postMigrator

Amazon Tribe Sighting Raises Contact Dilemma

By postMigrator May 31, 2008 May 31, 2008 RT Newswire

Amazon tribe sighting raises contact dilemma
Fri May 30, 2008 5:25pm EDT

By Stuart Grudgings

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Dramatic photographs of previously unfound Amazon Indians have highlighted the precariousness of the few remaining “lost” tribes and the dangers they face from contact with outsiders.

The bow-and-arrow wielding Indians in the pictures released on Thursday are likely the remnants of a larger tribe who were forced deeper into the forest by encroaching settlement, experts said.

Rather than being “lost”, they have likely had plenty of contact with other indigenous groups over the years, said Thomas Lovejoy, an Amazon expert who is president of The Heinz Center in Washington.

“Peak Water?” Is Water the New Oil?

By postMigrator May 31, 2008 May 31, 2008 RT Newswire

Published on Friday, May 30, 2008 by The Christian Science Monitor
Is Water Becoming ‘The New Oil’?
Population, pollution, and climate put the squeeze on potable supplies – and private companies smell a profit. Others ask: Should water be a human right?
by Marc Clayton

Public fountains are dry in Barcelona, Spain, a city so parched there’s a €9,000 ($13,000) fine if you’re caught watering your flowers. A tanker ship docked there this month carrying 5 million gallons of precious fresh water – and officials are scrambling to line up more such shipments to slake public thirst.0530 05

Barcelona is not alone. Cyprus will ferry water from Greece this summer. Australian cities are buying water from that nation’s farmers and building desalination plants. Thirsty China plans to divert Himalayan water. And 18 million southern Californians are bracing for their first water-rationing in years.

Act On Climate Change, Top Scientists Warn US

By postMigrator May 31, 2008 May 31, 2008 RT Newswire

Published on Friday, May 30, 2008 by The Guardian/UK
Act On Climate Change, Top Scientists Warn US
by Dan Glaister in Los Angeles and James Randerson

A group of 1,700 leading scientists called on the US government yesterday to take the lead in fighting global warming. Citing the “unprecedented and unanticipated” effects of global warming, the scientists, including six Nobel prizewinners, presented a letter calling for an immediate reduction in US carbon emissions.

The statement came as the Senate prepares to debate a bill next week that would impose economy-wide limits on greenhouse emissions to avert what it describes as “catastrophic climate change”.

La Nina May Be Behind Spate of Fatal Mexico Shark Attacks

By postMigrator May 31, 2008 May 31, 2008 RT Newswire

“La Nina” effect may be behind Mexico shark attacks
Fri May 30, 2008 9:47pm EDT

By Mariano Castillo

ZIHUATANEJO, Mexico (Reuters) – Cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures due to the La Nina phenomenon may be partly responsible for a spate of fatal shark attacks off Mexico’s Pacific coast, a U.S. shark expert said on Friday.

At least two people — a surfer and a U.S. tourist — have been killed by sharks in the last few weeks around the coastal town of Zihuatanejo in the state of Guerrero.