alabama, Birmingham.
This study is supported by the Cynthia and Anthony Petrello Scholar Endowment at the Jan and Dan Neurological Research Institute at TCH, the National Institutes of Health, the International Rett Syndrome Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Blue Bird Circle of Houston, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Baylor College of Medicine.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Mark D. McCauley, Tiannan Wang, Elise Mike, Jose Herrera, David L. Beavers, Teng-Wei Huang, Christopher S. Ward, Steven Skinner, Alan K. Percy, Daniel G. Glaze, Xander H. T. Wehrens, Jeffrey L. Neul. Pathogenesis of Lethal Cardiac Arrhythmias in Mecp2 Mutant Mice: Implication for Therapy in Rett Syndrome. Science Translational Medicine, 2011; 3 (113): 113ra125 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3002982
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214144751.htm
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Friday, December 16, 2011
When Gingrich met Yasser Arafat (The Envoy)
Then House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich embraces PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 1993. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) is behind??
GOP presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich stirred up plenty of controversy last week when he called Palestinians an "invented people" in an interview from the campaign trail."I think we have an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs and historically part of the Arab community and they had the chance to go many places,' Gingrich told the Jewish Channel last week.
All of which makes the above 1993 photo of Gingrich, then House Minority Whip, embracing the late Palestinian Liberation Organization chief Yasser Arafat, published by the Huffington Post's Sam Stein, rather noteworthy. Stein, who received the photo from a longtime political operative involved in Middle East issues, writes:
On Monday, a political operative who has been working on Palestine-Israel policy for the past 20 years sent The Huffington Post a picture of Gingrich, then the House minority whip, grasping the hand of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat immediately following the September 1993 Oslo peace accords.
The embrace, the source said, came after Arafat met with 20 to 25 House leaders over coffee. Jotting notes down in a yellow pad, Gingrich used the meeting to pitch Arafat on how best to actually construct a Palestinian state. "He said, 'Look, here is what I think you need -- an economic plan ? and here is how it will work,' " the operative recalled. "It was a very positive contribution at the time and as they stood up, there were pictures." ....
But Stein goes on to note that Gingrich's political calculus changed once he became House Speaker, pitting himself forcefully against the foreign policy priorities of Bill Clinton's Democratic White House:
But the situation was fragile. By March 1994, Gingrich and others were urging President Clinton to veto a UN resolution that referred to Jerusalem as occupied territory. ... By 1998, Gingrich was accusing Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of behaving as "an agent for the Palestinians" in renewed peace negotiations. U.S. diplomats complained that the Speaker was causing serious headaches even as he met, once more, with Arafat.
Other popular Yahoo! News stories:
? Iran rejects U.S. request to return spy drone
? Donald Trump fires himself from debate hosting duties
? What now? Why the next ten days are the most critical of the GOP campaign
? Disagreement over Keystone oil pipeline may prevent payroll tax cut from being extended
Want more of our best national security stories? Visit?The Envoy or connect with us?on Facebook and?on Twitter.
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Paris Jackson Talks About Father Michael?s ?Stupid Masks? On Ellen (VIDEO)
Paris Jackson Talks About Father Michael’s “Stupid Masks” On Ellen (VIDEO)
The late Michael Jackson’s teenage daughter, Paris Jackson, will be appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres show on Thursday. Paris talked about the masks her father [...]
Paris Jackson Talks About Father Michael’s “Stupid Masks” On Ellen (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/zmunECMISPk/
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
How to Drive Safely While Using Your Cellphone [Driving]
The National Transportation Safety Board has voted to recommend that states ban the use of cellphones while driving. This controversial decision has some people upset and others pleased, believing that banning the use of cellphones will reduce the risk of accidents. We believe that cellphone use can absolutely pose a risk to safe driving, but that it doesn't have to. Through a mix of studies, statistics, and often-ignored common sense, we can help you drive safer without giving up the use of your cellphone. Here's how.
Illustration by hkannn (Shutterstock).
Important Safety Note: You are responsible for your own safety. This article is designed to help you drive more safely, but obviously isn't a guarantee that you'll never get in another accident again. While these tips should work well for most people, it's important to assess what is and isn't safe for you specifically. If talking on the phone while driving may cause a significant distraction for you, for example, you shouldn't do it. Others may not have that problem. Be honest with yourself about what is the safest course of action for you to take, even if it means you shouldn't use your cellphone at all.
What Studies and Statistics Believe to Be Dangerous While Driving
A Car and Driver study found that texting while driving can slow your reaction times more than alcohol. Another study from the University of Utah shows that talking on the phone will impair your driving ability just the same, whether you're using a hands-free headset or not. The problem isn't that your hands aren't on the wheel, but that your mind isn't on the road. The common argument against the dangers of talking on the phone while driving is that it's not believed to be unsafe to talk to passengers who are physically in the car, but there's a reason that's considered a much lower risk. Also in the study from the University of Utah, a passenger is believed to offer a second set of eyes to see what the driver might miss. This helps to somewhat negate the distraction of conversation:
[W]hen you take a look at the data, it turns out that a driver conversing with a passenger is not as impaired a driver talking on a cell phone," he says. "You see bigger lane deviations for someone talking on a cell phone compared with a driver talking to a passenger. You also find when there is a passenger in the car, almost everyone takes the exit. But half the people talking on the cell phone fail to take the exit."
