The greatest demand for agricultural products comes from the urban areas of the world. What if more were done to grow those products within the cities themselves? Learn all about the exciting future of urban farming from this latest article by Terry Hain. The possibilities are incredible!

Despite the European debt crisis, on Sunday Croatian voters overwhelmingly chose to join the European Union. The referendum on joining the EU was supported by 66% of Croatia's population. Once the twenty-seven members of the EU approve, Croatia should be able to join the EU on July 1, 2013. A statement issued by the EU stated, "We welcome the positive outcome of the referendum on Croatia's accession to the European Union. With this vote, Croatia's citizens have given their endorsement to European integration. We congratulate Croatia and its people on their choice: EU membership will open up new opportunities for them and help secure the stability and prosperity of their nation."

The Arctic Council is an organization of eight countries that include territory that borders the Arctic Ocean. Member countries of the Arctic Council include Russia, Canada, the United States, Denmark (for Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland. However, countries that are interested in Arctic issues are allowed to join as observer states. Currently, there are six observer states: United Kingdom, France, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain.

However, as global warming melts the ice of the Arctic Ocean there is increased interest in the Northwest Passage for transportation and the Arctic for economic exploitation. Therefore, several new countries are interested in participating in the Arctic Council as observers. China, India, and Brazil are all interested in joining as observers. These three countries are three-quarters of the economic grouping known as BRIC (as Russia is already a full member of the Arctic Council. Japan and South Korea have also expressed an interested in participating as observers. The Arctic Council itself is weary of this potential rapid expansion of newly-interested countries.

China's National Bureau of Statistics announced earlier this week that the world's most populous country has reached the point of being more urban than rural. The agency announced that 51.27% of China's 1.35 billion people live in urban areas, which represents a total urban population of 690.8 million. The average annual income in urban areas is 21,810 yuan ($3,444) while the income of rural dwellers is 6,977 yuan ($1,102).  Around 2030, China's population is expected to peak at about 1.4 billion and then begin declining.