How Green are Biofuels?

Palm oil and ethanol from maize and wheat may contribute to energy security, but are counterproductive in limiting climate change.”
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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…
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The Environmental Impact of NutritionandFoodSciences…dot org

We’ve explored obesity in many different forms during the course of this year and if you’re a regular Handpicked reader (enter your email in the box on the left and click on ‘subscribe’ to become one if you’re not already), you’ll by now be well aware of a recurring theme in our nutrition posts. Energy.…
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…get out of the kitchen

One of the implications of all this energy we waste to swap coffee and wheat is that we’re giving climate change a helping hand. The contribution made by today’s food production systems to climate change globally will have tremendous impacts on the food it produces in the future. So this week, in a document much…
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Climate change – good news for agricultural research?

The agricultural research drought – in need of a little climate change? This morning, office banter here at CABI turned to the post 9/11 affliction that affected newspaper and magazine columnists for many months, if not several years, after the event. For quite some time it seemed almost impossible to read a  Sunday supplement without…
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Easier being green…

Last Saturday, I cycled to Tesco’s*. It’s around five miles away from where I live, so wasn’t a huge effort and, to be fair, I could use the extra exercise. I stress this because I’m about to mention the environment. Before you head off to the ‘post comment’ box below, I must stress that my…
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NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

The sound of despondent Handpicked bloggers rang through the air at CABI this morning. The corridors were reverberating in despair at the New Zealand Herald‘s frightening headline ‘Climate change could see pubs run dry‘. Streuth! Pedants among you who have checked the link will have noted that the story appeared in last week’s Herald, but…
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Greener can be Healthier

Climate change is the theme for National Public Health Week (NPHW) this week. It was the theme of World Health Day this year as well – a reflection of the increased attention health is getting in relation to climate change. Climate change is probably the biggest current threat to the public’s health so its time…
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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…
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World tourism leaders tackle climate change

Earlier this week, some 600 representatives from over 100 countries, representing all sectors of the tourism industry (public and private sector, NGOs and governments) met in the idyllic Swiss resort of Davos to debate the  global challenge of climate change as it affects and is affected by tourism, at the 2nd International Conference on Climate…
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