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FENTON'S GEOGRAPHY
Welcome to my website for many things geographical. I studied at the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Canada, and I'm a member of it's Alumni Association (called "U.T.A.G.A."). Find out what geography as a study, a career, and as a hobby really entails. It's much more than what the lay person would believe. Come on in, check out some links, and tell me what you think.
And, don't forget to check out all of Fenton's other sites, also updated monthly:
http://www.freewebs.com/fentoonspiration - Cartoons & Inspiration
http://fentonlibrary.wetpaint.com - library, news, educational links
http://fentonflavour.weebly.com - food
http://fentonrenorepair.webnode.com - home repair, maintenance
http://fentonring.iwarp.com - jobs, careers
http://fentonfinance.iwannabefamous.net - money
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/fentonfaith - religion
http://fenton.chin.googlepages.com- storage depot
http://www.localendar.com/public/califenton - monthly calendar
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July 2009
This month's featured websites:
http://www.travelguidesfree.com (mainly U.S.A.) - free travel books
http://atlasobscura.com
http://www.gorgeouslygreen.com - organic agriculture and cuisine
http://www.everythingisok.com
http://www.gapminder.com
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This month's featured article:
China to ensure grain self-sufficiency
by: Henry Sanderson
China is aiming to produce virtually all the grain it needs for at least the next decade despite a growing population and declining farmland because of urbanization, climate change and other factors.
The goal is for China to keep producing more than 95 percent of its grain needs until 2020, said Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's powerful economic planning body.
The self-sufficiency plan is intended to make China less dependent on imports from countries such as the U.S. and Australia, said Wang Xiaoyi, an agricultural analyst at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
A policy paper said farms have to become more efficient. To improve productivity, exchanges of land rights by rural dwellers should be promoted to enable development of bigger and more intensive farming businesses, it said.
"We must basically rely on ourselves to ensure grain supply," Zang said as he introduced the plan for grain self-sufficiency and security.
"The short supplies of grains across the world have led to unstable situations in quite a few countries and this has sounded alarm bells to us," he told a news conference.
The plan will also reduce energy consumption and climate change by shortening the distance goods are transported, Wang said.
China should also access international markets to import grain and oil when needed, it said.
China says basic self-sufficiency in staple grains for its 1.3 billion population is a national strategic priority, but its steadily growing population, urbanization and pressures on arable land are making that more difficult.
"The decrease of farmland and shortage of water supply and climate change have had an increasing negative impact on grain production," Zang said. "The grain supply and demand of China will be in a tight balance for a long period of time."
While increased urbanization has improved people's lives, it has also increased grain consumption. China's population is projected to reach 1.4 billion people by 2020 and 1.5 billion in 2033, putting more pressure on food security.
China will strictly control the use of arable land, Zhang said, in a reference to the expansion of industrial and housing projects into rural China.
Available arable land in 2007 shrank by 6.8 percent from 1996, according to the policy plan.
Last month, China's Communist leaders approved a new rural reform allowing farmers to lease or transfer their land to raise rural incomes and slow speeding migration from farms to the cities with the aim of raising investment in farming production.
Rural families now rent land from local governments on 30-year leases, and village and local officials hold sway over its use or transfer. Land is often expropriated by village officials with little compensation.
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http://www.wififreespot.com (free wireless internet locations map around the world)
Preparing for, and handling diasters: http://www.getprepared.ca
Look at statistics from around the world: http://www.worldstatistics.net
http://www.worldometers.info
http://www.wififreespot.com (free wireless internet locations map around the world)
http://www.yougetsignal.com
Phone number area codes for all countries on the planet:
http://www.countrycallingcodes.com
Identify other internet users/computer locations and track their geographic sites: http://www.plotip.com.
http://www.cybergeography.com
Domain names of internet sites around the world
(different countries, etc.):
http://www.pnina.ps/domain-names-cctld/domreg.html
Introduction, Atlases, Maps
School Lessons & Teachers' Aid
Higher Education, Jobs
Environment
U.T.A.G.A.
Vote for this Canadian Site here
Send E-Mail to: power@bigstring.com
Copyright © 2009 Fenton Chin. All Rights Reserved