Deepwater Horizon oil spill one year on – How have birds and marine life been affected?
The process of tallying and logging the harm the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico might have done to wildlife is still underway, one year after the disaster. However, indications are that the spill has not been as catastrophic as the worst predictions, but dead animals are still washing up on beaches.
Using satellites to map forests’ carbon stock
An estimated 20% of the world’s anthropogenic emissions of CO2 derive from deforestation and degradation of tropical forests. Nonetheless, data and hence knowledge on the condition and coverage of these forests is incomplete, which makes it impossible to accurately monitor future changes. For this reason, the Woods Hole Research Center has initiated a three-year project…
Alternative energy sources – is wind the answer?
The damage caused to the Fukushima nuclear power plant by the earthquake and tsunami recently raised safety issues to a supposedly clean energy. The past twelve months have seen concerns with the traditional and dwindling traditional forms of energy; for example the coal mining accidents in Chile, New Zealand and China, oil and gas…
The global climate in 2010 – was the globe really at its warmest?
Image from WMO report A statement published last week by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) describes global temperature and aspects of the global climate in 2010. The “WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate” series was launched in 1993, at the beginning of climate awareness generated by the Second World Climate Conference, which…
Climate of changing public opinion
This week is Climate Week in the UK, which aims to get the public involved in thinking about climate change. In the scientific community, there is an increasing level of consensus about climate change and the need to take drastic action to limit severe consequences. However, in order to introduce challenging policies, there must be…
Natural hazards – how do we know when they’re coming?
The earthquake that hit Japan’s northeast coast today had a magnitude of 8.9 in the Richter scale and generated a 4-metre tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast. Only a couple of days ago, I…
Global research efforts tackle food security.
On January 28, Dave Simpson wrote on Hand picked (‘Redesigning the global food system’) about the recent release of the Foresight report, The Future of Food and Farming, which argues for fundamental change to the global food system if a rapidly expanding global population is to be fed over the next 40 years. On 10…
Does rust-free rice hold the secret?
All cereals, except rice, are susceptible to rust. Wheat, maize, barley, millet, triticale, and oats all get rust. The spores of rust fungi land on a host plant, germinate, and grow toward a stomatal pore on the leaf surface to initiate infection. Rust infections produce red or yellow pustulating spores that give infected plants a…
It’s not just puppy fat
While it’s a well-known piece of perceived wisdom that owners look like their dogs, there is evidence that obese owners are more likely to have obese dogs. Writing in CAB Reviews, Ian Bland and Julian Hill discuss the importance of owner’s perceptions of exercise and diet in terms of controlling obesity in dogs.It is hard…
Plastic bag ban
Recently, I read an article in the January 2011 issue of BioCycle reporting a ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags, which went into effect in Italy on January 1, 2011. A clause will allow shops to use bags they already have stockpiled until they run out, after which biodegradable plastic or paper or reusable cloth bags…