permaculture

["Emily A. Noble" <guinep@theriver.com>]

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From: Grist Magazine <grist@gristmagazine.com>
To: daily-grist@egroups.com
Subject: DAILY GRIST, May 22, 2000
Date: Mon, May 22, 2000, 11:52 


1.
MAKING DEGRADE
Nearly 40 percent of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded due
to erosion, nutrient depletion, salinization, and other problems, according
to a study released yesterday by the International Food Policy Research
Institute.  The degradation has already significantly lowered the
productivity of 16 percent of the world's farmland, including 75 percent of
farmland in Central America and 20 percent in Africa.  Developing countries
have been more hard-hit than industrialized ones.  Still, soil degradation
could be reversed with careful land management, said Phil Padey, a senior
researcher on the project.

straight to the source:  South Africa Independent, Reuters, 05.21.00
http://www.iol.co.za/news/scitech_section_newsview.php3?click_id=143&set_id=
1&art_id=qw95891478173B251

straight to the source:  USA Today, Anita Manning, 05.22.00
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000522/2283932s.htm

POOR GUATEMALANS, POOR FOREST (POOR HEADLINE)
Population pressure and poverty are fueling the destruction of forests in
national parks in Guatemala's Peten region.  The area's population has grown
from 20,000 in 1960 to nearly 500,000 today, a surge that has contributed to
countless slash-and-burn fires to clear land for farming and to increased
levels of poaching and illegal logging.  In this year's dry season, fires
are expected to damage 125,000 acres.  It has become evident that
protections for the region's parks exist only on paper.  Roan McNab, the
Guatemala program director for the Wildlife Conservation Society:  "How can
Guatemala prioritize conservation in the face of overwhelming pressure? 
When you're hungry for tomorrow, it's impossible to think 20 years down the
road."

straight to the source:  New York Times, David Gonzalez, 05.20.00
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/americas/052000guatemala-nature.html

Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:

Grist seeks intrepid intern!  Help us find the perfect soul.
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/about/intern.stm


Menopause and green power -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha051900.stm


Reinventing the wheels -- how far can clean cars take us? -- by Jim
Motavalli in Books Unbound
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/books/books051900.stm

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