Food Prices To Rise For Years, Biofuel Firms Say

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Food Prices To Rise For Years, Biofuel Firms Say

UK: April 4, 2008

LONDON – Staple food prices will rise for some years, but should eventually fall to historical averages as harvests increase, biofuel company executives said on Thursday.

Soaring demand for better quality food from rapidly industrialising emerging markets such as China, supply shortages, increased demand for biofuels, and a surging appetite for food commodities by investment funds, have combined to push prices of basic foods higher and higher in recent months.

Stephane Delodder, managing partner of Netherlands-based consultancy iFuel Corporate Advisory, told a conference the problem of rising food prices would persist for some years.

Market forces should eventually help rebalance supply and demand, especially in markets which are not highly regulated, but this could take some time.

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US Forecaster Expects Busy Hurricane Season

US Forecaster Expects Busy Storm Season

US: April 4, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla., – The noted Colorado State University forecast team expects an above-average Atlantic hurricane season and may raise its prediction of 13 tropical storms and seven hurricanes when it updates its outlook next week, the team’s founder, Bill Gray, said on Wednesday.

La Nina cool-water conditions in the Pacific and higher sea surface temperatures in the eastern Atlantic are contributing to enhanced conditions for hurricane activity, Gray told Reuters at the US National Hurricane Conference.

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Canadian Researchers Warn Of New Arctic Worries CANADA

Planet Ark Home Canadian Researchers Warn Of New Arctic Worries CANADA: April 4, 2008 VANCOUVER, British Columbia –

Canada’s massive Mackenzie Delta is feeling the impact of climate change faster than expected and could foretell of problems elsewhere in the Arctic, a Canadian researcher said on Thursday. Melting ocean ice is apparently allowing larger storm surges to flood into the delta in Canada’s far north, a change that could have an impact on energy development plans for the region, said Lance Lesack, who has been tracking environmental changes in the region for more than a decade. Continue reading