Rudolf the Parasitized Reindeer
I tend to think of Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer as being part of the rather tacky side of Christmas which has never greatly appealed to me, but the other day I came across a reference in a free magazine that came through my door which I thought was worth investigating. A section on ‘festive oddities’…
Kiss – don’t shake hands?
Something to contemplate under the Christmas mistletoe: We could be more at risk of picking up illnesses from shaking hands than from kissing says a press release from experts at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. See their studies in British Medical Journal and American Journal of Infection Control on hand hygiene. Certainly…
Could blue be next year’s green?
Whilst reading the Marine Conservation Biology Institute blog I came across a link to a piece in the Economist entitled Blue in green. The article argued that green is the colour synonymous with environmentalism but isn’t this rather a anthropocentric, terrestrialist viewpoint? I agree, it probably is. We use green to describe groups who monitor…
Wash your hands…not your turkey!
Whatever this man’s doing with this turkey, it’s safer than giving it a bath For those of you tempted to give your Christmas turkey a bath before the big day, STOP. This is madness, what were you thinking?! I don’t want to be a party poo-per, but really there are more entertaining ways to spend…
GREENhouse appeal.
The Living Rainforest, near Newbury in the UK, has launched an appeal to find sponsors for the building of a state-of-the-art ‘Green Greenhouse’ building prototype. The aim is to raise £900,000 matched funding to complete construction of the £3.5m building. Unsustainable food/crop production and increasing energy costs mean that new methods of production must be…
Trade, biotechnology, biofuels, ethics: some issues that the sugar industry is thinking about
Having more or less recovered from the flu mentioned in Sarah’s blog entry of 22nd November (no, I wasn’t complaining I was dying — quite the opposite; I kept expecting to be fully recovered the next day and then finding I wasn’t), I went last week to the International Sugar Organization’s annual international seminar (see…
Second (Life) Nature – Climate Change Lecture Series
To coincide with the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali 3rd – 14th December, the Second Nature Island will be hosting a special series of events/lectures in Second Life.
Chikungunya conquers the Swiss Alps
Earlier this week, a mosquito (Aedes albopictus) that can carry chikungunya and dengue fever viruses has been spotted north of the Swiss Alps in the canton of Aargau. In response, the Swiss health ministry plans to make chikungunya, which was described for the first time in Tanzania in 1952, a mandatory reportable disease from next…
TOPPS – Best Pesticide Practice, Better Water Protection
New advice to protect water bodies from pesticide pollution has been published by EU experts. “Training the Operators to Prevent Pollution from Point Sources” or TOPPS, collates and provides best practice from 15 European countries. TOPPS aims for a sustainable improvement of water quality through education and training.
Forests and climate change: a convenient truth?
‘Forests and climate change: a convenient truth?’ was the title of a conference I attended on Wednesday, organised by the Forestry Commission. It was a chance to hear from some of the UK’s leading experts on the role of forests and woodlands in tackling climate change, chaired by the king of the "Swingometer", Peter Snow,…