Geography

Great news - the UN scientists announced that the ozone layer depletion has stopped.

Ozone provides a natural protective filter against harmful ultra-violet rays from the sun, which can cause sunburn, cataracts and skin cancer as well as damage vegetation.

This is partly credited to the efforts by many countries in the signing of the Montreal treaty in 1987 to reduce the use of CFCs, substances used in refrigerators, aerosol sprays and some packing foams which has caused the destruction of the ozone layer.

However, the ozone-friendly substances that have replaced CFCs in plastics or as refrigerants, which are hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), are also powerful greenhouse gases. HFCs alone are regarded as 14,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2) and HFC emissions are growing by eight percent a year, according to UN agencies. This will pose a challenge in dealing with the global climate change problem.

Adapted from http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5go2RnKHmYcJjFtzH-vKYV2gs_yJA

Read this cartoon on underground water found in Changi, Singapore.
http://chewonitcomics.blogspot.com/2010/01/underground-water-found.html
Does this mean additional source of water for Singapore?

Read this from http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_578475.htm-

The UN food agency reported that the number of undernourished people around the world has declined by nearly 10 per cent in 2010 and that this is the first time a drop in famine has been recorded since 1995.

In a hunger report by the Food and Agricuture Organisation (FAO)- there is a fall of 9.6% of people undernourished - 925 million people are undernourished in 2010 compared with 1.023 billion in 2009.

However the FAO insisted that 'the number of undernourished people in the world remains unacceptably high'.

The decline, the first in 15 years, 'is largely attributable to a more favourable economic environment in 2010 - particularly in developing countries - and the fall in both international and domestic food prices since 2008'.

However, 'the fact that nearly a billion people remain hungry, even after the recent food and financial crises have largely passed, indicates a deeper structural problem'.

The UN agency urged governments to 'encourage increased investment in agriculture, expand safety nets and social assistance programmes, and enhance income-generating activities for the rural and urban poor.' Analysis of hunger during financial crisis and recovery also brought to the fore 'the insufficient resilience to economic shocks of many poor countries and households, the FAO warned. -- AFP

After looking at this article, I would like you to reflect on the following:
1. What does the term "undernourished" mean?
2. What are the factors which affect the accessibility of food?
3. What are the ways in which we can encourage food production and accessibility?