Climate change affects tigers’ behaviour.
A report from India Reuters says the number of tiger attacks on people is growing in India's Sundarban Islands, possibly the largest mangrove ecosystem in the world. Seven fishermen were killed in the past six months in a location called Netidhopani, according to report by P. Sanuyal, from the World Conservation Union. The report suggests…
Fighting the ‘superweed”
Switching on the radio this morning, I was snapped out of the usual early-morning drowsiness by hearing CABI mentioned towards the top of the news bulletins. Among the usual stories of global financial meltdown, US presidential elections and the like, was news of how my scientific colleagues are hoping to bring Japanese knotweed, an aggressive…
Pedal Power Purification
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U-mvfjyiao&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1] I saw this over on Slashdot – a prototype solution to the developing world problems of transporting water from the source to the home, and purification to drinkable standards. The Aquaduct concept bike was developed for the Innovate or Die contest.
Why Can’t GM and Organic Just Get Along?
Growing of organic and genetically modified crops on neighbouring farms continues to be contentious, especially in Europe, but the issue of coexistence of same-species crops for different markets is not limited to GM. In a paper entitled “Can GM and organic agriculture coexist?”, Eberhard Weber points to the need for oilseed rape for cooking and…
Should pastoralism get a better press?
A rich vein of news and information on the environment, conservation and development is finding its way into the mainstream media at the moment from the IUCN World Conservation Congress currently taking place in Barcelona, Spain. Among the reports making the science news headlines is the latest Red List of threatened species, suggesting that as…
Environmental Impact!
CABI launches Environmental Impact internet resource A huge amount of information on the effects of humans on the biosphere is widely available on the internet and elsewhere – it’s hard to escape the constant deluge of information on climate change even when you’re not looking for it – but where can researchers go to separate…
Mine is 5.68 – what is yours?
I’m talking about my carbon footprint, of course, which I just had calculated for me by British Gas, and I thought I’d share it with you. It is actually the carbon footprint for my household, which I found out is a bit above the British household average (5.1 tonnes per year). I also found out…
How Green are Biofuels?
Palm oil and ethanol from maize and wheat may contribute to energy security, but are counterproductive in limiting climate change.”
Climate Change – What Will Happen to Weeds and Diseases?
Much attention has focused on what plants will be able to grow where as the effects of climate change are felt. A key factor that plays into that analysis is what effect climate change will have on diseases and weeds.Two new papers in CAB Reviews look at those two elements and show that that the…
World Tourism Day focuses on climate change
For those of us living in the UK, there hasn’t been much sign of global warming this year as we head into the autumn seemingly without ever having had a summer. Nevertheless, the overwhelming consensus is that climate change is a reality, and that we will all have to adapt accordingly. With tourism one of…