Poll: Americans see gloom, doom in 2007
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press WriterSun Dec 31, 12:29 PM ET
Another terrorist attack, a warmer planet, death and destruction from a natural disaster. These are among Americans' grim predictions for the United States in 2007.
Only a minority of people think the U.S. will go to war with Iran or North Korea over those countries' nuclear ambitions. An overwhelming majority of those surveyed think Congress will raise the federal minimum wage. One-third see hope for a cure to cancer.
These are among the findings of an Associated Press-AOL News poll that asked people in the U.S. to contemplate what 2007 holds for the country.
Six in 10 people think the U.S. will be the victim of a terrorist attack. An identical percentage thinks it likely that a biological or nuclear weapon will be unleashed somewhere else in the world.
Seventy percent of people in the U.S. predict a major natural disaster in the country and an equal percentage expects worsening global warming. Also, 29 percent think it likely that the U.S. will withdraw its troops from Iraq.
Among other predictions for the U.S. in 2007:
_35 percent predict the military draft will be reinstated.
_35 percent predict a cure for cancer will be found.
_25 percent anticipate the second coming of Jesus Christ.
_19 percent think scientists are likely to find evidence of extraterrestrial life.
With Democrats poised to take control of Congress this week, eight in 10 people predict lawmakers will raise the $5.15-an-hour federal minimum wage. It would be the first increase since 1997.
Democratic leaders have proposed raising it in stages to $7.25 an hour. President Bush has said he supports the idea, with some protections for small businesses.
Fewer than half the public think it likely the U.S. will go to war with Iran or North Korea. Should it come down to that, 40 percent think the battle will be with Iran while 26 percent said North Korea.
Higher gas prices, legalized gay marriage and the possible arrival of bird flu also are seen as being in the cards.
More than 90 percent of people think higher gas prices are likely. A gallon of self-serve regular gasoline averaged $2.29 last week, compared with $3 over the summer.
Also, 57 percent said it is likely that another state will legalize gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts; four other states offer civil unions or domestic partnerships.
People were split on whether 2007 will bring the U.S. its first bird flu case. More than 150 people worldwide have died from the disease. Health officials fear a pandemic if the virus mutates into a form easily passed from person to person.
Women generally were more likely than men to expect some of the more dire predictions to come true, such as a worldwide terrorist attack and war with Iran or North Korea. Democrats and people under 35 were more likely than Republicans and older people to say global warming will worsen in 2007.
The telephone poll of 1,000 adults was conducted Dec. 12-14 by Ipsos, an international polling firm. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
___
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Update
Greetings! Quite a slew of activity in Emergence land! I hope
this finds you coping well. Added sleep is DEFINETLY
necessary. Have quite a few postings on the subject of the
12/12 energy moving forward to the Winter solstice on 12/22
but for now just wanted to inform you on the National Media
Reform Conference in January. I have been following the
subject for some time and as you may know - I spent 21 years
in radio in large and medium markets. I saw single person
owners fade away- including my father- as Clear Channel
gobbled up stations nationwide and downsized and corporatized
our most precious local medium- radio. Now, as a professional
voice I am a bit more detatched careerwise but I continue to
follow the latest developments as it is most certainly an
extremely critical issue from the chasm currently 2nd only to
Global Warming. It's wonderful to see the Light coming in
to this Conference as it continues to grow in momentum!
Even if you are unable to attend, I encourage you to click on
the banner ad below to read further about it. If you are so
fortunate to receive FSTV as we are on Dish (Free Speech
TV) you will truly realize how much is being omitted from the
main stream media on a regular basis.
That's all for now- thanks for stopping by! Hang in there and
BREATH. STOP. SLOW DOWN. Dance in the beauty of NOW.
Now is all there is. That's the place where you'll find the true
meaning of the Season.
Jill
this finds you coping well. Added sleep is DEFINETLY
necessary. Have quite a few postings on the subject of the
12/12 energy moving forward to the Winter solstice on 12/22
but for now just wanted to inform you on the National Media
Reform Conference in January. I have been following the
subject for some time and as you may know - I spent 21 years
in radio in large and medium markets. I saw single person
owners fade away- including my father- as Clear Channel
gobbled up stations nationwide and downsized and corporatized
our most precious local medium- radio. Now, as a professional
voice I am a bit more detatched careerwise but I continue to
follow the latest developments as it is most certainly an
extremely critical issue from the chasm currently 2nd only to
Global Warming. It's wonderful to see the Light coming in
to this Conference as it continues to grow in momentum!