Strangely, I've had the opposite experience. I've been driving for over a decade and have been in two accidents, both of which were caused because I was distracted by a passenger. (The same passenger, in fact.) On the other hand, I talk on my phone (using a headset) frequently and have never been in an accident for that reason. I actually have a much harder time paying attention to the conversation than I do to the road, so I've always been a little skeptical of the claims that everybody is impaired by conversation. For me, it's not much different than listening to music, an audiobook, or a podcast. When I'm on the phone I miss my exits and get lost less, whereas things get much worse with actual people. While I'm sure it's at least mildly safer to drive in silence with nothing but your mind on the road, that assumes that your thoughts won't wander and your passengers are essentially ghosts. We're always going to have distractions and, realistically, your cellphone is going to be one of them. You'll have to decide what you believe is the safest choice (as using your phone is believed to be unsafe for the large majority of people), but in the following sections we'll offer some tips to try to minimize distractions should you choose to use your phone while driving.
Configure Your Phone for Safer Driving
The most important thing to remember is that your eyes need to be on the road whenever possible. Obviously you can't see everything behind you, in front of you, and to your sides at all times, you have to blink, check your current speed, and occasionally glance away from the road for a brief moment for a variety of reasons. That said, you're going to get yourself into trouble if you're adding additional distractions when operating a moving vehicle. Most of us know this, but we tend to neglect safety to answer a text message or call because it feels urgent. To avoid these distractions, it's best to set up your phone to make sure you don't even know they're happening.
Silence your phone while driving to avoid hearing text messages that will distract you. You want to answer a text or call because you're aware of it, so don't let yourself know. If you don't respond immediately, the world is not going to end.
Do everything on screen before you depart. If you feel it's safe enough for you to make a call on your cellphone (and it's legal where you're driving), start the call before you depart. If you're listening to music, set up and start your playlist before you leave. The same goes for your GPS, your audiobooks and podcasts, and anything else you plan to do to help you get to your destination or just avoid boredom in the car. If you set everything up ahead of time you won't need to look at your phone's screen which means you can keep your eyes on the road at all possible times.
Buy a headset or use remote control functionality to change the music on your phone and answer calls. Again, the key is to not look at the screen or interact with it in any way. If you have a little button hanging from your ear or integrated with your vehicle's dashboard or wheel you can change songs without the need to look around. Some cars even come with voice-activated systems so you can simply say what you want. Any of those options can keep you from interacting with your phone directly.
Put your phone in a case or sleeve so you can't see the screen. Don't make it easy to use your phone while driving. If it's difficult to get to, hopefully you won't bother. If you're the type of person who will go through the trouble, however, you might consider not using your phone in the car at all.
If you can minimize your distractions you should find it much easier to pay attention to the road and drive safely without ditching your cellphone. If you've got any other handy tips for keeping cellphone distractions to a minimum, share 'em in the comments.
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
Engadget Mobile Podcast 115 - 12.03.2011
Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad Molen, Joseph Volpe
Guest: Nicole Scott
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Tycho - Coastal Brake (Ghostly International)
00:01:55 - Which companies are on the Carrier IQ bandwagon?
00:31:28 - Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review
00:40:00 - Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ review
00:52:57 - ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime review
01:34:48 - LG Nitro HD hands-on (update: video)
01:42:09 - FCC accepts AT&T's request for withdrawal, plans to release report on its findings today (update: it's out!)
01:43:20 - AT&T blows a gasket, calls FCC report 'an advocacy piece, not analysis'
01:50:00 - Sharp's slim 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor to further trim smartphone silhouettes (updated)
01:50:20 - Microsoft enables Android and iOS users to experience Windows Phone 7... via the web
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Engadget Mobile Podcast 115 - 12.03.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
'Celebrity Wife Swap' Pairs Revealed!
Who would be crazy enough to sign up for Celebrity Wife Swap? You got it -- a bunch of fading celebs, most of whom have already appeared on at least one other reality show in a sad attempt to revive their flagging careers. Then again, it could be argued that reality-show-hopping is a career these days.
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Scosche fitRAIL Exercise Mount for iPad and iPad 2
Walking on a treadmill can be boring, so some people try to prop a book on it so they can read while they workout. ?What do you do if you have converted to ebooks and read exclusively on your iPad or what if you want to watch videos while you walk? ?Scosche has created a [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/12/02/scosche-fitrail-exercise-mount-for-ipad-and-ipad-2/
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Mass. AG sues five major banks over foreclosures
By Patrick Rizzo
Massachusetts' top law enforcement official has sued five top U.S. banks, charging they?foreclosed illegally on homes in the state and used?deceptive loan servicing practices, including robo-signing.
