When I resided in L.A. in the late eighties and early nineties I received a letter from the L.A. Dept of Public Health with the following message:
If activity is reduced, healthy people can survivor on half their usual food intake for an extended period and without any food for many days. Food, unlike water, may be rationed safely, except for children and pregnant women. If your water supply is limited, try to avoid foods that are high in fat and protein, and don't stock salty foods, since they will make you thirsty. Try to eat salt-free crackers, whole grain cereals and canned foods with high liquid content.
I assumed it was part of a routine earthquake warning. Back in 96 or 97, I received the very same message, word for word, via email from the Irish Red Cross. Two years ago I got an identical one from the EU's Directorate for Health, with additional literature about bird flu. Yesterday I got a reminder, this time from the Victorian Government Health Information Web site, with the very same message. Am I doomed?
I sincerely hope that all these government agencies mentioned above will find some time and new writers to retool their warnings. In the meantime here is a collection of the latest news on water, food and some hope.
WATER:
Algae-eating fish used to clean up Chinese lake: - Chinese authorities have turned to algae-eating fish to clean up a toxic algal bloom in one of the country's most famous and scenic bodies of water, Tai Lake (Taihu) near Wuxi in Jiangsu Province. Source
South Asia's largest rivers threatened, warns UN: Water resources in three of southern Asia's largest river basins are highly vulnerable, with millions of people at risk of increasing water scarcity, found a report released by the United Nations Environment Program and the Asian Institute of Technology. Source
Water Fraud — Nevada irrigation district fraud trial delayed a year: RENO, Nev. — A federal judge has ordered a year delay in a trial for officials accused of defrauding the U.S. government to get more water for an irrigation district in northern Nevada's high desert. Source
Drought to cut off federal water to Californian farms: Federal water managers in the state of California plan to cut off water to thousands of farms because of the deepening drought gripping the state. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said that parched reservoirs and patchy rainfall this year were forcing them to stop surface water deliveries for at least a three-week period beginning on 1 March. Source
Water Shortages Drive Hundreds of Families From Their Homes in Somalia: Thousands of families in Somalia's southwestern Gedo Region could starve from lack of water and food, according to local officials and community elders. Source
Who knew! Artificially increased snow ends Beijing's long-time drought: A Chinese meteorological official said that the persistent drought has almost ended in Beijing as snow continues to fall in the city. Deputy Director Zhang Qiang said that the Beijing Weather Modification Command Center had used cloud seeding with silver iodide to increase snowfall. (Could it happen in California? Or in Australia? Source
FOOD: (also check up our sister site, La Vida Locavore for the latest on food safety.
Give (probiotic) cheese a chance, says probiotic big cheese: One of the world’s leading probiotics specialists says consumers are interested in probiotic cheese products but cheese manufacturers and probiotic suppliers need to get their scientific house in order and clarify their marketing messages. Source
GMA extols irradiation's virtues for food safety: The Grocery Manufacturers Association has been at pains to reassure consumers that it does not consider irradiation a replacement for current food safety procedures, but it could be incorporated into the food safety system to minimize risk of food-borne illness. (Well, you know where we stand on that one: go ahead if you want to eat frankenfoods.) Source
Better news - Bumper rice harvest will ease prices, says FAO: The rice shortages of last year look to be at an end, as farmers upped production this year to ease the tight supply situation, according to the latest market data from the Food and Agriculture Organization. Source
Not surprised here: Half of all consumers ignore food labels - About half of consumers never read the nutrition label before purchasing pre-packaged food, according to a new survey which adds weight to the Guidline Daily Amounts (GDA’s) debate. Source
Organic growth freezes but will thaw by next year: The number of consumers buying environmentally friendly products has slowed with the economy but is still expected to increase over the next five years, according to new research from Mintel. Source
In the HOPE department: Hydrophobic Sand Could Combat Desert Water Shortages - Researchers at DIME Hydrophobic Materials in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, have joined forces with German scientist Helmut F. Schulze to develop water-repelling sand to help farmers conserve water in arid climates. Source
Great Green Wall - Senegal's president salutes a community of researchers engaged in a Pan-African project: President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal presided over an international scientific symposium in Dakar, Senegal, focusing upon a Pan-African conservation project that's very dear to his heart. Referring to the "Great Green Wall" - an ambitious effort to plant an erosion barrier stretching across several desert countries - Wade said, "Politicians dreamed it and scientists made it happen." Source (in French) Source
Powering the future – solar cells by the meter: World leading research from CSIRO’s Future Manufacturing Flagship as part of the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) aims to develop flexible, large area, cost-effective, reel-to-reel printable plastic solar cells. Source
Enzyme enters the fight to keep run-off water herbicide free:
Again from CSIRO - Farmers around the world are expected to benefit from the successful trial of an enzyme that breaks down the herbicide, atrazine, in run-off water. Source
In the Oddity Department - Pollution Changes Sex of Mollusks: Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea is changing the sexual characteristics of mollusks, "masculinizing" female murex shellfish, reported the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA, formerly ICRAM). (In Italian) Source
And last but certainly not least, is this plain enough warning: Climate Change Is Not Taken Seriously Because Media Is Not Highlighting Its Significance, Expert Says: Climate change will not be taken seriously until the media highlights its significance, say researchers at the University of Liverpool. Dr Neil Gavin, from the School of Politics and Communication Studies, believes the way the media handles issues like climate change shapes the public’s perception of its importance. Source