Even if you are unable to attend, I encourage you to click on
the banner ad below to read further about it. If you are so
fortunate to receive FSTV as we are on Dish (Free Speech
TV) you will truly realize how much is being omitted from the
main stream media on a regular basis.
That's all for now- thanks for stopping by! Hang in there and
BREATH. STOP. SLOW DOWN. Dance in the beauty of NOW.
Now is all there is. That's the place where you'll find the true
meaning of the Season.
Jill
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Planetary triple play on deck Sunday
Planetary triple play on deck Sunday
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science WriterFri Dec 8, 8:14 PM ET
Stargazers will get a rare triple planetary treat this weekend with Jupiter, Mercury and Mars appearing to nestle together in the predawn skies. About 45 minutes before dawn on Sunday those three planets will be so close that the average person's thumb can obscure all three from view.
They will be almost as close together on Saturday and Monday, but Sunday they will be within one degree of each other in the sky. Three planets haven't been that close since 1925, said Miami Space Transit Planetarium director Jack Horkheimer.
And it won't happen again until 2053, he said.
"Jupiter will be very bright and it will look like it has two bright lights next to it, and they won't twinkle because they're planets," said Horkheimer, host of the television show "Star Gazer. "This is the kind of an event that turns young children into Carl Sagans."
The planets are actually hundreds of millions of miles apart, but the way the planets orbit the sun make it appear they are neighbors in the east-southeastern skies. They'll be visible in most parts of the world — in the Western Hemisphere, as far south as Buenos Aires and as far north as Juneau, Alaska, Horkheimer said.
The experts differ on just how to look at the planets. Horkheimer said naked-eye viewing is fine, but binoculars or a telescope are even better.
But if you are going to use a telescope, be careful because the planets are so close to where the sun will soon rise, if you linger you might gaze at the sun through the telescope and damage your eyesight, said Michelle Nichols, master educator at Chicago's Adler Planetarium.
Ed Krupp, director of Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory, cautioned it will be hard to see the event "with an unaided eye, particularly in an area that is highly urbanized."
The way to find the planets, which will be low on the east-southeast horizon, is to hold your arm straight out, with your hand in a fist and the pinky at the bottom. Halfway up your fist is how high the planets will appear above the horizon, Nichols said.
Jupiter will be white, Mercury pinkish and Mars butterscotch-colored.
"It is a lovely demonstration of the celestial ballet that goes on around us, day after day, year after year, millennium after millennium," said Horkheimer. "When I look at something like this, I realize that all the powers on Earth, all the emperors, all the money, cannot change it one iota. We are observers, but the wonderful part of that is that we are the only species on this planet that can observe it and understand it."
In ancient times, people thought the close groupings of planets had deep meaning, said Krupp. Now, he said, "it's absolutely something fun to look for."
__
On the Net:
Where to look for the three planets: http://www.siennasoft.com/stargazer/1513.shtml
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science WriterFri Dec 8, 8:14 PM ET
Stargazers will get a rare triple planetary treat this weekend with Jupiter, Mercury and Mars appearing to nestle together in the predawn skies. About 45 minutes before dawn on Sunday those three planets will be so close that the average person's thumb can obscure all three from view.
They will be almost as close together on Saturday and Monday, but Sunday they will be within one degree of each other in the sky. Three planets haven't been that close since 1925, said Miami Space Transit Planetarium director Jack Horkheimer.
And it won't happen again until 2053, he said.
"Jupiter will be very bright and it will look like it has two bright lights next to it, and they won't twinkle because they're planets," said Horkheimer, host of the television show "Star Gazer. "This is the kind of an event that turns young children into Carl Sagans."
The planets are actually hundreds of millions of miles apart, but the way the planets orbit the sun make it appear they are neighbors in the east-southeastern skies. They'll be visible in most parts of the world — in the Western Hemisphere, as far south as Buenos Aires and as far north as Juneau, Alaska, Horkheimer said.
The experts differ on just how to look at the planets. Horkheimer said naked-eye viewing is fine, but binoculars or a telescope are even better.
