Corn ethanol and biofuels production has driven global food prices up 75%, triggering a global food crisis according to a secret World Bank report revealed by the London Guardian. The report was apparently kept secret to protect the United States which is most responsible for the diversion of food to fuel. The World Bank, released a report on Wednesday, July 2, on the jump in food prices without specifying the cause (PDF).

Food prices have accelerated sharply in 2008. Grain prices have more than doubled since January 2006, with over 60% of the rise in food prices occurring since January 2008 (Figure 1). Individual grain staple prices have increased even more, with monthly average wheat prices doubling since January 2006. Rice prices more than tripled between January and May 2008.

Since 1995 the number of oceanic dead zones, masses of oxygen depleted water deadly to most marine life, has grown from 44 to 169. The International Whaling Commission reported that dead zones are killing the world's coastlines, increasing by a third in the last two years.  

Mississippi flood waters, fouled with run off of sewage and fertilizer, are forecast to cause a record dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico later this summer.

By IWC

Both the National Hurricane Center and the Colorado State University forecast team founded by Dr. Bill Gray are forecasting above normal Atlantic  hurricane seasons. The NHC is predicting 12-16 named storms, 6-9 hurricanes, 2-5 major hurricanes and an "ACE" range 100%-210% of the median. CSU is predicting (PDF) 15 (avg. 9.6) named storms, 8 (avg. 5.9) hurricanes, 4 (avg. 2.3) intense hurricanes and a "NTC" 160% of average.

However, these forecasts don't address the "mystery" of the missing oceanic heat that has now been found.

Monsoon rains covered India the earliest ever in 108 years of official records. India's meteorologists are baffled. The rains have covered all of India in just 12 days when normally it takes 30. Usually it is very hot before early monsoons, but this year was cooler than normal.

However, climatologists studying global warming, have observed that early monsoons correlate with warm Atlantic Ocean temperatures. This year the Atlantic is much warmer than normal.  
By NOAA

Yukon salmon have become infected by a parasite never before seen in wild salmon. Warming Arctic temperatures, producing 65 degree F water at the mouth of the Yukon River provide conditions favorable for growth of "white spot" parasite Ichthyophonus hoferi.
The parasite weakens the salmon and makes the flesh unsuitable for human consumption by fouling its flavor. This parasite was never found before in salmon because salmon is a cold water fish. The warming arctic has provided new habitat for this parasite.

By Environment Canada

2250 solar panels in Moura Portugal align with the sun like huge black sunflowers. This, the world's largest solar farm is coming on line later this year. Portugal is moving from 20% renewable electricity in 2005 to 60% renewable electricity in 2020 by investing in all available forms of renewable energy including wind, wave and hydro power. The solar farm will provide power sufficient for 30,000 homes.

By FishOutofWater

Oil prices skyrocketed upwards $11/ barrel to a new high of $138/ barrel on reports of plans for a major attack of Iran.

Oil prices had their biggest gains ever on Friday, jumping nearly $11 to a new record above $138 a barrel, after a senior Israeli politician raised the specter of an attack on Iran and the dollar fell sharply against the euro.

Bush's recent speech to AIPAC, claims of insider knowledge of an impending American attack by Rush Limbaugh and talk of inevitable attack by the Israeli politician fueled fears of a major disruption of petroleum supplies.

Amazon deforestation in the past 9 months, the wet season, has already exceeded last year's destruction, despoiling an area larger than Delaware. With cloud cover now clearing more deforestation will be revealed and the fire season will begin. The Brazilian government has proven impotent to stop rainforest destruction in the face of spiraling food prices.

Brazil's DETER real-time monitoring system found that more than 430 square miles of forest, an area a bit smaller than the city of Los Angeles, vanished in the month of April, while about 2,300 square miles, larger than the state of Delaware, were destroyed between last August and April.

Deforestation releases massive amounts of CO2, increasing global warming, drought and climate change.

Jurors rejected all charges brought by the U.S. attorneys in the trial of Democratic Michigan lawyer Geoffrey Fieger accused of federal crimes for his contributions to John Edwards 2004 campaign. Campaign finance violations are  almost always civil cases handled by the Federal Elections Commission, punished by fines. However, Fieger and his law partner Vernon Johnson had raised $127,000 for the 2004 Edwards campaign, attracting the attention of the Bush Department of Justice. This prosecution failed, but, combined with other prosecutions, it achieved its primary goal of hurting John Edwards 2008 fund raising.

"I think it was the lack of evidence that got us to our decision," said juror Krista First 24, an accountant from Adrian.

