Europe

Europe Storms 2014: 2 Killed After Another Storm Batters Britain

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By: Sean Breslin, 02/15/2014

Two people were killed Friday as high winds and huge waves battered Britain, adding more misery to coastal communities already hit by widespread flooding. One woman died in central London when part of a building collapsed on the minicab she was driving during a heavy windstorm. One cruise ship passenger also died after high winds kicked up giant waves in the English Channel. The army was also called in to rescue 30 people from a seafront restaurant in Hampshire southwest of London after high winds blew a shingle through its windows, allowing flood waters in. Officials said Saturday that 22 severe flood warnings are in place, meaning lives are in danger at those points. More heavy rain and winds are expected Saturday.

 

For more on this story visit www.wunderground.com

London's River Thames Breaches Banks as Wave of Storms Pound Europe

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By: Wunderground.com, 02/10/2014

Another intense Atlantic storm is impacting Europe, bringing strong winds and torrential rain for areas already reeling from months of exceptionally terrible weather. Now, a famed river is flowing over its banks. The River Thames has burst its banks after reaching its highest level in years, flooding riverside towns upstream of London, the Associated Press reported. Residents and British troops had piled up sandbags to protect properties from the latest bout of flooding, but the river overwhelmed their defenses Monday, leaving areas including the center of the village of Datchet underwater.

 

For more on this story visit www.wunderground.com

Europe Storms Update: Coastlines Clean Up and Prepare for Another Storm

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By: Sean Breslin, 02/06/2014

Western Europe is picking up damage left behind by a series of storms that have lashed coastlines over the last week, and conditions aren't going to improve yet. "The latest in a series of potent storms will blast into western Europe late Friday into Saturday," said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. "Rain and gusty winds will extend from Ireland and the United Kingdom to France and Spain."

 

For more information visit www.wunderground.com

Peasants' Rights! Seed Rights! No GMOs!

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By: Andrea Germanos, 01/21/2014

 

Farmers rallied outside the European Parliament on Monday in protest of a proposed law they say would threaten biodiversity and put multinational control over seeds. For consumers, Ben Raskin of the UK-based charity Soil Association writes that "If this law goes through, it is likely you will be paying more for a smaller choice of seeds and plants from fewer, larger companies."

 

In addition to drawing attention to these issues ahead of the vote on the legislation, the peasant advocacy group is championing the role of small farmers at the start of what the UN has dubbed as International Year of Family Farming.

 

For more on this story visit www.commondreams.org

Europe Storm 2014: Britain, France Lashed By High Winds, Waves and Tides

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By: Wunderground.com, 01/03/2014

 

LONDON -- High winds, waves and tides lashed the western coasts of Britain and France on Friday, flooding seaside towns and low-lying areas. Wales, southwest England and Northern Ireland were the worst-hit U.K. regions by the latest in a recent series of extreme winter storms. Parts of northwestern France also suffered flooding. "This is the latest in a series of powerful storm systems that have pounded the UK and Ireland since Christmas Eve," said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. "A break is expected on Saturday before yet another storm approaches Sunday with more soaking rainfall and gusty winds." A combination of heavy rain, winds gusting up to 90 mph and exceptionally high tides sent water flooding Friday into several British seaside towns. Some western rivers also burst their banks.

 

For more on this story visit www.wunderground.com

Fracking protest bid to halt Barton Moss gas drilling

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By: BBC.co.uk, 11/26/2013

Barton Moss site

Anti-fracking protesters have attempted to stop a gas drilling rig arriving at Barton Moss in Greater Manchester. Police cleared the road to allow energy company IGas onto the site, between Barton Aerodrome and the M62. A man, aged 41, from the Glossop area was arrested on suspicion of obstructing police and the road, said a police spokesman. IGas confirmed plans to build a vertical test well at Barton Moss but said they have "no plans" for fracking.

 

For more on this story visit www.bbc.co.uk

Against the grain: new research reveals non-GM seed performing better than its GM equivalent

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By: Gmwatch.org, 06/22/2013

In the heat of battle, the story goes, a general stopped by a battery that had just delivered a thunderous fusillade. “Did you hit the target?” he asked, peering through the smoke. “I’ve no idea, sir,” came the reply. “But it certainly left here with a heck of a bang.”

 

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson’s great GM speech on Thursday was rather like that. In preparation for months, trailed assiduously, it was banged out before an enthusiastic invited audience in the wake of a barrage of endorsements from top scientists assembled by the supportive Science Media Centre. But whether it will achieve its aims – converting a skeptical public and persuading a majority of EU governments finally to allow more modified crops to be grown in Europe – is another matter. And, within hours, its trajectory was beginning to look decidedly doubtful.

 

For more on this story visit www.gmwatch.org

Heat Wave Bakes Heart of Europe

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Accuweather.com - 6/19/13, Jim Andrews

 

 

A withering early summer heart wave has sent temperatures soaring throughout central Europe since Monday.

Wednesday, excessive heat spread northward from the Alps to nearly all of Germany, where some hot spots topped 35 degrees C (95 degrees F). For a wide area surrounding the Alps, it was the third straight day of readings hitting 30 to 35 degrees C (86-95 degrees F).

For more on this story please see Accuweather.com

Germans band together to bale out their flooded cities

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Guardian.co.uk - 6/11/13

 

Sandbagging in Dresden

Volunteers in Dresden pass sandbags to build an embankment against the rising Elbe. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

Watching from the Loschwitzer bridge as the brown, swirling waters rushed beneath her, Christa Pohl was overcome with a sense of deja vu.

"When Dresden flooded 11 years ago, they called it the flood of the century, saying the last time it had happened was 150 years before," she said. "The fact it has happened again, and so soon, fills me with a sense of foreboding."

For more on this story please see Guardian.co.uk

Monsanto Surrenders: Ends All GMO Lobbying In Europe

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Care2.com, By: Beth Buczynski, 06/03/2013

 

Monsanto Surrenders: Ends All GMO Lobbying In Europe

 

It’s almost surreal, but it’s true. Monsanto has officially give up its fight to spread genetically modified seeds and plants throughout Europe. In a time when the power and political influence of Monsanto Co. seems nearly insurmountable, this is a huge victory for opponents of genetic engineering. For those in the U.S. and other countries where Monsanto’s stranglehold is palpable, it serves as a rally cry to keep up the good fight.

 

“We’ve come to the conclusion that this has no broad acceptance at the moment,” Monsanto Germany spokeswoman, Ursula Lüttmer-Ouazane, told Taz, a Geman newspaper. According to Reuters, European officials for Monsanto also told Taz “that they were no longer doing any lobby work for cultivation in Europe and not seeking any new approvals for genetically modified plants.” Just as in the United States, millions of European citizens have spoken out against Monsanto’s unchecked control of agriculture through the use of patented, genetically-modified seeds and plants.

 

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