But if you are going to use a telescope, be careful because the planets are so close to where the sun will soon rise, if you linger you might gaze at the sun through the telescope and damage your eyesight, said Michelle Nichols, master educator at Chicago's Adler Planetarium.
Ed Krupp, director of Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory, cautioned it will be hard to see the event "with an unaided eye, particularly in an area that is highly urbanized."
The way to find the planets, which will be low on the east-southeast horizon, is to hold your arm straight out, with your hand in a fist and the pinky at the bottom. Halfway up your fist is how high the planets will appear above the horizon, Nichols said.
Jupiter will be white, Mercury pinkish and Mars butterscotch-colored.
"It is a lovely demonstration of the celestial ballet that goes on around us, day after day, year after year, millennium after millennium," said Horkheimer. "When I look at something like this, I realize that all the powers on Earth, all the emperors, all the money, cannot change it one iota. We are observers, but the wonderful part of that is that we are the only species on this planet that can observe it and understand it."
In ancient times, people thought the close groupings of planets had deep meaning, said Krupp. Now, he said, "it's absolutely something fun to look for."
__
On the Net:
Where to look for the three planets: http://www.siennasoft.com/stargazer/1513.shtml
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Global warming could devastate marine life
New Data Show Global Warming Kills Marine Life
Sara GoudarziLiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.comWed Dec 6, 1:10 PM ET
Satellite data revealed for the first time that global warming could devastate key marine life, scientists announced today.
The decade-long analysis showed that as the surface water of the oceans warmed up, phytoplankton biomass declined.
Tiny marine plants, called phytoplankton, impact the network of organisms that directly or indirectly depend on them for food. Changes in ocean color--a measure of phytoplankton mass--detected from space allowed researchers to calculate their photosynthetic rates and correlate these changes to the climate.
As rising air temperatures heat up the ocean's surface, this water becomes less dense and separates from the cold dense layer below, which is full of nutrients. Since phytoplankton need light for photosynthesis, these floating plants are restricted to the surface layer--now separated from nutrients needed for growth.
When phytoplankton is abundant, the color of the water shifts from blue to green. These marine plants remove carbon dioxide and convert it to organic carbon, accounting for almost half of the Earth's photosynthesis.
During periods of cooler temperatures, there is a flowering of these marine plants. Such was the case in late 1999 when the oceans were recovering from a strong El Nino and the globe was cooling.
But between 2000 and the present, researchers found that as the oceans warmed and became more stratified, phytoplankton productivity declined by 190 million tons of carbon each year.
"This clearly showed that overall ocean productivity decreases when the climate warms," said lead author Michael Behrenfeld of Oregon State University.
Unlike terrestrial plants that can stick around for hundreds of years, these tiny greens have quick turnover rates. Every two to six days, predators munch down the entire global phytoplankton mass.
"This very fast turnover, along with the fact that phytoplankton are limited to just a thin veneer of the ocean surface where there is enough sunlight to sustain photosynthesis, makes them very responsive to changes in climate," Behrenfeld said. "This was why we could relate productivity changes to climate variability in only a 10-year record. Such connections would be much harder to detect from space for terrestrial plant biomass."
The problem could create a vicious cycle.
As the carbon dioxide levels rise, phytoplankton production is reduced. This means that there will be less ocean plants to uptake this greenhouse gas, which worsens the overall problem, Behrenfeld said.
The study is detailed in the Dec. 7 issue of the journal Nature. All About Global Warming Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth Study: Marine Species Collapse by 2048 Images: Under the Sea -- Life in the Sanctuaries Bloomin' Baltic: The Earth as Art New Diagnosis of Ocean Health Original Story: New Data Show Global Warming Kills Marine Life
Visit LiveScience.com for more daily news, views and scientific inquiry with an original, provocative point of view. LiveScience reports amazing, real world breakthroughs, made simple and stimulating for people on the go. Check out our collection of Science, Animal and Dinosaur Pictures, Science Videos, Hot Topics, Trivia, Top 10s, Voting, Amazing Images, Reader Favorites, and more. Get cool gadgets at the new LiveScience Store, sign up for our free daily email newsletter and check out our RSS feeds today!
Sara GoudarziLiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.comWed Dec 6, 1:10 PM ET
Satellite data revealed for the first time that global warming could devastate key marine life, scientists announced today.
