You are looking at scripts about Environment and climate change

What is El Niño?

January 1, 1998

It blows hot. It blows slow. It brings fire and rain, feast and famine. It affects weather around the world. It is called El Niño*. But what exactly is El Niño? Fishers off the far west shores of South America were the first to notice a dramatic climate change and name it. Usually, the currents…

Compost a Friend to Trees

January 1, 1998

We all need friends. Even trees need friends. And trees do have a lot of friends, including rain, sun, and the insects that pollinate tree flowers. But what about compost? You might know that compost is a friend to vegetables. It helps them grow large and healthy. But did you know that compost is also…

The many uses of the prickly pear cactus

April 1, 1997

Here’s some information of special interest to farmers who live in places where the soil is dry. Have you noticed that the soil blows around your fields? Are your crops stunted? Have they stopped growing? You are not alone. There are many farmers like you who worry that they will have to keep moving to…

Protect Tree Seedlings from Termite Damage

April 1, 1997

Termite damage can be a major problem when growing trees. It is a concern for many small-scale farmers who want to plant trees on their land. Using chemicals to control termites can be expensive. But there are tested, local techniques to improve the survival rate of your tree seedlings. And they are less costly and…

Windbreaks Protect Crops and Soil

April 1, 1997

Here’s some information of special interest to farmers who live in places where the soil is dry. Have you noticed that the soil blows around your fields? Are your crops stunted? Have they stopped growing? You are not alone. Many farmers worry that they will have to keep moving to find better land for farming….

Stone Lines Reduce Erosion

January 1, 1997

As a farmer you may live in a place where the land is dry. You might have noticed that soil blows around and that your crops don’t grow or are stunted. It may have started with a drought, or drought has made it worse, and you are worried that you will have to keep moving…

A Woman Farmer Fallows with Trees

January 1, 1997

Jennifer Zulu is a farmer in a small village in Zambia. She is the mother of five children. Jennifer works a small piece of land, about two hectares, that was loaned to her by her brother. She works it alone. She grows maize, cotton and groundnuts. When the rains are good she can grow enough…

Reduce, reuse, recycle

January 1, 1997

No.1 : The garbage problem We all produce garbage. Usually we don’t think about it. We just throw it away. But the world is running out of room to store all the garbage that is piling up. For instance, the eight million people in the city of Manila in the Philippines produce 4,000 tons of…

How to Plant Bamboo Cuttings

January 1, 1997

The bamboo plant has many uses. It can be used to carry water, as a building material, and to control erosion on riverbanks. Yet not many farmers grow it. It just grows wild. Most types of bamboo grow shoots from underground stems called rhizomes. These shoots grow into tall, above-ground trunks. If you are planning…

Use half-moon ditches to prevent soil erosion

October 1, 1996

Save and edit this resource as a Word document. You may live in a place where the land is dry and cracked. No trees, plants or crops grow there. Animals barely survive. You worry you will have to move to find better land for farming. You are not alone. Infertile land is spreading like a…