Have you noticed an increase in your supermarket bill?
In the past couple of years the world price of field crops such as wheat, rice, soya beans, rice and palm oil has risen dramatically (doubling, tripling and more..). But, what is causing this upward movement? Well…a multitude of market forces!
Science and Hollywood: An Inconvenient Truth
I wonder how many of us have watched Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth and thought "wow, that really is terrifying, I’d better start making a few changes". And more to the point, how many of us have then done something about it. If you’re like Sarah and you’ve started cycling to the supermarket, well…
Every frog has its day
As I flicked through the latest issue of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust magazine ‘On the edge’ I came a cross an article on the mountain chicken, a large endangered frog that unfortunately happens to taste a bit, well, a bit like chicken. Now I’m not the greatest fan of amphibians but I couldn’t help…
Easier being green…
Last Saturday, I cycled to Tesco’s*. It’s around five miles away from where I live, so wasn’t a huge effort and, to be fair, I could use the extra exercise. I stress this because I’m about to mention the environment. Before you head off to the ‘post comment’ box below, I must stress that my…
Earth Day – What’s Your Story?
Fuel shortages, Famine, Disease, Extinction, Floods, Drought…So this is ‘Earth Day’. Hardly something to look forward to is it? At CABI, we work tirelessly under the assumption that most people we’re likely to come across believe that ‘saving the planet’ is a Good Thing. But what are we really trying to save? Are we saving…
April is the cruellest month…
I wonder if T.S. Eliot1 was suffering from diarrhoea when he wrote this line? I believe English literary history generally has him down as recuperating from a nervous breakdown at the time, but who knows?2 So what is the tenuous link between T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and diarrhoea? It’s not necessarily what you’re thinking…
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
The sound of despondent Handpicked bloggers rang through the air at CABI this morning. The corridors were reverberating in despair at the New Zealand Herald‘s frightening headline ‘Climate change could see pubs run dry‘. Streuth! Pedants among you who have checked the link will have noted that the story appeared in last week’s Herald, but…
Greener can be Healthier
Climate change is the theme for National Public Health Week (NPHW) this week. It was the theme of World Health Day this year as well – a reflection of the increased attention health is getting in relation to climate change. Climate change is probably the biggest current threat to the public’s health so its time…
Natural England launches the Future of Farming awards 2008
Natural England are inviting farmers and farm managers across England (UK) to enter Natural England’s 2008 Future of Farming Awards. The award scheme, which opened for registration on Monday 7 April, recognises and celebrates farmers in England who have integrated wildlife, landscape and access management with more sustainable farming production on their farms. The awards…
New medicines from fungi.
Many readers will be aware of the potential of living organisms to be sources of useful chemicals such as antibiotics, enzymes and so on — looking at medicinal properties alone, a search of records added to the CAB Abstracts database in the past 6 months finds 4241 indexed with ‘medicinal plants’ and 200 with ‘medicinal…