The decade-long analysis showed that as the surface water of the oceans warmed up, phytoplankton biomass declined.
Tiny marine plants, called phytoplankton, impact the network of organisms that directly or indirectly depend on them for food. Changes in ocean color--a measure of phytoplankton mass--detected from space allowed researchers to calculate their photosynthetic rates and correlate these changes to the climate.
As rising air temperatures heat up the ocean's surface, this water becomes less dense and separates from the cold dense layer below, which is full of nutrients. Since phytoplankton need light for photosynthesis, these floating plants are restricted to the surface layer--now separated from nutrients needed for growth.
When phytoplankton is abundant, the color of the water shifts from blue to green. These marine plants remove carbon dioxide and convert it to organic carbon, accounting for almost half of the Earth's photosynthesis.
During periods of cooler temperatures, there is a flowering of these marine plants. Such was the case in late 1999 when the oceans were recovering from a strong El Nino and the globe was cooling.
But between 2000 and the present, researchers found that as the oceans warmed and became more stratified, phytoplankton productivity declined by 190 million tons of carbon each year.
"This clearly showed that overall ocean productivity decreases when the climate warms," said lead author Michael Behrenfeld of Oregon State University.
Unlike terrestrial plants that can stick around for hundreds of years, these tiny greens have quick turnover rates. Every two to six days, predators munch down the entire global phytoplankton mass.
"This very fast turnover, along with the fact that phytoplankton are limited to just a thin veneer of the ocean surface where there is enough sunlight to sustain photosynthesis, makes them very responsive to changes in climate," Behrenfeld said. "This was why we could relate productivity changes to climate variability in only a 10-year record. Such connections would be much harder to detect from space for terrestrial plant biomass."
The problem could create a vicious cycle.
As the carbon dioxide levels rise, phytoplankton production is reduced. This means that there will be less ocean plants to uptake this greenhouse gas, which worsens the overall problem, Behrenfeld said.
The study is detailed in the Dec. 7 issue of the journal Nature. All About Global Warming Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth Study: Marine Species Collapse by 2048 Images: Under the Sea -- Life in the Sanctuaries Bloomin' Baltic: The Earth as Art New Diagnosis of Ocean Health Original Story: New Data Show Global Warming Kills Marine Life
Visit LiveScience.com for more daily news, views and scientific inquiry with an original, provocative point of view. LiveScience reports amazing, real world breakthroughs, made simple and stimulating for people on the go. Check out our collection of Science, Animal and Dinosaur Pictures, Science Videos, Hot Topics, Trivia, Top 10s, Voting, Amazing Images, Reader Favorites, and more. Get cool gadgets at the new LiveScience Store, sign up for our free daily email newsletter and check out our RSS feeds today!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Drilling ban in Alaskan bay may end
Speak up people---it's now or never
Bush may end drilling ban in Alaskan bay
By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 26 minutes ago
President Bush is deciding whether to lift a ban on oil and gas drilling in federal waters off Alaska's Bristol Bay, home to endangered whales and sea lions and the world's largest sockeye salmon run.
Leasing in a portion of the area rich in oil and natural gas ended nearly two decades ago — while Bush's father was president — in the outcry after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.
But with natural gas prices higher, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service proposed reopening up the North Aleutian Basin. That includes Bristol Bay and part of southeastern Bering Sea.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel confirmed Saturday the president was considering taking that step.
Environmentalists oppose drilling there because of the potential for oil spills and harm to wildlife. They have speculated in recent days that Bush might allow such drilling before Democrats regain control of Congress in January.
"If the Bush administration decides to allow drilling in Bristol Bay, it will simply illustrate the level to which they will sink to satisfy Big Oil," Carl Pope, the Sierra Club's executive director, said Saturday. "They are willing to risk a valuable, renewable resource like Bristol Bay's salmon fisheries for limited, shortsighted drilling plans."
Rep. Edward Markey (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass, a senior member of the House Resources Committee, said opening up Bristol Bay and expanding drilling off Florida's coast — a goal of House Republicans before losing power to Democrats — would amount to "a last minute giveaway of public lands as an early Christmas present to the big oil companies."
The Minerals Management Service said in its August proposal that reopening energy development in the basin's federal waters, extending between three miles and 200 miles offshore, could produce $7.7 billion in oil and gas production and up to 11,500 jobs.
