Who’dathunk we might someday be importing veggies from Kuwait?   The funny thing is it makes perfect sense.  As the report below explains, we can add one more brilliant idea to the coming new age of renewable energy:  solar power can desalinate sea water and at the same time help provide nutrients which when added to that water can make greenhouse farms in the desert viable.  It’s not any crazier than Abu Dhabi’s plan to generate solar power and transmit it via underwater cable to Europe - thus becoming an exporter …

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  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Surging food and fuel prices have pushed some countries to a “tipping point,” the head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday, threatening hard-won efforts in many African countries to stabilize their economies. “If food prices rise further and oil prices just stay the same, then some governments will be unable to feed people and at the same time maintain stability in their economy,” said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the IMF. “They need good policy options and they need help from the international community,” …

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IMF warns of threat to poorer nations By Javier Blas in London Published: July 1 2008 22:30 | Last updated: July 1 2008 22:30 The rise in food and oil prices could “severely weaken” the economies of up to 75 developing countries, including Pakistan and Indonesia, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday in its first broad assessment of the crisis. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF managing-director, warned that some countries were now at “a tipping point” because of the double impact of rising food and oil prices. He …

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People are increasingly appreciating the fact that food prices are linked to oil on the cost side.  As you know, a lot of oil and natural gas inputs are required to put food on the table.  Higher oil and gas prices are therefore pushing food prices higher. But another link is emerging - the role of China’s growth in creating demand.   China was formerly an oil exporting country but they became a major oil importing country.  That turnaround roughly corresponded with the recent period of steeply rising oil prices.  …

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