What would catastrophic climate change involve?
We are quite used to hearing warnings of 'catastrophic climate change' if we don't reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, but how many of us have a clear idea of what this might mean? An article published in New Scientist a few weeks ago looked at this issue, and it made me feel quite nostalgic for…
Sri Lankan coconut farmers predict yields for future climates
Millions of people in the tropics depend on coconuts for food, raw materials and livelihood. Coconuts are also a high value commercial crop. But like any crop, coconuts are at risk of drought and other prolonged events. By using climate science and better agricultural forecast models, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI)…
Hygienic Honeybees to Save Hives
Back in November 2008, avid followers of hand picked……..and carefully sorted will remember my blog about how Rowse Honey were investing £100,000 in honeybee (Apis mellifera) health research, to be undertaken by Britain’s only professor of apiculture, Francis Ratnieks. Well, after months of research it seems that significant headway has been made to breed hygienic…
How can plant scientists change the world?
By identifying the top 100 questions facing plant science and addressing them. Inspired by a study which identified 100 ecological questions of high policy relevance in the UK, experts at the University of Bristol launched a website to identify the most important and urgent questions in global plant science. Plant science is helping to address…
Earthworm Week and Charles Darwin’s worms
This week (23-29 March 2009) is Earthworm Week and Buglife, the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, has put together resources, including a Worm Poetry Competition, aimed at schools to raise the earthworms' profile and raise awareness of their importance for agriculture. Read on to find out more…
The UN ask an expert programme – Invasive Species Q&A transcript
I was catching up on my reading of invasive species blogs during my coffee-break this morning, so unfortunately this is now a historical post, but still worth checking out. Jennifer Forman Orth over at the Invasive Species Weblog noticed that it was "Ask an Expert" Invasives Day on the 4th and 5th March over at…
World Water Day – 22 March 2009
Yes, it’s World Water Day this Sunday, which coincides with the last day of the 5th UN World Water Forum, being held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 16 to 22 March 2009. I know we seem to have a day for everything now, but if there is one resource which deserves a day of its own,…
Scientists deliver a strong message for the world’s leaders on climate change
At the culmination of the Climate Congress in Copenhagen last week (10-12 March 2009), representatives of the 2500 scientists who attended delivered a clear message to politicians that not enough is being done globally to combat climate change. The primary aim of the congress was to capture and synthesize the recent research effort devoted to…
Some burning eco-questions – part 5
I thought it’s about time I posted other three eco-questions here, after a long pause. I had to catch up with a big pile of journals on my desk, which needed screening for the database among other work we do here at Cabi I’m sure these three questions are in many hand picked readers’ minds…Read…
Managing risk and creating opportunities for development in a low carbon economy – day three from the Copenhagen climate change conference
The final day of the conference addresses the thorny problem of adapting to the inevitable impacts and examining the human dimensions of climate change. I attended the morning opening session at which Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the widely respected Stern Report published in 2006, gave a presentation on the economics of responding…