Is local food environmentally costly?
Many consumers feel that they should be buying “local food” to help combat climate change – but could “local food” actually result in more carbon emissions than food distributed through conventional supply chains? David Oglethorpe raises this possibility along with some other surprising ideas in a paper in CAB Reviews. Oglethorpe, of the Newcastle…
Flu – can we say goodbye to yearly vaccines soon?
I was at the CDC's session on H1N1 influenza at the American Public Health Association annual meeting in Philadelphia recently and the problems of getting a flu vaccine out to the population fast was brought home to me. It takes about 5-6 months at present to grow and manufacture new flu vaccines and in a…
Repelling boarders…
Given a choice, faced with a malaria-carrying mosquito heading in your direction, would you opt for an insecticide that killed it before it reached you, or one that merely repelled it? Most of us would plump for the first option I am sure, and this is how insecticide treated bednets (ITNs) work and why they…
The Carbon the World Forgot
Image courtesy of "The Carbon the World Forgot" report. Boreal forests, found in northern areas like Canada, Russia, Scandinavia and parts of the United States, cover 11% of the earth and store 22% of all carbon on the land surface in soil, permafrost, peatlands and wetlands. They also store nearly twice as much carbon as…
Himalayan glaciers – not melting as fast as once thought?
I came across an interesting article whilst reading a recent issue of Science (13 November) that bucks the trend of many gloomy climate change reports over the last few months. It seems that Himalayan glaciers are not melting as fast as is commonly believed. A recent report by senior glaciologist Vijay Kumar Raina, formerly of…
Focusing food security efforts where they are needed
The current World Summit on Food Security , as noted in an earlier blog, is a major effort to focus agriculture to lower risks of starvation and economic insecurity. But how can researchers and planners work out what is needed where? John Dixon of ACIAR and his co-authors describe a major Food and Agriculture Organization –…
FAO World Summit on Food Security
Photo credit: FAO Over one billion people live in chronic hunger… Every six seconds, a child dies of hunger. World leaders convened at Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Headquarters for the World Summit on Food Security today adopted a declaration pledging renewed commitment to eradicate hunger from the face of the earth sustainably and at…
Legs-up-the-wall pose – Yoga’s cure for almost all complaints
I am a keen yoga follower, who practices yoga regularly, including Tuesday’s lunchtime class here at CABI. I also receive daily yoga insights from the Yoga Journal giving tips on poses to try at home. I thought I’d share today’s tip on Viparita Karani or ‘legs-up-the-wall pose’ with the 'handpicked' readers, as it is a…
Will London Olympics be bad for tourism?
It has been a recurring theme at many Olympic Games. A city spends several years and millions of pounds putting its bid document together, which to satisfy both the IOC and the host population has to include demonstrations of popular support, and projections of lasting economic, social and sporting benefits. But after the euphoria of…