Some 200 million barrels of crude oil, about what the U.S. imports every 16 days, are thought to be there. The agency estimates the region could yield 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas — a quarter of all U.S. annual production.
Fourteen companies are said to be interested. The agency cited support among more than a dozen local and tribal governments nearby who believe the drilling would boost their economy. Lease payments go to the government.
Despite its fame among fishermen for its rich stocks of salmon, king crab and other seafood, the Bristol Bay fishing region has lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade because of competition from less expensive farmed salmon.
Alaska Native villages also depend on the annual sockeye and chinook salmon runs for protein in their diet.
The commercial fishing industry has plunged into a depression, giving more support to Royal Dutch Shell PLC and other oil companies that have lobbied the White House to lift the offshore drilling ban.
Environmentalists worry about the large populations of migratory seabirds and crab, the imperiled Steller's sea lions and northern sea otters, or the North Pacific right whales — a population so decimated only about 100 are thought to still exist.
The Minerals Management Service said accidental spills could foul coastal water quality, and the noise and pollution from more ship traffic could disturb or kill seagoing creatures. It said even a large spill probably would harm only a small portion of the fish populations, but could pose a serious threat to marine mammals.
The Bering Sea Fishermen's Association raised alarms about protecting the region, as did the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association, which said the drilling would threaten the salmon runs.
On Friday, more than 30 people representing fishermen, native Alaskans and conservationists wrote Bush urging him not to lift the ban.
"These protections have been in place because of the great risk to Bristol Bay posed by oil and gas development," wrote representatives of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, Alaska Wilderness League, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund and others. "The presidential withdrawal now stands as the last line of defense for this irreplaceable resource."
The southwest segment of Bristol Bay was last open for lease sales in 1988 when the federal government collected more than $95 million. The government bought back the leases after the Exxon Valdez coated Prince William Sound and the waters of south-central Alaska with 11 million gallons of crude.
Congressional protections put on the area in 1989 were lifted in 2003 at the behest of Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), R-Alaska, who said he had been acting at the request of constituents in the region.
Environmental groups said they are confident the new Democratic-controlled Congress would work to restore congressional protections on Bristol Bay.
___
Associated Press writer Jeannette J. Lee in Anchorage, Alaska contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
Bush may end drilling ban in Alaskan bay
By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 26 minutes ago
President Bush is deciding whether to lift a ban on oil and gas drilling in federal waters off Alaska's Bristol Bay, home to endangered whales and sea lions and the world's largest sockeye salmon run.
Leasing in a portion of the area rich in oil and natural gas ended nearly two decades ago — while Bush's father was president — in the outcry after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.
But with natural gas prices higher, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service proposed reopening up the North Aleutian Basin. That includes Bristol Bay and part of southeastern Bering Sea.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel confirmed Saturday the president was considering taking that step.
Environmentalists oppose drilling there because of the potential for oil spills and harm to wildlife. They have speculated in recent days that Bush might allow such drilling before Democrats regain control of Congress in January.
"If the Bush administration decides to allow drilling in Bristol Bay, it will simply illustrate the level to which they will sink to satisfy Big Oil," Carl Pope, the Sierra Club's executive director, said Saturday. "They are willing to risk a valuable, renewable resource like Bristol Bay's salmon fisheries for limited, shortsighted drilling plans."
Rep. Edward Markey (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass, a senior member of the House Resources Committee, said opening up Bristol Bay and expanding drilling off Florida's coast — a goal of House Republicans before losing power to Democrats — would amount to "a last minute giveaway of public lands as an early Christmas present to the big oil companies."
The Minerals Management Service said in its August proposal that reopening energy development in the basin's federal waters, extending between three miles and 200 miles offshore, could produce $7.7 billion in oil and gas production and up to 11,500 jobs.
Some 200 million barrels of crude oil, about what the U.S. imports every 16 days, are thought to be there. The agency estimates the region could yield 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas — a quarter of all U.S. annual production.
Fourteen companies are said to be interested. The agency cited support among more than a dozen local and tribal governments nearby who believe the drilling would boost their economy. Lease payments go to the government.
Despite its fame among fishermen for its rich stocks of salmon, king crab and other seafood, the Bristol Bay fishing region has lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade because of competition from less expensive farmed salmon.