Attorney General Martha Coakley?filed suit against?Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and GMAC.?
?The single most important thing we can do to return to a healthy economy is to address this foreclosure crisis,??Coakley said in a statement.? ?Our suit alleges that the banks have charted a destructive path by cutting corners and rushing to foreclose on homeowners without following the rule of law. Our action today seeks real accountability for the banks illegal behavior and real relief for homeowners.?
Coakley's 59-page complaint?alleges that the five banks violated Massachusetts law by using fraudulent documentation, including "robo-signing," foreclosing without holding the actual mortgage and failing to uphold loan modification promises to homeowners in the state.
The 50 state attorneys general had been trying to negotiate a settlement with mortgage lenders over what they said were deceptive practices that helped contribute to the collapse of the housing market. But the talks have been stalled over which practices would be covered by any agreement and how much the banks would pay.
The talks hit?a major?roadblock in September when California Attorney General Kamala Harris abandoned the effort, saying the banks weren't offering enough to provide relief for homeowners. Attorneys General in?Delaware, Nevada and New York have also expressed reservations about a broad settlement until they can complete a more through investigation of improper mortgage lending practices.
In April, 2011, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates national banks, issued a report after reviewing foreclosure practices at eight of the largest mortgage servicers. The report cited?"inadequate policies, procedures, and independent control infrastructure covering all aspects of the foreclosure process."
The OCC ordered the companies to take steps to correct "inadequate quality control and audit reviews to ensure compliance with legal requirements, policies and procedures," inadequate organization and staffing, "foreclosure documents ... executed under oath, when no oath was administered," and "notary practices which failed to conform to state legal requirements."??
?Attorney General Coakley informed me of her decision to file lawsuits against the banks.?She also indicated that she?ll evaluate the joint state-federal settlement we?re negotiating, which we hope to reach soon.? Attorney General Coakley indicates that she is open to joining our settlement effort if the terms adequately address the needs of the people of Massachusetts.?We?re optimistic that we?ll settle on terms that will be in the interests of Massachusetts,???Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said.?
Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf told CNBC that despite the lawsuit he still thinks it would be better to come to an agreement with the AGs out of court. "I haven't seen the complaint, but I'm disappointed," he said.
John Stumpf, the CEO of Wells Fargo, addresses the a new lawsuit by the state of Massachussetts' AG. The firm is one of the banks targeted in the lawsuit.
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Monday, November 28, 2011
UN warns 25 pct of world land highly degraded
ROME (AP) ? The United Nations has completed the first-ever global assessment of the state of the planet's land resources, finding in a report Monday that a quarter of all land is highly degraded and warning the trend must be reversed if the world's growing population is to be fed.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that farmers will have to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world's expected 9 billion-strong population. That amounts to 1 billion tons more wheat, rice and other cereals and 200 million more tons of beef and other livestock.
But as it is, most available land is already being farmed, and in ways that actually decrease its productivity through practices that lead to soil erosion and wasting of water.
That means that to meet the world's future food needs, a major "sustainable intensification" of agricultural productivity on existing farmland will be necessary, the FAO said in "State of the World's Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture."
The report was released Monday, as delegates from around the world meet in Durban, South Africa, for a two-week U.N. climate change conference aimed at breaking the deadlock on how to curb emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
The report found that climate change coupled with poor farming practices had contributed to a decrease in productivity of the world's farmland following the boon years of the Green Revolution, when crop yields soared thanks to new technologies, pesticides and the introduction of high-yield crops.
Thanks to the Green Revolution, the world's cropland grew by just 12 percent between 1961 and 2009, but food productivity increased by 150 percent.
But the U.N. report found that rates of growth have been slowing down in many areas and today are only half of what they were at the peak of the Green Revolution.
It found that 25 percent of the world's land is now "highly degraded," with soil erosion, water degradation and biodiversity loss. Another eight percent is moderately degraded, while 36 percent is stable or slightly degraded and 10 percent is ranked as "improving."
The rest of the Earth's surface is either bare or covered by inland water bodies.
Some examples of areas at risk: Western Europe, where highly intensive agriculture has led to pollution of soil and aquifers and a resulting loss of biodiversity; In the highlands of the Himalayas, the Andes, the Ethiopian plateau and southern Africa, soil erosion has been coupled with an increase intensity of floods; In southeast and eastern Asia's rice-based food systems, land has been abandoned thanks in part to a loss of the cultural value of it.
The report found that water around the world is becoming ever more scarce and salinated, while groundwater is becoming more polluted by agricultural runoff and other toxins.
In order to meet the world's water needs in 2050, more efficient irrigation will necessary since currently most irrigation systems perform well below their capacity, FAO said.
The agency called for new farming practices like integrated irrigation and fish-farm systems to meet those demands, as well as overall investment in agricultural development.
The price tag deemed necessary for investments through 2050: $1 trillion in irrigation water management alone for developing countries, with another $160 billion for soil conservation and flood control.
___
Online:
www.fao.org
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