The Stream, March 6: An Essay on Hunger

Droughts and Floods
Today’s must-read: Paul Salopek’s beautiful, poignant, thought-provoking account for Foreign Policy of his journey with the Daasanach nomads through the hunger zone in northern Kenya.

Prolonged dry spells and droughts have threatened parts of China, Russia, Australia, France, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, the United Kingdom, East Africa and the United States in recent years, affecting food production and raising concerns about the long-term stability of water supplies. EurActiv looks at how these crises are unfolding in different parts of the world.

Floods are advancing in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, for the second time this year and threatening parts of neighboring Victoria and Queensland, Bloomberg News reported. Will this affect Australia’s food, cotton and coal production?

Latin America
Is Brazil destroying the Amazon for hydropower? Forbes examines the policies, laws, construction projects and controversies surrounding Brazil’s plans to boost its (renewable) energy capacity.

Rural communities in Guatemala are using low-tech methods to overcome chronic water shortages, Al Jazeera reported.

A huge chunk of the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina’s Patagonia has broken off, creating a spectacular show for about 2,500 tourists, The Telegraph reported (there is a video inside the link). The phenomenon, which repeats itself at irregular intervals, last occurred in 2008.

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