Our soldiers were told that they were liberating the people of Iraq but women in Iraq are treated worse than dogs now.

Leila Hussein lived her last few weeks in terror. Moving constantly from safe house to safe house, she dared to stay no longer than four days at each. It was the price she was forced to pay after denouncing and divorcing her husband - the man she witnessed suffocate, stamp on, then stab their young daughter Rand in a brutal 'honour' killing for which he has shown no remorse.

Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders are pressing Hillary Clinton to accept primary results and to bow out quickly after next Tuesday. Reports from inside the campaign indicate that senior campaign staff are also opposing plans that would drag the primary battles to the Democratic convention.

"We're going to urge folks to make a decision quickly -- next week," Reid said in an interview with a radio program in his state of Nevada. "We agree there won't be a fight at the convention."

Pelosi told the San Francisco Chronicle that if the nomination fight was not settled by the end of June, she would step in to resolve it.

Iraqi residents of Fallujah are complaining that United States Marines are forcing them to take coins that proselytize Christianity.

By

The American occupation of Iraq has become a crusade in the eyes of affected Iraqis who feel humiliated and angry.

Why are vets treated for PTSD dying in their sleep, I wondered in response to an outstanding diary. Vets being treated with a combination of Seroquel, Klonopin and Paxil are dying unexpectedly.

Stan White, father of soldier Andrew White, has become an advocate for families of returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. During his son's struggle with the disorder and since his death, White has tracked similar cases. He knows of about eight in the tri-state area of Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.

I may have found the answer. (I am a PhD geochemist, not a drug expert, so take this as a possibility to look into.)

Barack Obama's campaign responded with one line to Hillary Clinton's mention today in South Dakota of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it," she said.

Mr. Obama learned of the remark when he was traveling to a rally in South Florida. He was not expected to publicly discuss it, aides said. Instead, the campaign issued a one-line statement.

"Senator Clinton’s statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign," said Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman.

Tonight in Kentucky Hillary Clinton cited, with no ironic awareness, the motto of the state of Kentucky at the end of her speech.

You know, the state motto of Kentucky is, "United we stand, divided we fall," words that have a special place in our history. They inspire American revolutionaries to unite the colonies, to defy an empire, and create a new nation, to invent a new form of government, of the people, by the people, and for the people, and they bound our nation together in service and sacrifice, even in our darkest hours.

We will come together as a party, united by common values and common cause, united in service of the hopes and dreams that know no boundaries of race or creed, gender or geography. And when we do, there will be no stopping us.

Don Siegelman has recovered from months of brutal and unjust imprisonment and has his fight back. He's ready to help the House Judiciary committee's investigations of Karl Rove and the Bush administration's abuse Department of Justice. Siegelman's case goes back to the relationship between Rove and Jack Abramoff beginning before Bush became president.

The Star: Since 1998, you've been the subject of some kind of investigation. Why do you think that is?

Siegelman: It's all part of the same case. It started when Karl Rove's bag man, I call him, Jack Abramoff, started putting Indian casino money into Alabama to defeat me in 1998.

At 2:28 pm local time a major M7.9 earthquake struck China near the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province.  BBC reports 8500 dead , but USGS  analysis shows that 200,000 people were exposed to violent to extreme shaking that could cause heavy damage in well built structures and very heavy damage in vulnerable structures.

Survivor struggles to escape.

By Reuters

Moreover, close to a million people lived where strong shaking could cause heavy damage in vulnerable structures. This USGS analysis suggests that early news reports many be underestimating the extent of this disaster.

The city of Chengdu,with about 11 million inhabitants, 55 miles east of the rupture, was spared from heavy damage because the thrust event concentrated the worst damage near the fault rupture.

Hillary Clinton's $6.4 million loan to her campaign used joint funds with Bill who has brought in more than $40 million from engagements in 6 years since he left office. The loan effectively bypasses laws which bar corporate campaign donations. Bill Clinton has earned millions from speaking to companies in the financial industry which are deeply involved in the subprime mortgage and foreclosure crisis.

The sponsors have included investment banks that later suffered billions of dollars in losses in the sub-prime mortgage debacle and now have a big stake in any regulatory changes; an insurance group with an interest in any overhaul of the nation's health care system; a group that favors the reunification of Taiwan with mainland China; a Colombian business development group that backs a free-trade agreement and more than two dozen Jewish groups, synagogues and museums.

John McCain's has similar issues and conflicts of interest with his wife's millions in stock holdings in oil and pharmaceutical companies.