Trees for flights?

It’s been difficult to avoid the current debate about carbon offsetting in the news recently and one topic that comes up again and again is planting trees. In a world where people are flying shorter distances more frequently can we really make up for this by planting a few trees here and there? A number…
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Reducing soil erosion in the real world

It is well understood that soil erosion has serious impacts on water quality because of the pollutants carried in runoff from the fields into water courses. Sustainable practices to limit soil erosion are available, “but it is the economical and socio-political factors that lead to erosion which need to be tackled if sustainable practices to…
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Can ecotourism help save ‘Planet Earth?’

For the last few Sunday nights, a significant proportion of the British population has been glued to the mesmerising BBC wildlife series ‘Planet Earth’. An accompanying series on the digital channel BBC4, on the challenges faced by wildlife and habitats from increasing human population, will have been seen by far fewer people, but it may…
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Inconvenient Truths Down On the Farm

The recent UK Stern Review on the economic costs of climate change and Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth have focused attention on the serious consequences that may result. A new review by Jurg Fuhrer published in CAB Reviews highlights the implications for agriculture, pointing out that it is “among the sectors most directly exposed…
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Doing the right thing with water: The sustainable management of water in Agriculture

Water is important – ask any of us who live in the South East of England (where CABI is based) and have had to live with the hosepipe bans (and threats of worse restrictions) this year. So much for the green and pleasant land. But, being serious, water management IS important and figuring out what…
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