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Looking for Energy in Algae
A Seattle company harvests wild algal blooms in search of natural gas and biochemicals. Transcript of radio broadcast:
01 December 2008

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
The search for new fuels has led some researchers to algae. Algae is a name for thousands of different organisms. They include single-celled plants as well as kelp and other large plants.

Blue-green algae earlier this year in China
Kenneth Bruland is an ocean sciences professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He says many experts also consider plant-like bacteria to be a form of algae. These bacteria make food from the sun like plants do.
Algae grow quickly and some contain a lot of oils. Most algae-to-energy researchers are growing algae in huge tanks. But one company, Blue Marble Energy in Seattle, Washington, uses algae already growing along coastlines. Workers pump it into bags on a boat. They have to be careful not to suck up young fish or other small creatures.
Blue Marble says its work could help prevent harmful algae blooms. A bloom is when a dense area of algae forms and spreads. Some blooms can harm people, animals or the environment.
Warmer water can cause blooms, and some scientists think global warming is adding to an increase in large ones. Nutrients from sewage and agricultural fertilizers also help algae grow.
Blue Marble is a start-up company with private investors. It also has a contract with Washington state to collect the algae called ulva, or sea lettuce, in parts of Seattle's Puget Sound waterway. In Puget Sound, big blooms of sea lettuce often break down in Dumas Bay. This process of rotting uses up oxygen and kills marine life. And when the sea lettuce washes up on the beach, it smells terrible.
Blue Marble President Kelly Ogilvie says his company has collected almost four thousand kilos of algae in two harvests. The next step is to use bacteria to break down the algae into natural gas and different chemicals. Most companies doing algae-to-energy research are creating liquid biofuels for cars or airplanes.
But some people have concerns about harvesting wild algae. University of Washington researcher Kevin Britton-Simmons says removing the algae does not solve the problem. He says keeping fertilizer and other pollutants out of the water would prevent a lot of unnatural blooms.
He also says it is difficult to tell the difference between natural algae blooms and those caused by human activity. He says removing natural blooms would remove valuable food for marine life.
And that's the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE Report. I'm Steve Ember.

Soil Erosion Threatens Chinese 'Breadbasket'
A study says more than one-third of China's territory is being damaged by wind and water, largely because of farming and forest loss. Transcript of radio broadcast:
08 December 2008

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
A new study says almost forty percent of China is losing soil because of wind and water erosion. The Chinese government recently announced the results of a three-year study. The study was the largest of its kind since China became a communist nation in nineteen forty-nine.

A worker harvests rice in Yunnan province, in southwestern China
Researchers found that China has three and one-half million square kilometers of eroded land. Water has eroded more than one and one-half million square kilometers of that territory. Wind has damaged almost two million square kilometers.
The researchers blamed farming and the clearing of forests for much of the damage. Rural areas are not the only ones losing soil. Land is also being affected in cities and near mines and factories.
The researchers say that every year, four and one-half billion tons of soil are washed or blown away. At that rate, they say, grain production in northeastern China could decrease forty percent within forty to fifty years. The country depends on that area for grain; the northeast is often called China's breadbasket.
The research team estimates that erosion has cost China at least twenty-nine billion dollars in economic losses since two thousand. The team also says that seventy percent of China's poor live in areas damaged by soil loss.
Xinhua, the official news agency, reported that the team said China is in a worse situation than many other countries suffering from soil erosion. These include India, Japan, the United States and Australia.
Land sometimes becomes desert and can no longer support plants. This process is called desertification. A study published earlier this year suggested that climate change has been a major cause of this in China. The paper appeared in Earth-Science Reviews in June.
Scientists say more than ninety percent of grasslands in northern China have decreased in quality as a result of desertification. Dried lakes in the north produce most of the dust that affects life for people in cities like Beijing and Tianjin.
Still another problem for China has been flooding along the Yangtze River. Widespread flooding took place in the late nineteen nineties. After that, the government limited tree cutting along the sides of mountains near the river.
And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Archives of our reports are at . I’m Jim Tedder.

Getting Enough Food a 'Distant Dream' for Almost a Billion
A U.N. report shows an increase of 40 million undernourished people in 2008, mainly because of higher food prices. Transcript of radio broadcast:
15 December 2008

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
The United Nations says forty million more people around the world went hungry this year, mainly because of higher food prices. Early estimates from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization show that nine hundred sixty-three million people did not get enough to eat. That represents fourteen percent of the world population.

A Cambodian teacher serves rice during a school meal supported by the U.N. World Food Program
World food prices have dropped since early this year. But F.A.O. official Hafez Ghanem says lower prices have failed to end the food crisis in many poor countries. "For millions in developing countries," he says, "eating the minimum amount of food every day to live an active and healthy life is a distant dream."
This year's report on food insecurity warns that the current economic crisis could send even more people into hunger and poverty.
Prices of major cereal crops have decreased by more than half from their highs earlier this year. But they remain high compared to earlier years.
Seed and fertilizer prices have more than doubled since two thousand six. As a result, the F.A.O. says cereal production in developing countries may increase just one percent this year. Developed countries are likely to have gains of at least ten percent.
The agency says two-thirds of the world's undernourished live in just seven countries. These are India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage who continually go hungry fell from thirty-four percent in nineteen ninety-seven to thirty percent in two thousand five. But the F.A.O. says Ghana is the only country that has reached two sets of hunger reduction targets. These were set by the nineteen ninety-six World Food Summit and the Millennium Development Goals. The main reason is growth in agricultural production in Ghana.
The F.A.O. says some countries in Southeast Asia like Thailand and Vietnam have made progress toward hunger reduction goals. But South Asia and Central Asia have had setbacks.
A separate report predicts that a deficit in cereal production will increase hunger in North Korea. About forty percent of North Koreans are expected to need food aid in the coming year, even after a harvest that was better than usual. Officials from the F.A.O. and the World Food Program visited North Korea in October. They found that crops there will not meet the needs of close to nine million people.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. I'm Steve Ember.