Alaska Native villages also depend on the annual sockeye and chinook salmon runs for protein in their diet.
The commercial fishing industry has plunged into a depression, giving more support to Royal Dutch Shell PLC and other oil companies that have lobbied the White House to lift the offshore drilling ban.
Environmentalists worry about the large populations of migratory seabirds and crab, the imperiled Steller's sea lions and northern sea otters, or the North Pacific right whales — a population so decimated only about 100 are thought to still exist.
The Minerals Management Service said accidental spills could foul coastal water quality, and the noise and pollution from more ship traffic could disturb or kill seagoing creatures. It said even a large spill probably would harm only a small portion of the fish populations, but could pose a serious threat to marine mammals.
The Bering Sea Fishermen's Association raised alarms about protecting the region, as did the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association, which said the drilling would threaten the salmon runs.
On Friday, more than 30 people representing fishermen, native Alaskans and conservationists wrote Bush urging him not to lift the ban.
"These protections have been in place because of the great risk to Bristol Bay posed by oil and gas development," wrote representatives of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, Alaska Wilderness League, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund and others. "The presidential withdrawal now stands as the last line of defense for this irreplaceable resource."
The southwest segment of Bristol Bay was last open for lease sales in 1988 when the federal government collected more than $95 million. The government bought back the leases after the Exxon Valdez coated Prince William Sound and the waters of south-central Alaska with 11 million gallons of crude.
Congressional protections put on the area in 1989 were lifted in 2003 at the behest of Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), R-Alaska, who said he had been acting at the request of constituents in the region.
Environmental groups said they are confident the new Democratic-controlled Congress would work to restore congressional protections on Bristol Bay.
___
Associated Press writer Jeannette J. Lee in Anchorage, Alaska contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
Darfur: Food fails to reach those in need
Rueters
Fri Dec 1, 2:57 PM ET
Food aid from the international community is not reaching a tenth of the people in Darfur who need it because violence still plagues the region and hampers relief efforts, a UN official said.
Daly Belgasmi, Darfur liaison officer for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that 2.9 million inhabitants had been targeted to receive food aid by the end of October, while some 270,000 others remained out of the agency's reach in the strife-torn part of western Sudan due to population displacement and general insecurity which hampered aid deliveries.
"The security situation remains volatile and unpredictable," he told journalists. "One sector accessible today becomes inaccessible tomorrow."
Over 70 percent of Darfur's population suffers from "food insecurity," with malnutrition affecting 11.9 percent, he added.
The WFP's total food aid budget for Sudan in 2007 amounts to 685 million dollars (517 million euros), with 44 percent destined for Darfur. This is eight percent lower than the 2006 budget, due to a change in rations that are cheaper but just as nutritional, Belgasmi said.
The UN agency was able to raise 98 percent of its 2006 budget thanks to the efforts of donor countries, prinicipally the United States, the European Union, Canada and Japan, he noted.
Since conflict broke out in Darfur in early 2003, the UN calculates that 200,000 people have died from either the fighting or famine, and over 2.5 million people have been displaced, out of a total population of 6 million.
Fri Dec 1, 2:57 PM ET
Food aid from the international community is not reaching a tenth of the people in Darfur who need it because violence still plagues the region and hampers relief efforts, a UN official said.
Daly Belgasmi, Darfur liaison officer for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that 2.9 million inhabitants had been targeted to receive food aid by the end of October, while some 270,000 others remained out of the agency's reach in the strife-torn part of western Sudan due to population displacement and general insecurity which hampered aid deliveries.
"The security situation remains volatile and unpredictable," he told journalists. "One sector accessible today becomes inaccessible tomorrow."
Over 70 percent of Darfur's population suffers from "food insecurity," with malnutrition affecting 11.9 percent, he added.
The WFP's total food aid budget for Sudan in 2007 amounts to 685 million dollars (517 million euros), with 44 percent destined for Darfur. This is eight percent lower than the 2006 budget, due to a change in rations that are cheaper but just as nutritional, Belgasmi said.
The UN agency was able to raise 98 percent of its 2006 budget thanks to the efforts of donor countries, prinicipally the United States, the European Union, Canada and Japan, he noted.
Since conflict broke out in Darfur in early 2003, the UN calculates that 200,000 people have died from either the fighting or famine, and over 2.5 million people have been displaced, out of a total population of 6 million.
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