Food Safety After a Flood
Advice about what to keep and what to throw away. Transcript of radio broadcast:
22 December 2008

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

People can get sick if they eat food touched by floodwaters. Floodwater may contain human and animal wastes, and other pollutants like agricultural and industrial chemicals.

The University of Iowa under floodwaters from the Iowa River earlier this year
After a flood, throw away anything not stored in a waterproof container if there was a chance of contact. That is the advice of food safety specialists at the United States Agriculture Department.

Food containers that are not waterproof, they say, include those with screw caps, snap lids, pull tops and crimped caps. Also throw away boxes of juice, milk or baby formula if they have come into contact with floodwater.

The Minnesota Department of Health says to throw away anything in soft packaging. And the Extension Service at North Dakota State University says not to save plastic bags of food even if boxes and containers inside the bags appear dry.

Also, do not eat fresh produce from the garden if it has come in contact with floodwater. To be safe, have the soil tested.

The Extension Service also says to throw away screw-topped or crimp-topped jars and bottles even if they have never been opened.

Glass jars and bottles of home-canned foods should be thrown out as well. Experts say the containers cannot be effectively cleaned after a flood.

Throw away damaged metal cans or hard plastic containers. Do not use cans that are swollen or leaking, or that are rusted or crushed.

But experts say that some unopened, undamaged all-metal cans can be saved. First, remove any labels. The paper may contain dirt and germs from the floodwater. Wash the cans with soap and water, and brush or wipe away dirt. Use hot water and water that is safe for drinking if they are available.

Next, place the cans again in water and heat the water to one hundred degrees Celsius. Boil the cans for two minutes.

Another way to disinfect them is in a freshly made solution of chlorine bleach. Use one tablespoon of unscented liquid bleach for every four liters of water. Use drinking water or the cleanest, clearest water available. Place the cans in the solution for fifteen minutes.

Once cans are clean, let them air-dry for at least one hour before opening or storing them. Relabel them with a marking pen to list their contents and any dates when they are best used by. Experts advise using the cans as soon as possible.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Bob Doughty.

Finding Uses for Marginal Lands
Farmers can try planting grasses and forage crops for their animals. Trees are another possibility. Transcript of radio broadcast:
29 December 2008

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Alfalfa is sometimes grown on marginal land
We have a question from Jonah Ojowu in Benue State, Nigeria, about a subject we have discussed in the past. Jonah is a postgraduate student in soil and water management at the University of Agriculture in Makurdi. He would like information about the management of marginal lands.
"Marginal" lands might have low quality soil. Or they might be on a hillside that rises sharply. Or they might be in an area that gets limited rainfall. In any case, they are the last to be planted under good conditions and the first to be avoided under bad conditions. 
But there are uses for marginal lands. Most often they are used as grasslands for cattle, sheep or goats. A farmer might use native grasses or non-native seed. Either way, it is important to establish good ground cover to avoid the loss of soil through erosion.
Forage crops like clover and alfalfa could be planted. These members of the legume family provide high protein food for grazing animals. They also improve the quality of the soil.  
Most plants use up nitrogen. Legumes put nitrogen back into the soil. Forage crops also help reduce erosion of the soil. 
But using marginal land for grazing is not as simple as it might sound. Cattle can damage forage crops by eating down to the roots. Also, their weight crushes the soil. That can make the ground too hard for growing.
A way to reduce the damage from overgrazing is to move animals from one field to another. Experts say rotational grazing like this is extremely important for marginal land. We will talk more about rotational grazing next week.
Another use for marginal land is for tree crops. Trees help support the soil. They reduce the damaging effects of wind and rain. And they can provide grazing animals with shade from the sun.
Studies have shown that the white pine and loblolly pine are two kinds of trees that grow well on marginal land. They grow fast and provide good quality wood. Another kind to consider is the poplar. And there are slower-growing trees like the black walnut that provide a nut crop as well as wood.
Marginal lands need care. Failing to take that care might only make a bad situation worse. But good planning can turn a marginal resource into a highly productive one.                 
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Mario Ritter. Archives are at , where you can also contact us with questions that we might be able to answer on our program. I'm Steve Ember.

More and More Bloggers Are Expressing Their Thoughts and Opinions on the Internet
Also: A question from China about Bobby Fischer. And music by the 18-year-old singer Taylor Swift. Transcript of radio broadcast:
04 December 2008

HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.
(MUSIC)
I'm Doug Johnson. This week:
We listen to music from Taylor Swift …
Answer a listener question about chess champion Bobby Fischer …
And report about blogs right here at VOA.
(MUSIC)
Blogs
HOST:

A blog is short for a Web log. People write blogs to express their opinions and ideas over the Internet. Some people write blogs about political issues. Others use them to share their lives with faraway friends or family. Still other people write blogs to help them deal with sickness, money problems or to choose movies to see or books to read. Bob Doughty has more about the increasing influence of blogs.
BOB DOUGHTY:
The Center for Media Research recently released a report about blogs. It says all studies agree that blogs are popular around the world.
One study found that more than one hundred eighty million people around the world have started a blog. And more than three hundred forty million people around the world read blogs.